Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 20 February 2026

Welcome to this week’s Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing – a weekly digest, collated and curated by our cyber experts to provide senior and middle management with an easy to digest round up of the most notable threats, vulnerabilities, and cyber related news from the last week.

Executive Summary

There is a significant new attack technique against organisations that use Microsoft 365, bypassing MFA, and Microsoft has also recently fixed a flaw in Copilot Chat that compromised confidential emails. We report on these developments for the attention of business leaders, as well as a government alert on attacks against small and medium sized businesses, and the risks posed when user access is not appropriately managed.

The North Korean military continues to pose as civilians hired by organisations, and a high number of new malware variants are being delivered over encrypted web traffic, making inspection necessary to reliably identify and block them. As in previous weeks, we include information on how attackers are using AI to develop their techniques and malware.

While cyber security risks can be manyfold, the solution is consistently clear. Business leaders should undertake an impartial assessment of their risks against their information and systems, and ensure they have appropriate controls to manage that risk. It is important to not rely on the standard offerings of control providers such as IT, which is why it is important for business leaders to be upskilled on the fundamentals of cyber risk management from impartial experts. Contact us to discuss how to achieve this in a proportionate manner.


Top Cyber Stories of the Last Week

New Phishing Campaign Tricks Employees into Bypassing Microsoft 365 MFA

A new phishing campaign is bypassing Microsoft 365 multi factor authentication by tricking employees into approving a login for a hacker’s device on a genuine Microsoft sign-in page. Emails posing as payment requests, bonus documents or voicemails prompt users to enter a ‘secure authorisation’ code, which actually grants an access token that can keep an attacker signed into services such as Outlook, Teams and OneDrive without repeated login checks. Leaders should ensure only approved applications and devices can be connected, limit unnecessary device sign-ins, and reinforce user awareness of unexpected login prompts, even on trusted domains.

https://www.computerworld.com/article/4134914/new-phishing-campaign-tricks-employees-into-bypassing-microsoft-365-mfa-2.html

Microsoft Patches Security Flaw That Exposed Confidential Emails to AI

Microsoft has fixed a flaw in Copilot Chat that allowed the AI to summarise confidential emails without proper permission, bypassing controls designed to stop sensitive company information being shared with large language models. The issue, present since late January and patched in early February, affected emails in users’ Sent Items and Drafts even when marked as confidential. The incident reflects wider concerns about AI tools handling organisational data, with Microsoft reporting that over 80% of Fortune 500 firms are deploying AI agents, but only 47% say they have the security controls needed to manage them safely.

https://securityboulevard.com/2026/02/microsoft-patches-security-flaw-that-exposed-confidential-emails-to-ai/

SMEs Wrong to Assume They Won’t Be Hit by Cyber-Attacks, NCSC Boss Warns

The UK NCSC chief Richard Horne has warned that small and medium sized businesses should not assume they are too small to face a cyber attack. Many attackers are not chasing big names; they look for easy opportunities where basic protections are missing, and the impact can be severe. Horne urged SMEs to adopt basic cyber controls including the secure set up of devices, controls on who can access systems, protection against malicious software, timely security updates, and firewalls. The NCSC has also highlighted rising cyber threats in its latest annual review.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/sme-cyber-attack-threat-ncsc/

One Stolen Credential Is All It Takes to Compromise Everything

A research report on more than 750 investigations shows how a single stolen login can rapidly open the door to multiple parts of an organisation. Identity weaknesses featured in almost 90% of cases, with attacks often spanning endpoints, networks, cloud services and software as a service platforms. Cloud access is a particular concern: analysis of over 680,000 cloud identities found 99% had excessive permissions, including access unused for 60 days. Attack speed is also rising, with the fastest quarter reaching data exfiltration in 72 minutes, down from 285 minutes in 2024.

