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Experts Warn Trump Officials Using Signal for War Plans Risk Massive Leaks

 

Reports that senior Trump administration officials discussed classified military operations using the encrypted texting app Signal have raised serious security concerns. Although Signal provides encryption, lawmakers and cybersecurity specialists have warned that it is still susceptible to hacking and should never be used for private government communications. 

When journalist Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic was accidentally included in a Signal group discussion where senior Trump officials were discussing military operations in Yemen, the issue became apparent. Goldberg called the conversation an act of "shocking recklessness" and said it included "precise information about weapons packages, targets, and timing.” 

Mark Montgomery, senior director of the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, criticised the decision, saying, "I guess Signal is a few steps above leaving a copy of your war plan at the Chinese Embassy—but it's far below the standards required for discussing any elements of a war plan.” 

Signal has become increasingly popular in Washington despite cybersecurity concerns after Chinese-affiliated hackers significantly compromised U.S. telecommunications networks. To safeguard against spying, officials recommend using encrypted services such as Signal. Experts warn that even while the app has robust encryption and deletes messages automatically, it is not approved for use in government-level sensitive communications. 

Lawmakers call for investigation

Top Democrats have slammed the use of Signal for military discussions, describing it as a significant security breach. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, criticised the Trump administration for failing to vet group chat users. “It should go without saying that administration officials should not be using Signal for discussing intelligence matters,” Thompson noted. 

House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) has requested a hearing, calling the episode "the most astonishing breach of our national security in recent history." Ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, Jim Himes (D-Conn.), said he was "horrified" by the usage of an insecure app. He cautioned that lower-level officials might risk criminal charges for such a failure. 

Michael Waltz, Trump's National Security Adviser, admits to organising the Signal group chat, which inadvertently included writer Jeffrey Goldberg. Waltz first blamed a staff member, but later admitted that he founded the group himself. "It is embarrassing, definitely. We're going to get to the bottom of it," he added, adding that he was engaging Elon Musk on technical matters. 

In support of Waltz, Trump described him as a "good man" who had only "learnt a lesson." "The leak was the only glitch in two months, and it turned out not to be a serious one," he said, downplaying the breach as a small mistake. But there has been a quick pushback, with lawmakers and security experts voicing serious concerns.

GitHub Action Security Breach Raises Concerns Over Supply Chain Risks

 


An attack of a cascading supply chain was recently triggered by the compromise of the GitHub action "reviewdog/action-setup@v1", which ultimately led to the security breach of the "tj-actions/changed-files" repository. As a result of this breach, unintended secrets about continuous integration and delivery were exposed, raising concerns about the integrity of software supply chains. 

There was a malicious code in the tj-actions/changed-files application last week, which introduced malicious code that was capable of extracting CI/CD secrets from the workflow logs and logging them within the log files. This incident affected approximately 23,000 repositories. Even though these logs were not accessible to the public, this exposure highlights significant security risks. In the case that the logs had become public, the attacker would have been able to gain unauthorized access to vital credentials.

Even though there has been an ongoing investigation into tj-actions/changed files, its developers have been unable to determine exactly how the attackers compromised GitHub's Personal Access Token (PAT) to gain access to critical data. For the unauthorized changes to be made, this token, which was used by an automated bot to modify code, appears to have played a pivotal role in the process. GitHub Actions and CI/CD pipelines need to be enhanced to prevent the spread of software supply chain vulnerabilities. This incident underscores the increasing threat of software supply chain vulnerabilities. 

A critical security breach has been identified in the widely used third-party GitHub Action, tj-actions/changed-files, that has been assigned the CVE-2025-30066 vulnerability. When a supply chain attack compromises the action that tracks file changes in pull requests and commits, it results in unauthorized disclosure of sensitive credentials since this action tracks file modifications. Among the secrets that were exposed were valid access keys, GitHub Personal Access Tokens (PATs), npm tokens, and private RSA keys. 

