Latest cybersecurity reporting from selected sources.

Cybersecurity researchers have flagged a new malware artifact generated using DeepSeek that constructed a novel attack path combining "unrealistic browser-malware concepts with a real browser capability" to turn it into a working ransomware technique that runs entirely inside the browser on both Windows and Android devices

Also, More ShinyHunters Breaches, North Korea Laptop Farm Operator SentencedThis week, Finland's Aleksanteri Kivimäki sentenced. ShinyHunters breaches. Laptop farm rancher sentenced. Oregon state agency hacker sentenced. African scammers arrested. MuddyWater AI-assisted hacks. Advantest ransomware incident, SolarWinds and Microsoft patches. FileZen flaw. QualDerm breach.

A malicious extension with basic ransomware capabilities seemingly created with the help of AI, has been published on Microsoft's official VS Code marketplace. [...]

Threat researchers discovered the first AI-powered ransomware, called PromptLock, that uses Lua scripts to steal and encrypt data on Windows, macOS, and Linux systems. [...]

Also, AI Video Mocking Trump and Musk Disrupts HUD OfficesThis week, a U.S. Army soldier pleaded guilty, an AI video displayed to federal workers mocked Donald Trump and Elon Musk, a Saudi firm hit by ransomware, a new North Korean scam, hackers targeted Ukrainian notaries, CISA flagged two flaws, a botnet targeted Microsoft 365 and unpatched Ivanti VPNs.

Also: VPN Vulnerabilities Attract Hackers, Hackers Use Swiss Mail to Send MalwareThis week, Russia suspected in Balctic Sea cable sabotage, VPNs draw ransomware attackers and Swiss snail mail malware. An AI training company reported a cybertheft of $250,000 and a U.S. space firm reported a breach. Microsoft said it will pay $$$ for AI vulnerabilities and a MFA success story.

Secure Future Initiative needed in wake of tech evolution and unrelenting ransomware criminality Microsoft has made fresh commitments to harden the security of its software and cloud services after a year in which numerous members of the global infosec community criticized the company's tech defenses.…

WormGPT, a private new chatbot service advertised as a way to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help write malicious software without all the pesky prohibitions on such activity enforced by ChatGPT and Google Bard, has started adding restrictions on how the service can be used. Faced with customers trying to use WormGPT to create ransomware and phishing scams, the 23-year-old Portuguese programmer who created the project now says his service is slowly morphing into “a more controlled environment.” The large language models (LLMs) made by ChatGPT parent OpenAI or Google or Microsoft all have various safety measures designed to prevent people from abusing them for nefarious purposes — such as creating malware or hate speech. In contrast, WormGPT has promoted itself as a new LLM that was created specifically for cybercrime activities.

It's not all doom and gloom because ML also amplifies defensive efforts, probably Bots like ChatGPT may not be able to pull off the next big Microsoft server worm or Colonial Pipeline ransomware super-infection but they may help criminal gangs and nation-state hackers develop some attacks against IT, according to Rob Joyce, director of the NSA's Cybersecurity Directorate.…