The WorldLeaks cybercrime group claims to have stolen information from the footwear and apparel giant’s systems.
The post Nike Probing Potential Security Incident as Hackers Threaten to Leak Data appeared first on SecurityWeek.
Cyber regulations are where politics meets business – where business becomes subject to political realities.
The post Cyber Insights 2026: Regulations and the Tangled Mess of Compliance Requirements appeared first on SecurityWeek.
Pwn2Own participants disclosed a total of 76 vulnerabilities during the three-day event.
The post Infotainment, EV Charger Exploits Earn Hackers $1M at Pwn2Own Automotive 2026 appeared first on SecurityWeek.
A team of researchers from the Graz University of Technology in Austria has revived page Linux page cache attacks.
The post Old Attack, New Speed: Researchers Optimize Page Cache Exploits appeared first on SecurityWeek.
Cisco has released patches for CVE-2026-20045, a critical vulnerability that can be exploited for unauthenticated remote code execution.
The post Hackers Targeting Cisco Unified CM Zero-Day appeared first on SecurityWeek.
API cybersecurity will be a ping pong ball, battered between the rackets of AI-assisted attackers and AI-assisted defenders.
The post Cyber Insights 2026: API Security – Harder to Secure, Impossible to Ignore appeared first on SecurityWeek.
Oracle’s January 2026 CPU resolves roughly 230 unique vulnerabilities across more than 30 products.
The post Oracle’s First 2026 CPU Delivers 337 New Security Patches appeared first on SecurityWeek.
Eighty years ago, the first United Nations General Assembly convened in London, marking the start of a new era of global cooperation. Today, the context in which the UN operates has changed significantly. The UN system is being asked to deliver results with greater speed and precision, often amid tightening resources and growing demands. In response, the UN is advancing reforms to become more agile, accountable, and efficient.
The UN80 initiative, launched by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, is about making the UN system fit for the future, strengthening its resilience, responsiveness, and capacity for innovation across humanitarian response, development, and international security.
We are at a unique moment in history, the AI era, where digital and AI technologies can fundamentally reshape how large, complex institutions deliver for people around the world. For the UN, this is an opportunity not only to strengthen core systems such as procurement, service delivery, and supply chain management, but to reimagine how it meets the needs of constituents with greater speed, scale, and impact. Microsoft can support this moment by helping build the digital and AI foundations needed to modernize operations and unlock new solutions to global challenges at a scale not previously possible.
In December, all 193 Member States reached agreement on a package of measures to ensure financial stability and enhance efficiency across the UN system. Following that, and in the spirit of the US Government’s recent $2 billion contribution to fund humanitarian aid, Microsoft is announcing a pledge designed to support the UN system holistically. We hope that our pledge will inspire further action and help catalyze broader private sector resources and expertise. Microsoft’s UN80 pledge is structured around four pillars.
Together, these commitments are intended to support the organization’s efforts to become more agile, efficient, and transparent through concrete action and investment. We describe each pillar in more detail below.
Microsoft is committing a multi-million-dollar investment to establish an innovation fund that will support priority UN80 initiatives, particularly where AI and digital technologies can accelerate outcomes. This fund is designed to be collective, open to other private sector partners’ contributions, and focused on practical projects that strengthen UN capabilities and delivery.
Microsoft is making a pricing commitment designed to improve affordability for the UN system. As part of this commitment, Microsoft will provide a specialized UN80 offer through June 2027 to improve affordability and help address financial constraints. Access to secure, modern digital tools is foundational to the UN’s ability to operate effectively across geographies and mandates.
We will make available free digital and AI literacy training and credentials to all UN staff. This includes training on the capabilities needed to adopt and scale technology responsibly across UN agencies, missions, and offices.
Microsoft is committing to bring together partners to align resources, expertise, and innovation in support of UN80 priorities. EY is taking a leadership position in the industry as the first partner to join this coalition, making a similar pledge to contribute their expertise and capacity in support of UN80-aligned initiatives. EY brings deep experience across the UN system as well as across multiple industries—expertise that will be invaluable in shaping new initiatives and collaborations to strengthen the capabilities needed to meet the UN80 commitments. Together, Microsoft and EY are working to anchor this early private-sector coalition in shared purpose and equip the UN with the tools and capabilities to advance reform at scale.
This commitment builds on years of concrete collaboration where technology and partnerships have strengthened core UN systems. Through our work with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), we’ve helped advance digital learning platforms that have reached millions of children worldwide, ensuring equitable access to education even in the most challenging circumstances. Our engagement with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has supported global connectivity initiatives, helping bridge the digital divide and foster inclusive access to technology. In humanitarian settings, our work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is advancing AI-powered transcription, translation, and summarization to make refugee onboarding faster and more accessible in some of the world’s toughest environments.
