The City of Wichita, Kansas, recently announced that it has shut down its computer network after falling victim to a ransomware attack. The incident occurred on May 5, when malware encrypted data on certain systems, prompting Wichita to turn off some of its systems as a containment measure, which affected certain online services. The city says it is unclear whether personal information was compromised in the attack, but Wichita said details on the matter will be provided as the investigation into the incident advances.

As part of the Intelligence Advanced Research Project Activity (IARPA) program called "Reimagining Security with Cyberpsychology-Informed Network Defense" (ReSCIND), researchers at George Mason University (GMU) will build defensive tools that first identify hackers' human flaws and then use them to defend against an attack. IARPA has turned its attention to exploiting the human factor, the weakest link in cyberattacks. Under the new IARPA program, researchers hope to gain further insight into hackers' cognitive vulnerabilities and decision-making biases to stop future attacks.

Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) is leading a research project to identify quantum threats to smart grid cybersecurity and develop mitigation solutions to protect critical energy infrastructure. Quantum computers put utility infrastructure protected by current cybersecurity standards at risk for severe attacks that could result in total disruption. The project will identify vulnerabilities in generic power system models and show how an attack can disrupt the smart grid.

Nalini Joshi, a mathematics professor at the University of Sydney, highlights the development of new mathematical schemes to protect data against potential attacks from quantum computers. Powerful quantum computers will use the properties of the quantum world to decipher secrets exponentially faster than ordinary computers. While it remains unknown when quantum computers will be powerful enough to break today's encryption systems, many people and organizations are already concerned about "Harvest Now, Decrypt Later" (HNDL) attacks.

Researchers at West Virginia University (WVU) will address cybersecurity needs in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies with $1.75 million in funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Trend Micro reports that the botnet of hijacked Ubiquiti routers used by the Russia-linked APT28 group for global espionage operations includes devices other than Ubiquiti Edge OS routers.

The University of Twente, together with the Jheronimus Academy of Data Science (JADS), is leading a project aimed at strengthening supply chains against cyberattacks. The project titled "Digital Resilience in Supply Chains" (DReSC) uses data-driven methods to identify vulnerabilities, develop solutions, and better understand how to cultivate a culture of security in supply chains. With careful risk assessment and real-life experiments, DReSC will delve into how suggested interventions can reduce cyber risks.

The latest annual report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) emphasizes that China is the biggest cyber threat to the US government, private sector, and critical infrastructure networks. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and US government partners have noticed a worrying trend of the People's Republic of China (PRC) nation-state cyber actors targeting US critical infrastructure for disruption. Many critical infrastructure owners and operators are small businesses or rely on small business service providers and vendors.

Classic and novel stealth techniques helped "DuneQuixote" remain hidden for at least a year. The threat actor behind the campaign spied on a Middle Eastern government organization. Before researchers reached the attack, at least 30 infections had been recorded against other organizations, mostly around the Middle East. Experts say cyberattackers have improved their stealth across the board. The DuneQuixote campaign has two malware droppers and two payloads. One of the droppers mimics the Total Commander, combining legitimate and malicious components.