All news with #pii tag

Cognex In-Sight Firmware: Multiple High-Risk Flaws

🔒 Cognex disclosed multiple high-severity vulnerabilities in In-Sight Explorer and firmware for the In-Sight 2000/7000/8000/9000 series (versions 5.x through 6.5.1). Identified issues include hard-coded credentials, cleartext management protocols (including telnet and a proprietary TCP 1069 service), weak default permissions, authentication bypass via capture-replay, and insufficient server-side enforcement. CISA assigns high CVSS scores (up to 8.8 v3.1 and 8.6 v4), warns of credential disclosure, configuration manipulation, and potential denial-of-service, and recommends migration to newer In-Sight Vision Suite systems and network isolation.

Malicious PyPI Packages Deliver SilentSync Remote RAT

⚠️ Zscaler ThreatLabz researchers discovered two malicious Python packages, sisaws and secmeasure, that were designed to deliver the SilentSync remote access trojan to Windows hosts. Both packages, uploaded by a user identified as 'CondeTGAPIS' and since removed from PyPI, contained downloader logic that retrieved a second-stage Python payload (via Pastebin) and executed code in memory. SilentSync can execute commands, harvest browser credentials and cookies, capture screenshots, and exfiltrate files, while offering persistence mechanisms across Windows, Linux and macOS.

Insight Partners Discloses 2024 Ransomware Breach Impacting

🔒 Insight Partners disclosed a ransomware attack that occurred around 25 October 2024 but was first detected on 16 January 2025. The firm says a sophisticated social engineering attack enabled a threat actor to exfiltrate data and encrypt servers before being expelled the same day. About 12,657 individuals may be affected; the firm offers free identity-theft protection and urges password resets and MFA.

TA558 Deploys AI-Generated Scripts to Install Venom RAT

⚠️Kaspersky tracked TA558, operating under the cluster known as RevengeHotels, using AI-generated JavaScript and PowerShell loaders in summer 2025 to deliver Venom RAT to hotels in Brazil and Spanish-speaking markets. Phishing emails in Portuguese and Spanish used reservation and job-application lures to coax users into running a WScript payload that chains to a PowerShell downloader fetching 'cargajecerrr.txt' and subsequent loaders. The Venom RAT, based on Quasar, includes data-stealing, reverse-proxy, persistence and aggressive anti-kill features aimed at harvesting payment card data from hotel systems and OTAs.

ICO Warns Schools: Students Fuel Insider Data Breaches

🔒 The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) warns that pupils represent a significant insider threat in schools, reporting that 57% of education-sector data breach reports originate from students. In an analysis of 215 breach reports between January 2022 and August 2024, nearly a third of insider incidents involved stolen or guessed passwords, 97% of which were committed by students. The ICO highlights additional causes — weak data protection (23%), staff sending data to personal devices (20%), misconfigured access rights (17%), and deliberate bypassing of controls (5%) — and cites incidents where students accessed systems holding thousands of records. Practical recommendations include strong password hygiene, MFA, tightened access controls, prohibiting pupil use of staff devices, secure shared-device management, and better parental engagement.

TaskUs Employee Allegedly Central to Coinbase Breach

🔒 A US court filing identifies a TaskUs employee as a key conspirator in the December 2024 breach of Coinbase, a compromise publicly disclosed in May 2025. Prosecutors allege support agents were bribed and recruited to steal customer PII, impacting almost 70,000 users and facilitating social engineering and asset theft. The filing names employee Ashita Mishra, accuses her of stealing and photographing hundreds of records per day and selling data for $200 a record, and claims TaskUs tried to minimize and conceal its security failures. Plaintiffs seek monetary damages and court-ordered security reforms.

Cyberattack on HEM expert affects all ten southern stores

🔒 HEM expert has informed customers that a cyberattack on July 18, 2025 affected all ten of its branches in southern Germany. The retailer says business operations continued almost without disruption, but acknowledges that data was stolen and that customer and employee personal information — potentially including names, addresses, dates of birth, contact details and bank or credit card data — may have been compromised. The company is investigating the scope of the leak, working with data protection authorities, and notifying those potentially affected. Some customers complained about delayed notification; HEM expert says it will strengthen security and staff awareness.

Preparing Organizations for the AI and Quantum Threat

🔒 This upcoming 60‑minute webinar examines how quantum computing and AI are jointly reshaping cybersecurity and accelerating new attack vectors. Top experts will cut through the hype to explain quantum-safe cryptography, practical defenses against AI-driven phishing and "harvest now, decrypt later" risks, and industry-specific controls for finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure. Attendees will leave with a concrete roadmap for assessment, deployment, and ongoing resilience. Seats are limited.

Microsoft Purview Updates for Fabric: Securing Data for AI

🔒 Microsoft announced Purview innovations for Fabric at FabCon to unify discovery, protection, and governance across Azure, Microsoft 365, and Microsoft Fabric. New generally available controls include Information Protection policies for Fabric items, DLP for structured data in OneLake, and Insider Risk Management for Fabric. Preview features add DSPM data risk assessments and enhanced Copilot controls, while the Unified Catalog gains finer metadata, tagging, and data‑quality workflows to improve discoverability and trust.

FinWise Bank warns of insider data breach affecting 689K

🔒 FinWise Bank notified customers that a former employee accessed customer data after their employment ended, with the incident occurring on May 31, 2024 and discovered on June 18, 2025. The breach affected 689,000 FinWise and American First Finance (AFF) customers, and the bank confirmed that customers' full names were exposed. FinWise engaged external cybersecurity experts, offered 12 months of free credit monitoring and identity-theft protection, and advised customers to place fraud alerts or security freezes and to monitor credit reports and account statements.