Together with Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab and GitHub, UNHCR has also modernized mapping for the Kakuma refugee camp, enabling humanitarian teams to deliver aid more efficiently, plan infrastructure with precision, and uphold safety and dignity for over 300,000 displaced individuals. We partnered with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Training Centre of the ILO through the Women in Digital Business initiative to equip women entrepreneurs with digital and AI skills—opening doors to growth, reaching new markets, and strengthening economic impact. In remote communities like Kaswanga in Rusinga Island, these tools are breaking barriers and rewriting futures as women turn local crafts and produce into nationwide businesses.
Together, these efforts show how responsible innovation can strengthen the UN’s ability to deliver at scale.
To support effective execution of these commitments, Microsoft is standing up a dedicated UN80 engagement team to serve as a point of contact for UN counterparts. This team will engage with UN leadership to help align priorities, coordinate partner contributions, and support the effective deployment of resources as the UN80 initiative takes shape.
UN80 provides an opportunity to build on this foundation and scale what works across the system.
As the UN enters its next 80 years, Microsoft stands with the organization as a committed partner, investing in the systems and capabilities needed to deliver in a changing world. Our hope is that UN80 is more than an aspiration, and that it promotes modernization, accountability, transparency, and efficiency for years to come.
UN does not endorse any company, brand, organization, product or service.
The post A renewed commitment to strengthening the United Nations for its next era appeared first on Microsoft On the Issues.
A simple payload allowed attackers to create a new event leaking summaries of the victim’s private meetings.
The post Weaponized Invite Enabled Calendar Data Theft via Google Gemini appeared first on SecurityWeek.
Information sharing is necessary for efficient cybersecurity, and is widespread; but never quite perfect in practice.
The post Cyber Insights 2026: Information Sharing appeared first on SecurityWeek.
US officials told The New York Times that cyberattacks were used to turn off the lights in Caracas and disrupt air defense radars.
The post New Reports Reinforce Cyberattack’s Role in Maduro Capture Blackout appeared first on SecurityWeek.
We've known that social engineering would get AI wings. Now, at the beginning of 2026, we are learning just how high those wings can soar.
The post Cyber Insights 2026: Social Engineering appeared first on SecurityWeek.
China has more than 5,000 cybersecurity companies and all the top 20 firms are working with the government.
The post Cybersecurity Firms React to China’s Reported Software Ban appeared first on SecurityWeek.
Easterly will be leading the world-renowned cybersecurity conference and other RSAC programs.
The post Former CISA Director Jen Easterly Appointed CEO of RSAC appeared first on SecurityWeek.
Researchers have disclosed technical details on a new AMD processor attack that allows remote code execution inside confidential VMs.
The post New ‘StackWarp’ Attack Threatens Confidential VMs on AMD Processors appeared first on SecurityWeek.
Designed for long-term access, the framework targets cloud and container environments with loaders, implants, and rootkits.
The post VoidLink Linux Malware Framework Targets Cloud Environments appeared first on SecurityWeek.
Today, Microsoft is announcing a coordinated legal action in the United States and, for the first time, the United Kingdom to disrupt RedVDS, a global cybercrime subscription service fueling millions in fraud losses. These efforts are part of a broader joint operation with international law enforcement, including German authorities and Europol, which has allowed Microsoft and its partners to seize key malicious infrastructure and take the RedVDS marketplace offline, a major step toward dismantling the networks behind AI-enabled fraud, such as real estate scams.
For as little as US $24 a month, RedVDS provides criminals with access to disposable virtual computers that make fraud cheap, scalable, and difficult to trace. Services like these have quietly become a driving force behind today’s surge in cyber‑enabled crime, powering attacks that harm individuals, businesses, and communities worldwide. Since March 2025, RedVDS‑enabled activity has driven roughly US $40 million in reported fraud losses in the United States alone. Among the victims is H2-Pharma, an Alabama‑based pharmaceutical company that lost more than $7.3 million — money supposed to be used to sustain lifesaving cancer treatments, mental health medications, and children’s allergy drugs for patients across the country. In a separate case, the Gatehouse Dock Condominium Association in Florida was tricked out of nearly $500,000—funds contributed by residents and property owners for essential repairs. Both organizations are joining Microsoft as co‑plaintiffs in this civil action.
But these cases represent only a fraction of the harm. Fraud and scams frequently go unreported, victims are global, and cybercriminals routinely pivot across platforms and service providers. For the individual, fraud has lasting effects that extend beyond financial loss to emotional wellbeing, health, relationships, and long-term stability. As a result, the true toll of RedVDS‑enabled activity is far higher than the roughly US $40 million Microsoft can directly observe.
RedVDS is an online subscription service that is part of the growing cybercrime-as-a-service ecosystem where cybercriminals buy and sell services and tools to launch attacks at scale. It provides access to cheap, effective, and disposable virtual computers running unlicensed software, including Windows, allowing criminals to operate quickly, anonymously, and across borders.
