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Lawmakers seek watchdog review of federal hacking of Americans

Sen. Wyden and Rep. Casar asked the GAO to review the federal government's use of spyware and hacking tools against Americans.

Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Greg Casar sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office requesting a review of federal law enforcement hacking operations, including spyware use, Rule 41 hacking powers, and acquisition of hacking tools. The letter cites ICE's confirmed work with spyware vendor Paragon and concerns about abuse of invasive surveillance capabilities. The lawmakers note the government publishes no annual reports on hacking operations unlike wiretaps.

CyberScoop · 26d agoPolicy & legal

Lawmakers call for investigation into impact of CISA staffing cuts

Democratic lawmakers asked the GAO to investigate how CISA's roughly one-third workforce reduction affects its mission and critical-infrastructure protection.

Democratic lawmakers led by House Homeland Security ranking member Bennie Thompson asked the Government Accountability Office to examine how recent staffing cuts at CISA affect its ability to protect critical infrastructure and respond to cyber and physical threats. Nearly 1,000 CISA employees have been fired or quit since the Trump administration began, and acting director Nick Andersen plans to hire 300. The letter also flags the FY2027 budget proposal to eliminate nearly 900 additional positions and cut more than $700 million from the agency. CISA has had no confirmed director since Jen Easterly departed, and GAO confirmed it received the request.

The Record · 26d agoPolicy & legal

AI is exposing a security structure built for yesterday’s threats

EY's Jeffrey Sallet argues AI-driven deepfakes and impersonation require integrating cybersecurity, physical security, HR and legal functions.

The opinion piece contends AI-powered impersonation, deepfakes and automated social engineering cross digital, physical and operational boundaries that siloed security programs cannot cover. It cites an EY survey of 250 corporate leaders where only 12% feel most prepared to detect a targeted physical attack, and describes transnational groups using deepfakes and stolen identities to bypass virtual HR hiring loops. The author urges unified cross-functional verification pipelines and shared threat intelligence between CISOs and chief security officers.

CSO Online · 1d agoIndustry

SpyCloud 2026 Identity Threat Report Finds Non-Human Identities Are Now the Leading Path into the Enterprise

SpyCloud survey of 750 security leaders finds compromised non-human identities are the top enterprise entry point, yet only 36% monitor them.

The 2026 Identity Threat Report surveyed 750 cybersecurity leaders at organizations with 500+ employees across North America and Europe. Compromised non-human identities (31%) were the most cited primary attacker entry point, nearly double phishing (17%), while only 36% of organizations monitor AI agents, service accounts and API keys. 68% of respondents reported identity-based events, averaging eight each, and 91% use AI tools but only 56% have formal governance over their privileges.

GBHackers · 7d agoResearch 2 sources

SpyCloud 2026 Identity Threat Report Finds Non-Human Identities Are Now the Leading Path into the Enterprise

SpyCloud's 2026 survey of 750 security leaders finds compromised non-human identities are the top enterprise entry point, yet only 36% monitor them.

SpyCloud's Identity Threat Report, based on a survey of 750 cybersecurity leaders at organizations with 500+ employees, found compromised non-human identities (31%) were nearly twice as likely as phishing (17%) to be the primary attacker entry point. 68% of organizations reported identity-based events averaging eight each, while 95% believe they have visibility into AI and NHI exposures but only 36% actually monitor them. The report also found 91% use AI tools with internal access but only 56% have formal governance, and introduces an Identity Threat Protection Maturity Model.

CSO Online · 7d agoIndustry

2026 Cyber Insurance Trends Report: What's Changed and What You Need to Know

Huntress survey: CIRCIA reporting mandates now live, BEC claims exceed ransomware, exfiltration-heavy attacks cost twice as much, premiums rising.

Huntress's 2026 cyber insurance trends report, based on its own survey, finds 79% of respondents carry cyber insurance while 58% report shrinking coverage over five years. New CIRCIA federal reporting mandates and EU NIS2 requirements are reshaping policies, business email compromise now drives more claims than ransomware, and data exfiltration has replaced encryption as the dominant ransomware tactic at roughly twice the cost. After three years of declining premiums, rates are climbing again, and most businesses now refuse to pay ransoms.

