A hacker known as Martha Root broke in and deleted three white supremacists websites at the end of a talk during the annual hacker conference Chaos Communication Congress in Germany.

New: The European Commission is “very seriously” looking into taking action against the social media platform X following an incident in which its artificial intelligence tool Grok was used to create sexually explicit images of a minor, a commission spokesperson confirmed on Monday.

UL, company overseeing FCC's Cyber Trust Mark IoT labeling program, has withdrawn amid an FCC probe into UL's China ties: www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/fcc-cyb... Could be a big setback for the program, a Biden admin priority. I previewed this in Sept: www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/fcc-cyb...

Ilya Lichtenstein was supposed to serve five years after being sentenced in late 2024. via @timstarks.bsky.social cyberscoop.com/bitfinex-hac...

OpenAI is warning that prompt injection, a technique that hides malicious instructions inside ordinary online content, is becoming a central security risk for AI agents designed to operate inside a web browser and carry out tasks for users. cyberscoop.com/openai-chatg...

The three Iranians had only just been added to the list in 2024, but a U.S. official said they had separated themselves from the company. cyberscoop.com/treasury-rem...

Scoop: The lone employee behind CISA's Pre-Ransomware Notification Initiative resigned on Friday rather than take a forced reassignment to FEMA. CISA says PRNI will continue, but sources said David Stern's loss will be a major setback for it. My story: www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/cisa-ra...

Amazon blocks 1,800 job applications from suspected North Korean agents www.bbc.com/news/article...

Took a deep dive into the main cyber angle of the Venezuela conflict in today’s National Security Daily: www.politico.com/newsletters/...

CBS didn't run the 60 Minutes segment on CECOT, but over here at @propublica.org we've been working on the story since March, including finding out who each and every man sent to that maximum security prison was. You can see our reporting here: www.propublica.org/series/depor...

S'all good. 'Chinese researchers show how 1 word could allow spies to take control of a robot army' via @scmpnews.bsky.social 'could see disruptive behaviour spread from one machine to another and cause widespread chaos...' www.scmp.com/news/china/s... #cybersecurity #technology @gate15.bsky.social

Ukrainian national pleads guilty to Nefilim ransomware attacks @cyberscoop.bsky.social by @mattkapko.com cyberscoop.com/nefilim-rans...

The commission is asking whether nonconsensual deepfake porn should be classified under U.S. law as harassment, blackmail or sending obscene material to minors. via @derekbjohnson.bsky.social cyberscoop.com/us-sentencin...

Acting CISA director failed a polygraph. Career staff are now under investigation. www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

Senate Intel chair urges national cyber director to safeguard against open-source software threats cyberscoop.com/tom-cotton-o...

A Russian national was also indicted for running the platform. via @gregotto.bsky.social cyberscoop.com/michigan-e-n...

ISACA has assumed responsibility as Cybersecurity Assessor and Instructor Certification Organization, and will work to scale the number of third-party CMMC assessors to meet a rising demand. @defensescoop.bsky.social by @mikaylaeasley.bsky.social defensescoop.com/2025/12/17/c...

Belarusian KGB put spyware on phones of detained journalist. Growing list of cases where authoritarian regimes use detention to implant spyware on phones: 🦠Belarus 🦠Kenya 🦠Serbia And likely plenty more. Important investigation & reminder that dictators don't always need zero-days.

Just reposted a bunch of @fedscoop.bsky.social stories from today and yesterday cuz they all are cyber-y. (And good.)

The Trump administration launched a new governmentwide hiring program Monday aimed at filling technology hiring gaps in federal agencies with workers who will serve in two-year stints. via @madialder.bsky.social & @mirandanazzaro.bsky.social fedscoop.com/opm-launches...

It’s Groundhog Day for the SAMOSA Act, which cleared the lower chamber Monday and now waits for the Senate to take it up before this congressional term ends. via @mattbracken.bsky.social fedscoop.com/samosa-act-p...

The TMF's expiration underscores Congress's vital role in enabling the Technology Modernization Fund’s survival. fedscoop.com/technology-m...

Gene Dodaro, who is set to retire from the watchdog at the end of this month, shared final concerns with senators Tuesday about how the government is prioritizing cybersecurity. fedscoop.com/cisa-workfor...

Coupang, aka "Asia's Amazon," filed its data breach 8-K; blames a former employee who "may have obtained the name, phone number, delivery address, and email address associated with up to 33 million customer accounts, and certain order histories for a subset of the impacted accounts." From Dec. 1:

Russian hacktivists hacked and tried to alter the water levels in a public fountain in the Netherlands Dutch military security service MIVD described the hack as "the first Russian sabotage attack in the Netherlands." www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/r...