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2026/02/18/identity-based-cyberattacks-compromise/

Ukrainian Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Facilitating North Korean Remote Worker Scheme

US authorities have sentenced Ukrainian national Oleksandr Didenko to five years in prison for helping North Korean operatives secure remote IT jobs at 40 American companies. Over six years, he stole identities, created more than 2,500 fraudulent online accounts, and ran laptop farms in several US states so workers could appear to be based locally. Officials say the operatives earned hundreds of thousands of dollars, with payments helping fund North Korea’s weapons programmes.

https://cyberscoop.com/doj-ukrainian-north-korea-remote-worker-scheme-facilitator-sentenced/

1,500 Percent Increase in New, Unique Malware Highlights Growing Complexity

WatchGuard threat intelligence shows a sharp rise in malicious software, with new variants increasing each quarter in 2025 and jumping 1,548% from Q3 to Q4. Nearly a quarter of detected malware bypassed traditional signature checks, meaning it was effectively new and unknown to defenders. Most blocked malware is now delivered over encrypted (TLS) internet traffic, which can hide threats unless organisations inspect encrypted web traffic. While ransomware activity fell 68% percent year-on-year, record extortion payments suggest fewer but more costly cyber-attacks, underlining the need for layered, proactive cyber security.

https://betanews.com/article/1500-percent-increase-in-new-unique-malware-highlights-growing-complexity/

A Worrying Dell Zero-Day Flaw Has Reportedly Gone Unpatched for Nearly Two Years – and Chinese Hackers Are Taking Advantage

Dell has patched a critical weakness in RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines (a Dell disaster recovery product for VMware and Hyper-V) where login details were mistakenly left in the software. Google and Mandiant report the flaw was exploited as a previously unknown issue from mid-2024 by a China-linked group, giving attackers unauthorised access and long term control at the highest system level. The group used a new Grimbolt backdoor and a stealth technique to move between systems and stay hidden.

https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/a-dell-zero-day-flaw-has-reportedly-gone-unpatched-for-nearly-two-years-and-chinese-hackers-are-taking-advantage

AI Agents Abound, Unbound by Rules or Safety Disclosures

A review of 30 AI agents found rapid growth without clear, consistent safety disclosure. Of the 13 agents showing very high autonomy, only four publicly share any safety evaluation, while 25 provide no detail on safety testing and 23 offer no independent test data. Most of the AI agents reviewed do not publish their underlying code, offering limited independent visibility into how they operate. Many depend on a small number of underlying models from Anthropic, Google and OpenAI, creating complex shared responsibility. Researchers warn some agents ignore signals when sites do not permit automated access.

https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/20/ai_agents_abound_unbound_by/

‘An All-Time High’: Number of Ransomware Groups Exploded in 2025 As Victim Growth Rate Doubled – With Qilin Dominating the Landscape

Searchlight Cyber reports that ransomware reached record levels in 2025, with 7,458 organisations listed on ransomware leak sites and the victim growth rate doubling since 2024. The US was hardest hit with 1,536 disclosed victims, while the UK reported 131. Behind these figures is a fast growing criminal marketplace: 124 active groups operated in 2025, including 73 newcomers, helped by ransomware as a service, where criminals can buy ready made tools and share profits. Artificial intelligence is also being used to create more convincing scam messages that trick staff into clicking.

https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/an-all-time-high-number-of-ransomware-groups-exploded-in-2025-as-victim-growth-rate-doubled-with-qilin-dominating-the-landscape

Ransomware Hackers Targeting Employee Monitoring Software to Access Computers

Huntress has identified two recent attempted ransomware incidents where attackers misused employee monitoring software and an IT remote support tool to gain and maintain access to corporate systems. By blending in with legitimate administrative software, the criminals made their activity harder to spot and ultimately attempted to deploy ransomware. This matters because such monitoring tools are widely used, with around a third of UK firms and roughly 60% of US firms using them, expanding organisations’ exposure. The underlying issues were weak access controls, including compromised VPN accounts.

https://decrypt.co/358017/ransomware-hackers-targeting-employee-monitoring-software-to-access-computers

Low-Skilled Cybercriminals Use AI to Perform "Vibe Extortion" Attacks

Even low skilled criminals are using AI writing tools to run convincing extortion campaigns, a tactic dubbed “vibe extortion”. This matters because AI can enable low skilled attackers to create attacks that sound polished and urgent. Researchers have seen attackers begin searching for newly disclosed weaknesses within 15 minutes of them being announced, and in some cases reduce work that previously took three to four weeks to under 25 minutes. Leaders should prioritise rapid patching, stronger checks for sensitive requests, and tighter control of business AI systems.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cybercriminals-ai-vibe-extortion/

