Play to win, pay to lose.

15 hours ago

Play to win, pay to lose.

Today we are joined by Jean-Pierre Mouton, Senior Threat Intelligence Consultant at GuidePoint Security, discussing their work on "How Play Achieves Encryption." Play ransomware, also known as PlayCrypt, continues to target organizations across multiple sectors using a consistent double-extortion playbook that combines data theft with widespread encryption. A recent investigation details how the group gained access through a SonicWall VPN, moved laterally using tools such as Mimikatz and PsExec, exfiltrated sensitive data, and used the victim’s own SentinelOne uninstallation utility to disable endpoint protection. The findings highlight several behavioral indicators defenders can monitor, including tool staging through SYSVOL and SystemBC for command and control, event log clearing, and suspicious WinSCP activity.

Research Saturday

Play to win, pay to lose.

15 hours ago

Play to win, pay to lose.

Today we are joined by Jean-Pierre Mouton, Senior Threat Intelligence Consultant at GuidePoint Security, discussing their work on "How Play Achieves Encryption." Play ransomware, also known as PlayCrypt, continues to target organizations across multiple sectors using a consistent double-extortion playbook that combines data theft with widespread encryption. A recent investigation details how the group gained access through a SonicWall VPN, moved laterally using tools such as Mimikatz and PsExec, exfiltrated sensitive data, and used the victim’s own SentinelOne uninstallation utility to disable endpoint protection. The findings highlight several behavioral indicators defenders can monitor, including tool staging through SYSVOL and SystemBC for command and control, event log clearing, and suspicious WinSCP activity.

Research Saturday

Cybersecurity News

Week that Was

16 hours ago

OpenAI cancels release of latest model over safety concerns.

Pentagon data breach impacts millions of US military personnel. FBI tells ShinyHunters members to turn themselves in.

CyberWire Daily

Oct 2, 2026

A rough week for safety.

OpenAI fires safety researchers for mishandling sensitive information. CISA looks to secure the next 250. Dell patches six critical flaws, while attackers exploit a FortiMail zero-day. Warlock ransomware expands its reach, and Star Blizzard scales up its phishing. Researchers map maritime GPS spoofing. An alleged Iranian hacker is extradited to the U.S., and law enforcement takes down KillSec. Our guests are John Kindervag and Dr. Chase Cunningham, discussing their new book "Cyber Resilience at Machine Speed: The Zero Trust Model for the AI Era". Clippy’s back, and this time he wants your wallet.

Daily Briefing

Oct 2, 2026

OpenAI fires safety researchers for mishandling sensitive information.

Law enforcement arrests alleged KillSec ransomware operators. Fortinet warns of an actively exploited FortiMail zero-day.

CyberWire Daily

Oct 1, 2026

The Pentagon’s roll call.

A Pentagon breach exposes data on millions. ShinyHunters goes dark. MI5 warns universities about Chinese espionage. AI agents find creative ways around their guardrails. A fake Zoom installer delivers macOS malware. Cisco patches an actively exploited SD-WAN flaw. OpenAI disrupts a “distillation attack.” Cyber Command confronts operator burnout. Treasury targets alleged ATM jackpotters. Our guest is Etay Maor, Vice President of Threat Intelligence at Cato Networks, with a reminder that your network isn't a recycling bin. Prophecy as a service.

Caveat

Oct 1, 2026

Rogue OpenAI agents targeted government sites.

Judge rules in favor of blacklisting Anthropic.

Daily Briefing

Oct 1, 2026

Pentagon data breach impacts millions of US military personnel.

MI5 warns UK academics against collaborating with an MSS-linked research institute. Russia’s Star Blizzard uses a new malware delivery technique.

Caveat

Oct 1, 2026

Anthropic’s Court Battles.

This week, Dave and Ben look at the recent court ruling which has supported the Trump administration's reclassification that Anthropic was a supply chain risk. Additionally, the two look at how AI chat prompts are being increasingly used for gathering evidence for AI-related investigations.

Hacking Humans

Oct 1, 2026

App-arently it's legit.

This week, hosts of N2K CyberWire ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Maria Varmazis⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Dave Bittner⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ alongside ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Joe Carrigan⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ are discussing the latest in social engineering scams, phishing schemes, and criminal exploits that are making headlines. We start with some follow up from Crowchild Bob, who questions Joe’s math from the Xinbi story—and Joe has an explanation for that billion-dollar mix-up. Dave covers a new twist on business email compromise, where scammers use AI-assisted messages, fake invoices, and fabricated email conversations to convince finance teams to make large payments. Maria explores fake desktop apps impersonating legitimate HR and payroll services, using trusted platforms and legitimate software to gain remote access to victims’ computers. Joe shares a scam story from Jay on LinkedIn. And our Catch of the Day comes from Twitter on a fake email.

CyberWire Daily

Sep 30, 2026

The guardrails go to court.

AI companies sign a voluntary accord aimed at addressing safety concerns. Cybercriminals abuse the CustomGPT feature as part of a ClickFix campaign. The FBI is urging members of ShinyHunters to come forward. A fraud campaign turns stolen credentials into job scams. Maria Varmazis joins us for her space cyber story. The WaterISAC confronts persistent weaknesses. AI gives SOC teams more time at the expense of training. Two U.S. Air Force members get federal prison time over a business email compromise scheme. Our guest is Dan Ohlemeier, Senior Solutions Architect for Ready1 at Semperis, discussing crisis orchestration. That is one big pile of technical debt.

Story

Sep 30, 2026

Crisis Orchestration: The Unsung Hero of Successful Cyber Incident Response with Dan Ohlemeier from Semperis

Dan Ohlemeier, Principal Solutions Architect at Semperis, joins Dave Bittner on the CyberWire Daily podcast for a sponsored Industry Voices conversation about crisis orchestration and the often-overlooked challenges of executing an incident response plan during a real cyber crisis. Dan explains why organizations need to prepare for communication, coordination, and documentation when normal systems are unavailable or untrusted, how more realistic tabletop exercises can expose gaps before an incident, and why effective cyber resilience depends on aligning people, processes, and technology.

Business

Sep 30, 2026

Island raises $400 million in a Series F round.

Israeli cloud security company Upwind is acquiring AI cybersecurity startup Aegis.

Daily Briefing

Sep 30, 2026

FBI tells ShinyHunters members to turn themselves in.

AI companies sign a voluntary accord aimed at addressing safety concerns. Business news: Island raises $400 million in Series F funding.

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