The FBI issued a Public Service Announcement through IC3 cautioning that threats against election workers endanger individuals and jeopardize the stability of the US electoral process ahead of the November 2026 midterm election. The FBI defines election workers broadly: elected and appointed officials, staff, volunteers, contractors, vend…
The FBI and CISA issued a joint Public Service Announcement warning that malicious cyber actors may use phishing and smishing against election officials, candidates and political organizations ahead of the 2026 U.S. midterm elections. These targets are attractive because of their access to voter registration data, current government offic…
Scammers continue to exploit Bitcoin/crypto ATMs as an irreversible payment channel in impersonation fraud. According to the FBI, 13,460 such complaints in 2025 resulted in $389 million in losses, a 23% rise in volume and 58% rise in losses over 2024. Victims over 50 lost more than $302M, and those over 60 accounted for $257.4M. The scam …
The US Coast Guard and FBI boarded the Liberian-flagged supertanker VL Prosperity mid-voyage after its network may have been compromised by a foreign actor. The vessel was carrying about 2.3 million barrels of crude oil from Egypt's Sidi Kerir terminal to Galveston, Texas. The Coast Guard reports no disruption to operations, injuries or e…
Authorities in North Macedonia have filed charges against the alleged administrator of OLVX, a cybercrime marketplace that sold stolen personal data, credentials and malicious tools from 2023 to 2025. The suspect is a 20-year-old North Macedonian national, identified only as "E.A.", and is charged with computer fraud, misuse of personal d…
The FBI warns that scammers are likely to exploit the 2026 US Midterm Election to run financial fraud schemes against victims across the United States. The PSA updates alert I-102924-PSA from 29 October 2024. Scammers use candidates' names, images, logos and slogans to solicit fake campaign contributions, sell merchandise that is never de…
The FBI, via an IC3 Public Service Announcement, is warning US voters about federal election crimes ahead of the November 2026 midterm election. It describes three broad categories: campaign finance violations, threats to election workers, and civil rights violations such as voter suppression or intimidation. Examples include false voter …
Trend Micro disclosed its part in a multinational law enforcement operation against the LockBit ransomware group, working with the FBI and the NCA. Per the vendor, undercover infiltration helped prevent the release of the group's next malware product, LockBit-NG-Dev, and Trend customers received protection before LockBit had finished test…
ESET warns that QR-code phishing ("quishing") is a growing way to slip past corporate email security. According to the ESET Threat Report H1 2026, malicious QR codes were embedded in 11% of all phishing emails in the first half of 2026. The codes hide destination URLs from filters that cannot extract and inspect them, and they move the vi…
ICANN has begun testing authentication schemes that would let law enforcement agencies file urgent requests for non-public WHOIS data when facing imminent threats to life, serious bodily injury, critical infrastructure or child exploitation. The work is led by the Input Group on Law Enforcement Agency Authentication Mechanisms, which repo…
This opinion-led recap of Black Hat USA 2026 reports that AI dominated the conference, both as a source of risk and as a driver of vulnerability discovery. In the opening keynotes, White House National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross argued that AI regulation would stifle innovation and struggle to keep pace. CISA's Acting Director Nick An…
A joint advisory (AA26-281A) attributes China-based malicious cyber activity to Integrity Technology Group (Integrity Tech), a for-profit company with links to the Chinese government. The company builds and sells tools, hosts infrastructure and compromises networks worldwide. The actors' TTPs are consistent with Flax Typhoon, Ethereal Pan…
Sen. Ron Wyden sent a letter to CISA and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) urging federal adoption of Encrypted Client Hello (ECH). ECH hides the name of the website a user visits from anyone monitoring network traffic. His office identified at least 350 federal sites that do not use ECH. Wyden warned that hackers and foreign adve…
The NSA, CISA, FBI, DOE and EPA issued a joint advisory (AA26-231A) warning of an active threat to Siemens S7 Series PLCs in U.S. critical infrastructure. Unattributed threat actors are conducting reconnaissance and capability development against U.S.-based installations using AI-generated exploitation scripts disguised as legitimate OT m…
Dutch authorities arrested a 24-year-old, reportedly Pepijn van der Stap (alias "Umbreon"), around Sept. 16, 2026 on suspicion of aiding data thefts and extortions by ShinyHunters. Van der Stap was previously convicted in 2023 for data theft and extortion. Days after the arrest, remaining ShinyHunters members escalated, breaching the FBI …
A joint StopRansomware advisory (AA26-293A) from the FBI, CISA, USSS, Germany's Landeskriminalamt Rheinland-Pfalz, the UK's National Crime Agency and the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit details SafePay ransomware activity observed through August 2026. SafePay has been highly active since August 2024 and was among the most active …
The FBI has publicly called on remaining ShinyHunters members to surrender. Cyber division assistant director Brett Leatherman released a video thanking Dutch police for arresting a 24-year-old in Amsterdam. The FBI calls him "one of the alleged leaders" of the group, while Dutch police say only that he played a role. He is also suspected…
U.S. federal investigators pursuing ShinyHunters, which recently stole sensitive personnel data from the FBI recruitment site fbijobs.gov, reportedly identified executives at two ransomware negotiation firms with unusually close ties to the group. One U.S. consulting firm executive is suspected of helping operate the now-defunct extortion…
A joint advisory (AA25-343A) from FBI, CISA, NSA and some 18 other US, European, Five Eyes and Czech agencies warns that pro-Russia hacktivist groups are conducting opportunistic, low-sophistication attacks on critical infrastructure OT. The groups named are Cyber Army of Russia Reborn (CARR), Z-Pentest, NoName057(16) and Sector16. They e…