Cybersecurity Brief – 2026-03-18

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Major Incidents or Breaches

UK Companies House disclosed a vulnerability that exposed details of millions of firms, which could have been exploited to obtain sensitive company information and alter official records.
Robotic surgery manufacturer Intuitive confirmed a cyberattack after an employee fell victim to a phishing scheme, resulting in unauthorised access to internal business applications.
GlassWorm malware resurfaced in a supply-chain attack targeting over 400 code repositories and packages on GitHub, npm, VSCode, and OpenVSX, impacting the software supply chain.
Sears exposed AI chatbot phone calls and text chats to the public web, allowing access to customer conversations containing contact information and personal details.
LeakNet ransomware adopted the ClickFix technique via compromised websites for initial access and deployed a Deno-based in-memory loader, increasing stealth in attacks.
The RondoDox botnet escalated its activity, targeting 174 vulnerabilities with up to 15,000 exploitation attempts per day.
A phishing attack targeted cybersecurity firm Outpost24, using trusted brands and domains in an attempt to compromise C-suite credentials; the attack was unsuccessful.

Newly Discovered Vulnerabilities

Apple released its first Background Security Improvements update to patch a WebKit vulnerability (CVE-2026-20643) affecting iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, which enabled same-origin policy bypass.
A critical unpatched vulnerability (CVE-2026-32746) in the GNU InetUtils telnet daemon (telnetd) allows unauthenticated remote code execution as root via port 23.
Multiple AI platforms, including Amazon Bedrock, LangSmith, and SGLang, were found vulnerable to data exfiltration and remote code execution attacks using DNS queries.
CISA flagged the year-old Wing FTP vulnerability (CVE-2025-47813) as actively exploited, which can disclose the full local installation path of the application.
A new font-rendering attack was identified that hides malicious commands from AI tools by embedding them in HTML, evading detection by AI-based security solutions.

Notable Threat Actor Activity

North Korean threat actor group Konni was observed deploying EndRAT through phishing campaigns and leveraging the KakaoTalk desktop app to propagate malware to victims’ contacts.
LeakNet ransomware group is now using ClickFix for social engineering and Deno runtime for in-memory malware loading, enhancing stealth and evasion.
The Warlock ransomware group demonstrated augmented post-exploitation activities, including a new Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD) technique and advanced cross-network movement.
Attackers are increasingly using IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses to obfuscate attack origins, as noted in recent web scanning activity.

Trends, Tools, or Tactics of Interest

Attackers are shifting from traditional intrusion methods to credential theft, with increased use of infostealer malware and AI-enabled social engineering, leading to more incidents of attackers “logging in, not breaking in.”
Ransomware actors are moving away from Cobalt Strike in favour of native Windows tools due to declining ransom payment rates and a surge in data theft.
Akamai reported a convergence of Layer 7 DDoS, API abuse, and AI-powered attacks into highly coordinated, multi-vector campaigns that are more challenging to detect and mitigate.
Integrated Cloud Email Security (ICES) is highlighted as a recommended solution for modern email threats, as attackers continue to evolve phishing techniques.
SEO poisoning is being used to lure users searching for VPNs into downloading malicious software that steals corporate login credentials.
AI security remains a concern: studies indicate most CISOs are relying on outdated tools and skills to secure AI systems, and 90% of surveyed users do not trust AI with their data.
Use of in-memory loaders and open-source runtimes (such as Deno) is increasing in ransomware deployment for stealthier attacks.
Supply chain threats continue to target open-source repositories and extensions, as evidenced by the GlassWorm campaign.
Google is implementing stricter controls on Android apps abusing accessibility features to combat mobile malware.
A new tactic was observed where malicious commands are hidden from AI-based detection tools using font-rendering tricks in HTML.

Regulatory or Policy Developments

The European Union Council imposed sanctions on three entities and two individuals from China and Iran for involvement in cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure.
Major tech companies including Anthropic, AWS, Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI have collectively invested $12.5 million in the Linux Foundation for open source security initiatives.
Google, Meta, and Microsoft are among the signatories of a new industry pact to combat online scams and fraud.

LeakNet on DanSec Daily

Cybersecurity Brief – 2026-03-18

Major Incidents or Breaches

Newly Discovered Vulnerabilities

Notable Threat Actor Activity

Trends, Tools, or Tactics of Interest

Regulatory or Policy Developments