It's been a pretty packed 24 hours in the cyber world, with several significant breaches, some interesting new threat research, a push to finally kill off an old protocol, and a look at the privacy implications of AI in healthcare. Let's dive in:
Recent Cyber attacks and Breaches 🚨
- Higham Lane School in Nuneaton, UK, was forced to close after a "serious cyberattack" crippled core IT systems, including physical safety mechanisms like electronic gates and fire alarms. While the school is reopening, staff still have "very limited" IT access, highlighting the significant operational impact beyond just data theft.
- The distributor Ingram Micro confirmed a July 2025 ransomware attack by SafePay exposed personal data of over 42,500 employees and job applicants. This included sensitive details like names, contact information, dates of birth, identity document numbers (passports, SSNs), and employment evaluations.
- Several Iranian state television channels were briefly taken over via satellite, broadcasting protest footage and messages from an exiled opposition figure, urging continued demonstrations amid economic unrest. The unauthorised broadcast lasted around 10 minutes.
- Jordanian national Feras Khalil Ahmad Albashiti, an Initial Access Broker (IAB) operating as "r1z", pleaded guilty to facilitating cyberattacks on at least 50 US companies. He unwittingly sold network access and EDR-disabling malware to an undercover FBI agent, revealing his IP and linking him to a $50 million ransomware attack.
- A US Navy sailor was sentenced to 16 years and eight months for selling technical manuals and operational information to a Chinese intelligence official. Separately, Nicholas Moore pleaded guilty to illegally accessing the US Supreme Court's electronic document filing system for 25 days in 2023.
- Interpol recently apprehended 34 individuals in Spain linked to the Nigeria-based crime syndicate Black Axe, known for cyber-enabled fraud, drug/human trafficking, and armed robbery. This follows previous busts in 2022 and 2023, underscoring the persistent nature of this large criminal organisation.
🕵🏼 The Register | https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2026/01/18/infosec_news_in_brief/
🕵🏼 The Register | https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2026/01/19/higham_lane_school_reopens/
🕵🏼 The Register | https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2026/01/19/ingram_micro_ransomware_affects/
🗞️ The Record | https://therecord.media/iran-state-television-reported-hack-opposition
🕵🏼 The Register | https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2026/01/19/iab_sentencing/
New Threat Research 🔬
- Cybersecurity researchers exploited a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the web-based control panel of the StealC information stealer. This allowed them to gather insights into threat actor operations, including system fingerprints, active sessions, and even steal cookies from the cookie stealer's own infrastructure.
- One StealC customer, dubbed YouTubeTA, was identified as a lone-wolf actor operating from an Eastern European country. Their real IP address was exposed when they forgot to use a VPN while connecting to the StealC panel, highlighting a significant operational security failure.
- A new "CrashFix" campaign uses a malicious Chrome extension ("NexShield") that masquerades as an ad blocker. It deliberately crashes the browser and then presents fake security warnings, tricking victims into running arbitrary commands to deploy ModeloRAT, a Python-based Windows RAT, primarily targeting domain-joined corporate environments.
📰 The Hacker News | https://thehackernews.com/2026/01/security-bug-in-stealc-malware-panel.html
📰 The Hacker News | https://thehackernews.com/2026/01/crashfix-chrome-extension-delivers-modelorat-using-clickfix-style-browser-crash-lures.html
Vulnerabilities 🛡️
- Mandiant has released rainbow tables and tools that can crack credentials using Microsoft's legacy Net-NTLMv1 authentication protocol in under 12 hours with consumer-grade hardware. The goal is to highlight the protocol's long-known weakness and accelerate its deprecation, urging organisations to disable Net-NTLMv1 immediately.
🕵🏼 The Register | https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2026/01/18/infosec_news_in_brief/
Threat Landscape Commentary 🌍
- The UK's NCSC is warning critical services operators, especially local authorities and CNI, not to underestimate pro-Russia hacktivists like NoName057(16). While often technically simple denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, their impact can be significant, causing disruption and financial costs. NCSC recommends DDoS mitigation services and CDNs.
- A honeynet sensor deployed by the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, attracted over 63,000 attacks from 4,262 unique IP addresses within 12 days of going online, with the first attack occurring in under an hour. Many attacks relied on default or common credentials, underscoring the prevalence of opportunistic scanning and basic attack methods.
🕵🏼 The Register | https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2026/01/19/dont_underestimate_prorussia_hacktivists_warns/
🕵🏼 The Register | https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2026/01/19/asia_tech_news_roundup/
Data Privacy 🔒
- OpenAI's new ChatGPT Health, designed for secure health inquiries, is raising significant security and safety concerns. While it promises "layered protections," the ability for users to connect medical records and share with third parties means data control can be lost, and end-to-end encryption is not explicitly confirmed.
- The product's launch in the US, but not in the EEA, Switzerland, or the UK (due to stricter GDPR regulations), highlights potential gaps in consumer protection. Experts advise extreme caution before entrusting personal health information to any third-party AI product.
- Australia's eSafety Commissioner announced that 10 tech companies removed access to 4.7 million accounts belonging to users under 16, following the nation's ban on social media for this age group. This aims to reset cultural norms and reduce harm, despite some users finding ways around restrictions.
🕶️ Dark Reading | https://www.darkreading.com/remote-workforce/chatgpt-health-security-safety-concerns
🕵🏼 The Register | https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2026/01/19/asia_tech_news_roundup/
Regulatory Issues 🏛️
- US lawmakers are pushing a bill to restrict the use of ICE's Mobile Fortify app, which identifies suspects and protestors, to only ports of entry. Democrats argue its current widespread use enables civil liberties violations, and the bill would also prohibit sharing the app outside DHS and require deletion of US citizens' captured biometric data.
🕵🏼 The Register | https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2026/01/18/infosec_news_in_brief/
Everything Else 🌐
- Microsoft is actively hiring Senior Energy Program Managers and engineers in Australia and Singapore to strategise and execute energy plans for its expanding, power-hungry datacenters across the APAC region, particularly for AI applications.
- Vietnamese telco Viettel has broken ground on the nation's first chipmaking plant, aiming to offer 32-nanometer foundry services by 2027 for industries like aerospace, telecoms, and IoT, marking a strategic step for Vietnam's semiconductor industry.
- Indian threat intelligence firm CloudSEK secured a strategic investment from Connecticut Innovations, marking the first time a US state's investment arm has funded an Indian infosec company. CloudSEK is known for its strong analysis and threat discoveries.
- ASUS has received US FDA approval to sell its ultrasound devices in America, paving the way for expansion into key regions with growing demand for smart and remote healthcare, including Southeast Asia and South America.
🕵🏼 The Register | https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2026/01/19/asia_tech_news_roundup/
#CyberSecurity #ThreatIntelligence #Ransomware #Malware #InfoSec #CyberAttack #DataPrivacy #AI #Vulnerability #Hacktivism #IncidentResponse #OpSec #ThreatResearch