Risk management | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

We hear this a lot: "We've got hundreds of service accounts and AI agents running in the background. We didn't create most of them. We don't know who owns them. How are we supposed to secure them?" Every enterprise today runs on more than users. Behind the scenes, thousands of non-human identities, from service accounts to API tokens to AI agents, access systems, move data, and execute tasks around the clock. They're not new. But they're multiplying fast. And most weren't built with security in mind. Traditional identity tools assume intent, context, and ownership. Non-human identities have none of those. They don't log in and out. They don't get offboarded. And with the rise of autonomous agents, they're beginning to make their own decisions, often with broad permissions and little oversight. It's already creating new blind spots. But we're only at the beginning. In this post, we'll look at how non-human identity risk is evolving, where most organizations are still exposed, and...

AI's growing role in enterprise environments has heightened the urgency for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) to drive effective AI governance. When it comes to any emerging technology, governance is hard – but effective governance is even harder. The first instinct for most organizations is to respond with rigid policies. Write a policy document, circulate a set of restrictions, and hope the risk is contained. However, effective governance doesn't work that way. It must be a living system that shapes how AI is used every day, guiding organizations through safe transformative change without slowing down the pace of innovation.  For CISOs, finding that balance between security and speed is critical in the age of AI. This technology simultaneously represents the greatest opportunity and greatest risk enterprises have faced since the dawn of the internet. Move too fast without guardrails, and sensitive data leaks into prompts, shadow AI proliferates, or regulatory gaps bec...

Introduction Managed service providers (MSPs) and managed security service providers (MSSPs) are under increasing pressure to deliver strong cybersecurity outcomes in a landscape marked by rising threats and evolving compliance requirements. At the same time, clients want better protection without managing cybersecurity themselves. Service providers must balance these growing demands with the need to work efficiently, deliver consistent results, and scale their offerings. Yet, many service providers still rely on manual processes that slow down delivery, make it harder to maintain consistency across clients, and limit the time teams have to focus on more strategic initiatives. Even experienced service providers can find themselves stretched thin as they try to meet rising client expectations while managing operational complexity. In this environment, automation offers an opportunity to work more effectively and deliver greater value. By streamlining repetitive tasks, improving con...

⚠️ One click is all it takes. An engineer spins up an "experimental" AI Agent to test a workflow. A business unit connects to automate reporting. A cloud platform quietly enables a new agent behind the scenes. Individually, they look harmless. But together, they form an invisible swarm of Shadow AI Agents—operating outside security's line of sight, tied to identities you don't even know exist. And here's the uncomfortable truth: every one of them carries infinite risk. Agents impersonating trusted users. Non-human identities with access you didn't approve. Data leaking across boundaries you thought were locked down. This isn't a futuristic threat. It's happening today, across enterprises everywhere. And they're multiplying faster than your governance can catch up. That's why you can't miss our upcoming panel: Shadow AI Agents Exposed. Secure your seat now - Register Here . Why Shadow AI is Exploding From identity providers to PaaS platforms, it takes almost nothing to spin...

It's budget season. Once again, security is being questioned, scrutinized, or deprioritized. If you're a CISO or security leader, you've likely found yourself explaining why your program matters, why a given tool or headcount is essential, and how the next breach is one blind spot away. But these arguments often fall short unless they're framed in a way the board can understand and appreciate. According to a Gartner analysis , 88% of Boards see cybersecurity as a business risk, rather than an IT issue, yet many security leaders still struggle to raise the profile of cybersecurity within the organization. For security issues to resonate amongst the Board, you need to speak its language: business continuity, compliance, and cost impact. Below are some strategies to help you frame the conversation, transforming the technical and complex into clear business directives.  Recognize the High Stakes Cyber threats continue to evolve, from ransomware and supply chain attacks to...

In January 2025, cybersecurity experts at Wiz Research found that Chinese AI specialist DeepSeek had suffered a data leak, putting more than 1 million sensitive log streams at risk. According to the Wiz Research team, they identified a publicly accessible ClickHouse database belonging to DeepSeek. This allowed "full control over database operations, including the ability to access internal data", Wiz Research stated, with more than a million lines of log streams involved, containing chat history, secret keys and more. Wiz immediately reported the issue to DeepSeek, which quickly secured the exposure. Still, the incident underscored the danger of data leakage. Intentional or unintentional? Data leakage is a broad concept, covering a range of scenarios. As IBM notes, the term in general refers to a scenario where "sensitive information is unintentionally exposed to unauthorized parties" .  It could be intentional or unintentional. On the intentional side...

The Harsh Truths of AI Adoption MITs State of AI in Business report revealed that while 40% of organizations have purchased enterprise LLM subscriptions, over 90% of employees are actively using AI tools in their daily work. Similarly, research from Harmonic Security found that 45.4% of sensitive AI interactions are coming from personal email accounts, where employees are bypassing corporate controls entirely. This has, understandably, led to plenty of concerns around a growing "Shadow AI Economy". But what does that mean and how can security and AI governance teams overcome these challenges? Contact Harmonic Security to learn more about Shadow AI discovery and enforcing your AI usage policy.  AI Usage Is Driven by Employees, Not Committees  Enterprises incorrectly view AI use as something that comes top-down, defined by their own visionary business leaders. We now know that's wrong. In most cases, employees are driving adoption from the bottom up, often without ov...

