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You don’t have to join the hack-back program to inherit its risk
A new US presidential memorandum creates a vetted private hack-back program, leaving participating vendors and their customers with untested legal liability and collateral risks.
The August 12 National Security Presidential Memorandum directs the National Coordination Center, run jointly by DOJ and DHS, to approve covert surveillance and disruptive Cyber Effects Operations by vetted private companies, with a forfeitable bond of at least $1 million required as a contract condition. The analysis argues the criminal shield rests on an untested reading of the CFAA exemption at 18 U.S.C. 1030(f), with no civil safe harbor, no state-law preemption and no foreign-law protection. Non-participating organizations can still inherit risk through shared infrastructure collateral damage, lack of customer disclosure, Lloyd's bulletin Y5381 state-backed attack exclusions, and threat-intelligence pipelines feeding offensive proposals.
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Skullcandy Dime 3 Bluetooth Flaw Lets Nearby Attackers Hijack Audio and Spy Through Microphone
Skullcandy Dime 3 earbuds on firmware 1.0.0.28 accept unauthenticated Bluetooth pairing via Airoha SDK flaw CVE-2025-20701, enabling audio hijack and microphone capture.
CERT/CC vulnerability note VU#859658 describes insecure Bluetooth Classic (BR/EDR) pairing on Skullcandy Dime 3 (model S2DCW) firmware 1.0.0.28, linked to CVE-2025-20701 in the Airoha Bluetooth audio SDK. The NoInputNoOutput I/O capability lets unknown nearby devices pair without pairing mode, PIN, passkey or user interaction, then bond and automatically reconnect. An attacker can hijack the A2DP audio session and access Hands-Free or Headset profiles to capture live microphone audio. Firmware 1.0.0.30 reportedly fixes the flaw, but the earbuds cannot be updated through the Skullcandy app, leaving current users without a consumer-accessible patch path.
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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.
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Srsly Risky Biz: Trump's Private Hacker Memo Is the Right Idea
A Trump presidential memo directs DHS to authorize vetted private-sector hackers to conduct cyber operations against foreign cybercriminal groups (CE-TCOs).
A presidential memorandum directs the Department of Homeland Security to establish a program authorizing private companies to conduct cyber surveillance and cyber effects operations against Cyber-Enabled Transnational Crime Organisations (CE-TCOs). Participating companies must pass vetting, obtain government approval before operations, and post a USD $1 million bond. The accompanying fact sheet cites more than USD $20.8 billion in US losses to cyber-enabled crime in 2025. Critics worry about accidental escalation if operations touch foreign government systems.
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