Cyber Defense Advisors

Month: February 2025

Bybit Confirms Record-Breaking $1.5 Billion Crypto Heist in Sophisticated Cold Wallet Attack

Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit on Friday revealed that a “sophisticated” attack led to the theft of over $1.5 billion worth of cryptocurrency from one of its Ethereum cold (offline) wallets, making it the largest ever single crypto heist in history. “The incident occurred when our ETH multisig cold wallet executed a transfer to our warm wallet. […]

Cyber News

OpenAI Bans Accounts Misusing ChatGPT for Surveillance and Influence Campaigns

OpenAI on Friday revealed that it banned a set of accounts that used its ChatGPT tool to develop a suspected artificial intelligence (AI)-powered surveillance tool. The social media listening tool is said to likely originate from China and is powered by one of Meta’s Llama models, with the accounts in question using the AI company’s […]

Cyber News

Friday Squid Blogging: New Squid Fossil

A 450-million-year-old squid fossil was dug up in upstate New York. Blog moderation policy.  

Cyber News

Apple Drops iCloud’s Advanced Data Protection in the U.K. Amid Encryption Backdoor Demands

Apple is removing its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) feature for iCloud from the United Kingdom with immediate effect following government demands for backdoor access to encrypted user data. The development was first reported by Bloomberg. ADP for iCloud is an optional setting that ensures that users’ trusted devices retain sole access to the encryption keys […]

Cyber News

Data Leak Exposes TopSec’s Role in China’s Censorship-as-a-Service Operations

An analysis of a data leak from a Chinese cybersecurity company TopSec has revealed that it likely offers censorship-as-a-service solutions to prospective customers, including a state-owned enterprise in the country. Founded in 1995, TopSec ostensibly offers services such as Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) and vulnerability scanning. But it’s also providing “boutique” solutions in order 

Cyber News

Implementing Cryptography in AI Systems

Interesting research: “How to Securely Implement Cryptography in Deep Neural Networks.” Abstract: The wide adoption of deep neural networks (DNNs) raises the question of how can we equip them with a desired cryptographic functionality (e.g, to decrypt an encrypted input, to verify that this input is authorized, or to hide a secure watermark in the […]

Cyber News

Cybercriminals Can Now Clone Any Brand’s Site in Minutes Using Darcula PhaaS v3

The threat actors behind the Darcula phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) platform appear to be readying a new version that allows prospective customers and cyber crooks to clone any brand’s legitimate website and create a phishing version, further bringing down the technical expertise required to pull off phishing attacks at scale. The latest iteration of the phishing suite […]

Cyber News

Webinar: Learn How to Identify High-Risk Identity Gaps and Slash Security Debt in 2025

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, weak identity security isn’t just a flaw—it’s a major risk that can expose your business to breaches and costly downtime. Many organizations are overwhelmed by an excess of user identities and aging systems, making them vulnerable to attacks. Without a strategic plan, these security gaps can quickly turn into […]

Cyber News

AI-Powered Deception is a Menace to Our Societies

Wherever there’s been conflict in the world, propaganda has never been far away. Travel back in time to 515 BC and read the Behistun Inscription, an autobiography by Persian King Darius that discusses his rise to power. More recently, see how different newspapers report on wars, where it’s said, ‘The first casualty is the truth.’  […]

Cyber News