Security Squawk - The Business of Cybersecurity

The government just put an AI company inside the NSA. Not to defend networks. To help find ways into them. At the same time, more than 3 million Texans had their driver's license and passport data exposed through a third-party vendor, and attackers harvested credentials from 75,000 Fortinet firewalls around the world, then organized the victims by how much money they were likely worth. Three stories. One uncomfortable reality: *The most powerful security tools are being locked up while your biggest risks are still the basics.* On this episode of Security Squawk, Bryan Hornung, Randy Bryan, and Reginald Andre break down what business owners, executives, IT leaders, and MSPs need to understand about AI, vendor risk, and the growing gap between the tools governments get and the threats businesses still face every day. Story 1: Anthropic Inside the NSA The Financial Times reported that Anthropic, the company behind Claude, embedded engineers inside the NSA to deploy a frontier AI model called Mythos. The same company that was previously flagged as a supply chain risk is now helping deploy one of the most advanced cyber-focused AI systems in government. Anthropic says the model is too dangerous for broad release. That raises a bigger question: If the most capable AI tools are increasingly treated as national-security assets, what happens when the tools your business depends on become tools you can no longer access? Story 2: 3 Million Texans Exposed Through a Vendor The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department disclosed a breach affecting more than 3 million people after attackers compromised a third-party vendor responsible for hunting and fishing license systems. Exposed data reportedly includes: • Driver's license information • Passport numbers • Home addresses • Phone numbers • Email addresses Officials emphasize that Social Security numbers were not exposed. That's missing the point. A driver's license, passport, address, and contact information already provide everything many criminals need for identity theft, fraud, and account takeover. The lesson is simple: Your security is only as strong as the vendors holding your data. Story 3: 75,000 Fortinet Firewalls Compromised Researchers disclosed a campaign that harvested administrator and VPN credentials from roughly 75,000 Fortinet firewalls across 194 countries. The attackers didn't just collect passwords. They categorized victims by: • Country • Industry • Company size • Estimated revenue In other words, they built a target list. Researchers say the infrastructure remains active and continues collecting credentials. If your organization uses Fortinet equipment, this is not a "someday" problem. This is a this-week problem. In This Episode • Why Anthropic's NSA deployment matters to every business using AI • Whether cybersecurity will become the justification for restricting advanced AI capabilities • How a third-party vendor exposed more than 3 million Texans • Why "no Social Security numbers were stolen" is often the wrong question • How attackers harvested credentials from 75,000 Fortinet devices • The immediate actions Fortinet customers should take • Why cybersecurity still comes down to fundamentals, even as AI transforms the battlefield The Bottom Line Most businesses worry about futuristic threats. Meanwhile, attackers are still winning through vendors, passwords, exposed systems, and concentration risk. The technology is changing fast. The fundamentals are not. Security Squawk is a weekly podcast and livestream focused on cybersecurity, business risk, ransomware, AI, vendor risk, and executive decision-making. Support the show: buymeacoffee.com/securitysquawk Subscribe | Like | Share #SecuritySquawk #CyberSecurity #Anthropic #NSA #AI #Claude #Fortinet #DataBreach #VendorRisk #IdentityTheft #BusinessRisk #MSP #Ransomware #AIRegulation

Google has confirmed that state-backed threat actors are operationally using Gemini across the intrusion lifecycle — not experimentally, but strategically. In this episode of Security Squawk, we break down how AI is being integrated into reconnaissance, phishing refinement, vulnerability research, and even dynamic malware generation. According to Google's Threat Intelligence Group, multiple clusters — including DPRK-linked actors — are using Gemini to synthesize OSINT, map organizational structures, refine recruiter impersonation campaigns, and research exploit paths. In one case, malware known as HONESTCUE leveraged Gemini's API to dynamically generate C# code for stage-two payload behavior, compile it in memory using legitimate .NET tooling, and execute filelessly. This isn't a zero-day story. It's a friction story. At the same time, two individuals in Connecticut were charged for allegedly using thousands of stolen identities to exploit FanDuel's onboarding and promotional systems. No exotic exploit. No advanced intrusion chain. Just automated workflow abuse at scale. The pattern is clear: AI is compressing attacker timelines, and identity-driven fraud is industrializing predictable processes. We examine: How AI-enhanced phishing eliminates traditional grammar-based red flags Why trusted SaaS domains (Gemini share links, Discord CDNs, Cloudflare fronting, Supabase backends) are weakening reputation-based defenses What model distillation attempts (100,000+ structured prompts) signal about API abuse and intellectual property risk How fileless malware compiled with legitimate developer tooling challenges signature-based detection Why onboarding workflows and recruiting processes are now primary attack surfaces For CEOs, this is about erosion of trust anchors and shifting insurability expectations. For IT Directors and SOC leaders, this means reevaluating fileless execution visibility, API anomaly detection, and the reliability of reputation filtering models. For MSPs and risk managers, breaches will increasingly originate from workflow exploitation rather than perimeter misconfiguration. AI didn't invent new attack types. It removed friction from existing ones. And when friction disappears, scale compounds. If your recruiting, onboarding, verification, or AI product interfaces can be scripted — they can be weaponized. This episode is about operational clarity in a rapidly compressing threat landscape. Keywords: Google Gemini, HONESTCUE malware, AI phishing, state-backed threat actors, DPRK cyber operations, model distillation attacks, API abuse detection, fileless malware, .NET in-memory compilation, identity fraud, FanDuel fraud case, workflow exploitation, SaaS infrastructure abuse, Cloudflare phishing, Discord CDN payloads, Supabase backend abuse. Support the show https://buymeacoffee.com/securitysquawk

