Kirsten Doyle

Many organizations entering 2026 do not feel they have fallen behind in their overall cyber-readiness. In fact, several believe they are doing everything right.   They now have a wide range of new tools, greater visibility into how their systems operate, an almost endless array of metrics to measure performance, and more compliance certifications than ever before. With all of this comes a great deal of confidence. Confidence, however, as this panel will demonstrate, is often used as a substitute for actual capability.  The same pattern of overestimating one’s cyber-readiness continues across various sectors and industries. Security estates that appear to be robust in design and implementation,…

Security researchers at Miggo, have disclosed a vulnerability in Google’s Gemini assistant that allowed a standard calendar invitation to be used as an attack vector, exposing private meeting data through a form of prompt injection that relied entirely on natural language. The issue was discovered by a research team led by Liad Eliyahu, head of research, and was responsibly disclosed to Google. The company confirmed the findings and has since mitigated the vulnerability, they said. The exploit shines a light on the emerging risks that come with AI-powered applications that deeply integrate with user data and productivity tools. “As application security professionals, we’re trained to spot malicious patterns. But…

ReliaQuest has investigated a phishing campaign that exploited private messages in social media to deliver weaponized files via DLL sideloading, as well as a legitimate, open-source Python pen-testing script. The company says the aim was more than likely to deploy a remote access trojan (RAT).  This approach enables bad actors to bypass detection and scale their operations with little effort while maintaining persistent control over compromised systems. Once inside, malefactors can escalate privileges, move laterally across networks, and steal data. In the report, ReliaQuest threat intelligence analyst Emily Jia discussed an unusual tactic at the heart of this campaign: the execution of an open-source Python…

Luxshare Precision Industry, a major Chinese electronics manufacturer and key Apple supplier, is alleged to have been hit by a ransomware attack in December. Bad actors are claiming they encrypted company systems and exfiltrated sensitive data linked to multiple customers. R&D data samples were leaked as proof by RansomHouse. They said: “Dear management of Luxshare Precision Industy Co. Ltd. We were waiting for you for quite some time, but it seems your IT department decided to conceal the incident that took place in your company. We strongly recommend you to contact us to prevent your confidential data, projects documents from being leaked.” The dark web post claims stolen details include internal documentation, and limited employee data, and…

Brightspeed, a US fiber broadband provider, began an internal cybersecurity investigation in early January after a cybercriminal group, Crimson Collective, said it accessed company systems and stole sensitive customer data affecting more than 1 million individuals.  The allegation was made public on 4 January 2026 via Telegram. Screenshots and small data samples were shared as apparent proof, but their authenticity has not been confirmed. Brightspeed claimed to be reviewing the claims and said it would notify customers, employees, and authorities as more information becomes available. As of now, Brightspeed has not announced customer notifications, credit monitoring, compensation programs, or even confirmed data exfiltration or a compromise of…

More than 45M French records have been exposed in an open database more than likely compiled by malicious data collectors, reports Cybernews.   Researchers said the database is a combination of data stolen in at least five breaches. It was exposed on a cloud server. Cybernews notified the server’s owners and helped take the archive down. The open database was filled with millions of French-language personal records, which seem to have been collected from multiple databases, Cybernews added. The repository appears to include a population registry, a healthcare professionals’ register, financial and KYC data, and automotive insurance CRM information. “Unlike traditional leaks caused by corporate misconfigurations, this exposure appears to be the work of a data broker or…

European travel company, Eurail BV, also known as Interrail to EU residents, has suffered a data breach in its systems that led to unauthorized access to customer data.   The organizations initially announced the news on 10 January, however, affected customers, the number of which has not been disclosed, started receiving emails on 13 January. “Following the discovery, we immediately began work to secure our systems and initiated an investigation with the support of external cybersecurity specialists and legal advisors,” the company said. Interrail said it is taking the matter “very seriously” and is conducting a full investigation to determine the scope of the incident and its potential impact on customers. “The investigation is still ongoing,”…

A study by the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution has found that given the current trajectory of GenAI and its implementation and use, the potential risks to students outweigh the benefits.   However, it stressed that it’s “not too late to bend the arc of AI use to enrich, rather than diminish, student learning and development.” The report, dubbed “A new direction for students in an AI world: Prosper, Prepare, Protect”, provides a framework for action for all parties including schools, businesses, governments, and families.   Since the introduction of ChatGPT and with the public’s growing familiarity with GenAI, the education community has been debating its promises…

Attackers are claiming to be selling Target’s internal source code and developer documentation having published a sample of stolen repositories on Gitea, a public software development platform, BleepingComputer reports. The listings reference roughly 57,000 files and directory names, with the threat actor claiming an overall dump size of approximately 860 GB being offered for sale. The repositories appear to stem from Target’s private development environment and reportedly reveal internal naming conventions, commit metadata containing engineer names, and references to internal systems. After security researchers alerted Target to the exposed repositories, the sample files were removed and the company’s developer Git server (git.target.com) was taken offline, effectively pulling its development infrastructure from public access…

In 2026, it’s clear that cyber risk isn’t coming from one major new threat. It’s coming from lots of different ones adding up. More apps. More identities. More suppliers. More automation. And more AI quietly doing work in the background. Most organizations are moving faster than their ability to see who has access, what’s trusted, and what’s acting on their behalf.  Malefactors are taking advantage of that gap. They’re abusing tokens instead of passwords, exploiting on supply chains instead of direct breaches, and using automation and AI just as comfortably as defenders. At the same time, regulators, insurers, and boards are asking harder questions. They want evidence, not promises. This 2026 Cyber Predictions series brings together perspectives…