A security patch was implemented in version 46.0.1 as a response to the incident to mitigate the risk associated with it. As a result of an updated analysis from March 19, 2025, security researchers have suggested that this breach may have been the result of a similar compromise of another GitHub action, reviewdog/action-setup@v1, identified as CVE-2025-30154 by security researchers. Considering the timing of both incidents and the growing threat landscape surrounding software supply chains, there is a strong likelihood that there is a connection between them. 

The developments highlighted in this article underscore the importance of conducting rigorous security audits and maintaining enhanced monitoring practices within the GitHub ecosystem to prevent future threats. In the recent past, there was a security breach affecting GitHub Action tj-actions/changed-files that exposed critical security vulnerabilities in software supply chains, emphasizing the risks associated with third-party dependencies in continuous integration/continuous delivery. 

Through GitHub Actions, a widely used automation platform, developers can optimize their workflows through reusable components, allowing them to save time and money. However, due to the compromise of tj-actions/changed-files—a tool that detects changes in files in pull requests and commits—over 23,000 repositories were accessed unauthorized, resulting in the theft of sensitive workflow secrets. A security researcher first noticed unusual activity related to the repository on March 14, 2025, which led to the discovery of the breach. 

A malicious payload has been injected into CI/CD runners in an attempt to extract CI/CD runner memory, which exposed critical environment variables and workflow secrets within logs, which were discovered to have been injected by the attackers. An exploit like this could result in unauthorized access to confidential credentials, thereby posing a significant security risk to the organization. Having been provided with a critical lead by security researcher Adnan Khan, it has been confirmed that the root cause of this compromise stems from another GitHub Action called reviewdog/action-setup, which an independent organization maintains. 

The investigation revealed that the tj-actions/changed-files action was compromised because it was dependent on the tj-actions/eslint-changed-files action, which was itself dependent on the reviewdog/action-setup action. In addition to the attack on the review dog organization, multiple activities were also affected within that organization, indicating that the attack was more widespread than that. Maintainers of TJ-actions and Review Dog quickly mitigated this incident by implementing security patches and reducing further risks. 

To counteract growing threats within software supply chains, continuous security monitoring, dependency validation, and rapid mitigation strategies must be implemented to protect continuous integration/continuous delivery pipelines from future attacks. Wiz, one of the leading security firms, recommended that developers evaluate their potential exposure by performing a GitHub query to determine if any references to reviewdog/action-setup@v1 were found in their repositories. 

As part of this process, it is important to determine if any of the projects might have been compromised by the recent supply chain compromise. It would be prudent to treat the detection of double-encoded base64 payloads within workflow logs as a confirmation of the leakage of sensitive information. If this happens, immediate remediation measures are required to prevent further security incidents. 

To reduce the risks associated with compromised actions, developers are advised to remove all references to these actions across branches, remove workflow logs that might contain exposed credentials, and rotate any potentially compromised secrets so that unauthorized access cannot occur. There is a need to take proactive security measures, such as pin GitHub Actions to specific commit hashes rather than version tags to reduce the probability that similar breaches will occur in the future. Furthermore, by utilizing GitHub's allow-listing feature, we can restrict unauthorized actions and enhance the security of our repositories. 

One must respond quickly to supply chain attacks, which may have far-reaching consequences as well as leak CI/CD secrets. Immediately following the breach, organizations must take steps to contain the breach, and they must develop long-term security strategies to protect themselves against future threats as well. The companies that are potentially impacted by this GitHub Actions supply chain attack should take immediate measures to protect their systems from further harm. To effectively counteract unauthorized access and further exploitation, all exposed secrets must be rotated. This is especially true for those secrets that were used between March 14 and March 15, 2025. 

Failure to replace compromised credentials could result in further exploitation. Further, security teams need to thoroughly review CI/CD workflows, paying close attention to unexpected outputs, particularly within the section on "changed files". There is a good chance that any anomalies may indicate an unauthorized modification or possible data leak. All workflow references should be updated to point to specific commit hashes rather than mutable tags so that they can be used to enhance security and mitigate the risk of a similar incident in the future. This will reduce the risk that attackers may inject malicious code into widely used GitHub Actions in the future. 

