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Agency: Guidance Favors Market Innovation Over Federal Scrutiny
New artificial intelligence-enabled health wearable devices and clinical decision support software will not face U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulatory scrutiny, providing the technology meets certain criteria, such as being "low-risk," the agency said this week.

Deal Represents Return to Tuck-In M&A for Palo After 3 Multi-Billion Dollar Deals
Palo Alto Networks is in talks to buy Washington D.C-based endpoint security startup Koi for $400 million. Koi is focused on securing extensions, AI models, code packages and containers, and its differentiation lies in mapping, assessing risk and govern the software landscape at enterprise scale.

Why Human-Centric Zero Trust Models Fail in a World of Autonomous AI Agents
Zero trust was built for humans, not autonomous AI agents. As organizations adopt agentic AI at scale, human-centric security assumptions break down - creating a paradox between utility and least privilege that traditional zero trust models cannot resolve.

Why Are Third-Party Vendor Breaches So Hard to Figure Out?
The victim tally of a 2024 hacking incident at back office services provider Conduent again soared after a new regulatory disclosure by the company, in this case to Texas authorities. The company told Lone Star state officials the breach affected nearly 14.8 million Texans, alone.

FCC Lacks Lead for Cyber Trust Mark Program After UL Solutions Steps Down From Post
UL Solutions has exited its role as lead administrator of the FCC's Cyber Trust Mark, leaving the flagship consumer IoT labeling program without oversight just months after internal security reviews raised concerns over foreign influence in program management.

Geopolitics Puts OT at Greater Risk From Nation States, Criminals and Hacktivists
Attacks against critical infrastructure are expected to increase in scope and intensity including hacks on operational technology systems. State actors are now looking for ways to cause damage and disrupt operations, rather than simply steal secrets, according to cybersecurity experts.

Treasury Submissions Want Broader Coverage; Gaps Could Weaken Protections
Australia's proposed Scams Prevention Framework leaves key scam-enabling entities outside its initial scope, raising questions about whether the model can deliver the consumer protection it promises.

Despite Cisco's Cyber Struggles, the Perks of Offering Asset Management Are Clear
Cisco is eyeing what would be its third-largest cybersecurity acquisition ever, Calcalist reported: a $2 billion buy of New York-based asset management vendor Axonius. The Israeli business publication said Sunday the two sides are in advanced negotiations. Axonius denied the Calcalist report.

More Than 100,000 Affected by Hack Detected on Dec. 30
The New Zealand government is probing a year-end ransomware hack of private healthcare service provider Manage My Health that impacted thousands of patients. Digital extortion group Kazu has claimed responsibility and threatened to leak the data on Jan. 15 unless it receives a $60,000 ransom.

Paper Traces Pandemic-Era Spike in Attacks
One way to look at the novel coronavirus pandemic: A societal experiment in how an oft-overlooked yet essential element of secure networking would stand up to an exploding user base. Unsurprisingly, the rapid uptake of virtual private networks by companies suddenly managing a remote workforce came with significant security costs.

Ransomware Gang Qilin Had Claimed It Stole 852 GB of Health System's Data
Nearly half a million patients of a Catholic healthcare network that serves New England and parts of Pennsylvania began the new year by receiving notifications that hackers may have stolen their health information in a May 2025 hacking incident.

Experts Say Grid Disruption Amid Venezuela Operation Signals Cyber's Expanding Role
Uncertainty surrounds a Caracas blackout that coincided with a U.S. raid to capture Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, with analysts weighing the plausibility of U.S. forces using cyber as a tool in layered, covert action amid the historic operation.

Cyber Command Involved in Strikes on Caracas
Here's what we don't know: Whether the Caracas grid outage triggered by the U.S. incursion was caused - or at least aided - by a cyberattack. A coordinated attack involving a cyber component against an adversarial electrical grid wouldn't be unprecedented.

Investors Increasingly See Each Security Technology Category as Winner-Take-All
The chasm between the cyber "haves" and cyber "have nots" widened in 2025, with most large security companies recording stock price gains while smaller companies logged losses. Of the 11 public cyber vendors with valuations exceeding $14.9 billion, the stock price rose for nine of those companies in 2025.

Visibility Gaps Increase the Risk of Certificate-Driven Outages
Moving to 47-day TLS and SSL certificate renewal cycles by 2029 will turn certificate management into an enterprise risk. "Automation and crypto-governance are now board-level imperatives. Enterprises can prepare for continuous renewal cycles without losing resilience," says Sectigo CEO Kevin Weiss.

Also: Leadership Decisions Shaping Cybersecurity in 2026
Security leaders are heading into 2026 facing growing pressure from AI-driven risks, limited resources and an increasingly complex threat landscape. Sean Mack, who leads ISMG's CXO Advisor practice, joined ISMG editors to discuss how these forces are reshaping security.

Insurer's Hack Could Rank as Largest US Health Data Breach Reported in 2025
Supplemental health insurer Aflac is notifying 22.65 million people whose sensitive health and personal information, including Social Security numbers, was potentially compromised in a June data theft incident. The incident will likely rank as the biggest U.S. health data breach reported in 2025.

The Campaign Compromises Open-Source Vulnerability to Hack IoT Devices at Scale
Security firm CloudSEK has uncovered a botnet campaign that is exploiting the React2Shell vulnerability in the Meta-developed, open-source React framework across a variety of devices since December. The security firm attributed the campaign to RondoDox.

Systems Thinking, Not Tools, Increasingly Separates Senior Talent From Peers
The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game shows how quickly distance disappears once connections are traced. Cybersecurity careers work the same way. Advancement depends on understanding how your work connects to indirect risk, supply chain failures and business outcomes beyond your role.

Ransomware Attackers Grabbed Customer Data Stored by Marquis Software Solutions
More financial services firms are reporting breaches of customer data that trace to an August ransomware attack against Marquis Software Solutions, which provides marketing and compliance software used by over 700 banks and credit unions. At least 1.4 million consumer appear to be affected.