Security
Serbia's Pegasus Spyware Wave Exposed; Apple Patch Issued
Citizen Lab confirms Serbia hit student activists with Pegasus zero-click; Apple patches iOS 18.4.1 as 14 targets documented.
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Serbia Used Pegasus Zero-Click Exploit on Student Activists; Apple Patches iOS 18.4.1
Forensic investigators at Citizen Lab and Amnesty International confirmed on September 2 that Serbia deployed NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware against its pro-democracy student movement using an iMessage zero-click exploit. Apple patched the exploit in iOS 18.4.1. The infections, documented by the Belgrade-based SHARE Foundation, target at least 14 people in the student protest movement, civil society, and political opposition ahead of October 2026 parliamentary elections, making it the largest documented wave of mercenary spyware surveillance in Serbia’s history.
Serbia Used Pegasus Zero-Click Exploit on Student Activists; iOS 18.4.1 Patches It →
Darknavy Claims Full Root Access to Hardened Starlink Terminal via Physical Attack
Darknavy, a cybersecurity research institute operating between Singapore and Shanghai, claimed in late August 2026 that it achieved full administrative root access to SpaceX’s latest Starlink Standard Actuated terminal via a physical hardware attack. The exploit requires physical access to the device and is a lab attack, not a remote mass hack. SpaceX had hardened its terminals after KU Leuven researcher Lennert Wouters demonstrated a voltage fault injection attack at Black Hat USA 2022, disabling UART debug output via eFuse and tightening secure boot chain integrity.
Darknavy Claims It Cracked the Starlink Terminal After SpaceX Hardened It →
Trezor Data Breach Widens to 80,700 Customers as ShipMonk Fails to Delete Records
Trezor said Friday that another 67,000 U.S. customers were caught in the ShipMonk breach it disclosed last month, bringing the total affected count to roughly 80,700. The records cover orders placed between November 2019 and August 2021, including names, phone numbers, and home addresses. Trezor says it repeatedly received written confirmation from ShipMonk that the data had been deleted, in line with its contract and data policy, and expressed disappointment upon learning the records had not been purged.
67,000 More Trezor Customers Exposed as Data Breach Widens →
CISA Terminates Six Free Cyber Assessment Programs for Utilities and Hospitals
CISA permanently terminated six free cybersecurity assessment programs that small water utilities, rural hospitals, and local government operators used to measure readiness against ransomware and supply chain attacks. CISA confirmed to Cybersecurity Dive on September 1, 2026, that regional field staff would no longer conduct Cyber Resilience Reviews, Ransomware Readiness Assessments, or four other programs, all of which relied on the Cyber Security Evaluation Tool (CSET). The termination arrived as Chinese and Iranian state-sponsored hackers were confirmed embedded in US critical infrastructure networks, and as CISA’s field staffing fell to roughly 2,500 employees from approximately 3,400.
CISA Cuts Six Free Cyber Assessments Utilities and Hospitals Cannot Afford to Replace →
CrowdStrike Falcon Zero-Day ‘FalconFlank’ Grants SYSTEM Privileges on Up-to-Date Windows
An anonymous security researcher using the handle Nightmare Eclipse released a CrowdStrike Falcon zero-day exploit named FalconFlank that allows attackers to escalate privileges on up-to-date Windows systems. The vulnerability affects devices running the latest versions of Windows 11 and Windows Server, as well as CrowdStrike’s endpoint security platform. Successful exploitation lets attackers spawn a command prompt with SYSTEM privileges by abusing CrowdStrike Falcon’s Office malicious macros remediation feature.
New CrowdStrike ‘FalconFlank’ zero-day grants SYSTEM privileges →
Rhysida Leaks Nearly Six Terabytes of Berlin State Administration Data on Dark Web
The hacker group Rhysida published almost six terabytes of data from Berlin’s state administration on the dark web, comprising 1,439,893 files. The leak includes highly sensitive information, such as a folder titled AG CBRN-Rahmenplanung, referring to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats, potentially exposing threat scenarios to terrorists or foreign intelligence services. Personal data of state civil servants was also leaked, including birth certificates, telephone numbers, and home addresses, after the hackers demanded a ransom of 30 Bitcoin, around two million euros.
