Latest Internet & Cybersecurity News
IBM 2026 X-Force Threat Index: AI-Driven Attacks Escalating
IBM's 2026 X-Force report reveals a 44% rise in attacks exploiting public-facing apps due to missing authentication, accelerated by AI tools for vulnerability discovery. Ransomware groups surged 49% YoY, with manufacturing hit hardest at 27.7% of incidents and North America most targeted at 29%. Supply chain compromises nearly quadrupled since 2020.
Conduent Data Breach Affects Over 25 Million People
A ransomware attack on U.S. government contractor Conduent exposed names, SSNs, addresses, health insurance, and medical data for at least 25 million, mainly in Oregon and Texas. The January 2025 breach notification expanded recently, billed as one of the largest ever, though smaller than Change Healthcare's 190M impact.
Conduent has provided limited details and obscured incident notices online.
Group-IB: Supply Chain Attacks Top Global Cyber Threat
Group-IB's 2026 High-Tech Crime Trends Report highlights supply chain attacks via vendors, open-source, SaaS, and extensions as the dominant threat, enabling mass downstream compromises. In META region, phishing targeted internet (52%), finance (28%), and logistics, with over 200 corporate accesses sold by brokers fueling ransomware and espionage.
Attackers industrialize compromises for scale and stealth across ecosystems.
Sophos 2026 Report: Identity Primary Attack Vector
Sophos Active Adversary Report shows 67% of intrusions start with compromised credentials; ransomware deploys nights/weekends, exploiting firewall flaws like SonicWall CVE. Attackers reach Active Directory in 3h24m median, faster than prior year; outdated servers worsen visibility gaps.
Leaders urged to bolster 24/7 ops, patch edges, and secure AD.
Ransomware and Extortion Groups Surge 49% YoY
IBM X-Force notes active ransomware/extortion groups up 49%, with victim disclosures rising 12%; vulnerability exploitation now leads at 40% of 2025 incidents. Techniques blur between nation-states and financial actors via forums and AI reconnaissance.
North Korean schemes use AI for synthetic identities and global ops.
Firewall Vulnerabilities High-Impact Entry Point
Sophos reports attackers repeatedly exploit SonicWall SonicOS CVE-2024-40766 and misconfigs; 67% of CVE-start incidents involved this flaw. Edge devices remain weak; timely patching and hardening essential.
Outdated Windows Servers (13% EOL) create blind spots for rapid attacks.
Phishing and IABs Fuel META Supply Chain Attacks
Group-IB identifies phishing as gateway in META, hitting 80%+ on internet/finance; 200+ META accesses sold by Initial Access Brokers for ransomware/espo. Cases include open-source poisoning, malicious extensions, OAuth abuse.
Actors like Lazarus, Scattered Spider active in chains.
Common Good Cyber Fund Awards Grants to Nonprofits
ISOC Foundation launches grants: Access Now ($400K) for helpline; CyberPeace ($300K) for builders program aiding 150+ at-risk groups; Shadowserver ($400K) for scans/remediation in 175 countries. ISRG gets support for Let's Encrypt securing 1B sites by 2026.
Builds resilient nonprofit cybersecurity ecosystem.
359 Cyberattacks Reported Across 66 Countries Last Week
Hackmanac logs 359 attacks week of Feb 18-24, 2026; NoName057(16) most active with 45 claims. Highlights ongoing global DDoS and disruption campaigns.
Manufacturing Tops Cyber Targets for Fifth Year
IBM X-Force: Manufacturing hit in 27.7% incidents, data theft prevalent; basic gaps like credential hygiene persist per pen tests. AI speeds attacker research and paths.
Regionally, North America leads at 29% cases.