Cybercriminals use RedVDS for a wide range of activities, including sending high‑volume phishing emails, hosting scam infrastructure, and facilitating fraud schemes. RedVDS is frequently paired with generative AI tools that help identify high‑value targets faster and generate more realistic, multimedia message email threads that mimic legitimate correspondences. In hundreds of cases, Microsoft observed attackers further augment their deception by leveraging face-swapping, video manipulation, and voice cloning AI tools to impersonate individuals and deceive victims.
In just one month, more than 2,600 distinct RedVDS virtual machines sent an average of one million phishing messages per day to Microsoft customers alone. While most were blocked or flagged as part of the 600 million cyberattacks Microsoft blocks per day, the sheer volume meant a small percentage may have succeeded in reaching the targets’ inboxes. Since September 2025, RedVDS‑enabled attacks have led to the compromise or fraudulent access of more than 191,000 organizations worldwide. These figures represent only a subset of the impacted accounts across all technology providers, illustrating how quickly this infrastructure increases the scale of cyberattacks.
One of the most common ways RedVDS‑enabled attacks result in financial loss is through payment diversion fraud, also known as business email compromise, or “BEC.” In these schemes, attackers gain unauthorized access to email accounts, quietly monitor ongoing conversations, and wait for the right moment, such as an upcoming payment or wire transfer. At that point, they impersonate a trusted party and redirect funds, often moving the money within seconds. Both H2-Pharma and the Gatehouse Dock Condominium Association were targeted through sophisticated BEC schemes that exploited trust and timing.
RedVDS has also been heavily used to facilitate real estate payment diversion scams, one of the fastest‑growing forms of cyber‑enabled fraud. In these cases, attackers compromise the accounts of realtors, escrow agents, or title companies and send strategically timed emails with fraudulent payment instructions designed to divert closing funds, escrow payments, and other sizeable transactions. For families and first altogether. Microsoft has observed RedVDS‑enabled activity affecting more than 9,000 customers in the real estate sector alone, with particularly severe impact in countries such as Canada and Australia.
And the threat goes far beyond real estate. RedVDS‑enabled scams have hit construction, manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, education, legal services, and many other sectors—disrupting everything from production lines to patient .
Cybercrime today is powered by shared infrastructure, which means disrupting individual attackers is not enough. Through this coordinated action, Microsoft has disrupted RedVDS’s operations, including seizing two domains that host the RedVDS marketplace and customer portal, while also laying the groundwork to identify the individuals behind them.
Microsoft’s legal actions are reinforced by close collaboration with law enforcement partners around the world, further disrupting the malicious operation. Germany’s Public Prosecutor’s Office Frankfurt am Main – Central Office for Combating Internet Crime (ZIT) and the German State Criminal Police Office Brandenburg have seized a critical server used to power RedVDS, effectively taking its central marketplace offline. At the same time and as part of this ongoing disruption, Microsoft is also working closely with international law enforcement, including Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), to disrupt the broader network of servers and payment networks that supported RedVDS customers as part of the ongoing disruption.
What people and organizations can do
We are deeply grateful to H2– -Pharma and the Gatehouse Dock Condominium Association for their willingness to come forward and share their experiences. Their cooperation, combined with Microsoft’s threat intelligence, made this action possible and will help protect future victims. Falling victim to a scam should never carry stigma. These attacks are executed by organized, professional criminal groups that intercept and manipulate legitimate communications between trusted parties.
Simple steps can significantly reduce risk, including slowing down and questioning urgency, calling points of contact back using numbers that are already known to you, verifying payment requests using additional contact information, enabling multifactor authentication, watching carefully for subtle changes in email addresses, keeping software up to date, and reporting suspicious activity to law enforcement. Every report helps dismantle networks like RedVDS and brings us closer to stopping cybercrime at scale.
This action against RedVDS builds on Microsoft’s ongoing efforts to disrupt fraud and scam infrastructure through legal and technical action, collaboration with law enforcement, and participation in global initiatives such as the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA) and the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA). It marks the 35th civil action targeting cybercrime infrastructure by Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit, underscoring a sustained strategy to go beyond individual takedowns and dismantle the services that criminals rely on to operate and scale.
As services like RedVDS continue to emerge, Microsoft will keep working with partners across sectors and borders to identify and disrupt the infrastructure behind cyber-enabled fraud, making it harder for criminals to profit and easier for people and organizations to stay safe online.
The post Microsoft disrupts global cybercrime subscription service responsible for millions in fraud losses appeared first on Microsoft On the Issues.
RedVDS enables threat actors to set up servers that can be used for phishing, BEC attacks, account takeover, and fraud.
The post RedVDS Cybercrime Service Disrupted by Microsoft and Law Enforcement appeared first on SecurityWeek.
The Predator spyware is more sophisticated and dangerous than previously realized.
The post Predator Spyware Turns Failed Attacks Into Intelligence for Future Exploits appeared first on SecurityWeek.
News of the move to acquire Seraphic comes less than a week after CrowdStrike announced an agreement to acquire identity security startup SGNL for $740 million.
The post CrowdStrike to Acquire Browser Security Firm Seraphic for $420 Million appeared first on SecurityWeek.
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