Huntress · 15d agoIndustry1

Risky Bulletin: White House lets private companies carry out offensive cyber ops

A White House memo directs DHS to create a program letting vetted private companies conduct US-government-directed offensive cyber operations against cybercrime.

A presidential memo tasks the DHS National Coordination Center with building a program, under DOJ and DHS oversight, through which private-sector companies can conduct offensive cyber operations against large-scale cybercrime organizations. Requirements include secure facilities, vetted personnel, a $1 million escrow for damages, and written approvals co-signed by DHS and DOJ executive directors. The program must launch within 60 days, around October 11, expanding a March executive order targeting scam compounds, ransomware, and other large-scale cybercrime.

Risky Business News · Aug 14, 2026Policy & legal

Countering misuse of AI: September 2026 / Anthropic

Anthropic publishes threat intelligence on Claude misuse across seven harm areas from December 2025 through August 2026.

Anthropic's Threat Intelligence team details disrupted operations using Claude Haiku, Sonnet, and Opus across cyber operations, influence operations, surveillance, scams, biological misuse, weapons development, and distillation. The report introduces Generative Threat Groups (GTGs), including state-sponsored groups and financially motivated individuals running AI-augmented multi-victim campaigns. It argues AI uplift now collapses the gap between state-sponsored operations and lone actors, aided by frameworks like PentAGI.

Lobsters · securityupdated · 13h agofirst · 5d agoAI safety & security 19 sources1

Clearview AI Is Testing an AI Tool That Would Let Cops Unearth Your Life Online

Clearview AI is prototyping InquiryIQ, an AI analyst assistant that would automatically profile individuals identified through its face-recognition searches for police.

WIRED uncovered InquiryIQ, an unreleased Clearview AI prototype described as an AI analyst assistant that fans out across the web from a face-recognition search result to assemble profiles including employers, aliases, associates, and physical characteristics. The company tested a model from xAI (merged with SpaceX), maker of Grok, and the interface accepts age, gender, and race inputs to guide searches. Clearview says the prototype was never pitched or shipped to customers and no law enforcement user has used it; the database has grown to over 70 billion images used by more than 2,000 law enforcement agencies.

WIRED · Security · 6d agoAI industry1

ICE Wants to Know Everyone Who Bought a Certain Green Beanie From REI in the Last 2 Years

DHS subpoenaed REI for all Minneapolis-area customers who bought a specific green beanie since 2024, part of an investigation into 39 ICE protest defendants.

Court filings allege Homeland Security Investigations agents subpoenaed REI in March for transaction records of all persons in the greater Minneapolis–St. Paul area who purchased a specific dark green beanie since 2024. The subpoena was one of 92 sent in a federal case against 39 people, including journalists, who attended an ICE protest at a church. Companies responded differently: T-Mobile handed over six months of a defendant's call and text logs, Google refused a request for YouTube viewers, Reddit withdrew after a First Amendment objection, and Meta pushed back on at least one summons. The 1509 customs summonses require no judicial oversight, and the total number issued under the Trump administration is unknown.

WIRED · Security · 12d agoPolicy & legal

U.S. Sanctions Iran-Linked Hackers Behind Critical Infrastructure Breaches

U.S. Treasury sanctioned nearly 60 Iran-linked entities, including MOIS-affiliated Mabna Institute hackers behind breaches of U.S. critical infrastructure and millions in crypto theft.

The U.S. Treasury launched Operation Economic Outcast, designating nearly 60 Iran-linked entities, individuals, and vessels across nuclear, missile, oil, cyber, and digital asset networks. Five sanctioned individuals are members of the Tehran-based Mabna Institute indicted last week; three allegedly breached and exfiltrated data from U.S. energy, defense, healthcare, IT, and financial organizations since late 2023. TRM Labs traced roughly $16.8 million across 30 wallets tied to the members, and the State Department announced a reward of up to $10 million. The action follows Iranian hacking of FBI Director Kash Patel's email and attacks on over 30 U.S. water and wastewater utilities.

