Latest cybersecurity reporting from selected sources.

Is the Vulnerability Exposed and Easily Exploitable?Not all supply chain vulnerabilities are alike. Between the exploding volume of new CVEs and the number of actual mass attacks, there lies a sweet spot of just dozens of vulnerabilities to quickly patch to head off risk. No company is able to address every new vulnerability.

ManuSec Canada Speakers From Subaru and Toronto Transit Discuss Cyber ResilienceCanadian manufacturers face rising cyber risk as IT and OT systems converge. Leaders from Subaru Canada and the Toronto Transit Commission outline how ransomware, supply chain exposure and legacy OT vulnerabilities demand stronger resilience, segmentation and incident response readiness.

Hacked Infrastructure Delivered Chinese Nation-State Group's Backdoor, Experts WarnThe widely used, open source text-editing software Notepad++ for Windows said attackers exploited a vulnerability to redirect some users to sites that pushed a backdoor onto their system. Security experts have tied the attack to a broader campaign perpetrated by Chinese nation-state actors.

Full Scope of Clop Ransomware Group's Oracle E-Business Suite Hits Still EmergingThe University of Phoenix is notifying 3.5 million individuals that their personal information was compromised in a data breach. The theft traces to the Clop ransomware group's supply-chain campaign against users of Oracle E-Business Suite, in which it wield two zero-day vulnerabilities.

NCSC Chief Says Recent Retailer Hacks Should Be 'Wake-Up Call' for Cyber DefendersThe number of cyberattacks in the United Kingdom surged 50% in the past year, with ransomware continuing to be the top threat. National Cyber Security Centre CEO Richard Horne said recent high-profile hacks at major retailers exposed supply chain vulnerabilities and are a "wake-up call" to defenders.

Persistent Security's Marcus Vervier on Microsoft Flaws, Pitfalls of AI CodingA newly discovered vulnerability present in Microsoft's Copilot and Visual Studio has brought a fresh batch of concerns around the security of artificial intelligence-powered coding tools to the forefront. It has the potential to turn AI models into a new attack vector.

Program Director Mike Eftimakis on How to Fix 70% of Memory Safety IssuesA U.K. government-backed, hardware-based security initiative is tackling one of the biggest cybersecurity challenges - memory safety - and hopes to address about 70% of existing vulnerabilities, said Mike Eftimakis, founding director of Capability Hardware Enhanced RISC Instructions Alliance.

Pharmaceutical companies typically have more mature cyber programs than other healthcare factions, but these firms also face unique risks involving their large attack surfaces, complex manufacturing, supply chains and sensitive intellectual property, said Joshua Mullen of Booz Allen Hamilton.

Government Says Managed Service Providers Need More RegulationThe British government pledged to introduce stricter rules surrounding incident reporting and supply chain vulnerability patching through legislation it previewed in July 2024. The proposed Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will bring under its scope managed service providers.

Code of Practice for Software Vendors Sets Baseline Security ExpectationsA British government proposal to strengthen software supply chain security received positive feedback from vendors who said voluntary best practices could strengthen cyber defenses. The guidelines suggest requiring multifactor authentication for developers and timely vulnerability patching.

Trump's Procurement Tracking Directive Could Expose Vast Government Data to ThreatsThe White House is mandating federal agencies to track and justify every procurement, a move aimed at transparency but one that experts warn could expose troves of sensitive financial data to hacking, nation-state cyber threats and potential supply chain vulnerabilities across government systems.

Deal Targets Open Source Library Risks in Software Supply Chain, Boosts DevSecOpsThe integration of Tidelift into Sonar's ecosystem will enhance software supply chain security by leveraging human-verified insights from maintainers of popular open source libraries. Developers can expect comprehensive tools to address vulnerabilities in first-party, AI-generated, and third-party code.

Act Imposes Mandatory Patching for IoT DevicesThe European Council adopted Thursday security-by-design regulation that makes patching and vulnerability updates mandatory for connected devices. The regulation will ensure that "products with digital components are made secure throughout the supply chain and throughout their lifecycle."

DHS Calls for Public-Private Collaboration on Critical Infrastructure SecurityCritical infrastructure sectors face many potentially disruptive threats such as supply chain vulnerabilities and the growing dependency on space-based systems. But the top cyberthreats facing the U.S. are the People's Republic of China and emerging risks associated with AI and quantum computing.

Guidance Is First Step to Global Standard, Says Minister for AIThe U.K. government released voluntary guidance intended to help artificial intelligence developers and vendors protect models from hacking and potential sabotage. Companies should strengthen supply chain security and decrease risks from vulnerable AI systems to customers, such as data loss.

Deserialization Vulnerability Allows for Remote Code ExecutionA high-risk flaw in R statistics programming language could lead to a supply chain hack, warn security researchers who say they uncovered a deserialization flaw. Security researchers have long known that hackers sneak malicious code into serialized data.