Author: HackWatchit

In the rapidly evolving world of industrial IoT (IIoT), the integration of AI-driven decision-making into operational technology (OT) systems has created the impression of tighter control, smarter response times and predictive efficiency. This feeling of having control might actually be a risky illusion. Autonomous systems are now responsible for critical infrastructure: smart grids, manufacturing lines and water treatment facilities, all relying on interconnected sensors and AI for autonomous decision-making. But as the layers of automation deepen, so too does the complexity, making it increasingly difficult to understand or audit decisions made by machines. As more layers of automation are added,…

Newark, United States, June 23rd, 2025, CyberNewsWire The OpenSSL Corporation and the OpenSSL Foundation are issuing a final call for speaker proposals for the inaugural OpenSSL Conference 2025, taking place October 7–9, 2025, at the Vienna House by Wyndham Diplomat Prague. With just 7 days remaining until the submission deadline of June 30, 2025, the organisers invite global contributors from academia, industry, and the open-source community to submit their proposals and help shape the agenda of this landmark event. A Global Stage for Cryptography Innovation The OpenSSL Conference 2025 will bring together a global community of cryptography experts, developers, legal…

The Russian state-sponsored threat group APT28 is using Signal chats to target government targets in Ukraine with two previously undocumented malware families named BeardShell and SlimAgent. To be clear, this is not a security issue in Signal. Instead, threat actors are more commonly utilizing the messaging platform as part of their phishing attacks due to its increased usage by governments worldwide. The attacks were first discovered by Ukraine’s Computer and Emergency Response (CERT-UA) in March 2024, though limited details about the infection vector were uncovered at the time. Over a year later, in May 2025, ESET notified CERT-UA of unauthorized access…

In brief Senator Adam Schiff introduced the COIN Act, which would bar the president, vice president, and their families from engaging in crypto businesses while in office. It would, if passed, punish them with civil fines and up to five years in prison for violating such rules. Just last week, however, Schiff voted to pass a crypto bill that failed to ban the president from engaging in stablecoin ventures. On Monday, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) became the latest Democrat to introduce legislation to ban the president and his family from profiting off crypto while in office—but just last week, Schiff…

Following last week’s U.S. airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear sites, cybersecurity experts and government officials are now warning of a possible digital retaliation, a surge in cyber threats originating from Iran. On June 22, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin warning of a “heightened threat environment” in the United States, with Iranian state-sponsored hackers and pro-Iran hacktivists expected to increase their targeting of American networks and critical infrastructure.Iranian cyber actors have a history of targeting U.S. interests. Recently, Iranian threat actors have reportedly breached U.S. water utilities, stolen sensitive documents from political campaigns, and…

Cybersecurity experts at SecurityScorecard have discovered a widespread cyber espionage operation, dubbed LapDogs, which has compromised an unknown number of devices (probably thousands) around the world since September 2023. This stealthy campaign, likely originating from a China-based group, focuses on long-term surveillance and data theft, primarily targeting the United States, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Exploiting Everyday Devices According to SecurityScorecard’s STRIKE team’s research, unlike typical cyberattacks that aim for quick access, LapDogs uses a clever method involving what experts call Operational Relay Boxes (ORBs). An ORB is a compromised device, often a Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) router…

The CoinMarketCap and CoinTelegraph websites have been compromised over the weekend to serve clever phishing pop-ups to visitors, asking them to verify/connect their crypto wallets. The CoinMarketCap compromise CoinMarketCap (aka CMC) is a website popular with crypto investors as it tracks cryptocurrency prices, market capitalizations, and trading volumes. On June 20, 2025, visitors to the site’s homepage were faced with a pop-up that urged them to connect their wallets to maintain access to their CMC account. The malicious pop-up on CMC According to Web3 on‑chain security company Blockaid, the malicious pop-up on the site started appearing on June 20 (Friday),…

Jordan Drysdale //   ADVISORY: The techniques and tools referenced within this blog post may be outdated and do not apply to current situations. However, there is still potential for this blog entry to be used as an opportunity to learn and to possibly update or integrate into modern tools and techniques. Life as a ‘blue-teamer’ can often be a stressful experience. Working in an environment with a strong Linux infrastructure  can help some, but Ansible  can help immensely. In all environments, regardless of the operating systems at hand, we need to secure  remote access to our systems. The Ansible…

McLaren Health Care data breach impacted over 743,000 people Pierluigi Paganini June 23, 2025 The ransomware attack that hit McLaren Health Care in 2024 exposed the personal data of 743,000 individuals. McLaren Health Care is notifying over 743,000 people of a data breach discovered on August 5, 2024. McLaren discovered suspicious activity on its and Karmanos Cancer Institute’s systems on August 5, 2024, revealing a data breach incident. McLaren Health Care is a nonprofit health care organization based in Grand Blanc, Michigan, USA. It is a $6.6 billion, fully integrated health care delivery system committed to quality, evidence-based patient care and…