A robust security policy is also crucial for organizations. For this reason, organizations must utilize GitHub's allow-listing feature to restrict access to unauthorized actions, and they should conduct regular security audits of their third-party dependencies before integrating them into workflows. This kind of prevention measure can greatly reduce the chances of an attack on the supply chain or an unauthorized change in the source code. As a result of the recent breach, it has been highlighted how widely used automation tools are prone to vulnerabilities, which emphasizes the need to maintain continuous security monitoring and develop proactive defence strategies. 

Although some organizations, like Coinbase, successfully mitigated the impact of this incident, it serves as a reaffirmation that all organizations should continue strengthening their security postures and remain vigilant when it comes to evolving threats in the software industry. Recent information about a security breach with GitHub Actions confirms that the threats associated with supply chain attacks are continuing to grow in the modern software development industry. It has become increasingly important for organizations to enforce strong security frameworks for the sake of preventing cyber threats by implementing continuous monitoring mechanisms, thorough dependency audits, and enhanced access controls as cyber threats become more sophisticated. 

CI/CD pipelines need to be protected against unauthorized intrusions at all costs, and this incident highlights the urgency for proactive defense strategies to prevent this type of activity. Teams can mitigate vulnerabilities and ensure their workflows are protected by adopting secure coding best practices, enforcing strict authentication policies, and utilizing GitHub's security features, if they implement secure coding practices and enforce strict authentication policies. As software supply chain security has become a world-wide concern, maintaining vigilance and immediate response to incidents is crucial to ensuring operational integrity and resilience against evolving threats in an era when it has become paramount.

Raymond Cyberattack: IT Teams, Authorities Investigate Massive Breach

 

Raymond Limited, a leading textile and apparel firm, acknowledged a cyberattack on its IT infrastructure on February 19. The company quickly segregated affected systems to protect essential business operations and avoid disruptions to customer-facing platforms or shop networks.

Rakesh Darji, Raymond's Company Secretary and Compliance Officer, stated in a regulatory filing that its retail and physical store operations will continue unchanged. While the filing provided no details on the attackers or confirmed any ransomware involvement, the company noted that "necessary precautions and protocols" were implemented to mitigate the impact. 

Raymond reassured stakeholders that its critical manufacturing and retail systems are safe despite the security intrusion, and that there haven't been any notable service interruptions. To determine the attack's entry points, length, and any threats of data exposure, the company's cybersecurity specialists and internal IT teams are performing forensic investigation. An inquiry is also in progress after notification was sent to India's cybersecurity organisation, CERT-In. 

The incident highlights the growing significance of strong cybersecurity measures for multinational organisations, especially those with complicated supply networks. It serves as a warning to firms to always improve their cyber defences against evolving threats. 

Raymond's disclosure is aligned with India's new cybersecurity standards, which demand the timely notification of major IT issues to regulatory bodies and investors. Shortly after discovering the breach, the company followed compliance measures and notified stock markets under the scrip codes BSE:500330 and NSE:RAYMOND. 

While the full scope of the assault is unknown, Raymond's proactive response and transparency demonstrate its commitment to ensuring company continuity and consumer trust.

Quantum Computers Threaten to Breach Online Security in Minutes

 

A perfect quantum computer could decrypt RSA-2048, our current strongest encryption, in 10 seconds. Quantum computing employs the principle of quantum physics to process information using quantum bits (qubits) rather than standard computer bits. Qubits can represent both states at the same time, unlike traditional computers, which employ bits that are either 0 or 1. This capacity makes quantum computers extremely effective in solving complicated problems, particularly in cryptography, artificial intelligence, and materials research. 

While this computational leap opens up incredible opportunities across businesses, it also raises serious security concerns. When quantum computers achieve their full capacity, they will be able to break through standard encryption methods used to safeguard our most sensitive data. While the timescale for commercial availability of fully working quantum computers is still uncertain, projections vary widely.

The Boston Consulting Group predicts a significant quantum advantage between 2030 and 2040, although Gartner believes that developments in quantum computing could begin to undermine present encryption approaches as early as 2029, with complete vulnerability by 2034. Regardless of the precise timetable, the conclusion is unanimous: the era of quantum computing is quickly approaching. 

