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Also: Australia Fines Kraken AU$8 Million Over Breaches
This week, scammers targeted crypto workers with fake meeting apps, Australia fined Kraken crypto exchange operator Bit Trade, a Los Angeles federal court ordered five individuals to pay $5 million, Polish police detained a Russian former exchange operator and FTX debtors clawed back more cash.

Tech and Training Ideas to Help Cyber Professionals Advance Their Skills
If you're a cybersecurity professional trying to come up with ideas for your holiday wish list (or maybe you’re a loved one trying to pick out the perfect gift), look no further! Here are some top picks that will thrill any cybersecurity practitioner.

Multimodal Agentic AI Delivers Speed, Tools and Research Prototypes
Google's latest AI model can natively process and output text, images and audio in the search giant's push toward more autonomous reasoning, planning and action. The company said Gemini 2.0 is designed for applications ranging from development and gaming to research and everyday assistance.

Evidence Mounts for Chinese Hacking 'Quartermaster'
A probable Chinese nation-state threat actor compromised Visual Studio Code and Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure to target Western technology firms for espionage, security firms Tinexta Cyber and SentinelLabs said. The companies call the campaign "Operation Digital Eye."

Inmediata Health Group Has Paid $2.7M in Fines, Civil Claims for 2019 HIPAA Breach
A breach that exposed the personal information of nearly 1.6 million patients of a Puerto Rico-based clearinghouse has led to a $250,000 financial settlement with federal regulations for multiple HIPAA violations. The 2019 leak has cost Inmediata Health $2.7 million in fines and civil settlements.

LexisNexis Combines AI-Driven Document Authentication With Its Fraud Solutions
To counter AI-driven fraud, LexisNexis acquired IDVerse, a London-based startup focused on document authentication and regulatory compliance. This acquisition aims to seamlessly integrate advanced tools into LexisNexis' fraud and identity platforms, enhancing global operations.

Attackers Target Managed File Transfer Software Vulnerabilities
File transfer software made by Cleo Communications is under active attack and a patch meant to stymie hackers doesn't fix the flaw, say security researchers from Huntress. Hackers exploit an arbitrary file-write vulnerability along with a feature that automatically executes files.

Cybercriminal Gang 'Money Message' Claims Credit, Publishes Stolen Records
A Massachusetts hospital is notifying 316,000 people that their information was compromised in a cyberattack discovered nearly a year ago during Christmas 2023. Cybercriminal group Money Message claimed that it stole 600 gigabytes data, posting patient and employee records on the darkweb.

Flaw in Embedded Device Operating System Allowed Hackers to Bypass Integrity Check
A critical flaw in the updating service of a popular Linux operating system for embedded devices could enable hackers to compromise firmware with malicious images. OpenWrt developers patched the vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2024-54143, with a CVSS score of 9.3.

deviceTrust, Strong Network Acquisitions Improve Zero Trust, Developer Protections
Citrix enhances its security for hybrid work by acquiring deviceTrust and Strong Network. Purchasing these European startups boosts protection for VDI, DaaS and cloud development, empowering organizations to enforce zero-trust principles and reduce risks across their hybrid environments.

Report: Financial Orgs Shift to Multi-Cloud to Address Cyber Threats and Regulation
Financial institutions are increasingly adopting multi-cloud strategies to mitigate rising cyber risks and comply with complex regulations, according to a new report. The move enhances flexibility and disaster recovery, though challenges remain, from implementation costs to a growing skills gap.

Startup Aims to Secure AI Agents, Expand Global Reach, Do User Access Management
Astrix raises $45 million to advance AI agent security and expand its global presence. The company plans to double its workforce, focusing on anomaly detection and fingerprinting techniques for non-human identities along the correlating information about human and non-human identities.

From Automotive Exploits and Bootloader Bugs to Cybercrime and 'LLMbotomy' Trojans
Black Hat Europe returns to London with more than 45 keynotes and briefings tackling everything from bootloader bugs and flaws in artificial intelligence and large language model tools, to disrupting fake online brokerages and remotely hacking Volkswagen entertainment systems to track vehicles.

InfoSec Officer Shervin Evans on the State of Cyberdefense, Meeting the Challenges
Cybercriminals are launching relentless attacks. The potential for breaches and exploitation has increased as the world has become more connected, raising an urgent question: Are we winning the fight against cybercriminals, or are we just sinking deeper into their grasp?

Autodesk and AWS Are Driving the Next Generation of AI-Powered Design Innovation
At AWS re:Invent 2024, Autodesk unveiled its innovative vision for generative AI in design. From Project Bernini's billion-parameter foundation model to sustainable workflows powered by AWS, the company is transforming 3D CAD design and shaping the future of creativity.

Bulletin Comes in Wake of Recent Attacks Disrupting Blood Collection, Supplies
The Food and Drug Administration is urging blood suppliers - a recent target of attacks - to bolster their cybersecurity practices to prevent and mitigate cyber incidents that could affect the supply and safety of critical blood and blood components used for transfusions and other patient care.

Rhode Island Becomes First State to Shield Students From Cyber Risks With New Tool
Rhode Island will become the first state in the nation to launch a statewide cybersecurity tool for K-12 schools, offering enhanced protection against ransomware threats with a new, no-cost, federally funded service that will shield 136,000 students across 64 school districts.

Big Game Hunting Will Intensify in 2025, Says Credit Rating Agency
Improved cybersecurity will result in ransomware hackers targeting larger organizations to wring out high dollar extortion payments and intensified focus on supply chain attacks, predicts Moody's Ratings. The share of ransomware victims willing to meet criminal demands for money is at record lows.

FBI Sees Rising AI-Enabled Fraud; Meta Reports Scant Election Interference Use
Artificial intelligence: What's it good for? Per the old song about war, the answer isn't "absolutely nothing," but so far it also isn't "absolutely everything." New findings pinpoint where generative AI and deepfakes are hot - fraud - and where they're not - election interference