Search results for Identity (2025) | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

It wasn't ransomware headlines or zero-day exploits that stood out most in this year's Verizon 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) — it was what fueled them. Quietly, yet consistently, two underlying factors played a role in some of the worst breaches: third-party exposure and machine credential abuse . According to the 2025 DBIR, third-party involvement in breaches doubled year-over-year, jumping from 15% to 30% . In parallel, attackers increasingly exploited machine credentials and ungoverned machine accounts to gain access, escalate privileges, and exfiltrate sensitive data. The message is clear: it's no longer enough to protect your employee users alone. To truly defend against modern threats, organizations must govern all identities — human, non-employee, and machine — within a unified security strategy. Third-Party Risk: Expanding Faster Than Organizations Can Control Today's enterprise is a patchwork of partnerships: contractors, vendors, business p...

This week, our news radar shows that every new tech idea comes with its own challenges. A hot AI tool is under close watch, law enforcement is shutting down online spots that help cybercriminals, and teams are busy fixing software bugs that could let attackers in. From better locks on our devices to stopping sneaky tricks online, simple steps are making a big difference.  Let's take a closer look at how these efforts are shaping a safer digital world. ⚡ Threat of the Week DeepSeek's Popularity Invites Scrutiny — The overnight popularity of DeepSeek, an artificial intelligence (AI) platform originating from China, has led to extensive scrutiny of its models, with several analyses finding ways to jailbreak its system and produce malicious or prohibited content. While jailbreaks and prompt injections are a persistent concern in mainstream AI products, the findings also show that the model lacks enough protections to prevent potential abuse by malicious actors . The AI chatbot ha...

For many organizations, identity security appears to be under control. On paper, everything checks out. But new research from Cerby, based on insights from over 500 IT and security leaders, reveals a different reality: too much still depends on people—not systems—to function. In fact, fewer than 4% of security teams have fully automated their core identity workflows . Core workflows, like enrolling in Multi Factor Authentication (MFA), keeping credentials secure and up to date, and revoking access the moment someone leaves—are often manual, inconsistent, and vulnerable to error. And when security execution relies on memory or follow-up, gaps appear fast. Human error remains one of the biggest threats to enterprise security. Verizon's 2025 Data Breach report found that the human element was involved in 60% of breaches. The same manual missteps that led to breaches a decade ago still expose identity systems today. Cerby's 2025 Identity Automation Gap research report shows just how wi...

SaaS Adoption is Skyrocketing, Resilience Hasn't Kept Pace SaaS platforms have revolutionized how businesses operate. They simplify collaboration, accelerate deployment, and reduce the overhead of managing infrastructure. But with their rise comes a subtle, dangerous assumption: that the convenience of SaaS extends to resilience. It doesn't. These platforms weren't built with full-scale data protection in mind . Most follow a shared responsibility model — wherein the provider ensures uptime and application security, but the data inside is your responsibility. In a world of hybrid architectures, global teams, and relentless cyber threats, that responsibility is harder than ever to manage. Modern organizations are being stretched across: Hybrid and multi-cloud environments with decentralized data sprawl Complex integration layers between IaaS, SaaS, and legacy systems Expanding regulatory pressure with steeper penalties for noncompliance Escalating ransomware threats and inside...

Cybersecurity leaders aren't just dealing with attacks—they're also protecting trust, keeping systems running, and maintaining their organization's reputation. This week's developments highlight a bigger issue: as we rely more on digital tools, hidden weaknesses can quietly grow.  Just fixing problems isn't enough anymore—resilience needs to be built into everything from the ground up. That means better systems, stronger teams, and clearer visibility across the entire organization. What's showing up now isn't just risk—it's a clear signal that acting fast and making smart decisions matters more than being perfect. Here's what surfaced—and what security teams can't afford to overlook. ⚡ Threat of the Week Microsoft Fixes 5 Actively Exploited 0-Days — Microsoft addressed a total of 78 security flaws in its Patch Tuesday update for May 2025 last week, out of which five of them have come under active exploitation in the wild. The vulnerabilities include CVE-2025-30397, CVE-2025-...

Microsoft on Tuesday shipped fixes to address a total of 78 security flaws across its software lineup, including a set of five zero-days that have come under active exploitation in the wild. Of the 78 flaws resolved by the tech giant, 11 are rated Critical, 66 are rated Important, and one is rated Low in severity. Twenty-eight of these vulnerabilities lead to remote code execution, 21 of them are privilege escalation bugs, and 16 others are classified as information disclosure flaws. The updates are in addition to eight more security defects patched by the company in its Chromium-based Edge browser since the release of last month's Patch Tuesday update . The five vulnerabilities that have come under active exploitation in the wild are listed below - CVE-2025-30397 (CVSS score: 7.5) - Scripting Engine Memory Corruption Vulnerability CVE-2025-30400 (CVSS score: 7.8) - Microsoft Desktop Window Manager (DWM) Core Library Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability CVE-2025-3270...

