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Experts Explain Complexity of Company's Massive Data Breach Analysis Endeavor
UnitedHealth Group says its previously eye-popping estimate of 100 million people affected by last year's attack on its Change Healthcare unit nearly doubled in recent months to a staggering 190 million victims. Why did it take so long for the company to figure out the extent of the compromise?

Europe Targets Officers of Unit 29155 of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate
The European Union sanctioned on Monday three officers of a Russian military intelligence unit for their role in cyberattacks targeting Estonia in 2020. The sanctions are tied to the unit's 2020 hack of the Estonian government departments and the exfiltration of sensitive documents.

China's DeepSeek AI Model Sparks US Policy Debate Amid Growing Industry Concerns
The global artificial intelligence race saw a historic "Sputnik moment" this week when the Chinese startup DeepSeek claimed to develop a competitive model with $6 million and a stockpile of old Nvidia semiconductors - defying export restrictions and raising alarms about China's ability to innovate.

Identity Theft Resource Center's Lee on Lessons Learned From 2024 Mega-Breaches
Six mega cybersecurity incidents led to a record 1.7 billion data breach notices going out to victims in 2024 - a dramatic 312% increase over the previous year. Identity Theft Resource Center President James E. Lee says the increase exposes industry-wide failures in basic cybersecurity practices.

Series C Funding Targets Supply Chain Risks in AI, Next-Gen Infrastructure Security
Eclypsium raises $45 million in Series C funding to address emerging cyberthreats in AI workloads, GPU systems and the global supply chain. With support from Qualcomm and Ten Eleven Ventures, the company will tackle advanced cyberthreats from nation-state adversaries such as Volt Typhoon.

AI Startup's R1 Model Draws Praise and Skepticism
An open reasoning model from Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek has the tech industry assessing its potential impact as shares of U.S. technology mainstays plummeted in trading on Monday. Hangzhou-based DeepSeek released its R1 model on Jan. 20.

Preauthentication Deserialization Flaw Could Result in Remote Code Execution
Software vendors and national security agencies are urging immediate patching of a critical SonicWall flaw days after the security device manufacturer disclosed that hackers are actively exploiting a zero-day. The flaw doesn't require user authentication.

RansomHub Theft Hit Patients of 2 Dozen HCF Facilities and Home Healthcare Unit
A chain of more than two dozen skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities is notifying tens of thousands of patients whose information was compromised in a hacking incident last fall. Russian-speaking cybercriminal gang RansomHub claims to have published 250GB of data stolen in the heist.

Undersea Cable Damage in Baltic Sparks Concerns of Russian 'Shadow Fleet' Activity
Swedish authorities seized a vessel in the Baltic Sea as part of a criminal investigation into sabotage of an undersea cable between Sweden and Latvia after a series of regional cable disruptions, including one involving suspected Russian shadow fleet activity, raising security concerns.

Also: Leadership Choices That Could Reshape Cybersecurity Priorities, Budgets
The Trump administration has inherited a strong cybersecurity framework but faces potential roadblocks from budget cuts and a shifting threat landscape. Jeremy Grant, managing director at Venable LLP joined ISMG editors to discuss the critical issues facing security leaders during the transition.

Focus on Pre-Breach Resilience and Post-Breach Recovery Via Mapping Dependencies
By acquiring vArmour’s intellectual property, Phoenix 24 will enhance its recovery services with advanced application visualization and dependency mapping. CEO Mark Grazman said the move will streamline recovery processes during ransomware attacks and improve organizational readiness.

Cost of Attack Has Reached $3.1 Billion for Parent Company UnitedHealth Group
One of the biggest data breaches of 2024 is even worse than previously reported, as the tally of Change Healthcare breach victims has now reached 190 million individuals, and costs tied to the attack $3.1 billion, according to its owner, U.S. health insurance giant UnitedHealth Group.

With the pace of global change so often creating a sense of accelerating chaos, it's easy to view cyber defenders as firefighters constantly on call. But Black Hat conference founder and creator Jeff Moss warned that "things have been on fire for as long as I can remember."

While artificial intelligence platforms and tools promise to offer encouraging potential in healthcare, many are unprepared to deal with the risks these emerging technologies pose - similar to the early days of social media, said Keith Fricke, partner and principal of tw-Security.

Chinese Hackers Hitting Unpatched Products From Microsoft, Sophos, Fortinet, Ivanti
Chinese nation-state hackers who surreptitiously gained "broad and full" access to telecommunications networks in the U.S. and dozens of other countries have regularly exploited known flaws in their networking gear that the victims failed to patch, security experts have warned.

Operator Cannot Yet Reliably Perform Complex, Customized Tasks
OpenAI introduced an AI agent capable of independent action with the launch of Operator, an general-purpose AI tool that interacts with websites to perform tasks. The agent can navigate menus and complete forms to do tasks such as travel booking, ordering takeout, buying stuff or scheduling tasks.

Fraud Expert Ken Westbrook on Successful Ways to Stop Fake Investment Sites
According to the FBI, losses from investment scams surged 38% between 2022 and 2023. Fraudsters are using highly effective tactics, including sending text messages to lure victims to fake cryptocurrency platforms, said Ken Westbrook, founder and CEO of Stop Scams Alliance.

The EU-US Data Privacy Framework Requires a Functional PCLOB
A Trump administration move to gut a key oversight body meant to guarantee European data rights in the United States could endanger the legal basis underpinning commercial data flows across the Atlantic. The board is charged with overseeing U.S. surveillance practices.

Why MFA and Data Minimization Remain Key for Preventing Massive Data Breaches
While PowerSchool's investigation into the massive theft of its customers' data is continuing, clear lessons have already emerged. Count among them the importance of using multifactor authentication, which could have safeguarded access to PowerSchool's exploited customer support systems.

Enterprises Prepare for Quantum-Resilient Infrastructures to Combat Future Threats
Many enterprises understand the potential risks of quantum computing. But few have begun actively planning or implementing post-quantum cryptography. The NIST PQC standardization process provides enterprises with guidance on adopting quantum-resistant algorithms, said David Close of Futurex.