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⚡ Weekly Recap: Chrome 0-Day, Ivanti Exploits, MacOS Stealers, Crypto Heists and More. Everything feels secure—until one small thing slips through. Even strong systems can break if a simple check is missed or a trusted tool is misused. Most threats don't start with alarms—they sneak in through the little things we overlook. A tiny bug, a reused password, a quiet connection—that's all it takes. Staying safe isn't just about reacting fast. It's about catching these early signs before they blow up into real problems. That's why this week's updates matter. From stealthy tactics to unexpected entry points, the stories ahead reveal how quickly risk can spread—and what smart teams are doing to stay ahead. Dive in. ⚡ Threat of the Week U.S. Disrupts N. Korea IT Worker Scheme — Prosecutors said they uncovered the North Korean IT staff working at over 100 U.S. companies using fictitious or stolen identities and not only drawing salaries, but also stealing secret data and plundering virtual currency more than $900,000 in one incident targeting an unnamed blockchain company in Atlanta. The actions are the latest steps to stop the scheme, which has seen North Korea earn millions through thousands of people who use fake identities to get hired as IT workers at companies based in the West and other parts of the world. Authorities conducted 21 searches across 14 states last month, adding to searches that were conducted at eight locations in October 2024 spanning three states. In at least one case, North Korean IT workers gained access to "sensitive employer data and source code, including International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) data," after they were hired by a California-based defense contractor that develops artificial intelligence-powered equipment and technologies, the Justice Department said. In all, the coordinated action led to the arrest of one individual, and the seizure of 21 web domains, 29 financial accounts used to launder tens of thousands of dollars, and nearly 200 laptops and remote access devices, including KVMs. The U.S. State Department is offering rewards of up to $5 million for information leading to the "disruption of financial mechanisms of persons engaged in certain activities that support North Korea." The actions reveal that North Koreans didn't merely falsify IDs to insinuate themselves into Western tech firms, but also allegedly stole the identities of "more than 80 U.S. persons" to impersonate them in jobs at more than 100 U.S. companies and funnel money to the Kim regime. Employees Are Using AI To Improve Their Work But Creating Risk VPNs and public-facing IPs are your attack surface. Zero Trust + AI ensures safe public AI productivity. 🔔 Top News This week's list includes — CVE-2025-32462, CVE-2025-32463 (Sudo), CVE-2025-20309 (Cisco Unified CM and Unified CM SME), CVE-2025-49596 (Anthropic MCP Inspector), CVE-2025-6554 (Google Chrome), CVE-2025-5622, CVE-2025-5623, CVE-2025-5624, CVE-2025-5630 (D-Link DIR-816 routers), CVE-2025-49151, CVE-2025-49152, CVE-2025-49153 (Microsens NMP Web+), CVE-2025-6463 (Forminator plugin), CVE-2025-36630 (Tenable Nessus), CVE-2025-52891 (ModSecurity Web Application Firewall), CVE-2025-48927, CVE-2025-48928 (TeleMessage TM SGNL), CVE-2024-58248 (nopCommerce), CVE-2025-32897 (Apache Seata), CVE-2025-47812 (Wing FTP), CVE-2025-4404 (FreeIPA), CVE-2025-5959, CVE-2025-6554, CVE-2025-6191, and CVE-2025-6192 (Grafana), CVE-2025-34067 (Hikvision Integrated Security Management Platform), CVE-2025-1735, CVE-2025-6491 (PHP), CVE-2025-53367 (DjVuLibre), and CVE-2025-49826 (Next.js). 📰 Around the Cyber World 🎥 Cybersecurity Webinars 🔧 Cybersecurity Tools Disclaimer: These newly released tools are for educational use only and haven't been fully audited. Use at your own risk—review the code, test safely, and apply proper safeguards. 🔒 Tip of the Week Shrink Your Attack Surface with Smart Defaults - Many cyberattacks begin by leveraging legitimate Windows features that are rarely needed by most users or environments. Office macros, Windows Script Host, legacy protocols like LLMNR and NetBIOS over TCP/IP, and background COM script interfaces are common culprits. But even more obscure surfaces—such as ActiveX controls, Component Object Model elevation paths, or exposed DCOM/RPC endpoints—can be entry points for lateral movement and privilege escalation. Beyond basic hardening, consider advanced techniques like disabling Win32 optional features via "DISM /Online /Disable-Feature," disabling legacy input/output subsystems (like 16-bit support via NtVDM), or auditing unexpected network listeners using "netstat -abno" and "Sysinternals TCPView." Apply Software Restriction Policies (SRP) or AppLocker to block execution from temp directories, USB drives, and user profile folders. Harden PowerShell with Constrained Language Mode and enable AMSI logging to catch script obfuscation attempts. For users who want safe defaults without diving into the registry or GPO, Hardentools offers a well-balanced baseline. It disables commonly exploited scripting engines, Office macro execution, and certain Windows Explorer behaviors with a single click. But to go further, pair it with community scripts like "Attack Surface Analyzer" (by Microsoft) or tools like O&O ShutUp10++ to disable telemetry and reduce exposure to cloud-connected attack vectors. The more obscure the vector, the less likely defenders are monitoring it—but that's exactly why attackers love it. Effective attack surface reduction is not just about minimizing visible services; it's about knowing what's silently enabled and ensuring it's needed. This week, go beyond basic macro blocking—review what's running under the hood and shut down the silent risks. Conclusion It's one thing to defend against outside attackers—it's another when the risk is already inside. This week's revelations about stolen identities, fake hires, and silent access show how trust can be turned into a weapon. The takeaway is clear: identity isn't just a login—it's a security boundary. And when that fails, everything behind it is at risk.