Security Affairs newsletter Round 558 by Pierluigi Paganini

Pierluigi Paganini
January 11, 2026

Enjoy a new round of the weekly SecurityAffairs newsletter, including the international press.

International Press – Newsletter

Cybercrime

Synthetic Data: A New Frontier for Cyber Deception and Honeypots  

Ilya Lichtenstein, Bitcoin hacker behind massive crypto theft, credits Trump for early prison release  

Analyzing PHALT#BLYX: How Fake BSODs and Trusted Build Tools Are Used to Construct a Malware Infection  

Founder of spyware maker pcTattletale pleads guilty to hacking and advertising surveillance software  

CNCERT: Risk Warning Regarding the “Black Cat” Gang’s Use of Search Engines to Spread Counterfeit Notepad++ Download Remote Control Backdoors   

Who Benefited from the Aisuru and Kimwolf Botnets? 

17.5 Million Instagram Accounts Exposed in Massive Data Breach

Malware

VVS Discord Stealer Using Pyarmor for Obfuscation and Detection Evasion  

Malicious NPM Packages Deliver NodeCordRAT    

Boto-Cor-de-Rosa campaign reveals Astaroth WhatsApp-based worm activity in Brazil

The Mac Malware of 2025  

Hacking

AI in Cybersecurity: How Xfenser Enables Offensive and Defensive Intelligence in the Era of Autonomous Agents  

HandPwning: security pitfalls of hand-geometry recognition-based access control systems  

PlayStation 5 ROM keys leaked — jailbreaking could be made easier with BootROM codes  

Hacktivist deletes white supremacist websites live onstage during hacker conference  

TOTOLINK EX200 firmware-upload error handling can activate an unauthenticated root telnet service

Hacker Conversations: Katie Paxton-Fear Talks Autism, Morality and Hacking

Safetensors Forensics: It’s “Safe”… Right?  

Ongoing Attacks Exploiting Critical RCE Vulnerability in Legacy D-Link DSL Routers

The Great VM Escape: ESXi Exploitation in the Wild 

Trend Micro Apex Central Multiple Vulnerabilities

Phishing actors exploit complex routing and misconfigurations to spoof domains 

Cisco Patches ISE Security Vulnerability After Public PoC Exploit Release

Intelligence and Information Warfare

Trump suggests US used cyberattacks to turn off lights in Venezuela during strikes  

Artificial Intelligence in the Military Domain and Its Implications for International Peace and Security: An Evidence-Based Road Map for Future Policy Action  

UAC-0184 | “The Dark Side of the Fallen Files” Pitching Operation  

Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025  

UAT-7290 targets high value telecommunications infrastructure in South Asia  

Iran shuts down internet as regime struggles to contain escalating unrest  

North Korean Kimsuky Actors Leverage Malicious QR Codes in Spearphishing Campaigns Targeting U.S. Entities  

Cybersecurity

California residents can use new tool to demand brokers delete their personal data 

Ten found guilty of cyber-bullying Brigitte Macron  

New cyber action plan to tackle threats and strengthen public services  

OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Health with Isolated, Encrypted Health Data Controls

Tim Kosiba Named NSA Deputy Director

AI-Driven Cybersecurity Threats: A Survey of Emerging Risks and Defensive Strategies

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Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, newsletter)

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