Iran War
(Emily Peck – Axios) Countries across South Asia are imposing emergency measures like rationing energy, closing universities, cutting short workweeks and even changing the way crematoriums work to deal with the fallout from the Iran war. Yes, the war is raising gas prices for Americans and causing a political headache for President Donald Trump — but it’s also creating a deeper crisis abroad that governments and businesses are scrambling to manage. It’s the latest global economic shock in a turbulent decade. The 2020s have seen a pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting inflation, and, more recently, Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, which rocked markets and panicked some countries. The laws of supply and demand make the math fairly straightforward here: 20% of the world’s oil and other energy products go through the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran has effectively shuttered traffic. – Iran war: How the conflict triggers global economic consequences
US
(Dave Lawler – Axios) Joe Kent, who led the National Counterterrorism Center and was a top aide to intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard, became the first senior Trump administration official to resign over the war in Iran. Kent’s stinging rebuke — that Trump launched the war under pressure from Israel despite Iran posing “no imminent threat” to the U.S. — underscores the discomfort many in the “America First” camp feel about the war. “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.” – Top Trump intel official resigns over Iran war: “No imminent threat”
(Sara Fischer – Axios) The Trump administration is ramping up its attacks on the press as it struggles to control its messaging about the war in Iran. History suggests that when press freedoms are targeted during times of war, they’re rarely reinstated. Over the past few weeks, the administration has threatened news outlets with regulatory retaliation and blocked access over their coverage of the war with Iran. FCC chair Brendan Carr on Saturday threatened to revoke broadcast licenses if war coverage did not “operate in the public interest.”. His comments came shortly after the president criticized the press on Truth Social for its coverage, alleging the media “actually want us to lose the War.” – Trump ramps up press pressure over Iran war coverage
Cyber (In)Security and Surveillance
(Kevin Poireault – Infosecurity Magazine) One year after its creation, the UK’s Cyber Monitoring Centre (CMC) is looking to expand to the US. The UK-based nonprofit was established by a team of experts in February 2025 to assess the economic and financial impact of major cyber incidents occurring in the UK. The Centre’s approach mirrors the methodologies used for physical events, such as the Richter scale for earthquakes and the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale for hurricanes. The CMC’s own scale (categories 0 to 5) categorizes cyber incidents based on how many people were affected and the overall financial impact. – UK Cyber Monitoring Centre Sets Its Sights on US Expansion – Infosecurity Magazine
(Dominique Adam – Infosecurity Magazine) Remote and hybrid work have changed how and where users authenticate. Devices aren’t always connected to the corporate network and VPN use is often inconsistent. Crucially, not every password reset happens while a machine has line-of-sight to a domain controller. Identity drift occurs in this gap, when a user’s credentials aren’t fully aligned across every system that can authenticate them. Understanding how these credentials persist is critical to closing gaps that attackers are quick to exploit. – Identity Drift: The Hidden Risk in Hybrid Active Directory Environment – Infosecurity Magazine
(Pierluigi Paganini – Security Affairs) A suspected China-linked espionage campaign, tracked as CL-STA-1087, has targeted Southeast Asian military organizations since at least 2020, using AppleChris and MemFun malware. “The activity demonstrated strategic operational patience and a focus on highly targeted intelligence collection, rather than bulk data theft. The attackers behind this cluster actively searched for and collected highly specific files concerning military capabilities, organizational structures and collaborative efforts with Western armed forces.” reads the report published by Palo Alto Networks. “The objective-oriented tool set used in the malicious activity includes several newly discovered assets: the AppleChris and MemFun backdoors, and a custom Getpass credential harvester.” – CL-STA-1087 targets military capabilities since 2020
(Pierluigi Paganini – Security Affairs) ClickFix is a growing social engineering technique that tricks users into manually executing malicious commands, bypassing traditional protections. Once mainly targeting Windows, it is now increasingly affecting macOS, with recent campaigns deploying infostealers like AMOS and MacSync. Researchers note the evolving tactics, likely driven by both defensive measures and broader tech trends. Sophos researchers analyzed three ClickFix campaigns targeting macOS users with the MacSync infostealer. In November 2025, attackers relied on relatively “classic” ClickFix techniques. Victims searching for ChatGPT-related tools were lured via malicious Google-sponsored links leading to fake OpenAI/ChatGPT pages. These pages instructed users to copy and execute obfuscated Terminal commands, which ultimately downloaded and ran the MacSync infostealer. The approach was straightforward but effective, relying heavily on user trust and deception. – From Windows to macOS: ClickFix attacks shift tactics with ChatGPT-based lures
(Pierluigi Paganini – Security Affairs) A recent cyberattack on medical technology giant Stryker targeted its internal Microsoft environment and remotely wiped tens of thousands of employee devices without using malware. The company confirmed that its medical devices were not affected and remain safe to use. However, electronic ordering systems are still offline, forcing customers to place orders manually through sales representatives. Last week, Pro-Palestinian hacktivist group Handala claimed responsibility for a disruptive cyberattack against medical technology firm Stryker. The group claimed it wiped more than 200,000 servers, mobile devices, and other systems, forcing the company to shut down offices across 79 countries. The hacktivists also claimed they exfiltrated about 50TB of corporate data from the company’s infrastructure. – Attack on Stryker ’s Microsoft environment wiped employee devices without malware
Technological Revolution
(Amy Harder – Axios) Nvidia’s chips are improving at such a staggering pace that it defies any historical comparison. Without these gains — which are drawing increased attention as AI transforms society — physics would slam the brakes on the data center boom. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Monday he expects the company to reap “at least” $1 trillion in revenue for its newest chips through 2027. It posted record sales and earnings last month, fueled by skyrocketing orders from Big Tech data center companies. Nvidia has historically dominated the market. But its cumulative share has dropped from 100% in the first quarter of 2022 to 65% in the fourth quarter of last year, according to the research and consultancy firm SemiAnalysis. – Nvidia’s race to outpace physics
