Latest cybersecurity reporting from selected sources.

Encrypted messaging app warns device-level checks could be repurposed for censorship

Researchers are warning that the VECT 2.0 ransomware has a problem in the way it handles encryption nonces that leads to permanently destroying larger files rather than encrypt them. [...]

Threat hunters are warning that the cybercriminal operation known as VECT 2.0 acts more like a wiper than a ransomware due to a critical flaw in its encryption implementation across Windows, Linux, and ESXi variants that renders recovery impossible even for the threat actors

‘Q-Day’ and the cybersecurity problems it brings could come as early as 2029 as Google accelerates its post-quantum cryptography migration

The FBI has issued a public service announcement warning that Russian intelligence-linked threat actors are actively targeting users of encrypted messaging apps such as Signal and WhatsApp in phishing campaigns that have already compromised thousands of accounts. [...]

An attack on the company’s AWS platform may have exposed customers' names and home addresses Exclusive ELECQ, maker of smart electric vehicle (EV) chargers, is warning customers that their personal details may have been stolen in a ransomware attack that encrypted and copied user data from its cloud systems.…

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.

Attackers sidestep encryption with spoofed apps and zero-click exploits to compromise 'high-value' mobile users CISA has warned that state-backed snoops and cyber-mercenaries are actively abusing commercial spyware to break into Signal and WhatsApp accounts, hijack devices, and quietly rummage through the phones of what the agency calls "high-value" users.…

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered two Android spyware campaigns dubbed ProSpy and ToSpy that impersonate apps like Signal and ToTok to target users in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.)

Microsoft warns that a threat actor tracked as Storm-0501 has evolved its operations, shifting away from encrypting devices with ransomware to focusing on cloud-based encryption, data theft, and extortion. [...]

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is warning major U.S. tech companies against yielding to foreign government demands that weaken data security, compromise encryption, or impose censorship on their platforms. [...]

Music tastes, location information, even encrypted messages — Apple's servers are gathering a "surprising" amount of personal data through Apple Intelligence, Lumia Security's Yoav Magid warns in his new analysis.

Though the app claims to use end-to-end encryption, hackers have reportedly accessed archived data on the app's servers via a new vulnerability.

Also: Gootloader Malware, GCHQ Intern Pleads Guilty, Check Point Breach UpdateThis week, a "Fast Flux" warning, Gootloader malware, an GCHQ intern pleaded guilty to stealing top secret data and Check Point undercuts hacking claim. Also, Google rolled out end-to-end encryption for some Gmail users, Apple backported patches and Dutch prosecutors cut internet access.

Ransomware doesn’t hit all at once—it slowly floods your defenses in stages. Like a ship subsumed with water, the attack starts quietly, below the surface, with subtle warning signs that are easy to miss. By the time encryption starts, it’s too late to stop the flood.  Each stage of a ransomware attack offers a small window to detect and stop the threat before it’s too late. The problem is

Computing Giant Warns Against Future Decryption of Secure CommunicationsGoogle adopted quantum-safe digital signatures for its cloud environment designed to help users combat the next phase of adversarial attacks. The announcement from the company comes days after Microsoft unveiled its latest quantum chip. NIST formalized the algorithms in August 2024.

A controversial proposal put forth by the European Union to scan users' private messages for detection of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) poses severe risks to end-to-end encryption (E2EE), warned Meredith Whittaker, president of the Signal Foundation, which maintains the privacy-focused messaging service of the same name

Large Mortgage Lender's Customers Say the Online Payment Portable Is InaccessibleNon-bank mortgage lending giant LoanDepot is warning customers and investors that hackers have infiltrated its network, gained unauthorized access to information and encrypted data, leading to it taking numerous systems offline while it probes the attack.

EFF warns incoming rules may return web 'to the dark ages of 2011' Lawmakers in Europe are expected to adopt digital identity rules that civil society groups say will make the internet less secure and open up citizens to online surveillance.…

Microsoft warned customers this week of incorrect BitLocker drive encryption errors being shown in some managed Windows environments. [...]