Europe Must Adapt to ‘Permanent’ Cyber and Hybrid Threats, Sweden Warns

Sweden is warning that cyber and hybrid threats, where cyber attacks are combined with economic pressure and influence campaigns designed to erode public trust, are becoming a permanent part of Europe’s security landscape. Speaking at the Munich Cyber Security Conference, a senior Swedish defence official said organisations and governments must plan to operate through sustained disruption, not treat incidents as rare. Sweden is responding through its ‘total defence’ approach, rebuilding civil defence, strengthening national cyber security, and improving coordination through Sweden’s National Cyber Security Centre. The aim is credible deterrence through resilience, supported by closer public and private sector collaboration.

https://therecord.media/sweden-cyber-threats-europe-permanent



Threats

Ransomware, Extortion and Destructive Attacks

Why Ransomware Remains One of Cybersecurity’s Most Persistent Threats - Infosecurity Magazine

‘An all-time high’: Number of ransomware groups exploded in 2025 as victim growth rate doubled - with Qilin dominating the landscape | TechRadar

Ransomware attacks up almost 50 percent in 2025 - BetaNews

LockBit 5.0 ransomware expands its reach across Windows, Linux, and ESXi - Help Net Security

The UK’s Ransomware Strategy: What the UK Government’s Response Signals | Goodwin - JDSupra

Record Number of Ransomware Victims and Groups in 2025 - Infosecurity Magazine

Ransomware gangs are using employee monitoring software as a springboard for cyber attacks | IT Pro

Washington Hotel in Japan discloses ransomware infection incident

Polish authorities arrest alleged Phobos ransomware affiliate | CyberScoop

Ransomware Attacks on Automotive and Smart Mobility More Than Doubled in 2025, According to New Research by Upstream Security

Negotiating with hackers: The AI in ransomware response

Ransomware Victims

Ransomware Attacks on Automotive and Smart Mobility More Than Doubled in 2025, According to New Research by Upstream Security

Fintech firm Figure disclosed data breach after employee phishing attack

ShinyHunters allegedly drove off with 1.7M CarGurus records • The Register

Phishing & Email Based Attacks

Best-in-Class 'Starkiller' Phishing Kit Bypasses MFA

New phishing campaign tricks employees into bypassing Microsoft 365 MFA – Computerworld

Phishing campaign chains old Office flaw with fileless XWorm RAT to evade detection | CSO Online

Spam Campaign Abuses Atlassian Jira, Targets Government and Corporate Entities | Trend Micro (US)

Microsoft: Anti-phishing rules mistakenly blocked emails, Teams messages

Phishing via Google Tasks | Kaspersky official blog

Fintech firm Figure disclosed data breach after employee phishing attack

Guernsey medical practice sanctioned after cyber criminals access patient data through email account | ITV News Channel

Other Social Engineering

Snail mail letters target Trezor and Ledger users in crypto-theft attacks

Ukrainian sentenced to 5 years in prison for facilitating North Korean remote worker scheme | CyberScoop

Pastebin comments push ClickFix JavaScript attack to hijack crypto swaps

ClickFix added nslookup commands to its arsenal for downloading RATs - Security Boulevard

Hackers Use Fake CAPTCHA To Infect Windows PCs - gHacks Tech News

Valentine's Day: Cyber Experts Heed Caution When Looking For Love (and Gifts) Online - IT Security Guru

2FA/MFA

Best-in-Class 'Starkiller' Phishing Kit Bypasses MFA

Ongoing Campaign Targets Microsoft 365 to Steal OAuth Tokens and Gain Persistent Access

New phishing campaign tricks employees into bypassing Microsoft 365 MFA – Computerworld

Artificial Intelligence

Microsoft: Anti-phishing rules mistakenly blocked emails, Teams messages

Agentic AI is a priority for 87 percent of security teams - BetaNews

Why are experts sounding the alarm on AI risks? | Cybercrime News | Al Jazeera

‘They are able to move fast now’: AI is expanding attack surfaces – and hackers are looking to reap the same rewards as enterprises with the technology | IT Pro

Low-Skilled Cybercriminals Use AI to Perform “Vibe Extortion” Attacks - Infosecurity Magazine

Microsoft Patches Security Flaw That Exposed Confidential Emails to AI - Security Boulevard

AI agents abound, unbound by rules or safety disclosures • The Register

What CISOs need to know about the OpenClaw security nightmare | CSO Online

New-age crime syndicates: Interpol backroom warriors fight cyber criminals 'weaponising' AI - RTL Today