Every day, businesses, teams, and project managers trust platforms like Trello, Asana, etc., to collaborate and manage tasks. But what happens when that trust is broken? According to a recent report by Statista, the average cost of a data breach worldwide was about $4.88 million. Also, in 2024, the private data of over 15 million Trello user profiles was shared on a popular hacker forum. Yet, most organizations and project managers still assume that their platform's built-in backups are enough until they are not. The next few paragraphs will expose some risks of relying on these platform tools alone and how to better protect yourself and your organization from data loss with cloud backup and recovery . Why are project management tools becoming a prime target for data loss? More than 95% of businesses today rely heavily on project management tools like Trello and Asana to organize tasks, collaborate with teams, and track project milestones. However, as project managers become mor...

Do you know how many AI agents are running inside your business right now? If the answer is "not sure," you're not alone—and that's exactly the concern. Across industries, AI agents are being set up every day. Sometimes by IT, but often by business units moving fast to get results. That means agents are running quietly in the background—without proper IDs, without owners, and without logs of what they're doing. In short: they're invisible. 👉  Register now for Shadow Agents and Silent Threats: Securing AI's New Identity Frontier  and learn how to get ahead of this growing challenge. The Hidden Risk of Shadow AI Agents Shadow agents aren't harmless helpers. Once compromised, they can move through systems, grab sensitive data, or escalate privileges at machine speed. Unlike humans, they don't pause to think—they just execute 24/7. The truth is, most security programs weren't built for this. They manage people, not autonomous software agents. And as adoption grows, these s...

Modern businesses face a rapidly evolving and expanding threat landscape, but what does this mean for your business? It means a growing number of risks, along with an increase in their frequency, variety, complexity, severity, and potential business impact. The real question is, "How do you tackle these rising threats?" The answer lies in having a robust BCDR strategy. However, to build a rock-solid BCDR plan, you must first conduct a business impact analysis (BIA). Read on to learn what BIA is and how it forms the foundation of an effective BCDR strategy. What Is a BIA? A BIA is a structured approach to identifying and evaluating the operational impact of disruptions across departments. Disruptive incidents or emergencies can occur due to several factors, such as cyberattacks, natural disasters or supply chain issues. Conducting a BIA helps identify critical functions for a business's operations and survival. Businesses can use insights from BIA to develop strategies to resume th...

Organizations handling various forms of sensitive data or personally identifiable information (PII) require adherence to regulatory compliance standards and frameworks. These compliance standards also apply to organizations operating in regulated sectors such as healthcare, finance, government contracting, or education. Some of these standards and frameworks include, but are not limited to: Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication framework (NIST SP 800-53) Trust Services Criteria (TSC) Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Reasons for meeting compliance requirements Below are some reasons for meeting compliance requirements: To protect businesses and organizations from cybersecurity risks, threats, and data breaches. To develop efficient organizational processes that aid in atta...

The Evolution of Exposure Management Most security teams have a good sense of what's critical in their environment. What's harder to pin down is what's business-critical . These are the assets that support the processes the business can't function without. They're not always the loudest or most exposed. They're the ones tied to revenue, operations, and delivery. If one goes down, it's more than a security issue – It's a business problem. Over the past year since publishing our 4-step approach to mapping and securing business-critical assets, my team and I have had the opportunity to engage deeply with dozens of customer workshops across multiple industry verticals, including finance, manufacturing, energy, and more. These sessions have revealed valuable insights into how organizations are evolving their security posture.  This article takes an updated look at that approach, incorporating what we have learned along the way, helping organizations align exposure management strate...

As the volume and sophistication of cyber threats and risks grow, cybersecurity has become mission-critical for businesses of all sizes. To address this shift, SMBs have been urgently turning to vCISO services to keep up with escalating threats and compliance demands. A recent report by Cynomi has found that a full 79% of MSPs and MSSPs see high demand for vCISO services among SMBs. How are service providers scaling to meet this demand? Which business upside can they expect to see? And where does AI fit in? The answers can be found in "The 2025 State of the vCISO Report". This newly-released report offers a deep dive into the vCISO market evolution and the broader shift toward advanced cybersecurity services. The bottom line? What used to be a niche offering is now a foundational service, and AI is transforming how it's delivered. Below, we bring some of the main findings of the report. 319% Growth in vCISO Adoption: MSPs & MSSPs Race to Meet SMB Demand vCISO offerings provid...

Making the move from managing a security operations center (SOC) to being a chief information security officer (CISO) is a significant career leap. Not only do you need a solid foundation of tech knowledge but also leadership skills and business smarts.  This article will guide you through the practical steps and skills you'll need to nab an executive cybersecurity job and make the promotion from SOC manager to CISO a reality. Is the CISO role right for you? It's always a good idea to think about how you could move up and grow in your career. Aspiring to be a CISO can be a great career move.  Additionally, certain operational tasks in cybersecurity, especially in a SOC, are becoming increasingly automated, making it vital to develop strategic and leadership skills to stay ahead. Having ambitious goals helps you, as a SOC analyst or lead, stay relevant and valuable in what is a constantly changing field. However, the role of CISO is significantly different from other rol...

The AI gold rush is on. But without identity-first security, every deployment becomes an open door. Most organizations secure native AI like a web app, but it behaves more like a junior employee with root access and no manager. From Hype to High Stakes Generative AI has moved beyond the hype cycle. Enterprises are: Deploying LLM copilots to accelerate software development Automating customer service workflows with AI agents Integrating AI into financial operations and decision-making Whether building with open-source models or plugging into platforms like OpenAI or Anthropic, the goal is speed and scale. But what most teams miss is this: Every LLM access point or website is a new identity edge. And every integration adds risk unless identity and device posture are enforced. What Is the AI Build vs. Buy Dilemma? Most enterprises face a pivotal decision: Build : Create in-house agents tailored to internal systems and workflows Buy : Adopt commercial AI tools and SaaS integ...