Microsoft kicked off 2025 with a new set of patches for a total of 161 security vulnerabilities across its software portfolio, including three zero-days that have been actively exploited in attacks. Of the 161 flaws, 11 are rated Critical and 149 are rated Important in severity. One other flaw, a non-Microsoft CVE related to a Windows Secure Boot bypass ( CVE-2024-7344 , CVSS score: 6.7), has not been assigned any severity. According to the Zero Day Initiative , the update marks the largest number of CVEs addressed in a single month since at least 2017. The fixes are in addition to seven vulnerabilities the Windows maker addressed in its Chromium-based Edge browser since the release of December 2024 Patch Tuesday updates. Prominent among the patches released by Microsoft is a trio of flaws in Windows Hyper-V NT Kernel Integration VSP ( CVE-2025-21333 , CVE-2025-21334 , and CVE-2025-21335 , CVSS scores: 7.8) that the company said has come under active exploitation in the wild. ...

Some of the biggest security problems start quietly. No alerts. No warnings. Just small actions that seem normal but aren't. Attackers now know how to stay hidden by blending in, and that makes it hard to tell when something's wrong. This week's stories aren't just about what was attacked—but how easily it happened. If we're only looking for the obvious signs, what are we missing right in front of us? Here's a look at the tactics and mistakes that show how much can go unnoticed. ⚡ Threat of the Week Apple Zero-Click Flaw in Messages Exploited to Deliver Paragon Spyware — Apple disclosed that a security flaw in its Messages app was actively exploited in the wild to target civil society members in sophisticated cyber attacks. The vulnerability, CVE-2025-43200, was addressed by the company in February as part of iOS 18.3.1, iPadOS 18.3.1, iPadOS 17.7.5, macOS Sequoia 15.3.1, macOS Sonoma 14.7.4, macOS Ventura 13.7.4, watchOS 11.3.1, and visionOS 2.3.1. The Citizen Lab said it u...

This week, a 23-year-old Serbian activist found themselves at the crossroads of digital danger when a sneaky zero-day exploit turned their Android device into a target. Meanwhile, Microsoft pulled back the curtain on a scheme where cybercriminals used AI tools for harmful pranks, and a massive trove of live secrets was discovered, reminding us that even the tools we rely on can hide risky surprises. We've sifted through a storm of cyber threats—from phishing scams to malware attacks—and broken down what it means for you in clear, everyday language. Get ready to dive into the details, understand the risks, and learn how to protect yourself in an increasingly unpredictable online world. ⚡ Threat of the Week Serbian Youth Activist Targeted by Android 0-Day Exploit Chain — A 23-year-old Serbian youth activist had their Android phone targeted by a zero-day exploit chain developed by Cellebrite to unlock the device and likely deploy an Android spyware called NoviSpy. The flaws combined ...

Welcome to your weekly roundup of cyber news, where every headline gives you a peek into the world of online battles. This week, we look at a huge crypto theft, reveal some sneaky AI scam tricks, and discuss big changes in data protection. Let these stories spark your interest and help you understand the changing threats in our digital world. ⚡ Threat of the Week Lazarus Group Linked to Record-Setting $1.5 Billion Crypto Theft — The North Korean Lazarus Group has been linked to a "sophisticated" attack that led to the theft of over $1.5 billion worth of cryptocurrency from one of Bybit's cold wallets, making it the largest ever single crypto heist in history. Bybit said it detected unauthorized activity within one of our Ethereum (ETH) Cold Wallets during a planned routine transfer process on February 21, 2025, at around 12:30 p.m. UTC. The incident makes it the biggest-ever cryptocurrency heist reported to date, dwarfing that of Ronin Network ($624 million), Poly N...

In cybersecurity, the smallest crack can lead to the biggest breaches. A leaked encryption key, an unpatched software bug, or an abandoned cloud storage bucket—each one seems minor until it becomes the entry point for an attack. This week, we've seen cybercriminals turn overlooked weaknesses into major security threats, proving once again that no system is too small to be targeted. The question isn't whether attackers will find a way in—it's whether you'll be prepared when they do. Let's break down what you need to know. ⚡ Threat of the Week Microsoft Warns of Attacks Exploiting ASP.NET Machine Keys — Threat actors are exploiting publicly disclosed ASP.NET machine keys to inject and execute malicious code responsible for launching the Godzilla post-exploitation framework. Microsoft said it has identified over 3,000 publicly disclosed keys that could be used for these types of attacks dubbed ViewState code injection. The company also said it removed key-related artifacts from ...

Cisco has released updates to address two maximum-severity security flaws in Identity Services Engine (ISE) and ISE Passive Identity Connector (ISE-PIC) that could permit an unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary commands as the root user. The vulnerabilities, assigned the CVE identifiers CVE-2025-20281 and CVE-2025-20282, carry a CVSS score of 10.0 each. A description of the defects is below - CVE-2025-20281 - An unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability affecting Cisco ISE and ISE-PIC releases 3.3 and later that could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the underlying operating system as root CVE-2025-20282 - An unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability affecting Cisco ISE and ISE-PIC release 3.4 that could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to upload arbitrary files to an affected device and execute those files on the underlying operating system as root Cisco said CVE-2025-20281 is the result of insuffici...