Latest cybersecurity reporting from selected sources.

Also: Potential Fallout From HIPAA Rule Delay, AI Identity Governance ChallengesIn this week's panel, four ISMG editors discussed the rise of artificial intelligence-powered phishing toolkits, potential fallout from the U.S. government's decision to delay a major overhaul of the HIPAA Security Rule and what security leaders see as the defining AI security challenges of 2026.

Governments Have Long Warned About Kremlin Social Engineering HacksSignal is defending the security of its systems following a series of phishing attacks that took place on the encrypted messaging platform, and that reportedly compromised members of the German government including the president of the country's parliament.

Government Agencies Targeted With Infostealers and Cryptomining MalwareA fake police alert is the social engineering cornerstone of an ongoing phishing campaign targeting Ukrainian government agencies, warn security researchers. They're tracking a surge in malicious SVG file attachments, in this case leading to information-stealing and cryptocurrency-mining malware.

Russian SVR Targeting Government, Academia, Defense Organizations GloballyA Russian-state hacking group is posing as Microsoft employees and sending malicious configuration files as email attachments to target organizations across the world. The campaign has the hallmarks of a Midnight Blizzard phishing campaign although its use of an RDP configuration file is novel.

Departments of Justice, Treasury and State Take Action Against Iranian Cyber ActorsThe U.S. federal government instigated a full court press against four alleged Iranian state hackers, unsealing a multi-count criminal indictment, slapping the men with Treasury sanctions and offering a reward of up to $10 million for their capture.

Departments of Justice, Treasury and State Take Action Against Iranian Cyber ActorsThe U.S. federal government instigated a full court press against four alleged Iranian state hackers, unsealing a multi-count criminal indictment, slapping the men with Treasury sanctions and offering a reward of up to $10 million for their capture.

Survey: SMBs, Charities Mostly Targeted With Phishing, Online Impersonation in 2023Cybercriminals launched 7.78 million attacks against U.K. businesses and nearly 1 million against charity organizations, according to the latest U.K. government survey report. But fewer than half of those firms reported the incidents to authorities, something researchers say is a concerning trend.

Escalation of Cyberespionage Likely Tied to Upcoming European ElectionsGerman federal agencies warned that phishing attacks targeting political parties surged ahead of upcoming European Union elections. The government did not attribute the attacks to a specific country but confirmed that they are tied to a nation-state group.

Also: Bitcoin Fog; EU's Sanctions Violation LawThis week, amounts for crypto and phishing losses were released, the Bitcoin Fog operator was convicted, the EU approved rules to strengthen sanctions, the federal government sought to recover losses linked to pig butchering, and the Philippines blocked unlicensed crypto websites.

Both Governments Sanction 2 'Star Blizzard' Hackers; US Indicts ThemThe U.K. government accused Russia's domestic intelligence agency of running a yearslong campaign to interfere in British politics. U.S. federal prosecutors unsealed a criminal indictment against two FSB agents, accursing them of phishing campaigns against national security government employees.