Cybersecurity Brief – 2025-05-16
Major Incidents or Breaches
- Coinbase Data Breach: Coinbase disclosed a breach affecting approximately 1% of its users. Cybercriminals bribed customer support agents to steal customer data, including government-issued IDs. Attackers attempted to extort $20 million, but the attempt failed.
- Nova Scotia Power Data Breach: Nova Scotia Power confirmed a cyberattack resulting in the theft of sensitive customer data.
- Steel Manufacturer Cyber Incident: Nucor, a major steelmaker, halted operations due to a cyber incident. Details on the nature and scope of the breach remain undisclosed.
- Breachforums Settlement: The former administrator of Breachforums agreed to pay nearly $700,000 to settle a civil lawsuit related to a healthcare data breach.
Newly Discovered Vulnerabilities
- Google Chrome Zero-Day: Google patched a high-severity Chrome vulnerability (with a public exploit in the wild) that enables cross-origin data leaks via Loader Referrer Policy. Emergency updates have been released.
- Samsung MagicInfo Server (CVE-2025-4632): Threat actors are actively exploiting a patch bypass for a previously disclosed vulnerability in Samsung MagicInfo 9 Server.
- SAP NetWeaver (CVE-2025-31324): Ongoing exploitation of a critical SAP NetWeaver vulnerability is being observed. Administrators are urged to patch immediately.
- Windows 10 KB5058379 Update Issue: The latest Windows 10 update is triggering unexpected BitLocker recovery prompts on some devices after installation.
Notable Threat Actor Activity
- APT28 Cyber Espionage: Russia-linked APT28 exploited a zero-day in MDaemon and other webmail servers (Roundcube, Horde, Zimbra) via XSS vulnerabilities in a global campaign (“RoundPress”) targeting government organizations.
- Malicious npm Package: Researchers identified a malicious npm package (“os-info-checker-es6”) using Unicode steganography to hide its payload and Google Calendar links as command-and-control infrastructure.
Trends, Tools, or Tactics of Interest
- Industrial Automation Threats: Kaspersky ICS CERT reported a continued high threat landscape for industrial automation systems in Q1 2025, with increased targeting of critical infrastructure and persistent OT security gaps.
- Ransomware Evolution: Ransomware actors are leveraging legitimate IT tools and increasingly sophisticated tactics to evade detection and disrupt business continuity.
- AI-Driven Voice Deepfakes: The FBI warned of ongoing voice phishing attacks against US officials using AI-generated audio deepfakes since April.
- Anonymity Tools: Tor released Oniux, a command-line tool enabling any Linux application to route network traffic through the Tor network for enhanced anonymity.
- Penetration Testing Practices: Industry discussion highlights the inadequacy of compliance-only penetration testing, emphasizing the need for continuous and adaptive security assessments.
- Pwn2Own Berlin 2025: Security researchers demonstrated successful zero-day exploits against Windows 11, Red Hat Linux, Docker Desktop, and Oracle VirtualBox on the first day, earning $260,000 in rewards.
Regulatory or Policy Developments
- Meta AI Data Use Controversy: Meta plans to use E.U. user data for AI training without explicit consent from May 27. The Austrian privacy group noyb has issued a cease-and-desist letter and is threatening a class action lawsuit if Meta proceeds.
- Critical Infrastructure Security Warnings: Federal agencies continue to warn that OT security in critical infrastructure remains inadequate amid persistent and sophisticated cyber threats.
Artificial Intelligence Developments
- OpenAI ChatGPT Integrations: Leaks confirm upcoming integration of Model Context Protocol (MCP), enabling ChatGPT to connect with third-party services. Additionally, a new feature will allow ChatGPT to record, transcribe, and summarize meetings, potentially increasing exposure of sensitive business communications.