Exploited React2Shell Flaw By LLM-generated Malware Foreshadows Shift in Threat Landscape  - Security Boulevard

Microsoft Finds “Summarize with AI” Prompts Manipulating Chatbot Recommendations

Infostealer Targets OpenClaw to Loot Victim’s Digital Life - Infosecurity Magazine

Meta and Other Tech Firms Put Restrictions on Use of OpenClaw Over Security Fears | WIRED

PromptSpy: First Android malware to use generative AI in its execution flow - Help Net Security

Researchers Show Copilot and Grok Can Be Abused as Malware C2 Proxies

API Threats Grow in Scale as AI Expands the Blast Radius - SecurityWeek

Why ‘secure-by-design’ systems are non-negotiable in the AI era | CyberScoop

Over-Privileged AI Drives 4.5 Times Higher Incident Rates - Infosecurity Magazine

Scam Abuses Gemini Chatbots to Convince People to Buy Fake Crypto

AI platforms can be abused for stealthy malware communication

Security at AI speed: The new CISO reality - Help Net Security

UK sets course for stricter AI chatbot regulation - Help Net Security

Ireland now also investigating X over Grok-made sexual images

Turning Moltbook Into a Global Botnet Map

Microsoft Added AI to Notepad and It Created a Security Failure Because the AI Was Stupidly Easy for Hackers to Trick

When Cybersecurity Breaks at Scale: What 2026 Will Expose

Safe and Inclusive E‑Society: How Lithuania Is Bracing for AI‑Driven Cyber Fraud

Bots/Botnets

The ancient IRC protocol is back in action, thanks to SSHStalker’s Linux botnet exploiting cloud servers for profit | TechRadar

Cloud/SaaS

The ancient IRC protocol is back in action, thanks to SSHStalker’s Linux botnet exploiting cloud servers for profit | TechRadar

Phishing via Google Tasks | Kaspersky official blog

CTM360: Lumma Stealer and Ninja Browser malware campaign abusing Google Groups

Cryptocurrency/Cryptomining/Cryptojacking/NFTs/Blockchain

Snail mail letters target Trezor and Ledger users in crypto-theft attacks

What Is Cryptojacking? How to Check That Your Computer Isn't Infected

Scam Abuses Gemini Chatbots to Convince People to Buy Fake Crypto

Pastebin comments push ClickFix JavaScript attack to hijack crypto swaps

Crypto Payments to Human Traffickers Surges 85% - Infosecurity Magazine

Cryptojacking Campaign Exploits Driver to Boost Monero Mining - Infosecurity Magazine

Cyber Crime, Organised Crime & Criminal Actors

More Than 40% of South Africans Were Scammed in 2025

Men sentenced to 8 years in $1.3 million computer intrusion and tax fraud scheme - Help Net Security

Nigerian man gets eight years in prison for hacking tax firms

Red Card 2.0: INTERPOL busts scam networks across Africa, seizes millions

RAT disguised as an RMM costs crims $300 a month • The Register

Glendale man gets 5 years in prison for role in darknet drug ring

Nigerian man sentenced to 8 years in prison for running phony tax refund scheme | CyberScoop

On The Front Lines Of Cybercrime – Eurasia Review

Data Breaches/Leaks

French Ministry confirms data access to 1.2 Million bank accounts

'Your data is public': Hacker warns victims after leaking 6.8 billion emails online | TechRadar

Over 300 Malicious Chrome Extensions Caught Leaking or Stealing User Data - SecurityWeek

Data breach at fintech firm Figure affects nearly 1 million accounts

Betterment data breach might be worse than we thought - Security Boulevard

Millions of passwords and Social Security numbers exposed

Exposed Database Was Storing More Than 1 Billion Social Security Numbers

Hackers sell stolen Eurail traveler information on dark web

Adidas investigates third-party data breach • The Register

Fintech firm Figure disclosed data breach after employee phishing attack

Canada Goose investigating as hackers leak 600K customer records

Dutch cops arrest man after sending him confidential files • The Register

53% of Gen Z were warned by retailers that their data was compromised - Retail Gazette

Hotel hacker paid 1 cent for luxury rooms, Spanish cops say • The Register

Asahi cyberattack: leak of over 110,000 personal records confirmed - Just Food

Guernsey medical practice sanctioned after cyber criminals access patient data through email account | ITV News Channel

