All news with #disclosure tag

Maryland Transit Authority Confirms Cyber Incident

🚨 The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) reported on August 24 that it is investigating a cyber incident involving unauthorized access to specific systems. Most core services, including Local Bus, Metro Subway, Light Rail, MARC and Commuter Bus, remain on schedule, but some functions are disrupted. Affected services include Mobility Paratransit new bookings and rescheduling, MTA real-time updates and call center support, and Baltimore Metro elevator phones, and the agency is working with the Maryland Department of Information Technology, third-party cybersecurity experts and law enforcement to investigate and remediate the issue.

HOOK Android Trojan Adds Ransomware Overlays, Expands

🔒 Cybersecurity researchers at Zimperium zLabs have identified a new HOOK Android banking trojan variant that deploys full-screen ransomware-style overlays to extort victims. The overlay is remotely triggered via the command "ransome" and displays a warning, wallet address and amount, and can be dismissed by the attacker with "delete_ransome". An offshoot of ERMAC, the latest HOOK builds on banking malware techniques and now supports 107 remote commands, introducing transparent gesture-capture overlays, fake NFC and payment screens, and deceptive unlock prompts to harvest credentials and crypto recovery phrases.

Ransomware Disrupts Operations at Data I/O Manufacturer

🔒 Data I/O, a US-based provider of programming solutions for Flash devices, disclosed a ransomware incident on 16 August that forced it to take platforms offline and deploy mitigations. The company said operations including communications, shipping, manufacturing and support functions were temporarily impacted while it restores systems. Costs for remediation and contractor fees are reasonably likely to affect finances. Major customers include Tesla, Panasonic, Amazon, Google and Microsoft.

Europol: Telegram Post Claiming $50,000 Qilin Bounty Is Fake

🔍 Europol has confirmed that a circulated Telegram post claiming a reward of up to $50,000 for information on senior Qilin ransomware operators is false. The message originated on a newly created channel (@europolcti) rather than on Europol's official accounts and was amplified by security outlets after being copied. The bogus announcement named alleged aliases "Haise" and "XORacle", and the channel poster later boasted about fooling researchers and journalists. Europol stressed that Qilin remains a significant threat, previously linked to an attack on a UK NHS provider with severe consequences.

Mitsubishi MELSEC iQ-F CPU Module Denial-of-Service

🔒 CISA published Advisory ICSA-25-233-01 on August 21, 2025 describing a Denial-of-Service vulnerability (CVE-2025-5514, CVSS v3 5.3) in the Mitsubishi Electric MELSEC iQ-F Series CPU module web server. An attacker can send specially crafted HTTP requests that exploit an Improper Handling of Length Parameter Inconsistency to delay processing and prevent legitimate users from accessing the web server. Mitsubishi Electric reports no plans to release a fix and advises customers to restrict network exposure, use IP filtering and VPNs, and limit physical access. CISA recommends isolating control networks behind firewalls and minimizing internet exposure.

FUJIFILM Synapse Mobility Privilege Escalation Advisory

🔒 FUJIFILM Healthcare Americas Corporation has released fixes for a privilege-escalation vulnerability (CVE-2025-54551) affecting Synapse Mobility. The issue is an external control of an assumed-immutable web parameter that can be abused remotely with low attack complexity; CVSS v4 score is 5.3. FUJIFILM recommends upgrading to 8.2 or applying patches for 8.0–8.1.1. Immediate mitigations include disabling the configurator search function or unchecking "Allow plain text accession number," and CISA advises minimizing network exposure and using secure remote access.

Sanborn Auctions Kryptos Part Four Solution at RR Auction

🔐 Jim Sanborn is auctioning the original solution to Part Four (K4) of his Kryptos sculpture, with RR Auction estimating a winning bid of $300,000–$500,000 for the lot. The sale, scheduled for Nov. 20, includes the handwritten plaintext, related papers, and a 12-by-18-inch copper proof-of-concept plate with 1,800 hand-cut letters. Sanborn hopes the buyer will preserve the secret and assume verification duties, potentially by implementing an automated review process.

AWS Nitro protections shield EC2 from L1TF Reloaded

🔒 AWS confirms that guest data on instances running on the Nitro System and Nitro Hypervisor is not at risk from the research known as L1TF Reloaded, and no additional customer action is required. The researchers demonstrate that the technique chains half-Spectre gadgets with L1 Terminal Fault (L1TF) to transiently leak data on some hypervisors, but Nitro’s security-first architecture prevented data extraction. Nitro’s design relies on eXclusive Page Frame Ownership (XFPO) secret hiding, a minimal hypervisor footprint, and layered mitigations; AWS also notes coordinated disclosure and that it sponsored part of the research.

Ukraine Claims Hack of Russia's New Nuclear Submarine

🔐 Ukraine's Defence Intelligence agency (HUR) says its hackers exfiltrated classified files and technical documentation related to the newly commissioned Russian nuclear ballistic missile submarine Knyaz Pozharsky. Leaked materials, posted on Telegram, reportedly include combat manuals, schematics of combat and survivability systems, crew lists with qualifications, and operational schedules. Russian authorities have not commented and independent verification by Western intelligence or cybersecurity experts is still pending.

