The US State Department confirms that it's sustained a breach of its unclassified email system, with hundreds of staffers' information affected. ("Hundreds" is said to amount to about 1% of the Department's workforce.) The breach occurred earlier this year, and the principal concern is exposure of personal information.

Palo Alto Networks is tracking Iron Group, a Chinese-speaking criminal gang that’s distributing pseudoransomware. The malware steals and then destroys data; the ransom demand is just misdirection. The malicious code self-propagates across affected networks using backdoors exposed in a HackingTeam breach.

Bristol Airport still hasn't recovered from the "ransomware-like" attack it sustained at the end of last week.

Facebook has joined the companies offering to help political campaigns stay more secure during the US midterm elections. The social media platform is offering to help the campaigns set up two-factor authentication.

The US Defense Department has issued a new cyber strategy. That strategy assumes a contested cyberspace in both war and peace, and has the following major goals: mission assurance, enhanced US military advantage, defense of critical infrastructure, securing Defense information and systems, and expanded cooperation with all partners (US Government, industry, and allied).

A US Federal District Court has decided to allow juries to apply securities law to cases involving Initial Coin Offering (ICO) fraud. This is expected to set a precedent for more regulatory action in ICO markets.

The three young hackers responsible for the Mirai botnet are getting their sentences suspended. Instead of jail time, they're cooperating with the FBI.