Washington Hotel in Japan discloses ransomware infection incident

Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Tiffany fined $25 million over data breaches

Sex toys maker Tenga says hacker stole customer information | TechCrunch

Data/Digital Sovereignty

UK bank bosses plan to set up Visa and Mastercard alternative amid Trump fears | Financial sector | The Guardian

Washington pushes back against EU’s bid for tech autonomy – POLITICO

Denial of Service/DoS/DDoS

German Rail Giant Deutsche Bahn Hit by Large-Scale DDoS Attack - SecurityWeek

Encryption

Quantum security is turning into a supply chain problem - Help Net Security

Your encrypted data is already being stolen - Help Net Security

Fraud, Scams and Financial Crime

Ukrainian sentenced to 5 years in prison for facilitating North Korean remote worker scheme | CyberScoop

Revealed: 95 billion scam adverts shown to Britons on social media last year | The Independent

When Insider Risk Becomes Corporate Risk: How Corporations May Be Held Liable For The Fraud Of Others | Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer - JDSupra

More Than 40% of South Africans Were Scammed in 2025

Men sentenced to 8 years in $1.3 million computer intrusion and tax fraud scheme - Help Net Security

Red Card 2.0: INTERPOL busts scam networks across Africa, seizes millions

Scam Abuses Gemini Chatbots to Convince People to Buy Fake Crypto

Keenadu backdoor found preinstalled on Android devices, powers Ad fraud campaign

Nigerian man sentenced to 8 years in prison for running phony tax refund scheme | CyberScoop

Valentine's Day: Cyber Experts Heed Caution When Looking For Love (and Gifts) Online - IT Security Guru

Identity and Access Management

Identity is the new cyber attack surface | UKAuthority

Survey: Most Security Incidents Involve Identity Attacks - Security Boulevard

Unit 42: Nearly two-thirds of breaches now start with identity abuse | CyberScoop

Over-Privileged AI Drives 4.5 Times Higher Incident Rates - Infosecurity Magazine

Insider Risk and Insider Threats

Ukrainian sentenced to 5 years in prison for facilitating North Korean remote worker scheme | CyberScoop

When Insider Risk Becomes Corporate Risk: How Corporations May Be Held Liable For The Fraud Of Others | Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer - JDSupra

Infosec exec sold eight zero-day exploit kits to Russia: DoJ • The Register

Internet of Things – IoT

Poland bans Chinese cars from military bases • The Register

Connected and Compromised: When IoT Devices Turn Into Threats

Amazon Scraps Partnership With Surveillance Company After Super Bowl Ad Backlash - SecurityWeek

Apple privacy labels often don't match what Chinese smart home apps do - Help Net Security

Critical infra Honeywell CCTVs vulnerable to auth bypass flaw

Law Enforcement Action and Take Downs

New-age crime syndicates: Interpol backroom warriors fight cyber criminals 'weaponising' AI - RTL Today

Men sentenced to 8 years in $1.3 million computer intrusion and tax fraud scheme - Help Net Security

Nigerian man gets eight years in prison for hacking tax firms

Red Card 2.0: INTERPOL busts scam networks across Africa, seizes millions

Polish authorities arrest alleged Phobos ransomware affiliate | CyberScoop

Former Google Engineers Indicted Over Trade Secret Transfers to Iran

Nigerian man sentenced to 8 years in prison for running phony tax refund scheme | CyberScoop

Dutch cops arrest man after sending him confidential files • The Register

Glendale man gets 5 years in prison for role in darknet drug ring

Linux and Open Source

LockBit 5.0 ransomware expands its reach across Windows, Linux, and ESXi - Help Net Security

The ancient IRC protocol is back in action, thanks to SSHStalker’s Linux botnet exploiting cloud servers for profit | TechRadar

Everyone uses open source, but patching still moves too slowly - Help Net Security

Open source registries underfunded as security costs rise • The Register

Malvertising

Threat Actors Exploit Claude Artifacts and Google Ads to Target macOS Users

Malware

1,500 percent increase in new, unique malware highlights growing complexity - BetaNews

Threat Actors Exploit Claude Artifacts and Google Ads to Target macOS Users

The ancient IRC protocol is back in action, thanks to SSHStalker’s Linux botnet exploiting cloud servers for profit | TechRadar

