Latest cybersecurity reporting from selected sources.

Healthcare Hit Shows Symbols Matter as Iran Shifts Focus to Economic DamageCybersecurity experts say that the Handala "hacktivist" group that claimed credit for attacks against two American firms on Wednesday is run by the Iranian government. The shift to destructive cyberattacks parallels Iran's attempt to inflict greater economic damage on the United States and allies.

Meanwhile, IP-stealing 'distillation attacks' on the rise A Chinese government hacking group that has been sanctioned for targeting America's critical infrastructure used Google's AI chatbot, Gemini, to auto-analyze vulnerabilities and plan cyberattacks against US organizations, the company says.…

Also: Palo Alto Networks' Strategy Pivot; Massive Change Healthcare CyberattackIn the latest weekly update, ISMG editors discussed the cyberattack that's sending shock waves through the U.S. healthcare sector, Palo Alto's strategic pivot and its far-reaching implications for the industry, and new developments in tech and journalism at Information Security Media Group.

Experts Speculate About Whether the Hack Involved the ScreenConnect Flaw ExploitPharmacies at U.S. military hospitals and clinics worldwide are among the entities affected by the cyberattack on Optum's Change Healthcare this week, which has forced the IT services company to take many of its applications offline. Change Healthcare disconnected its IT systems on Wednesday.

China has accused the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) of conducting a string of cyberattacks aimed at aeronautical and military research-oriented Northwestern Polytechnical University in the city of Xi'an in June 2022