CyberSecurity Knuggets

Feb 17, 2026

Subject: Risky Bulletin: Cambodia promises to dismantle scam networks by April

Sender: risky-biz@ghost.io

Summary:

– Cambodian government pledges to dismantle cyber scam networks by April 2026 following international pressure.

– January raids hit 190 locations, with over 2,500 arrests and 110,000 foreign workers freed from scam compounds.

– Crackdowns target casinos, hotels, and building clusters used for call centers and human trafficking.

– Government faces challenges with scale; workers often left vulnerable post-crackdown.

– 48 court cases and 168 convictions related to scams underway; a bill proposed to enhance police powers against cybercrime.

– Noteworthy shift from denial to active enforcement with massive task forces assigned.

Other highlights:

– Major breaches include Dutch ISP Odido via phishing (6.2 million customers affected), healthcare providers, and sex toy maker Tenga.

– Linux kernel v7 to include post-quantum cryptography support.

– Meta plans to add facial recognition to smart glasses despite public criticism.

– CISA urges adoption of OpenEoX standard for device end-of-life information.

– US government shutdown impacts CISA operations and cybersecurity programs.

– New ransomware and phishing trends emerging, including via QR codes and letter scams.

– New cyber threat actor naming scheme introduced by Trend Micro.

– Palo Alto Networks allegedly toned down Chinese APT attributions due to fear of retaliation.

– Arrests, malware reports, and new security tools announced.

Subject: Pentagon challenges Anthropic over mass surveillance, autonomous weapons curbs

Sender: info@metacurity.com

Summary:

– Pentagon considers ending cooperation with AI firm Anthropic for limiting military use of AI models regarding mass surveillance and autonomous weapons.

– Pentagon demands AI tools be available for all lawful purposes including sensitive military operations.

– Anthropic refuses to allow use in mass surveillance of Americans and fully autonomous weapon systems, leading to negotiation impasse.

– Other AI providers (OpenAI, Google, xAI) comply with Pentagon’s looser restrictions for defense applications.

– UK PM Keir Starmer warns tech companies including xAI over illegal content on AI chatbots, pushing to include them under Online Safety Act, enabling fines for non-compliance.

– Iran intensifies digital surveillance on protesters using phone location data, SIM suspensions, and facial recognition.

– DHS subpoenas social media companies for identities behind anti-ICE posts; some companies comply with notifications to affected users.

– Microsoft warns of novel malware campaign abusing DNS queries in ClickFix social engineering attacks.

– Tulsa Airports Improvement Trust confirms unauthorized network access, mainly targeting administrative data, not flight control.

– Data breaches reported at blockchain lender Figure Technology via social engineering, with hacker group ShinyHunters claiming responsibility.

– ETH Zurich researchers reveal serious vulnerabilities in password managers Bitwarden, LastPass, and Dashlane affecting 60 million users and demonstrating possible vault compromises.

– Russia’s Kremlin-controlled Channel One broadcast fabricated fake news covers created by Matryoshka bot network.

– Icelandic nursing home system breached with sensitive data leak, possibly ransomware.

– Ransomware disrupts Marietta GA’s business license payments.

– Google patches actively exploited Chrome zero-day CVE-2026-2441 involving a font feature bug.

– Palantir sues Swiss publication Republik over critical articles exposing vulnerabilities and contract cancellation.

– Anthropic hides file names in Claude Code outputs amid internal disputes over AI insights transparency.

Subject: CISA Navigates DHS Shutdown With Reduced Staffs

Sender: news@securityweek.com

Summary:

– CISA operates with reduced staff amid DHS partial government shutdown due to funding disputes.

– Microsoft warns of new ClickFix attack variant abusing DNS lookups for malware delivery.

– Android 17 Beta emphasizes secure-by-default design for privacy and app security enhancements.

– Major South Korean luxury brands fined $25 million after data breaches.

– Google fixes first actively exploited Chrome zero-day vulnerability of 2026.

– Over 300 malicious Chrome browser extensions detected leaking or stealing data.

– Amazon ends partnership with surveillance company after backlash from Super Bowl ad.

– OPSWAT names Jan Miller as new CTO.

– SecurityWeek expert opinion articles discuss AI-assisted software development risks and recognizing security failures caused by hidden or missing information.

– Additional highlights include: BeyondTrust vulnerability exploitation, renewed secretive Chinese hacking contests, multiple critical software vulnerabilities, Dutch carrier Odido data breach affecting 6 million customers, iOS zero-day patch, new Microsoft Windows security runtime features, and Google threat report highlighting defense sector targeting.

– SecurityWeek’s 2026 virtual event lineup announced.

Stay Well!

summy
summy