CISA Alerts on Severe Microsoft Exchange Vulnerability

⚠️CISA issued an alert on a high-severity vulnerability affecting on-premise Microsoft Exchange servers disclosed today. The agency is actively monitoring and coordinating mitigation with Microsoft and government and industry partners to assess scope and impact. Organizations are strongly urged to implement Microsoft guidance immediately to reduce risk and protect critical infrastructure.

Microsoft Bounty Program: $17M Distributed in 2025

🔒 The Microsoft Bounty Program distributed $17 million this year to 344 security researchers across 59 countries, marking the largest total payout in the program’s history. In partnership with the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC), researchers helped identify and remediate more than a thousand potential vulnerabilities across Azure, Microsoft 365, Windows, and other Microsoft products and services. The program also expanded coverage and awards for Copilot, identity and Defender scopes, Dynamics 365 & Power Platform AI categories, and refreshed Windows attack scenario incentives to prioritize high-impact research.

HCL Exposed New-Hire Passwords and Project Reports

🔓 In May 2019 UpGuard researchers discovered publicly accessible HCL pages that exposed personal information, plaintext passwords for new hires, and detailed project reports. The data was dispersed across multiple subdomains and web UIs, including HR dashboards, recruiting approval panels, and a SmartManage reporting interface. After notifying HCL's Data Protection Officer, the researcher confirmed the anonymous-access pages were taken offline within days. The incident underscores the risk of misconfigured application pages and the importance of clear reporting channels and prompt incident response.

AggregateIQ: Exposed Targeting Tools 'Monarch' and Saga

🔍 AggregateIQ's public repository exposed sophisticated ad and tracking tools linked to political campaigns. The Saga suite automates Facebook ad scraping, performance reconciliation, and asset backup, while Monarch provides pixel-based tracking (Jewel, Peasant) and a microservice stack (Peon) for event ingestion and enrichment. The codebase included credentials and configs enabling fine-grained targeting, though working user datasets were not present. The exposure raises significant privacy and electoral concerns.

Open rsync Repository Exposes 42,000+ Patients' Records

🔒 UpGuard discovered a publicly accessible rsync repository tied to Cohen Bergman Klepper Romano Mds PC that exposed records for more than 42,000 patients and over three million medical notes. The exposed data included patient and physician names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, phone numbers, email and insurance information, along with an Outlook .pst and a virtual hard drive containing staff home addresses and family details. UpGuard notified the affected parties and Accenture, and the repository was secured after follow-up, underscoring failures in basic access controls and the need for faster remediation.

Neoclinical Database Exposed Sensitive Health Data

🔒 UpGuard researchers discovered a publicly accessible MongoDB database belonging to Neoclinical, exposing profiles for 37,170 users in Australia and New Zealand. Records included names, contact details, geocoordinates, dates of birth and structured health-screening answers that revealed diagnoses and treatments. UpGuard notified the company and AWS; access was removed on July 26. The exposure underscores the need for proper access controls and rapid incident response.

Open Enrollment: HCL Exposed Passwords and Projects

🔓 During a routine data-leak investigation, UpGuard researchers discovered multiple publicly accessible HCL web pages that exposed employee records, plaintext passwords for new hires, and detailed project installation reports. The exposed assets spanned HR dashboards, a SmartManage reporting interface, and recruitment/admin panels across several subdomains. After notifying HCL’s Data Protection Officer, the researcher confirmed that the publicly accessible pages were secured. The incident highlights how inconsistent access controls across applications can cause significant risk.

AggregateIQ GitLab Leak Reveals Political Targeting Tools

🔓 The UpGuard Cyber Team discovered a publicly accessible GitLab repository belonging to AggregateIQ that exposed code, tools, and credentials used in political data operations. The leak includes an apparent campaign platform called Ripon, state configuration files, voicemail scripts, and integrations for services like Twilio and Facebook. Exposed keys, tokens, and AWS credentials raise risks of misuse and highlight ties between AIQ and Cambridge Analytica that warrant further investigation.

A Summer of Security: Empowering Defenders with AI

🛡️ Google outlines summer cybersecurity advances that combine agentic AI, platform improvements, and public-private partnerships to strengthen defenders. Big Sleep—an agent from DeepMind and Project Zero—has discovered multiple real-world vulnerabilities, most recently an SQLite flaw (CVE-2025-6965) informed by Google Threat Intelligence, helping prevent imminent exploitation. The company emphasizes safe deployment, human oversight, and standard disclosure while extending tools like Timesketch (now augmented with Sec‑Gemini agents) and showcasing internal systems such as FACADE at Black Hat and DEF CON collaborations.

MSRC Announces 2025 Most Valuable Security Researchers

🏆 The Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) announced its 2025 Most Valuable Researchers (MVRs), recognizing security researchers who submitted valid vulnerability reports under Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure. The Top 10 MVRs were ranked by total points earned for valid reports submitted between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025, and MSRC also highlights annual Technical Leaderboards by product area such as Azure, Office, Windows, and Dynamics 365. Awardees receive digital badges and MSRC swag boxes, and badges recognize achievements for Accuracy, Impact, and Volume.

Exposed rsync Server Leaks Oklahoma Securities Data

🔒UpGuard discovered and secured a publicly accessible rsync server holding roughly three terabytes and millions of files belonging to the Oklahoma Department of Securities. The exposed content included personal records, large email archives, virtual machine images, investigative files, and administrative credentials that threatened the agency’s network integrity. UpGuard notified state personnel and public access was removed on December 8, 2018.