LNER Customer Data Exposed in Supplier Security Breach

🔒 LNER has alerted customers after a security breach at a third-party supplier exposed traveller contact details and some historical journey information. The operator says no banking, payment or password data were accessed and that ticketing and timetable systems were not impacted. LNER is urging passengers to be cautious of unsolicited communications and potential phishing attempts. The company has engaged the supplier and cybersecurity experts to investigate and strengthen safeguards.

ICO: Students Cause Majority of UK School Data Breaches

🔒 The ICO analyzed 215 insider personal data breach reports from the UK education sector between January 2022 and August 2024 and found students were responsible for 57% of incidents. Around 30% of breaches involved stolen login credentials, with students accounting for 97% of those attacks by guessing weak passwords or using credentials found on paper. The report highlights cases where pupils used freely available tools to break into school systems and access or alter thousands of records. The ICO urges parents, schools and the wider industry to channel curiosity into legitimate cyber careers and strengthen basic protections.

Wyden Urges FTC Probe of Microsoft After Ascension Hack

🛡️ US Senator Ron Wyden has asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Microsoft following the 2024 ransomware attack on healthcare operator Ascension, which exposed data for 5.6 million patients after a contractor clicked a malicious Bing search result. Wyden says default Microsoft settings and support for the outdated RC4 standard enabled a Kerberoasting technique that granted administrative access. He notes Microsoft was warned in July 2024 and posted a blog in October announcing a planned update, but nearly a year later no update has been issued nor direct customer outreach made. The letter frames Microsoft’s control over default configurations as a systemic national security risk.

AI-Powered Browsers: Security and Privacy Risks in 2026

🔒 An AI-integrated browser embeds large multimodal models into standard web browsers, allowing agents to view pages and perform actions—opening links, filling forms, downloading files—directly on a user’s device. This enables faster, context-aware automation and access to subscription or blocked content, but raises substantial privacy and security risks, including data exfiltration, prompt-injection and malware delivery. Users should demand features like per-site AI controls, choice of local models, explicit confirmation for sensitive actions, and OS-level file restrictions, though no browser currently implements all these protections.

Senator Wyden Urges FTC Probe into Microsoft's Security

🚨 Senator Ron Wyden has asked the FTC to investigate Microsoft for what he calls "gross cybersecurity negligence," arguing insecure defaults enabled widespread ransomware attacks. He cites the February 2024 Ascension Health breach that exposed 5.6 million patient records and describes how a single click enabled lateral movement via Kerberoasting and lingering RC4 support. Wyden criticizes Microsoft for building a >$20 billion security business of add-on protections while leaving core products vulnerable and says promised fixes and plain-language guidance were inadequate. The letter warns this pattern poses national-security and industry-wide risks.

Three French Regional Healthcare Agencies Hit by Attack

🔒 Three French regional healthcare agencies (ARS) have reported similar cyber-attacks that exposed patients’ personal data held on regional systems. Preliminary investigations, announced on September 8, indicate attackers gained access by impersonating healthcare professionals and used those accounts to reach GRADeS-managed services such as Normand'e-Santé. Reported exposed PII includes full names, ages, phone numbers and email addresses, while the agencies say no clinical health records appear to have been compromised. Compromised accounts were disabled, additional protections deployed, potentially affected patients will be notified and incidents have been reported to CNIL.

LNER Supply-Chain Breach Exposes Customer Contact Data

🔒 LNER has disclosed that an unauthorized third party accessed customer contact details and historical journey information via a compromised third-party supplier. No bank, payment card or password information was affected, the operator said, but warned that the data could be used in follow-on attacks. Security professionals advised customers to be cautious of unsolicited communications and recommended organisations strengthen third‑party data controls and identity protections.

The Gentlemen ransomware targets OT-heavy industries

🔒 A newly observed ransomware group, The Gentlemen, has rapidly expanded operations across Asia Pacific, South America, the US and the Middle East since first being identified in August. Trend Micro reports the group leverages legitimate drivers, GPO abuse and custom tooling to disable endpoint security and move laterally. Victims span manufacturing, construction, healthcare and insurance, and defenders are urged to adopt zero-trust, behavioral EDR/XDR and rigorous segmentation.

Lovesac Discloses Customer Data Breach Linked to RansomHub

🔒 Lovesac has informed customers that an unauthorized actor accessed its systems between February 12 and March 3, 2025, copying certain files after the company detected suspicious activity at the end of February. The intrusion aligns with a March claim by RansomHub, which said it had stolen roughly 40 GB of data; the ransomware group's extortion portal later went offline in April. Lovesac says it has found no confirmed misuse of the stolen information, but is notifying affected customers, offering 24 months of complimentary credit monitoring through Experian (enrollment required and open until November 28, 2025), and urging vigilance for signs of identity theft and fraud.

Kosovo Hacker Pleads Guilty to Running BlackDB Market

🔒 Kosovo national Liridon Masurica has pleaded guilty to operating the cybercrime marketplace BlackDB.cc, which the Justice Department says sold compromised accounts, server credentials, stolen credit cards, and PII since 2018. Masurica was arrested in Kosovo in December 2024, extradited to the United States in May 2025, and is detained following a court appearance in Tampa. He faces federal charges that include five counts of fraudulent use of unauthorized access devices and a conspiracy count, carrying up to 55 years in prison. The FBI coordinated the investigation with Kosovo law enforcement and international partners.