Ah, CISA 2015 cyberscoop.com/congress-cyb...

In my rush to get out today's Metacurity early, I completely dropped the ball on this big OT development. Venezuela Says Oil Export System Down After Weekend Cyberattack www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

While many in the legal community report positive use cases for the tech, AI-driven disinformation and deepfakes are causing havoc in courtrooms. via @derekbjohnson.bsky.social cyberscoop.com/ai-deepfakes...

The federal government contractor admits it made multiple mistakes in the hiring and firing of Muneeb and Sohaib Akhter. via @mattkapko.com cyberscoop.com/opexus-backg...

So much for that

Hey everybody @lindseywilkinson.bsky.social has joined the FedScoop team (and Bluesky)! Give her a follow

NEW: A flaw in the website of Hama Film, a photo booth maker with presence in Australia, UAE and the U.S., exposes pictures and videos of its customers. Security researcher alerted the company last month, no answer. We reached out to the company a few times, no answer.

Peters, one of many election deniers Trump has sought to shield from legal consequences, is serving a nine-year state prison sentence that can’t be nullified by a presidential pardon. via @derekbjohnson.bsky.social cyberscoop.com/trump-moves-...

NEW, by me: Home Depot exposed access to its internal systems for a year after an employee posted a private GitHub token online, likely by mistake. When a security researcher found it and tried to alert Home Depot, he was ignored. I alerted the company, which revoked access, but wouldn't comment!

NEW: Right-wing messaging app Freedom Chat had security flaws that allowed a researcher to guess all numbers registered on the platform, and one that exposed user PINs to other users. The researcher enumerated around 2,000 phone numbers. techcrunch.com/2025/12/11/s...

EXCLUSIVE: The Trump administration has changed its mind about who will be the new No. 2 at the National Security Agency, amid internal White House opposition to the pick and attacks from far-right conservatives. Only on @therecordmedia.bsky.social therecord.media/announced-ns...

This extends to the remote employment fraud phenomenon. Entire sectors that at best might’ve been a convenient place to drop some cryptominers or served as a vector toward a cryptojacking victim for DPRK in the past are now prime targets for a fake IT worker to quiet quit their way into a few grand.

Absolutely chilling read (as a disinformation researcher): The systematic crackdown on disinformation scholars, newsrooms, factcheckers and NGO’s. All in the name of so-called free speech. By @jamesrball.com @theverge.com www.theverge.com/features/839...

Cybersecurity insurer Coalition said it will start covering certain incidents where AI and deepfakes lead to reputational harm. via @derekbjohnson.bsky.social cyberscoop.com/url-coalitio...

Victoria Dubranova faces charges tied to her alleged role in two groups backed by the Russian government. via @gregotto.bsky.social cyberscoop.com/us-charges-r...

Sanctioned Russian banks and a sanctioned Chinese Communist Party-controlled company in Xinjiang are among those that have had apps on Apple or Google stores, a repeating problem with vetting, new research shows. Gift article from the marketing folks. wapo.st/48MDenM

Can we stop having most big hacker conferences in the U.S. please, as only people who support Trump publicly will be allowed into the country from overseas.

UK finally vows to look at 35-year-old Computer Misuse Act

Take it for what it's worth from WH official, says it's "false" CISA nom is unlikely to advance: "President Trump has been clear that he wants all of his nominees confirmed as quickly as possible, including Sean Plankey, who will play a key role in ensuring a strong cyber defense infrastructure."

Khashoggi widow files complaint in France saying Saudis hacked her phone therecord.media/khashoggi-wi...

An article that perhaps got lost in the shuffle - on record interviews with senior Dutch intelligence officials where they lament the firing of fmr NSA director Tim Haugh and reveal they are being more careful sharing intel with US partners volkskrant.nl/binnenland/n...

Questions have swirled about what the administration's Taiwan policy will look like, as the White House pushes for an "America First" diplomatic approach. via @brandivincent.bsky.social defensescoop.com/2025/12/05/t...

In 2021, the FTC issued a ban on stalkerware-maker Spyfone and its CEO, Scott Zuckerman. Earlier this year, Zuckerman requested that the ban be vacated because it's inconvenient for him. The FTC has voted 2-0 to deny his request. Good. www.ftc.gov/news-events/...

Fascinating tale of cyber-related intrigue.