Over 300 Malicious Chrome Extensions Caught Leaking or Stealing User Data - SecurityWeek

RAT disguised as an RMM costs crims $300 a month • The Register

CTM360: Lumma Stealer and Ninja Browser malware campaign abusing Google Groups

Exploited React2Shell Flaw By LLM-generated Malware Foreshadows Shift in Threat Landscape  - Security Boulevard

Infostealer Targets OpenClaw to Loot Victim’s Digital Life - Infosecurity Magazine

Phishing campaign chains old Office flaw with fileless XWorm RAT to evade detection | CSO Online

OysterLoader Evolves With New C2 Infrastructure and Obfuscation - Infosecurity Magazine

New 'Foxveil' Malware Loader Leverages Cloudflare, Netlify, and Discord to Evade Detection

Remcos RAT Expands Real-Time Surveillance Capabilities - Infosecurity Magazine

Researchers Show Copilot and Grok Can Be Abused as Malware C2 Proxies

AI platforms can be abused for stealthy malware communication

ClickFix added nslookup commands to its arsenal for downloading RATs - Security Boulevard

Microsoft alerts on DNS-based ClickFix variant delivering malware via nslookup

Hackers Use Fake CAPTCHA To Infect Windows PCs - gHacks Tech News

New threat actor UAT-9921 deploys VoidLink against enterprise sectors

Cryptojacking Campaign Exploits Driver to Boost Monero Mining - Infosecurity Magazine

Google Ties Suspected Russian Actor to CANFAIL Malware Attacks on Ukrainian Orgs

RMM Abuse Explodes as Hackers Ditch Malware

Mobile

Keenadu backdoor found preinstalled on Android devices, powers Ad fraud campaign

PromptSpy: First Android malware to use generative AI in its execution flow - Help Net Security

New Keenadu Android Malware Found on Thousands of Devices - SecurityWeek

ZeroDayRAT spyware targets Android and iOS devices via commercial toolkit | CSO Online

Apple privacy labels often don't match what Chinese smart home apps do - Help Net Security

Public mobile networks are being weaponized for combat drone operations - Help Net Security

Google blocked over 1.75 million Play Store app submissions in 2025

Models, Frameworks and Standards

UK.gov launches cyber 'lockdown' campaign as 80% of orgs hit • The Register

When DORA Goes From Afterthought to Commercial Imperative - IT Security Guru

Businesses urged to “lock the door” on cyber criminals as new government campaign launches - GOV.UK

Cyber Resilience Act: The Fine Line Between SaaS and Digital Products | DLA Piper - JDSupra

EU eyes rollback of key privacy rules, GDPR| Cybernews

Breaking down NIS2: the five main requirements of the updated NIS Directive — Financier Worldwide

How the Cybersecurity and Resilience Bill could impact MSPs | ChannelPro

Passwords to passkeys: Staying ISO 27001 compliant in a passwordless era

Bulgaria's Cybersecurity Act Amendments: Key Changes 2026

Outages

Microsoft Teams outage affects users in United States, Europe

Passwords, Credential Stuffing & Brute Force Attacks

One stolen credential is all it takes to compromise everything - Help Net Security

French Ministry confirms data access to 1.2 Million bank accounts

Millions of passwords and Social Security numbers exposed

Exploitable Flaws Found in Cloud-Based Password Managers

Vulnerabilities in Password Managers Allow Hackers to Change Passwords - Infosecurity Magazine

Password managers' promise that they can't see your vaults isn't always true - Ars Technica

Regulations, Fines and Legislation

When DORA Goes From Afterthought to Commercial Imperative - IT Security Guru

The UK’s Ransomware Strategy: What the UK Government’s Response Signals | Goodwin - JDSupra

EU eyes rollback of key privacy rules, GDPR| Cybernews

Breaking down NIS2: the five main requirements of the updated NIS Directive — Financier Worldwide

How the Cybersecurity and Resilience Bill could impact MSPs | ChannelPro

UK government may 'age restrict or limit children’s VPN use' following three-month consultation | TechRadar

UK to force social media to remove abusive pics in 48 hours • The Register

Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Tiffany fined $25 million over data breaches

