Security News

From Quantum to AI Risks: Preparing for Cybersecurity's Future

As 2026 begins, these journalists urge the cybersecurity industry to prioritize patching vulnerabilities, preparing for quantum threats, and refining AI applications, in the latest edition of Reporters' Notebook.

ThreatsDay Bulletin: New RCEs, Darknet Busts, Kernel Bugs & 25+ More Stories

This week’s updates show how small changes can create real problems. Not loud incidents, but quiet shifts that are easy to miss until they add up. The kind that affects systems people rely on every day. Many of the stories point to the same trend: familiar tools being used in unexpected ways. Security controls are being worked on. Trusted platforms turning into weak spots. What looks routine on

ISC Stormcast For Thursday, January 29th, 2026 https://isc.sans.edu/podcastdetail/9786, (Thu, Jan 29th)

Survey of 100+ Energy Systems Reveals Critical OT Cybersecurity Gaps

A study by OMICRON has revealed widespread cybersecurity gaps in the operational technology (OT) networks of substations, power plants, and control centers worldwide. Drawing on data from more than 100 installations, the analysis highlights recurring technical, organizational, and functional issues that leave critical energy infrastructure vulnerable to cyber threats. The findings are based on

3 Decisions CISOs Need to Make to Prevent Downtime Risk in 2026

Beyond the direct impact of cyberattacks, enterprises suffer from a secondary but potentially even more costly risk: operational downtime, any amount of which translates into very real damage. That’s why for CISOs, it’s key to prioritize decisions that reduce dwell time and protect their company from risk.  Three strategic steps you can take this year for better results: 1. Focus on today's

SolarWinds Fixes Four Critical Web Help Desk Flaws With Unauthenticated RCE and Auth Bypass

SolarWinds has released security updates to address multiple security vulnerabilities impacting SolarWinds Web Help Desk, including four critical vulnerabilities that could result in authentication bypass and remote code execution (RCE). The list of vulnerabilities is as follows - CVE-2025-40536 (CVSS score: 8.1) - A security control bypass vulnerability that could allow an unauthenticated

Google Disrupts IPIDEA — One of the World’s Largest Residential Proxy Networks

Google on Wednesday announced that it worked together with other partners to disrupt IPIDEA, which it described as one of the largest residential proxy networks in the world. To that end, the company said it took legal action to take down dozens of domains used to control devices and proxy traffic through them. As of writing, IPIDEA's website ("www.ipidea.io") is no longer accessible. It

How Can CISOs Respond to Ransomware Getting More Violent?

Ransomware defense requires focusing on business resilience. This means patching issues promptly, improving user education, and deploying multi-factor authentication.

Months After Patch, WinRAR Bug Poised to Hit SMBs Hardest

Russian and Chinese nation-state attackers are exploiting a months-old WinRAR vulnerability, despite a patch that came out last July.

Fortinet Confirms New Zero-Day Behind Malicious SSO Logins

To stop the ongoing attacks, the cybersecurity vendor took the drastic step of temporarily disabling FortiCloud single sign-on (SSO) authentication for all devices.

Consumers Reluctant to Shop at Stores That Don't Take Security Seriously

The retail sector must adapt as consumers become more cybersecurity-conscious. Increased attack transparency is a good place to start.

Fake Moltbot AI Coding Assistant on VS Code Marketplace Drops Malware

Cybersecurity researchers have flagged a new malicious Microsoft Visual Studio Code (VS Code) extension for Moltbot (formerly Clawdbot) on the official Extension Marketplace that claims to be a free artificial intelligence (AI) coding assistant, but stealthily drops a malicious payload on compromised hosts. The extension, named "ClawdBot Agent - AI Coding Assistant" ("clawdbot.clawdbot-agent")

China-Backed 'PeckBirdy' Takes Flight for Cross-Platform Attacks

In two separate campaigns, attackers used the JScript C2 framework to target Chinese gambling websites and Asian government entities with new backdoors.

Russian ELECTRUM Tied to December 2025 Cyber Attack on Polish Power Grid

The "coordinated" cyber attack targeting multiple sites across the Polish power grid has been attributed with medium confidence to a Russian state-sponsored hacking crew known as ELECTRUM. Operational technology (OT) cybersecurity company Dragos, in a new intelligence brief published Tuesday, described the late December 2025 activity as the first major cyber attack targeting distributed energy

Odd WebLogic Request. Possible CVE-2026-21962 Exploit Attempt or AI Slop?, (Wed, Jan 28th)

I was looking for possible exploitation of CVE-2026-21962, a recently patched WebLogic vulnerability. While looking for related exploit attempts in our data, I came across the following request:

Critical vm2 Node.js Flaw Allows Sandbox Escape and Arbitrary Code Execution

A critical sandbox escape vulnerability has been disclosed in the popular vm2 Node.js library that, if successfully exploited, could allow attackers to run arbitrary code on the underlying operating system. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-22709, carries a CVSS score of 9.8 out of 10.0 on the CVSS scoring system. "In vm2 for version 3.10.0, Promise.prototype.then Promise.prototype.catch

Surging Cyberattacks Boost Latin America to Riskiest Region

The region is up against tactics like data-leak extortion, credential-stealing campaigns, edge-device exploitation, and attackers leveraging AI.

Two High-Severity n8n Flaws Allow Authenticated Remote Code Execution

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed two new security flaws in the n8n workflow automation platform, including a crucial vulnerability that could result in remote code execution. The weaknesses, discovered by the JFrog Security Research team, are listed below - CVE-2026-1470 (CVSS score: 9.9) - An eval injection vulnerability that could allow an authenticated user to bypass the Expression

From Triage to Threat Hunts: How AI Accelerates SecOps

If you work in security operations, the concept of the AI SOC agent is likely familiar. Early narratives promised total autonomy. Vendors seized on the idea of the "Autonomous SOC" and suggested a future where algorithms replaced analysts. That future has not arrived. We have not seen mass layoffs or empty security operations centers. We have instead seen the emergence of a practical reality.

Mustang Panda Deploys Updated COOLCLIENT Backdoor in Government Cyber Attacks

Threat actors with ties to China have been observed using an updated version of a backdoor called COOLCLIENT in cyber espionage attacks in 2025 to facilitate comprehensive data theft from infected endpoints. The activity has been attributed to Mustang Panda (aka Earth Preta, Fireant, HoneyMyte, Polaris, and Twill Typhoon) with the intrusions primarily directed against government entities located