Latest cybersecurity reporting from selected sources.

Chinese-Linked Malware Campaign Targets Critical Environments With Weak MonitoringU.S. and Canadian cyber authorities say Chinese state-backed actors used a backdoor dubbed BRICKSTORM to maintain long-term access into critical infrastructure, exploiting VMware environments to exfiltrate credentials and evade detection through encrypted covert channels.

New Investigatory Powers Act Request Reportedly Transmitted in SeptemberThe U.K. Home Office reportedly again ordered Apple to give it backdoor access to an encrypted cloud service after backing down in August from a similar demand made earlier this year. The order comes after a similar attempt by the Home Office in January.

US director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, stated that her government persuaded the UK to withdraw its controversial demand

Tulsi Gabbard Takes Credit After Apparent British Reversal of Backdoor RequestU.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced the United Kingdom has apparently reversed course on a demand for Apple to provide the government with a backdoor into its advanced iCloud encrypted protections following growing criticism from U.S. lawmakers and privacy advocates.

The U.K. government has apparently abandoned its plans to force Apple to weaken encryption protections and include a backdoor that would have enabled access to the protected data of U.S. citizens

Tulsi Gabbard boasts Washington forced Blighty to drop iPhone encryption fight The UK government has reportedly abandoned its attempt to strong-arm Apple into weakening iPhone encryption after the White House forced Blighty into a quiet climb-down.…

Malware isn’t just trying to hide anymore—it’s trying to belong. We’re seeing code that talks like us, logs like us, even documents itself like a helpful teammate. Some threats now look more like developer tools than exploits. Others borrow trust from open-source platforms, or quietly build themselves out of AI-written snippets. It’s not just about being malicious—it’s about being believable.

Cybersecurity researchers have flagged three malicious npm packages that are designed to target the Apple macOS version of Cursor, a popular artificial intelligence (AI)-powered source code editor

Independent Tribunal Rules That at Least 'Bare Details' of Case Can Be Made PublicThe British government has lost its bid to maintain "absolute" secrecy over its attempt to compel Apple to provide backdoor access to users' encrypted data, ruled Britain's independent Investigatory Powers Tribunal. Whether any further details will get released publicly remains unclear.

ProtectEU plan wants to have its cake and eat it too The EU has issued its plans to keep the continent's denizens secure and among the pages of bureaucratese are a few worrying sections that indicate the political union wants to backdoor encryption by 2026, or even sooner.…

A first-of-its-kind legal challenge set to be heard this month, per reports Apple has reportedly filed a legal complaint with the UK's Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) contesting the UK government's order that it must forcibly break the encryption of iCloud data.…

Privacy-focused email provider Tuta (previously Tutanota) and the VPN Trust Initiative (VTI) are raising concerns over proposed laws in France set to backdoor encrypted messaging systems and restrict internet access. [...]

Swedish Prime Minister Proposed Fast-Tracking Bill to Surveil MinorsA proposal by the Swedish prime minister to fast track legislation allowing police to surveil minors could cause end-to-end encrypted chat app Signal to leave the country. The government in effect is asking for backdoor access, said Signal President Meredith Whittaker.

Meredith Whittaker, Signal's CEO, has threatened to pull the company out of Sweden if a proposed government bill requiring encryption backdoors becomes law

PLUS: SEC launches new crypto crime unit; Phishing toolkit upgraded; and more Infosec in brief Apple has responded to the UK government's demand for access to its customers’ data stored in iCloud by deciding to turn off its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) end-to-end encryption service for UK users.…

US Technology Giant Reportedly Received UK Government Demand for Global BackdoorAmidst the ever-rising tide of cyberattacks and data breaches, Apple is deactivating a key data security feature for all U.K. users, rather than accede to a reported demand from the British government that the technology giant give it on-demand backdoor access to any user's data in the world.

Apple is removing its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) feature for iCloud from the United Kingdom with immediate effect following government demands for backdoor access to encrypted user data

Apple will no longer offer iCloud end-to-end encryption in the United Kingdom after the government requested a backdoor to access Apple customers' encrypted cloud data. [...]

Blighty’s latest stab at encryption? A secret order to pry open iCloud, sources claim The UK's Home Office refuses to either confirm or deny reports that it recently ordered Apple to create a backdoor allowing the government to access any user's cloud data.…

Secret Order Seeks to Compel Apple to Weaken Encryption, Washington Post ReportsThe British government has unexpectedly reignited the long-running encryption debate, reportedly issuing a secret order to Apple requiring that it provide direct access to global users' fully encrypted cloud backups and prohibited the technology giant from alerting any targeted accountholders.