Latest cybersecurity reporting from selected sources.

Nation-state attackers breach water systems through weak passwords, exposed PLCs, and poor segmentation — not sophisticated malware.

Ukraine’s SSU and the FBI Just Confirmed Russian Intelligence Has Been Systematically Hacking Messenger Accounts for Years. The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), working jointly with the FBI, has formally exposed a sustained Russian intelligence campaign targeting the messaging accounts of government officials, military personnel, politicians, and activists across Ukraine, Europe, and the United States. […]

A Russian-speaking initial access broker (IAB) driven by financial gain is assessed to be behind a large-scale credential-harvesting operation known as FortiBleed that has targeted over 430,000 FortiGate firewalls globally

Also: Zcash Patches Flaw, $32M Humanity Protocol HackThis week, a key player in a $97M laundering scheme got prison time, Humanity Protocol suffered $32M in losses, Zcash patched a flaw, the EU targeted crypto platforms tied to Russia, authorities froze $3.8M in illicit funds and researchers exposed a Trezor chip weakness.

Also: US' Multi-Million Dollar Scam Funds SeizureIran exchange leak raises sanctions risks, $580M frozen in scam crackdown, $61M romance scam funds seized, feds seek $327K in dating scam case, Russia exploit broker sanctioned, South Korean wallet recovery phrase exposure and arrest in custody bitcoin theft, Axiom data misuse and Uniswap lawsuit ends.

Off-the-shelf tools helped Russian-speaking cybercrime group run riot Cybercriminals armed with off-the-shelf generative AI tools compromised more than 600 internet-exposed FortiGate firewalls across 55 countries in just over a month, according to a new incident report from AWS.…

PLUS: Fake ransomware group exposed; EC blesses Google's big Wiz deal; Alleged sewage hacker cuffed; And more Infosec in Brief The former General Manager of defense contractor L3Harris’s cyber subsidiary Trenchant sold eight zero-day exploit kits to Russia, according to a court filing last week.…

The pro-Russian hacktivist group known as CyberVolk (aka GLORIAMIST) has resurfaced with a new ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) offering called VolkLocker that suffers from implementation lapses in test artifacts, allowing users to decrypt files without paying an extortion fee

Pro-Russia hacktivist groups have been observed exploiting exposed virtual network computing connections to breach OT systems

Russian Intel Hackers Flexible in Face of DetectionRussia-linked threat group COLDRIVER rapidly replaced its exposed malware with a stealthier PowerShell variant, using fake CAPTCHA prompts and cryptographic key-splitting to evade detection and escalate surveillance on NGOs, dissidents and policy experts, according to new research.

The Russia-backed threat actor's latest cyber spying campaign is a classic example of how quickly sophisticated hacking groups can pivot when exposed.

Also: Ukrainian Hackers Find Evidence of Russian Child AbductionThis week, a Chinese duo arrested in Los Angeles for illegal artificial intelligence chip exports back to China, France extradited an accused Nigerian hacker, Ukraine hacked Crimean servers, Florida prison email leak, Tea App clone exposed users’ IDs.

Also, Crypter Takedown, Threat Intel Naming Accord and Regulators Ping CrowdStrikeThis week, Ukraine hacked Tupelov, Russian hacking, crypter sites seized and the U.S. will seize North Korean IT worker crypto. Regulators probed CrowdStrike. A Rosetta Stone for intel. A Romanian man admitted to swatting, Lee Enterprises hack exposed data and an FBI vet joined the private sector.

The U.S. government today unsealed criminal charges against 16 individuals accused of operating and selling DanaBot, a prolific strain of information-stealing malware that has been sold on Russian cybercrime forums since 2018. The FBI says a newer version of DanaBot was used for espionage, and that many of the defendants exposed their real-life identities after accidentally infecting their own systems with the malware.

Leaked chat logs have exposed connections between the BlackBasta ransomware group and Russian authorities, according to new analysis by Trellix

Also, Alleged Gravy Analytics Breach Exposes Location DataThis week, a Russian tanker linked to cable sabotage detained in Finland, a claimed Gravy Analytics breach exposed location data, a Mirai-based botnet exploited zero-day flaws, Dell updated framework flaws and a court sentenced a Florida woman for laundering millions in romance scams.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU or SSU) has exposed a novel espionage campaign suspected to be orchestrated by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) that involves recruiting Ukrainian minors for criminal activities under the guise of "quest games." Law enforcement officials said that it detained two FSB agent groups following a special operation in Kharkiv. These groups, per the agency,

Ransomware criminals believed to have taken orders from intel services The relationship between infamous cybercrime outfit Evil Corp and the Russian state is thought to be extraordinarily close, so close that intelligence officials allegedly ordered the criminals to carry out cyberattacks on NATO members.…

The UK has sanctioned 16 members of the notorious Russian hacking group Evil Corp, exposing their links to the prolific LockBit ransomware group

Also: US Fingers Russian GRU Hackers; Ohio City Sues ResearcherThis week, YubiKey 5 has a flaw, an Ohio city sued a researcher, the Irish regulator ended its GrokAI case, open-source AI tools exposed data, Starlink blocked X in Brazil, FCC banned Kaspersky, Intel addressed a researcher's claim, and Transport of London is still affected by a cyber incident.