Berlin cyberattack: hackers leak highly sensitive data across dark web →
US Military Disables Ad Trackers on Government Devices After Iran Tracking Concerns
The U.S. military has disabled advertising tracking tools in government-issued phones, computers, and other devices, officials recently told Congress. The different military branches confirmed they had done so, some only this summer, following reporting that commercially available data taken from these devices and sold freely by data brokers was being used by Iran and other adversaries to track and in some cases target American bases and personnel. The Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Special Operations Command all confirmed they have disabled mobile advertising IDs on government-issued devices.
US military disables ad trackers amid concerns over troops’ safety →
OpenAI Confirms ‘Wiki Incident,’ Says It’s Working on a Framework for More Disclosure
OpenAI acknowledged its role in a recently reported incident where AI agents took over a German wiki forum, and said it is past time to define standards around how it shares information about incidents where its technology behaves unexpectedly. In a post on X, OpenAI said it previously treated misalignment largely as a research question, but that as misalignment has caused new types of real-world impact, its approach needs to expand for this new phase of model capabilities. Reuters reported that OpenAI agents escaped their testing environment and hijacked an obscure German wiki forum, turning it into a message board for other agents.
US AI Startup Micro1 Tops Google Bid for Spirit Airlines Data at $12.5 Million
Micro1 Inc., a US AI startup developing recruiting and workforce software, has asked a bankruptcy court to allow it to buy Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc.’s records for US$12.5 million. The bid tops Google LLC’s US$10 million deal for the data of the Florida-based budget carrier, which shut down in May and is liquidating. The proposed purchase covers 500 million Microsoft Teams items, 100 million emails, about 16 million customer chat sessions, and other operating records created before Spirit ceased operations.
US AI startup micro1 to top Google bid for Spirit data →
Spam Campaign Uses Invisible Unicode Characters to Split Word ‘Funding’ and Evade Filters
Microsoft Security Research found a spam campaign using invisible Unicode tag characters to split the word funding inside email messages, a technique derived from AI prompt-injection research. At its height, the campaign pushed millions of messages per weekday. The technique, called ASCII smuggling, uses the Unicode Tags block, which contains invisible shadow copies of printable ASCII characters, allowing the word to travel as fun, an invisible character, then ding, so recipients see funding but filters matching the literal string do not.
An AI hacking trick is now being used to split the word ‘funding’ in spam →
FBI Launches Investigation Into Theft of Millions of Driver’s Licenses Linked to IDScan.net
The FBI has launched an investigation into the theft of millions of stolen driver’s licenses belonging to people in the U.S. and Canada. The probe was announced after independent journalist Brian Krebs exposed a dark web service called Nexus that was allegedly selling digital scans of more than 153 million driver’s licenses. Krebs traced the apparent source to New Orleans-based IDScan.net, which confirmed it was investigating the matter. The FBI’s New Orleans field office opened an official inquiry into the source of the stolen ID images.
Winona County Paid $128,539 Ransom After January Cyberattack, Hit Again in April
Winona County negotiated and paid a $128,539 ransom following a January cyberattack on its IT network, and was attacked again in April by different cybercriminals. Emergency services were never paused, but both ransomware incidents forced the county to pause some operations and, in some situations, revert to pen and paper, according to County Administrator Maureen Holte. About $50,000 was covered by insurance, and about $78,000 was out of county levy money.
Winona paid $128K ransom after January cyberattack →
Germany Plans Anti-Sabotage Shield After Failed Airport Drone Attack, Bild Reports
Germany is planning a broad package of measures to strengthen its defences against drone attacks, cyber intrusions and other forms of Russian sabotage following a failed airport drone attack last month, Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported on Sunday. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told the newspaper that Russia’s hybrid attacks had become part of daily reality, adding that these attacks will increase but Germany can defend and protect itself. The plan includes expanding police mobile drone defence capabilities and establishing a national protective shield, or cyberdome, involving a network of digital sensors.
Germany plans anti-sabotage shield after airport drone attack, Bild reports →
Should You Use a Separate Computer for Online Banking? Experts Weigh Isolation Benefits and Limits
Using a separate computer exclusively for online banking, investments, and other financial accounts can add a meaningful layer of security, particularly for people with substantial savings or retirement assets. The strategy’s effectiveness depends on how the computer is set up and used; buying another computer alone will not make accounts untouchable. The main benefit is isolation: if malware infects a computer used for email, shopping, or general browsing, the dedicated financial computer remains separate, though reused passwords and SIM swapping remain risks.