UK sets course for stricter AI chatbot regulation - Help Net Security

Ireland now also investigating X over Grok-made sexual images

US appears open to reversing some China tech bans • The Register

US Reportedly Shelves Plan a Ban TP-Link Routers for Now | PCMag

Bulgaria's Cybersecurity Act Amendments: Key Changes 2026

CISA Navigates DHS Shutdown With Reduced Staff - SecurityWeek

Europe's social media ban wave | Cybernews

Social Media

Revealed: 95 billion scam adverts shown to Britons on social media last year | The Independent

UK to force social media to remove abusive pics in 48 hours • The Register

Europe's social media ban wave | Cybernews

Supply Chain and Third Parties

Cybersecurity terms in third-party contracts: Are you being served, or served up? | Opinion | Compliance Week

Adidas investigates third-party data breach • The Register

When Cybersecurity Breaks at Scale: What 2026 Will Expose


Nation State Actors, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), Cyber Warfare, Cyber Espionage and Geopolitical Threats/Activity

Cyber Warfare and Cyber Espionage

Europe must adapt to ‘permanent’ cyber and hybrid threats, Sweden warns | The Record from Recorded Future News

Google Links China, Iran, Russia, North Korea to Coordinated Defense Sector Cyber Operations

NATO must impose costs on Russia, China over cyber and hybrid attacks, says deputy chief | The Record from Recorded Future News

Google Ties Suspected Russian Actor to CANFAIL Malware Attacks on Ukrainian Orgs

The Law of Cyberwar is Pretty Discombobulated - Security Boulevard

China Is Developing a Weapon Capable of Disabling Satellites Remotely: A Troubling Turning Point for Space Warfare - Futura-Sciences

Venezuela operation relied on little-known cyber center, official says - Breaking Defense

Nation State Actors

China

A worrying Dell zero-day flaw has reportedly gone unpatched for nearly two years - and Chinese hackers are taking advantage | TechRadar

Europe must adapt to ‘permanent’ cyber and hybrid threats, Sweden warns | The Record from Recorded Future News

Google Links China, Iran, Russia, North Korea to Coordinated Defense Sector Cyber Operations

NATO must impose costs on Russia, China over cyber and hybrid attacks, says deputy chief | The Record from Recorded Future News

New threat actor UAT-9921 deploys VoidLink against enterprise sectors

If we can’t name China’s cyberattacks, we lose trust in ourselves | The Strategist

US appears open to reversing some China tech bans • The Register

US Reportedly Shelves Plan a Ban TP-Link Routers for Now | PCMag

Poland bans Chinese cars from military bases • The Register

US lawyers file privacy class action against Lenovo • The Register

Researchers warn Volt Typhoon still embedded in US utilities and some breaches may never be found | The Record from Recorded Future News

Chinese telecom hackers likely holding stolen data ‘in perpetuity’ for later attempts, FBI official says - Nextgov/FCW

 FBI: Threats from Salt Typhoon are ‘still very much ongoing’ | CyberScoop

China Is Developing a Weapon Capable of Disabling Satellites Remotely: A Troubling Turning Point for Space Warfare - Futura-Sciences

Texas sues TP-Link over China links and security vulns • The Register

China-linked crew embedded in US energy networks • The Register

Apple privacy labels often don't match what Chinese smart home apps do - Help Net Security

Russia

Europe must adapt to ‘permanent’ cyber and hybrid threats, Sweden warns | The Record from Recorded Future News

Google Links China, Iran, Russia, North Korea to Coordinated Defense Sector Cyber Operations

NATO must impose costs on Russia, China over cyber and hybrid attacks, says deputy chief | The Record from Recorded Future News

Google Ties Suspected Russian Actor to CANFAIL Malware Attacks on Ukrainian Orgs

Public mobile networks are being weaponized for combat drone operations - Help Net Security

Infosec exec sold eight zero-day exploit kits to Russia: DoJ • The Register

Poland Energy Survives Attack on Wind, Solar Infrastructure

First Starlink, Now Telegram: Russian War Bloggers Sound The Alarm

North Korea

Google Links China, Iran, Russia, North Korea to Coordinated Defense Sector Cyber Operations

Ukrainian sentenced to 5 years in prison for facilitating North Korean remote worker scheme | CyberScoop

Iran

Google Links China, Iran, Russia, North Korea to Coordinated Defense Sector Cyber Operations

Former Google Engineers Indicted Over Trade Secret Transfers to Iran

Other Nation State Actors, Hacktivism, Extremism, Terrorism and Other Geopolitical Threat Intelligence