Building quantum resilience 

To address this impending threat, organisations must: 

  • Adopt new cryptographic algorithms that are resistant against impending quantum attacks, such as post-quantum cryptography (PQC). The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently published its first set of PQC algorithm standards (FIPS 203, FIPS 204, and FIPS 205) to assist organisations in safeguarding their data from quantum attacks. 
  • Upgrades will be required across the infrastructure. Develop crypto agility to adapt to new cryptographic methods without requiring massive system overhauls as threats continue to evolve. 

This requires four essential steps: 

Discover and assess: Map out where your organisation utilises cryptography and evaluate the quantum threats to its assets. Identify the crown jewels and potential business consequences. 

Strategise: Determine the current cryptography inventory, asset lives against quantum threat timelines, quantum risk levels for essential business assets, and create an extensive PQC migration path. 

Modernise: Implement quantum-resilient algorithms while remaining consistent with overall company strategy.

Enhance: Maintain crypto agility by providing regular updates, asset assessments, modular procedures, continual education, and compliance monitoring. 

The urgency to act 

In the past, cryptographic migrations often took more than ten years to finish. Quantum-resistant encryption early adopters have noticed wide-ranging effects, such as interoperability issues, infrastructure rewrites, and other upgrading challenges, which have resulted in multi-year modernisation program delays. 

The lengthy implementation period makes getting started immediately crucial, even though the shift to PQC may be a practical challenge given its extensive and dispersed distribution throughout the digital infrastructure. Prioritising crypto agility will help organisations safeguard critical details before quantum threats materialise.

Bybit Crypto Exchange Hacked for $1.5 Billion in Largest Crypto Heist

 

Bybit, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has suffered a massive security breach, resulting in the loss of $1.5 billion in digital assets. The hack, now considered the largest in crypto history, compromised the exchange’s cold wallet—an offline storage system designed to provide enhanced security against cyber threats. 

Despite the breach, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou assured users that other cold wallets remain secure and that withdrawals continue as normal. Blockchain analysis firms, including Elliptic and Arkham Intelligence, traced the stolen funds as they were quickly moved across multiple wallets and laundered through various platforms. Most of the stolen assets were in ether, which were liquidated swiftly to avoid detection. 

The scale of the attack far exceeds previous high-profile crypto thefts, including the $611 million Poly Network hack in 2021 and the $570 million stolen from Binance’s BNB token in 2022. Investigators later linked the attack to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, a state-sponsored hacking organization known for targeting cryptocurrency platforms. The group has a history of siphoning billions from the digital asset industry to fund the North Korean regime. 

Experts say Lazarus employs advanced laundering techniques to hide the stolen funds, making recovery difficult. Elliptic’s chief scientist, Tom Robinson, confirmed that the hacker’s addresses have been flagged in an attempt to prevent further transactions or cash-outs on other exchanges. However, the sheer speed and sophistication of the operation suggest that a significant portion of the funds may already be out of reach. The news of the breach sent shockwaves through the crypto community, triggering a surge in withdrawals as users feared the worst. 

While Bybit has managed to stabilize outflows, concerns remain over the platform’s ability to recover from such a massive loss. To reassure customers, Bybit announced that it had secured a bridge loan from undisclosed partners to cover any unrecoverable losses and maintain operations. The Lazarus Group’s involvement highlights the persistent security risks in the cryptocurrency industry. Since 2017, the group has orchestrated multiple cyberattacks, including the theft of $200 million in bitcoin from South Korean exchanges. 

Their methods have become increasingly sophisticated, exploiting vulnerabilities in crypto platforms to fund North Korea’s financial needs. Industry experts warn that large-scale thefts like this will continue unless exchanges implement stronger security measures. Robinson emphasized that making it harder for criminals to profit from these attacks is the best deterrent against future incidents. 

Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies and crypto-tracking firms are working to trace the stolen assets in hopes of recovering a portion of the funds. While exchanges have made strides in improving security, cybercriminals continue to find ways to exploit weaknesses, making robust protections more crucial than ever.

New 'Browser Syncjacking' Attack Exploits Chrome Extensions for Full Device Takeover

 

'Browser Syncjacking,' which allows threat actors to hijack Google profiles, compromise browsers, and eventually gain full control over a victim's device—all through a seemingly harmless Chrome extension.

