Welcome to the Threat Context monthly blog series where we provide a comprehensive roundup of the most relevant cybersecurity news and threat information from KrakenLabs, Outpost24’s cyber Threat Intelligence team. Here’s what you need to know from August.

“Never trust; always verify.” That’s the philosophy that drives the Zero Trust model, and it represents a major shift from the previous motto: “Trust but verify.” As threat actors have become more sophisticated, organizations have shifted their security frameworks away from a network-centric model and toward an identity-first model. Zero Trust assumes that every attempt to access an organization’s digital assets is from a threat actor until it can be proven otherwise.

In AI and machine learning, providing accurate and timely information is crucial. However, equally important is an AI model’s ability to recognize when it doesn’t have enough information to answer a query and to gracefully decline to respond. This capability is a critical factor in maintaining the reliability and trustworthiness of the entire system.

When a new major CVE gets released, cybersecurity companies race to discover ways of detecting the new vulnerability and organizations scramble to determine if they are impacted or not. Developing high-confidence techniques to scan the public-facing Internet assets for newly published vulnerabilities can potentially take weeks or even months as vulnerability researchers discover and test various detection methods.

Recently, a widespread cloud extortion operation—affecting 110,000 domains and involving significant financial demands—was uncovered. Unit 42, the cybersecurity research division of Palo Alto Networks, released a report this month detailing how threat actors exploited misconfigured.env files to gain unauthorized access, steal sensitive data, and demand ransoms after deleting cloud assets.

IT infrastructure management is a complex task. Over the years, various methods have been used to better manage corporate environments. Whether it is network monitoring, asset control, application monitoring, or any of the other infrastructure management obligations, different solutions have been attempted to make the job easier. These undertakings became even more challenging as infrastructure moved from the deceptively tidy on-premises data centers out to the cloud.

Trustwave Government Solutions (TGS) has attained authorized status by the State Risk and Authorization Management Program (StateRAMP) for its Government Fusion platform. "State and local agencies rely heavily on their technology partners to strengthen their cybersecurity postures, and we're proud to be able to deliver a solution that meets or exceeds their elevated security requirements," said TGS President Bill Rucker.

To lock your Social Security number (SSN), you first need to either contact the Social Security Administration or use your E-Verify account to self-lock it. It is necessary to lock your SSN when you suspect that it has been stolen and used to commit fraud or identity theft. If you notice suspicious activity in your bank accounts, missing mail or mistakes in your tax returns, you might be a victim of identity theft and should lock your SSN immediately.

Medical device cybersecurity is vital to protecting patients and their data from cyber threats. With the rise of connected medical devices like infusion pumps and monitoring systems, cybersecurity challenges have intensified. This article delves into the risks, regulatory frameworks, and proactive strategies to secure these devices effectively.

Protecting PII data has never been more crucial. In today’s digital age, personal information is constantly at risk from cyber threats. Ensuring data privacy is essential for maintaining trust and compliance with regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). PII means Personally Identifiable Information. It includes data that can identify someone, like their name, address, or social security number.