Venezuela operation relied on little-known cyber center, official says - Breaking Defense


Tools and Controls

RMM Abuse Explodes as Hackers Ditch Malware

LockBit 5.0 ransomware expands its reach across Windows, Linux, and ESXi - Help Net Security

UK government may 'age restrict or limit children’s VPN use' following three-month consultation | TechRadar

Exploitable Flaws Found in Cloud-Based Password Managers

Vulnerabilities in Password Managers Allow Hackers to Change Passwords - Infosecurity Magazine

RAT disguised as an RMM costs crims $300 a month • The Register

Identity is the new cyber attack surface | UKAuthority

Survey: Most Security Incidents Involve Identity Attacks - Security Boulevard

Unit 42: Nearly two-thirds of breaches now start with identity abuse | CyberScoop

Microsoft: Anti-phishing rules mistakenly blocked emails, Teams messages

How the rise of the AI ‘agent boss’ is reshaping accountability in IT | IT Pro

Why ‘secure-by-design’ systems are non-negotiable in the AI era | CyberScoop

Ransomware gangs are using employee monitoring software as a springboard for cyber attacks | IT Pro

With CISOs stretched thin, re-envisioning enterprise risk may be the only fix | CSO Online

Microsoft Under Pressure to Bolster Defenses for BYOVD Attacks

Security professionals struggle to spot production risks - BetaNews

Microsoft alerts on DNS-based ClickFix variant delivering malware via nslookup

New ClickFix attack abuses nslookup to retrieve PowerShell payload via DNS

Flaws in popular VSCode extensions expose developers to attacks

Cybersecurity Requires Collective Resilience

Redefining risk management | IT Pro

How Security Operations Will Fundamentally Change in 2026

Spain orders NordVPN, ProtonVPN to block LaLiga piracy sites

Critical Grandstream VoIP Bug Highlights SMB Security Blind Spot



Vulnerability Management

CVEs are set to top 50,000 this year, marking a record high – here’s how CISOs and security teams can prepare for a looming onslaught | IT Pro

Microsoft Under Pressure to Bolster Defenses for BYOVD Attacks

Everyone uses open source, but patching still moves too slowly - Help Net Security

Notepad++ boosts update security with ‘double-lock’ mechanism

Vulnerabilities

Dell's Hard-Coded Flaw: A Nation-State Goldmine

A worrying Dell zero-day flaw has reportedly gone unpatched for nearly two years - and Chinese hackers are taking advantage | TechRadar

Exploited React2Shell Flaw By LLM-generated Malware Foreshadows Shift in Threat Landscape  - Security Boulevard

Phishing campaign chains old Office flaw with fileless XWorm RAT to evade detection | CSO Online

Microsoft Added AI to Notepad and It Created a Security Failure Because the AI Was Stupidly Easy for Hackers to Trick

Vulnerabilities in Password Managers Allow Hackers to Change Passwords - Infosecurity Magazine

Exploitable Flaws Found in Cloud-Based Password Managers

Nearly a million WordPress websites could be at risk from this serious plugin security flaw | TechRadar

One threat actor responsible for 83% of recent Ivanti RCE attacks

Critical Microsoft bug from 2024 under exploitation • The Register

Microsoft Patches CVE-2026-26119 Privilege Escalation in Windows Admin Center

PoC Released for Windows Notepad Vulnerability that Enables Malicious Command Execution

Flaws in popular VSCode extensions expose developers to attacks

Vulnerabilities in Popular PDF Platforms Allowed Account Takeover, Data Exfiltration - SecurityWeek

Critical Flaws Found in Four VS Code Extensions with Over 125 Million Installs

Windows 11 KB5077181 Securiuty Update Causing Some Devices to Restart in an Infinite Loop

Ivanti Exploitation Surges as Zero-Day Attacks Traced Back to July 2025 - SecurityWeek

Four new reasons why Windows LNK files cannot be trusted | CSO Online

Critical Grandstream VoIP Bug Highlights SMB Security Blind Spot

Critical infra Honeywell CCTVs vulnerable to auth bypass flaw


Sector Specific

Industry specific threat intelligence reports are available.

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·       Third Sector & Charities

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·       Web3


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Black Arrow Cyber Threat Intelligence Briefing 13 February 2026