This stealthy multi-stage attack requires minimal permissions and almost no user interaction beyond installing a malicious Chrome extension. The attack begins with:

1. Fake Google Workspace Setup – Attackers create a fraudulent Google Workspace domain with pre-configured user profiles where security features like multi-factor authentication are disabled.

2. Publishing a Malicious Extension – A Chrome extension, disguised as a useful tool, is uploaded to the Chrome Web Store.

3. Social Engineering Trap – Victims are tricked into installing the extension, which then secretly logs them into an attacker's managed Google Workspace profile via a hidden browser session.

4. Sync Activation – The extension opens a legitimate Google support page and injects content instructing users to enable Chrome Sync. Once activated, attackers gain access to stored credentials, browsing history, and other sensitive data.

5. Full Browser Takeover – Using deceptive tactics, such as a fake Zoom update prompt, the extension delivers an executable file containing an enrollment token. This grants attackers full control over the browser.

"Once enrolled, the attacker gains full control over the victim's browser, allowing them to silently access all web apps, install additional malicious extensions, redirect users to phishing sites, monitor/modify file downloads, and many more," explains SquareX researchers.

By leveraging Chrome's Native Messaging API, attackers establish a direct communication channel between the malicious extension and the victim's operating system. This enables them to:
  • Browse directories
  • Modify files
  • Install malware
  • Execute commands
  • Capture keystrokes
  • Extract sensitive data
  • Activate the webcam and microphone
The Browser Syncjacking attack is difficult to detect. Unlike traditional extension-based threats that require extensive social engineering, this method operates with minimal user interaction.

"Unless the victim is extremely security paranoid and is technically savvy enough to constantly navigate the Chrome settings to look for managed browser labels, there is no real visual indication that a browser has been hijacked," the report warns.

Recent incidents, including hijacks of legitimate Chrome extensions, have demonstrated that browser extensions pose significant cybersecurity risks.

BleepingComputer has reached out to Google for comments on this new attack and will provide updates as soon as a response is received.

Email Attacks Target 80% of Key Infrastructure Firms, Study Reveals

 


Strong security for emails is one of the top concerns of CNI dealing companies. According to a recent OPSWAT report, 80% of CNI companies reported an email-related security breach in the past year. Malicious emails are being exploited to target essential services, and email-based attacks are increasingly used as a key strategy for gaining unauthorised access.

CNI organisations, such as utilities, transportation, telecommunications, and data centres, are prime targets for cybercriminals. The appeal lies in the widespread disruption a successful attack can cause. For example, a report from Malwarebytes highlighted that the services industry, which includes many CNI sectors, has been heavily impacted by ransomware, accounting for nearly a quarter of global attacks.

Email attacks prove to be particularly effective, according to a report by OPSWAT, which polled 250 IT and security leaders of CNI firms. For instance, CNI organisations experienced 5.7 phishing incidents, 5.6 account compromises, and 4.4 instances of data leakage per year for every 1,000 employees. Yet still, more than half of the respondents assumed that email messages and attachments were safe by default.

Why Cybercriminals Target Emails

Emails are a straightforward way for attackers to deliver phishing scams, malicious links, and harmful attachments. Once opened, these can give hackers access to critical systems. More than 80% of CNI organisations believe that email threats will increase or stay the same over the next year, with phishing, data theft, and zero-day malware attacks being the most likely.

As operational technology (OT) and IT systems become more connected, the risk grows. The report warns that fewer OT networks are isolated from the internet today. This interconnection means a single email attack could spread from IT to OT systems, causing further damage and enabling attackers to launch new attacks from within the network.

UK Steps up Data Center Security End

Data centres have just been designated by the UK government as critical national infrastructure, thus putting them in a category qualifying for further protection from growing cyber threats. This is the first new CNI designation since 2015. The measure aims to enhance the security of these critical facilities that guarantee the running of all services across the country pretty slickly.

