All news with #check point tag

🛡️ The UK AI Security Institute (AISI), Check Point and Lakera have launched b3, an open-source benchmark to assess and strengthen the security of backbone LLMs that power AI agents. b3 focuses on the specific LLM calls within agent workflows where malicious inputs can trigger harmful outputs, using 10 representative "threat snapshots" combined with a dataset of 19,433 adversarial attacks from Lakera’s Gandalf initiative. The benchmark surfaces vulnerabilities such as system prompt exfiltration, phishing link insertion, malicious code injection, denial-of-service and unauthorized tool calls, making LLM security more measurable, reproducible and comparable across models and applications.

🔒 Check Point has made AI Cloud Protect powered by NVIDIA BlueField available for enterprise deployment, offering DPU-accelerated security for cloud AI workloads. The solution aims to inspect and protect GenAI traffic and prompts to reduce data exposure risks while integrating with existing cloud environments. It targets prompt manipulation and infrastructure attacks at scale and is positioned for organizations building AI factories.

🔒 After months of rumored silence, security researchers have identified multiple organizations hit by LockBit-branded ransomware in September 2025. Check Point's report documents about a dozen victims across Western Europe, the Americas and Asia, affecting both Windows and Linux systems. Roughly half were infected with LockBit 5.0 and the rest with the leaked 3.0 (LockBit Black) variant. LockBit 5.0 introduces multi-platform builds, enhanced anti-analysis, randomized extensions and a revamped affiliate panel requiring a roughly $500 deposit.

🔒 Organizations worldwide are rapidly adopting AI across enterprises, delivering efficiency gains while introducing new security risks. Cybersecurity is at a turning point where AI fights AI, and today's phishing and deepfakes are precursors to autonomous, self‑optimizing AI threat actors that can plan, execute, and refine attacks with minimal human oversight. In September 2025, Check Point Research found that 1 in 54 GenAI prompts from enterprise networks posed a high risk of sensitive-data exposure, underscoring the urgent need to harden defenses and govern model use.

🛡️ LockBit has reemerged after a disruption in early 2024 and is actively extorting new victims. Check Point Research identified roughly a dozen organizations hit in September 2025, and about half of those incidents involved the new LockBit 5.0 variant, labeled ChuongDong. The group is deploying attacks across Windows, Linux and ESXi environments in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Check Point Harmony Endpoint and Quantum customers are protected via Threat Emulation, which can block these attacks before encryption occurs.

🛡️ Check Point Research uncovered the YouTube Ghost Network, a large-scale operation that used fake and compromised accounts to distribute infostealers like Rhadamanthys and Lumma. More than 3,000 malicious videos — often disguised as cracked software or game hacks — were reported and removed after being linked to password-protected archives that carried the malware. Compromised accounts, coordinated comment manipulation, and false endorsements were used to build trust and drive downloads.

🛡️ Check Point introduces a continuously trained AI engine that analyzes website content, structure, and authentication flows to detect phishing with high accuracy. Integrated with ThreatCloud AI, it delivers protection across Quantum gateways, Harmony Email, Endpoint, and Harmony Mobile. The model learns from millions of domains and real-time telemetry to adapt to new evasion techniques. Early results indicate improved detection of brand impersonation and credential-harvesting pages.

🛡️ Check Point has partnered with HackShield, an award-winning cyber education platform, to deliver gamified cybersecurity learning to children aged 8–12. The collaboration will expand access to age-appropriate resources and help cultivate resilient Cyber Agents in schools, families, and communities. The initiative aligns with Check Point’s mission to build lasting cybersecurity foundations and promote safe online habits among the next generation.

🔒 Check Point Research details the release of Rhadamanthys 0.9.2, a new build of a widely used information stealer that introduces multiple evasion and delivery changes. The update replaces previous loaders with a PNG-based payload delivery, updates encryption, refines sandbox checks, adds configurable process injection, and expands targeting to include Ledger Live crypto wallets. Operators have rebranded as RHAD Security / Mythical Origin Labs and launched a professional site, while CPR supplies updated signatures and tools to help defenders adapt.

🔐 Credential-based attacks are at epidemic levels: the 2025 Verizon DBIR shows 22% of breaches begin with compromised credentials, and Check Point's External Risk Management saw leaked credential volumes rise 160% year‑over‑year. Attackers increasingly prefer to "log in" rather than "hack in," exploiting exposed passwords, tokens, API keys and OAuth abuse. The article recommends a hybrid mesh architecture that unifies identity, network, endpoint and cloud telemetry to apply context-aware, adaptive access controls, improved credential hygiene, and faster detection and response.

