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
- February 21, 2025
- February 21, 2025
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
- February 21, 2025
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
- February 21, 2025
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
- February 21, 2025
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
- February 21, 2025
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
- February 21, 2025
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
- February 21, 2025
Cisco Confirms Salt Typhoon Exploited CVE-2018-0171 to Target U.S. Telecom Networks
Cisco has confirmed that a Chinese threat actor known as Salt Typhoon gained access by likely abusing a known security flaw tracked as CVE-2018-0171, and by obtaining legitimate victim login credentials as part of a targeted campaign aimed at major U.S. telecommunications companies. “The threat actor then demonstrated their ability to persist in target environments […]
Cyber News
- February 21, 2025
CISA Flags Craft CMS Vulnerability CVE-2025-23209 Amid Active Attacks
A high-severity security flaw impacting the Craft content management system (CMS) has been added by the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation. The vulnerability in question is CVE-2025-23209 (CVSS score: 8.1), which impacts Craft CMS versions 4 and 5. It was […]
Cyber News