This change also means that data centres will receive more government support in the event of cyber incidents, including access to the National Cyber Security Centre and emergency services when necessary. However, the increased designation also comes with tighter regulations, including the need for physical security measures, audits, and updated contingency plans.

Despite the serious threat email attacks pose, most CNI companies struggle with compliance. As revealed in the OPSWAT report, 65% of leaders admit that their organisations do not meet regulatory standards. However, for EMEA companies, this number goes down to 28%. Poor compliance leaves these organisations more vulnerable to attack.

Recent data shows that cyber attacks on CNI organisations are on the rise. The NCC Group’s latest Threat Pulse found that in July alone, 34% of ransomware attacks targeted CNI, up from 32% in June. Experts suggest that cybercriminals may now feel less concerned about consequences from law enforcement. Initially, ransomware groups avoided high-profile targets like hospitals to avoid severe crackdowns. However, recent attacks on CNI suggest they are no longer holding back.

Legacy Technology: The Soft Underbelly 

One of the biggest issues facing CNI companies is their reliance on outdated technology. The National Cyber Security Centre’s 2023 Annual Review noted that many critical infrastructure organisations still use legacy systems that are not regularly updated, making them easy targets for cyber attacks. These systems are often decades old and lack basic security features, making it easier for attackers to exploit them. A Microsoft report from May supported these findings, showing that security measures for OT systems are often inadequate, making attacks on water and other key infrastructure systems both attractive and easy for hackers. As cyber threats continue to rise, the need for CNI companies to update their technology and strengthen their security protocols becomes increasingly urgent. 

As email attacks continue to plague critical infrastructure organisations, it’s clear that a stronger approach to email security is needed. OPSWAT’s report stresses the importance of prevention, urging CNI companies to prioritise email security measures to protect their networks. With cybercriminals targeting these vital systems more than ever before, improving defences against email-borne threats is essential for ensuring the security and stability of national infrastructure.

CNI companies are facing a growing threat from email-based cyber attacks. As technology develops and attackers become more sophisticated, it’s crucial for organisations to update their security measures and comply with regulations to safeguard their operations. Email remains a key entry point for cybercriminals, and without the necessary precautions, the consequences could be severe.



Oil Giant Halliburton Hit by Cyberattack, Certain Systems Affected

 

On Friday, oil firm Halliburton revealed further details to regulators regarding a recent attack that forced the shutdown of critical systems. The company told news outlets that it was struck by a cyberattack on Wednesday, which disrupted operations at its Houston headquarters. 

In an 8-K filing filed Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the firm stated that attackers "gained access to certain of its systems." The firm is currently investigating the matter with the assistance of contractors. 

“The Company’s response efforts included proactively taking certain systems offline to help protect them and notifying law enforcement. The Company’s ongoing investigation and response include restoration of its systems and assessment of materiality,” Halliburton vice president Charles Geer noted in the report. 

Geer also stated that they are in contact with users and other stakeholders as they try "to identify any effects of the incident." According to Reuters, following the cyberattack, some employees were instructed not to access the company's internal network. No group claimed responsibility for the incident as of Friday afternoon. 

Halliburton, known for its controversial role in the Iraq War, is one of the world's major oil field service businesses, with almost 48,000 employees. The firm generated $5.8 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2024. Businesses in the oil and gas industry continue to be targeted by hackers and ransomware gangs because they have a history for paying ransoms. 

While no cases have been confirmed, ransomware gangs have discovered at least five oil and gas businesses on their leak sites since June. For the past three years, oil and gas firms have been impacted by a number of cyber incidents, however the attacks on Colonial Pipeline and Shell have garnered the most media attention. 

It has become a major issue that G7 members in June have "committed to taking critical action to strengthen the cybersecurity of the global supply chain of key technologies used to manage and operate electricity, oil, and natural gas systems across the world." 

In May, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) updated cybersecurity standards for operators of potentially dangerous liquid and natural gas pipelines, as well as liquefied natural gas installations. 

The regulations, which have been in place since the Colonial Pipeline attack, require operators to confirm to TSA that they have implemented a variety of cybersecurity policies, including an incident response plan, the establishment of a cybersecurity coordinator position, vulnerability inspections, network segmentation, and more.