Microsoft's Patch Tuesday fixes two actively exploited zero-days.

Summary

By the CyberWire staff

At a glance.

Patch Tuesday notes.
Cybercrime and nation-state operations are increasingly entwined.
Arizona woman pleads guilty to role in DPRK employment fraud scheme.

Microsoft's Patch Tuesday fixes two actively exploited zero-days.

Microsoft yesterday issued patches for 56 vulnerabilities, including two actively exploited zero-days, KrebsOnSecurity reports. One of the zero-days is a privilege escalation flaw (CVE-2025-21391) in Windows Storage that can allow an attacker to delete targeted files on a system. The other zero-day is a buffer overflow vulnerability (CVE-2025-21418) that could allow an attacker to gain SYSTEM-level privileges.

Adobe has released fixes for 45 flaws across multiple products, including over a dozen critical flaws affecting Adobe Commerce, SecurityWeek notes.

Ivanti has issued patches for critical issues affecting Connect Secure (ICS), Policy Secure (IPS), and Cloud Services Application (CSA). One of the flaws (CVE-2025-22467) has been assigned a CVSS score of 9.9, and can lead to remote code execution.

Patch Tuesday also saw security fixes from chipmakers Intel, AMD, and Nvidia, as well as industrial firms Schneider Electric and Siemens.

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Cybercrime and nation-state operations are increasingly entwined.

Google has published a report on the national security risks presented by cybercrime, arguing that state-sponsored hacking "should not be evaluated in isolation from financially motivated intrusions." The researchers note that state-backed groups from Russia, China, and Iran are increasingly leveraging commodity malware and other resources purchased on criminal forums. Russia in particular is well-known for retaining criminal hackers to support government-backed operations. Meanwhile, North Korean state-sponsored hackers frequently have financial gain as one of their primary motives.

Google believes governments should elevate cybercrime to a national security priority in order to combat this trend: "Governments must recognize cybercrime as a pernicious national security threat and allocate resources accordingly. This includes prioritizing intelligence collection and analysis on cybercriminal organizations, enhancing law enforcement capacity to investigate and prosecute cybercrime, and fostering international cooperation to dismantle these transnational networks."

Arizona woman pleads guilty to role in DPRK employment fraud scheme.

A 48-year-old Arizona woman named Christina Marie Chapman has pleaded guilty to running a laptop farm for fraudulent North Korean IT workers, the Record reports. Chapman helped the overseas workers obtain remote IT positions at 300 US companies, generating over $17 million for herself and the North Korean government.

The Justice Department stated, "Chapman and her coconspirators obtained jobs at hundreds of U.S. companies, including Fortune 500 corporations, often through temporary staffing companies or other contracting organizations. Chapman received and hosted computers from the U.S. companies, creating a 'laptop farm' at her home, so that the companies would believe the workers were in the United States. As a result of Chapman’s assistance, the overseas IT workers gained access to the internal systems of the U.S. companies."

Notes.

Today's issue includes events affecting China, Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Russia, and the United States.

Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities

PowerSchool breach exposed special education status, mental health data and parent restraining orders (The Record) Sensitive student information including special education status, mental health details, disciplinary notes and parental restraining orders were exposed in the recent hack targeting PowerSchool, highlighting how easily troves of unique personal data can be obtained by hackers.

DOGE Is Hacking America (Foreign Policy) The U.S. government has experienced what may be the most consequential security breach in its history.

Fortinet discloses second firewall auth bypass patched in January (BleepingComputer) Fortinet has disclosed a second authentication bypass vulnerability that was fixed as part of a January 2025 update for FortiOS and FortiProxy devices.

Legislation, Policy, and Regulation

Trump plans to nominate GOP insider Sean Cairncross as national cyber director (The Record) Sean Cairncross, who has held leadership positions in the Republican National Committee and served in the previous Trump administration, is expected to be the president's nominee to lead the Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD).

Litigation, Investigation, and Law Enforcement

California Teenager Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison for Nationwide Swatting Spree (US Justice Department) Alan W. Filion, 18, of Lancaster, California, was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for making interstate threats to injure the person of another.

Industry Events

For a complete running list of events, please visit the Event Tracker.

Events

27th Annual Commercial Space Conference - Launching Tomorrow: Government and Industry Taking Space to New Heights (Washington, DC, USA, Feb 12, 2025) For more than a decade, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation (CSF) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have partnered to host the Commercial Space Transportation Conference. CSF and FAA-AST have decided to change the name of the event to the Commercial Space Conference (CSC) to be more inclusive and recognize the broader sectors of the commercial space industry. We are proud to include speakers from the many agencies the commercial space industry interfaces with daily, including the FAA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Commerce, The White House, Congress, the State Department, the National Space Council, and the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community. During this intensive one-day event, hundreds will gather to discuss the most pressing commercial space policy issues facing the industry and to hear insights from prominent U.S. government and industry leaders. Topics for discussion will include the policy and regulatory framework for launch and re-entry operations, commercial Earth observation activities, space situational awareness and space traffic coordination, orbital debris mitigation and space sustainability, and in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing or ISAM.

FutureCon Baltimore (Baltimore, Maryland, USA, Feb 13, 2025) Hear from our esteemed speakers while gaining up to 10 CPE credits. Immerse yourself in the latest cybersecurity developments to gain valuable insights in today’s dynamic threat landscape. Learn how to effectively manage risk, demo the newest technologies from an array of different sponsors, and network with your local community.

Zero Trust World 2025 (Orlando, Florida, USA, Feb 19 - 21, 2025) Whether you’re Zero Trust curious, actively adopting, or simply want to harden your cybersecurity, Zero Trust World provides education and training to support IT professionals. Through thought leadership and hands-on hacking labs, you’ll explore the threat landscape and what’s possible by changing your defense strategy to default-deny.

The Business of Space Conference (Huntsville, Alabama, Feb 23 - 25, 2025) Engage with top academics, business leaders, innovators, and policy influencers working on the new space economy. Dive into keynote presentations and discussions that foster collaboration between researchers and space economy industry stakeholders. These conversations will present the latest insights into the new space economy and shape future academic and policy research.

GovMilSpace (Washington, DC, USA, Mar 10 - 13, 2025) Demystify the future of space technology. In alignment with the SATELLITE Conference & Exhibition, GovMilSpace brings together government and military agencies, the intelligence community, and satellite and space industry partners to explore how private industry can enhance critical missions for the U.S. and its global allies.

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Daily Briefing for 02.12.25

At a glance.

Microsoft's Patch Tuesday fixes two actively exploited zero-days.

Cybercrime and nation-state operations are increasingly entwined.

Arizona woman pleads guilty to role in DPRK employment fraud scheme.

Notes.

Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities

Legislation, Policy, and Regulation

Litigation, Investigation, and Law Enforcement

Events