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⏱️ ≈ 7-minute read
Editor’s Note: ’Tis the season for breaches, zero-days, and AI tools that security teams swear they’ll lock down next quarter. From nation‑state sabotage to AI browsers that may never behave, this week proves security doesn’t take holidays, even when Santa’s involved.
📜 Table of Contents
📌 Big News
Coupang faces a U.S. lawsuit after a massive breach; Denmark publicly attributes cyber sabotage to Russia🚨 Can’t Miss
WatchGuard zero-day exploited, malicious npm packages, n8n automation exposed, fake PoCs go malicious🤖 AI in Cyber
AI browsers stay risky, governments raise alarms, cloud security gaps widen🧪 Strange Cyber Story
Santa’s naughty list leaks kids’ data in a holiday app breach
🚨 Big Stories
💼 South Korean Retailer Coupang Faces U.S. Securities Lawsuit After Massive Breach
Intro: A breach is painful. A breach that turns into investor litigation is the kind of pain that keeps CISOs and CFOs awake at the same time.
What Happened: Coupang is facing a U.S. securities class action lawsuit following a breach tied to a former employee that exposed data belonging to more than 33 million customers. Investors allege the company understated cyber risk and misled shareholders in its disclosures prior to the incident.
Why It’s Important: This case underscores how cyber incidents increasingly trigger financial and legal consequences well beyond incident response. Disclosure accuracy is now a material risk.
The Other Side: Coupang says it is cooperating with investigators and strengthening internal controls, but litigation could drag on for years.
👉 Takeaway: Breach transparency is now a legal requirement, not just a reputational best practice.
TL;DR: A massive breach plus shaky disclosures equals investor lawsuits.
Further Reading: Reuters
The first documented DDoS-style attack occurred in 1974 when a 13-year-old crashed a university system using ARPANET terminals. (Source: Computer History Museum)🇩🇰 Denmark Officially Blames Russia for Destructive Cyberattacks
Intro: Attribution is usually cautious and clinical - so when a country goes public, it’s signaling more than just technical confidence.
What Happened: Denmark’s Defense Intelligence Service publicly attributed multiple disruptive cyberattacks, including election-related DDoS campaigns and sabotage of a water utility that burst physical pipes, to pro‑Russian actors.
Why It’s Important: The statement reinforces how cyber operations are now treated as national security incidents, especially when they spill into physical infrastructure.
The Other Side: Russia denies involvement, and public attribution carries diplomatic and escalation risks.
👉 Takeaway: Cyberattacks are no longer just IT incidents, they’re geopolitical events.
TL;DR: Denmark says Russian-linked hackers crossed from cyberspace into critical infrastructure.
Further Reading: The Guardian
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🔥 Can’t Miss
🛡️ WatchGuard Firebox Zero-Day Exploited in the Wild
Threat actors are actively exploiting a critical zero-day vulnerability in WatchGuard Firebox appliances, putting perimeter defenses directly in the blast radius. The flaw allows attackers to bypass authentication and potentially take over affected devices.
👉 Key Takeaway: Edge security devices remain prime targets and patch latency is dangerous.🔐 Malicious NPM Package Steals WhatsApp Data
A trojanized npm package posing as a WhatsApp Web API library racked up more than 56,000 downloads before removal. The package exfiltrated messages, contacts, and authentication tokens.
👉 Key Takeaway: Open-source convenience continues to be weaponized at scale.🎣 Cyber Spies Using Fake New Year Invites to Target Russian Military
Researchers uncovered a targeted phishing campaign delivering malicious Excel XLL files via fake New Year concert invitations. The lure was tailored toward Russian military-linked recipients.
👉 Key Takeaway: Seasonal lures still work, even in nation‑state operations.⚙️ Critical n8n Automation Platform Vulnerability Exposes 103,000+ Instances
A critical remote code execution flaw (CVSS 9.9) in the n8n automation platform could allow unauthenticated attackers to fully compromise affected instances. More than 103,000 deployments were found exposed online.
👉 Key Takeaway: Automation tools are becoming high‑value targets, patch immediately.🧨 Fake PoC Exploits Turned Malware Traps for Security Fans
Threat actors are distributing fake proof‑of‑concept exploit code that installs Webrat malware, targeting researchers hunting for new vulnerabilities.
👉 Key Takeaway: Curiosity is an attack vector, even for security pros.
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🤖 AI in Cyber
🧠 NIST & MITRE Announce $20M AI Cybersecurity Research Initiative
NIST and MITRE are launching a $20 million effort focused on AI security research, resilience, and measurement. The initiative aims to turn AI risk discussions into actionable frameworks.
👉 Key Takeaway: AI security is now backed by funding, not just policy talk.☁️ Palo Alto Networks: AI Security Is Fundamentally a Cloud Problem
Palo Alto Networks argues that securing AI workloads requires cloud-native identity, telemetry, and continuous monitoring. Traditional perimeter models don’t translate to AI pipelines.
👉 Key Takeaway: If your AI lives in the cloud, your security must too.🧠 AI Security Gap Warned: Companies Ill‑Prepared
Researchers warn many organizations lack the skills to manage AI‑specific threats like prompt injection and model manipulation. The gap shows up most clearly in rushed deployments.
👉 Key Takeaway: AI risk is operational, and the skills gap is a security gap.🌀 OpenAI Warns AI Browsers Might Never Be Fully Secure
OpenAI says AI-powered browsers and agents may remain structurally vulnerable to prompt injection attacks due to their reliance on untrusted content.
👉 Key Takeaway: Some AI risks may be architectural, not patchable.🔍 Government & Federal Agencies Grapple With AI Browser Threats
Federal cybersecurity leaders are raising concerns as agencies experiment with AI browsers without fully mature governance.
👉 Key Takeaway: Adoption is outpacing oversight in the public sector.
🧟♂️ Strange Cyber
🎅 Santa’s Naughty List Exposed in App Data Breach
Intro: While this one happened in 2022, it’s a cautionary tale for parents and app creators alike.
What Happened: A holiday-themed “Santa app” used to tell parents whether children were naughty or nice leaked sensitive data due to misconfigured cloud storage. Exposed information included children’s names, photos, chat messages, and behavioral notes.
Why It’s Important: The incident highlighted long‑standing failures in kids’ apps, privacy-by-design, and basic cloud security — issues that still plague child‑focused technology today.
The Other Side: The app was eventually pulled, but similar holiday and children’s apps continue to ship with weak security controls.
👉 Takeaway: If it collects kids’ data, it deserves adult‑grade security.
TL;DR: Santa’s naughty list leaked and kids’ privacy paid the price.
Further Reading: ESET
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