While there is widespread discourse surrounding deepfakes, the current state of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated synthetic media will appear archaic in contrast to the magnitude and complexity of what is to come. Kevin Mandia, CEO of Mandiant at Google Cloud, predicts that the next generation of more convincing and realistic deepfake audio and video will be mass-produced using AI technology within a matter of months. This article continues to discuss insights regarding AI-borne deepfakes.  

A study conducted by researchers at Washington State University found that higher education cybersecurity programs vary greatly there has been little research on the instructional methods behind their curriculums. The review examined programs at 100 US institutions designated by the National Security Administration as National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity.

Dell Technologies has recently sent notices to millions of customers warning that data, including full names and physical addresses, was stolen during a security incident. Dell Technologies did not provide details on the breach beyond a brief statement mentioning an incident involving a Dell portal, which contains a database with limited types of customer information. The notice sent to customers said the hacked database contained very basic customer data related to purchases from Dell.

A Chrome 124 update released by Google recently patches a zero-day vulnerability that has an exploit that exists in the wild. The zero-day is tracked as CVE-2024-4671, and it has been described by Google as a high-severity use-after-free bug in the Visuals component. Google did not mention any information on the attacks exploiting the vulnerability. Chrome 124.0.6367.201/.202 for Mac and Windows and Chrome 124.0.6367.201 for Linux contain the patch for CVE-2024-4671. According to Google, this is the second Chrome vulnerability of 2024 that has been exploited in malicious attacks.

Ascension, a non-profit that runs one of the largest healthcare systems in the United States, is trying to contain a significant cyberattack currently causing disruption and “downtime procedures” at hospitals nationwide. The St Louis healthcare giant said computer systems affected include electronic health records, the MyChart patient communication portal, certain phone systems, and systems used for ordering tests, procedures, and medications. The company discovered the hack on May 8th.

Two US healthcare providers have recently announced serious cybersecurity incidents in which patient information was accessed. DocGo provides mobile medical services and transportation in 26 states and the UK. The firm revealed that it recently identified unauthorized activity on its network.

Law enforcement agencies from Austria, Cyprus, and Czechia have recently collaborated to dismantle an online cryptocurrency scam, resulting in the arrest of six Austrians allegedly behind the scheme. The investigation, supported by Europol and Eurojust, targeted the orchestrators of a cryptocurrency launched in December 2017. Europol noted that following six house searches, authorities seized over €500,000 in cryptocurrencies and €250,000 in fiat currency and froze numerous bank accounts. Additionally, two cars and a luxury property valued at €1.4m were confiscated.

University System of Georgia (USG) is starting to notify 800,000 individuals that their personal and financial information was compromised in the May 2023 MOVEit hack. The data breach occurred after the Russia-linked Cl0p ransomware group exploited a vulnerability in Progress Software's MOVEit Transfer managed file transfer (MFT) software and stole data from organizations using it. USG used MOVEit to "transfer and store sensitive data" and is the latest education entity to disclose the attack's impact.

Philadelphia-based real estate company Brandywine Realty Trust recently fell victim to a ransomware attack that disrupted some of its business applications. In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, the real estate investment trust revealed that the incident occurred on May 1 and involved unauthorized access to portions of its IT environment.