The Hacker News · 22d agoPolicy & legal in the wild

Severity Is Not a Strategy: What CISA BOD 26-04 Means for the Future of Federal Software Security

CISA's BOD 26-04 replaces severity-based federal patching with risk-based remediation deadlines of 3, 14, or 60 days.

CISA's Binding Operational Directive 26-04, released June 10, 2026, replaces BOD 19-02 and BOD 22-01 for Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies and shifts remediation prioritization from CVSS scores to risk context. Agencies assess four factors: public exposure, KEV listing, exploit automatability, and whether exploitation grants partial or total asset control, resulting in 3-, 14-, or 60-day remediation windows or next-upgrade fixes. In CISA's first review at a large civilian agency, only 1% of vulnerabilities required three-day remediation while over 60% could wait for future system upgrades. The directive also requires forensic analysis when exploitation is suspected, and Checkmarx argues the same risk-based logic must extend upstream into software development and SBOM-driven exposure management.

Checkmarx · 7d agoPolicy & legal

NHIs Now the Number One Corporate Entry Point for Hackers

SpyCloud survey finds non-human identities like AI agents and API keys were the primary entry point in 31% of intrusions, nearly double phishing.

SpyCloud's Identity Threat Report, based on a survey of 750 security leaders at organizations with 500+ employees, found non-human identities caused 31% of intrusions versus 17% for social engineering. Only 36% of organizations actually monitor NHIs although 95% believe they have adequate visibility into them. Some 68% of respondents suffered an identity-based event, with NHI-related misuse at 42%, and organizations able to see stolen session cookies reported identity incidents at a lower rate (37% vs 50%).

Infosecurity Magazine · 7d agoResearch in the wild

Trump may be forced to reveal secret rules feds use for AI safety testing

Protect Democracy sued four federal agencies to force disclosure of the administration's secret framework for frontier AI safety reviews.

Nonprofit Protect Democracy sued four federal agencies, including the Office of the National Cyber Director, OSTP, Treasury and Commerce, seeking disclosure of the secret voluntary framework used for pre-release safety reviews of frontier AI models. The complaint demands the framework text, participant identities and selection criteria by September 30, alleging OpenAI negotiated a private agreement limiting distribution of its cutting-edge models to government-vetted partners. The suit follows the launch of the GOLD EAGLE clearinghouse and the completion of the review framework on August 3, with California Senator Josh Becker supporting the request while the state considers the SB 813 bill for transparent AI safety standards.

Ars Technica · AI · 14d agoAI policy

Members of ‘Black Axe’ cybercriminal group extradited from South Africa

Five Black Axe members extradited from South Africa face US wire fraud and money laundering charges over romance scams defrauding more than 100 victims.

Perry Osagiede, Franklyn Edosa Osagiede, Osariemen Eric Clement, Collins Owhofasa Otughwor and Musa Mudashiru, leaders of Black Axe's Cape Town branch, were extradited September 11 and appear before a federal judge in Trenton, New Jersey under a 2021 indictment. They ran romance scams from 2011 to 2021 that stole thousands of dollars from over 100 people, threatening to leak sensitive photos and laundering proceeds through South African companies; some funds also traced to business email compromise. Wire fraud and money laundering charges each carry up to 20 years. Treasury estimates $12.7 billion stolen from Americans since 2023 via overseas romance and investment scams.

The Recordupdated · 1d agofirst · 2d agoPolicy & legal 3 sources

In most cities, nobody owns the whole network

Former Waco CIO argues cellular-connected water controllers sit outside scanned networks, and accountability plus operating-budget funding—not technology—block segmentation.

Writing as Waco, Texas's former CIO, the author describes July water-sector intrusions that CISA linked to over 100 compromised systems, typically controllers on public cellular links absent from asset lists. The FBI and EPA reported incidents at utilities in at least seven states since July 27, and a Clayton County, Georgia pump station failure triggered a boil-water advisory. He argues accountability and funding—using mechanisms like the Texas Water Development Board's new cybersecurity scoring criteria—are the binding constraints, citing Waco's 43-day segmentation of five treatment plants with operating funds.

