Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

Cybersecurity firm Trellix uncovered a sophisticated spear-phishing operation in late May 2025 that exploited NetBird, a legitimate open-source remote access platform, to infiltrate organizations worldwide.

Cyberattacks on public infrastructure are no longer hypothetical. From ransomware disabling city services to foreign actors probing utility networks, the risks are real and rising. Among the most vulnerable targets are our public water systems. Often underfunded, technologically fragmented, and encumbered by legacy systems, water utilities are easy pickings for determined attackers.

Social engineering remains a primary initial access vector for cybercriminals, according to a new report from Europol. “Social engineering, which exploits human error to gain access to systems or personal information, stands out as a prominent technique used by criminal actors in this context,” Europol says.

The physical conflict involving Iran that has played out in the Middle East over the last several days is expected to increasingly spill over into the cyber realm. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and other cybersecurity experts, organizations in the US should begin preparing for increased cyber attacks from pro-Irianian hacktivists and Iranian government-affiliated actors in the coming days and weeks.

Organizations often assume that restoring a backup to a patched environment eliminates threats. However, backups encapsulate both data and schema objects, including triggers. A compromised backup, often taken after an initial breach, may contain hidden triggers that reactivate the attacker’s access upon restore. This post explores how malicious triggers in compromised backups can serve as persistence mechanisms for attackers and how to mitigate this threat.

Most security tools generate alerts and leave the rest to you. Organizations are already drowning in noise, short on time, and stretched thin on security staff. WatchGuard Total MDR replaces noise with action by delivering the response your team doesn’t have time for. This fully managed, 24/7 MDR service continuously monitors detections across your environment across endpoint, network, identity, and cloud to take real action when threats strike.

When it comes to cybercrime, there are few threat actor tactics as useful and widespread as credential theft, and the subsequent use of stolen credentials, to maliciously gain access to an IT environment. As hybrid work models and the widespread use of web-based applications further the digitalization of corporate environments, user credentials have proliferated. In turn, credential theft has risen as a low-tech way for threat actors to gain easy access to target environments.