Authors: Ilia Dafchev, Darrel Virtusio Summary   Makop, a ransomware strain derived from Phobos, continues to exploit exposed RDP systems while adding new components such as local privilege escalation exploits and loader malware to its traditional toolkit. The attack typically begins with RDP exploitation, followed by the staging of network scanners, lateral movement tools and privilege...Read More

by Matthew Holloway | Mar 16, 2026 | Must Read, News By Matthew Holloway | President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this month aimed at strengthening the federal government’s response to cybercrime, fraud, and other online schemes targeting Americans. The order, titled “Combating Cybercrime, Fraud, and Predatory Schemes Against American Citizens,” directs multiple...Read More

The Xbox One was, on almost every front, a monumental failure. I could wax poetic about Don Mattrick’s abysmal showing at E3 2013 for hours, but the end result is all you need, as the PlayStation 4 outsold the Xbox One by two-to-one. However, Microsoft’s Xbox One did have at least one saving grace: it...Read More

While tracking ransomware activities, Cisco Talos uncovered new tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) linked to a financially motivated threat actor targeting victims with DeadLock ransomware.  The actor used the Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD) technique with a previously unknown loader to exploit the Baidu Antivirus driver vulnerability (CVE-2024-51324), enabling the termination of endpoint detection...Read More

Pleasantville police apprehend a 66-year-old man before a planned encounter; authorities said it was not the first time An Ocean County man is in trouble with the law for allegedly traveling to South Jersey late last week to have sex with a juvenile. Arrest in Pleasantville On Friday, 66-year-old James Hadley of Barnegat was arrested...Read More

By Phillip Bantz ( March 11, 2026, 3:54 PM EDT) — President Donald Trump’s recent executive order calling for a coalition of government agencies to combat cybercrime is far more forceful than efforts under prior administrations, according to white collar lawyers, who tentatively applaud the proposal while warning it could raise new compliance risks…. Law360...Read More

Key Takeaways Declining payments, evolving tactics: Ransomware groups made less money in 2025 despite a 47% increase in publicly reported attacks, pushing them to adopt new approaches to extract payment, namely, DDoS-as-a-Service offerings, insider recruitment, and gig worker exploitation. Insider threats are rising: With stolen credentials, vulnerability exploitation, and phishing still dominating initial access, ransomware...Read More

“President Trump’s cybercrime executive order offers an avenue for the federal government to address the national security implications of cyber-enabled fraud conducted by foreign adversaries, according to Haiman Wong, resident fellow at R Street’s technology and innovation program. ‘Prioritizing and looking at [cybercrime] through a national security lens is something that I’ve been pushing hard...Read More

Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure confirmed two crosswalk locations were hacked along East Colfax Avenue, broadcasting vulgar anti-Trump messaging. Although fixed, it was the talk of the neighborhood over the weekend.  CBS “I was surprised,” said Damian Meldgaard, who lives nearby. “I had to gather myself and think, ‘Did I really hear that?’ And,...Read More

The latest annual Sophos study of the real-world ransomware experiences of state and local government organizations explores the full victim journey, from attack rate and root cause to operational impact and business outcomes. This year’s report sheds light on new areas of study for the sector, including an exploration of ransom demands vs. ransom payments...Read More