CyberScoop · 8d agoIndustry in the wild

Retail theft bill spurs ‘very large and very dangerous’ surveillance fears

The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act advances toward Senate attachment to the defense bill, drawing ACLU warnings of expanded ICE surveillance powers.

The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA) passed the House 348-60 in June, and Senate supporters including Chuck Grassley are pushing to attach it to the annual defense policy bill. The bill would create an Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center within ICE's Homeland Security Investigations, add criminal penalties for laundering stolen-goods proceeds with a $5,000 charging threshold, and broaden data sharing with retailers. The ACLU, NAACP LDF, and allied groups warn the vaguely drafted provisions would effectively grant DHS access to retail surveillance feeds such as cameras and license plate readers, while industry backers say it only enhances existing information sharing and could help fight cyber-enabled crime.

CyberScoop · 27d agoPolicy & legal1

Feds accuse China of ‘systematic’ distillation of U.S. AI models

NSA, CISA, and FBI jointly accuse Chinese AI firms including DeepSeek and Moonshot AI of industrial-scale distillation of US frontier models.

A joint advisory from the NSA, CISA, and FBI alleges China-based AI companies including DeepSeek, Moonshot AI, Alibaba, MiniMax, StepFun, and Z.AI have systematically extracted capabilities from US frontier models since at least late 2024. The companies allegedly spent billions of tokens across millions of requests against Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok, routing traffic through multiple accounts, platforms, proxies, and third-party aggregators to evade detection. Moonshot AI allegedly distilled 18 US models, including Anthropic's most advanced model, to train its Kimi-K2 and Kimi K3 models.

CyberScoop · 8d agoAI policy

AI is making fraud harder to spot and identity harder to prove

Experian's 2026 report finds AI-generated scams, deepfakes and synthetic identities spreading across digital channels, pushing businesses toward adaptive identity verification and 'Know Your Agent' checks.

Experian's 2026 US Identity & Fraud Report, based on consumer and business surveys, found 60% of consumers aware of AI-generated image/video scams, 53% of AI phishing, and 47% of deepfake voice impersonation. 80% of US businesses already use machine learning or generative AI in fraud management, while AI chatbot account openings rose from 16% in 2025 to 27%. The report highlights adaptive authentication, behavioral biometrics, and emerging 'Know Your Agent' controls as AI agents begin acting on behalf of customers.

Help Net Security · 28d agoPhishing & fraud

Suno replaces its AI models with a new one trained on licensed music as copyright suits pile up

Suno launched its v6 model family trained on licensed music from Warner, BMG and Believe as copyright lawsuits from Sony and Universal continue.

Suno unveiled a new model family — Suno v6, experimental v6 wild, and faster v6 mini — trained on licensed data from Warner Music Group, BMG and Believe, and plans to retire older models. New capabilities include prompt-based song editing, use of text/images/video as references, and instrument separation, plus a planned opt-in artist remix program. Suno settled with Warner last year and BMG last month, but still faces suits from Sony, Universal Music Group and artists like Jason Isbell, and has raised over $819 million to date.

TechCrunch · AI · 7d agoModel release

UK account-hack losses surge as new reporting system exposes hidden cases

UK reported account-hack losses rose 417% to £6.3M in 2025-26, largely because the new Report Fraud system is capturing previously hidden cases.

The City of London Police's first annual assessment reported £6.3 million in losses from hacked accounts in the year ending March 31, up from £1.2 million, with victims rising from 226 to 2,325. The surge coincides with the January launch of Report Fraud, which replaced Action Fraud; 92% of account-hack reports with financial loss were recorded in the second half of the year. Cyber-dependent crime reports rose 34% to 64,608 while ransomware reports fell 25% to 323, which police warn may reflect underreporting.

The Record · 12d agoPolicy & legal