🤝 Check Point Software Technologies recognised top-performing partners across Asia Pacific at its 2025 Partner Conference held 8-11 September at the JW Marriott Hanoi. Nearly 200 regional partners gathered to address rising AI-driven cyber threats, share best practices and strengthen go-to-market strategies. As a 100% partner-led organisation, Check Point celebrated channel excellence with awards that honoured innovation, collaboration and outstanding adoption of its unified security portfolio. The event reinforced the ecosystem’s central role in securing organizations across the region.

🎭 In episode 435 of Smashing Security, host Graham Cluley and guest Jenny Radcliffe discuss a sophisticated phishing campaign that used fake casting calls to lure Israeli performers, illustrating how flattering, opportunity-based lures can be as persuasive as fear-based tactics. They also cover Check Point’s findings on Iran-linked activity, the UK ICO’s warning about students hacking schools, and lighter cultural items including Endeavour and a local “Catman” story. The episode blends practical security analysis with humour and sponsored segments.

🔐 Check Point has agreed to acquire Lakera, an AI-native security platform focused on protecting agentic AI and LLM-based deployments, in a deal expected to close in Q4 2025 for an undisclosed sum. Lakera’s Gandalf adversarial engine reportedly leverages over 80 million attack patterns and delivers detection rates above 98% with sub-50ms latency and low false positives. Check Point will embed Lakera into the Infinity architecture, initially integrating into CloudGuard WAF and GenAI Protect, offering near-immediate, API-based protection as an add-on for existing customers.

🚀 Check Point is acquiring Lakera to build a comprehensive AI security stack for enterprises adopting generative and AI-driven applications. The move aims to protect the emerging AI attack surface by combining Check Point's security platform with Lakera's AI threat analysis and model-protection capabilities. Customers should expect integrated defenses for models, data, and pipelines, increased visibility into model behavior, and tools for managing model risk and compliance.

🔒 Check Point CloudGuard Network Security is now Nutanix Ready validated with Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure 7.3, delivering integrated network security for Nutanix environments. The update leverages Nutanix Flow Network Security features—entity groups, vNIC-specific policies, and global policy scopes—to extend microsegmentation and policy consistency. Customers can deploy CloudGuard via native Service Insertion and firewall chaining, enabling protection with minimal operational overhead.

🔒 Check Point has been named a Leader in the 2025 IDC MarketScape for Worldwide Enterprise Hybrid Firewalls, reflecting the maturity of its Hybrid Mesh Firewall capabilities. The recognition highlights the company's focus on unifying, automating and simplifying security operations at scale. IDC reports the firewall market reached $12.3 billion in 2024, underscoring the importance of resilient, centralized protection. Enterprises face wider attack surfaces and operational complexity that such platforms aim to mitigate.

🔒 Researchers at Check Point report a 56% year-over-year increase in cyberattacks against German educational institutions as the new school year begins, well above the global average. Analysts observed targeted phishing campaigns, including an August 2025 scheme that redirected victims to fake university and Outlook login pages to harvest credentials. To mitigate risk, experts recommend targeted phishing awareness training, mandatory multi-factor authentication (MFA), early detection of suspicious domains, regular system updates and deployment of modern threat-prevention solutions as part of a preventive, multi-layered security strategy.

⚠️ Check Point warns that Hexstrike-AI, an agentic AI orchestration platform integrating more than 150 offensive tools, is being abused by threat actors to accelerate vulnerability discovery and exploitation. The system abstracts vague commands into precise, sequenced technical steps, automating reconnaissance, exploit crafting, payload delivery and persistence. Check Point observed dark‑web discussions showing the tool used to weaponize recent Citrix NetScaler zero-days, including CVE-2025-7775, and cautions that tasks which once took weeks can now be completed in minutes. Organizations are urged to patch immediately, harden systems and adopt adaptive, AI-enabled detection and response measures.

🔒 HexStrike-AI, an open-source red‑teaming framework, is being adopted by malicious actors to rapidly weaponize newly disclosed Citrix NetScaler vulnerabilities such as CVE-2025-7775, CVE-2025-7776, and CVE-2025-8424. Check Point Research reports dark‑web chatter and evidence of automated exploitation chains that scan, exploit, and persist on vulnerable appliances. Defenders should prioritize immediate patching, threat intelligence, and AI-enabled detection to reduce shrinking n‑day windows.

📚 Check Point Research reports a sharp rise in cyber attacks against the education sector between January and July 2025. Across that period the sector averaged 4,356 attacks per organization each week, representing a 41% year‑over‑year increase. The trend is global, affecting both developed and developing regions and coincides with the back‑to‑school season. Schools and institutions are urged to strengthen defenses and incident preparedness.