Cyber risk is escalating fast, and most business leaders are still operating with outdated assumptions. This episode of Security Squawk confronts that reality head on. Ransomware is no longer limited to encrypted files and downtime calculations. Threat actors are escalating pressure tactics into the physical world, including intimidation and direct threats against employees and executives. That shift fundamentally changes the risk profile for organizations. Once physical safety enters the equation, cybersecurity stops being a technical issue and becomes a leadership, legal, and duty of care problem. Companies that are unprepared for this escalation expose themselves to serious liability, regulatory scrutiny, and reputational damage that insurance alone cannot fix. At the same time, businesses are quietly introducing new risks through personal AI agents and automation tools. These tools are often adopted without security review, legal oversight, or compliance consideration. Marketed as productivity enhancers, personal AI agents frequently operate with broad access to email, files, customer data, and internal systems. When these agents mishandle or leak data, responsibility does not fall on the software vendor or the employee experimenting with automation. It falls squarely on the business. Regulators, insurers, and courts do not accept ignorance or convenience as a defense. We also examine why extortion groups like ShinyHunters continue to succeed even as companies invest heavily in security controls. This is not about sophisticated hacking techniques. It is about business pressure. Attackers understand deadlines, brand risk, customer trust, and executive fear. They exploit supply chains, third party vendors, and disclosure obligations to force decisions under time constraints. Paying extortion may feel like resolution, but it often increases long term risk, invites repeat targeting, and complicates regulatory reporting. Throughout this episode, the focus is not on tools, vendors, or technical jargon. It is on decision making. Who owns cyber risk inside the organization? How prepared is leadership to respond when incidents move beyond IT into legal, HR, and physical security territory? And how does a board defend its actions when regulators or plaintiffs start asking questions after an incident? This conversation is designed for CEOs, business owners, board members, and senior leaders who understand that cybersecurity is inseparable from operational risk, financial exposure, and executive accountability. If your strategy relies on cyber insurance, compliance checklists, or the belief that serious incidents only happen to larger companies, this episode will challenge that thinking. Security Squawk cuts through vendor noise and fear driven messaging to focus on what actually matters to businesses making real decisions. Support the show at https://buymeacoffee.com/securitysquawk

Cybersecurity failures are no longer just IT problems. They are legal, financial, and leadership failures. In this episode of Security Squawk, we break down how a ransomware attack on Ireland's Office of the Ombudsman delayed justice for citizens and what that incident reveals about preparedness, accountability, and real-world consequences of cyber risk. We start with the Ireland cyberattack that forced a key public watchdog agency to halt case processing for months. This was not a minor disruption. Systems were taken offline, legal action was required to prevent potential data leaks, and people relying on the system became collateral damage. The story highlights a hard truth. When cybersecurity fails, mission failure follows. Government or private sector, the outcome is the same. From there, we zoom out to the private sector where the warning signs are flashing red. New survey data shows cybersecurity litigation risk is rising faster than any other legal exposure for U.S. businesses. Corporate legal teams expect cyber and data privacy disputes to intensify, yet fewer of them feel prepared compared to last year. That gap tells us everything we need to know. Companies understand the risk is growing, but they are not investing or aligning fast enough to reduce it. We also examine the dangerous confidence gap in middle market firms. Nearly one in five experienced a cyber incident, yet almost all executives still believe their security posture is strong. Confidence without controls is not resilience. It is exposure. This disconnect raises serious questions about leadership accountability and how security decisions are being made at the executive level. The episode also dives into research showing that many top U.S. companies still fail basic cybersecurity hygiene. Reused passwords, outdated software, poor configuration, and unpatched systems remain common in 2025. These are not advanced threats. These are fundamentals. When organizations cannot execute the basics, the issue is not technical skill. It is culture, discipline, and leadership priority. We discuss the ongoing wave of data breaches affecting insurance, healthcare, and business services organizations, exposing millions of records. These incidents are proof that many companies remain reactive instead of proactive. Third-party risk, weak internal controls, and poor governance continue to amplify the damage. Finally, we tackle a growing blind spot. AI security governance. As businesses rapidly adopt AI tools, many still lack formal rules, oversight, or risk frameworks. Without governance, innovation turns into liability. Attackers move faster than policy, and organizations are left exposed. This episode is a wake-up call for business leaders, MSPs, IT professionals, and security decision-makers. Cybersecurity is no longer about compliance checklists or technology spend. It is about reducing real risk, protecting trust, and leading responsibly. If you want to understand why cyberattacks now lead to lawsuits, why confidence is not the same as security, and why leadership decisions matter more than ever, this episode delivers the insight you need. Subscribe, follow, and share Security Squawk. And if you want to support the show, you can always buy me a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/securitysquawk.

University of Phoenix confirms a massive data breach affecting almost 3.5 million current and former students, staff, and partners after attackers exploited a zero-day in Oracle E-Business Suite. We break down the implications for identity theft risk and breach response. Next, Andre explains why most existing medical devices would fail the FDA's new cybersecurity standards and how healthcare organizations can manage legacy device risk in critical environments. Finally, Bryan breaks down a cloud breach spree that hit 50 global organizations because multi-factor authentication wasn't enforced. Learn why MFA is no longer optional and how basic security failures lead to major breaches. Tune in for expert insights, practical advice, and what every IT leader needs to know today.