EU hits Google with a $1 billion fine.

Summary

By the N2K CyberWire staff

EU hits Google with a $1 billion fine.

The European Union has fined Google €890 million (US$1 billion) for alleged breaches of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the New York Times reports. The European Commission imposed fines of €460 million and €430 million, respectively, for Google's "self-preferencing its own services on Google Search, and for putting in place restrictions on businesses to direct consumers to alternative, often cheaper, purchase channels on Google Play (steering)."

The Commission added that Google must implement the following measures or risk additional fines of up to 5% of its global revenue:

"Treat third-party services that feature on Google's search results in a fair and non-discriminatory manner by reference to its own services, and
"Allow app developers distributing their apps via Google Play Store, both technically and contractually, to freely communicate, promote offers and conclude contracts with users not only within but also outside the Google Play app store."

The Times notes that President Trump has previously accused the EU of unfairly targeting American tech companies, and the fines come as he considers imposing a new round of tariffs on the bloc.

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Check Point warns of actively exploited flaw.

Check Point is warning customers about an actively exploited authentication-bypass vulnerability affecting the SmartConsole login for its Security Management and Multi-Domain Management products. The vulnerability (CVE-2026-16232) "allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to obtain an application login token and use it to authenticate with full administrative privileges."

Check Point says attackers have exploited the flaw to target "a limited number of customers whose Management environments were directly exposed to the Internet without IP restrictions." The company added, "A vulnerability affecting the Management Plane can undermine the trust model of the entire security architecture. Even organizations whose Management Servers are not directly exposed to the Internet should not postpone remediation. Network restrictions reduce exposure, but they do not remove the vulnerable code."

South Korea discloses a breach affecting diplomats.

The South Korean government has disclosed a breach affecting the National Diplomatic Academy's online education system, exposing "personal information of current and former employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters and overseas missions, as well as other personnel." The breach began in April 2025 after an attacker exploited a vulnerability in the Academy's system, and continued through February 2026. According to BleepingComputer, the incident affected at least 6,000 individuals, 350 of them being current government diplomats serving abroad. The exposed data included IDs, names, email addresses, and encrypted passwords.

Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities

New msaRAT malware uses Chrome, Edge browsers to route C2 traffic (BleepingComputer) The Chaos ransomware gang is using a new backdoor dubbed msaRAT that hides command-and-control (C2) communication by routing it through the Chrome or Edge browsers.

Federal agencies broaden alert on Iran-linked OT attacks (The Record) The observed incidents include “malicious project file interactions and manipulation of data on human machine interface (HMI) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) displays,” the advisory says.

Legislation, Policy, and Regulation

US Eyes Sanctions on Chinese AI Firms Over Distillation (GovInfoSecurity) Treasury Secretary Says US Is Finding American Model 'Watermarks' in Chinese AI

Most federal cybersecurity reporting rules are duplicative, study finds (CyberScoop) A new GAO report reveals 70% of federal cybersecurity reporting rules overlap, while efforts to streamline redundant requirements continue to face delays.

Industry Events

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Newly Noted Events

DEF CON 34 (Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, Aug 6 - 9, 2026) DEF CON has been a part of the hacker community for over three decades. Originally started in 1993, it was a meant to be a party for member of "Platinum Net", a Fido protocol based hacking network out of Canada. As the main U.S. hub I was helping the Platinum Net organizer (I forget his name) plan a closing party for all the member BBS systems and their users. He was going to shut down the network when his dad took a new job and had to move away. We talking about where we might hold it, when all of a sudden he left early and disappeared. I was just planning a party for a network that was shut down, except for my U.S. nodes. I decided what the hell, I'll invite the members of all the other networks my BBS (A Dark Tangent System) system was a part of including Cyber Crime International (CCI), Hit Net, Tired of Protection (ToP), and like 8 others I can't remember. Why not invite everyone on #hack? Good idea!

Cybersecurity Operational Methods and Education Training (COMET) cohort (Virtual, USA, Aug 31 - Sep 28, 2026) COMET was established to provide relevant, up-to-date training to Maryland state and local government employees to elevate the ability of the workforce to identify and respond to the largest cybersecurity challenges facing the state and local government.

Events

Tech for Good: When Moments Matter with Axon (Virtual, USA, Jul 28, 2026) This session will explore career pathways in mission-driven technology and give members a closer look at how technical teams at Axon build products that support public safety, accountability, and real-world impact.

Black Hat USA (Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, Aug 1 - 6, 2026) The premier cybersecurity event of the year returns to Mandalay Bay with a re-engineered, six-day program built to ignite innovation, push boundaries, and bring the global security community together like never before. This year’s event features four days of immersive, expert-led Trainings (August 1–4), followed by Summit Day on Tuesday, August 4, and a two-day main conference packed with groundbreaking Briefings, open-source tool demos in Arsenal, a dynamic Business Hall, and unlimited learning & networking opportunities.

DEF CON 34 (Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, Aug 6 - 9, 2026) DEF CON has been a part of the hacker community for over three decades. Originally started in 1993, it was a meant to be a party for member of "Platinum Net", a Fido protocol based hacking network out of Canada. As the main U.S. hub I was helping the Platinum Net organizer (I forget his name) plan a closing party for all the member BBS systems and their users. He was going to shut down the network when his dad took a new job and had to move away. We talking about where we might hold it, when all of a sudden he left early and disappeared. I was just planning a party for a network that was shut down, except for my U.S. nodes. I decided what the hell, I'll invite the members of all the other networks my BBS (A Dark Tangent System) system was a part of including Cyber Crime International (CCI), Hit Net, Tired of Protection (ToP), and like 8 others I can't remember. Why not invite everyone on #hack? Good idea!

Cybersecurity Operational Methods and Education Training (COMET) cohort (Virtual, USA, Aug 31 - Sep 28, 2026) COMET was established to provide relevant, up-to-date training to Maryland state and local government employees to elevate the ability of the workforce to identify and respond to the largest cybersecurity challenges facing the state and local government.

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Daily Briefing for 07.23.26

Top stories.

EU hits Google with a $1 billion fine.

Check Point warns of actively exploited flaw.

South Korea discloses a breach affecting diplomats.

Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities

Legislation, Policy, and Regulation

Newly Noted Events

Events