================================================================ INFOSECFOLLOW -- security, markets, business, pittsburgh Sunday, June 28, 2026 - 9:06 AM EDT ================================================================ Attackers strip-mine security vendors' own appliances for credentials as OpenAI gates its newest model behind government cyber safeguards. CONTENTS: Emerging Trends and Key Updates | Security | Pittsburgh | Sports | Reading | Markets EMERGING TRENDS AND KEY UPDATES ---------------------------------------------------------------- * [TREND] OpenAI limited its GPT-5.6 preview to a few vetted firms with added cyber safeguards, even as slipping confidence in autonomous pentesting reshapes the security workforce. see: OpenAI Previews GPT-5.6 With Cyber Safeguards; AI Reshapes the Cybersecurity Workforce * [UPDATE (new)] Palo Alto's Unit 42 issued fresh defensive guidance against mass credential attacks like FortiBleed, which drained 110 million logins from 430,000 FortiGate firewalls. see: Large-Scale Credential Attacks Target Security Appliances * [TREND] Meta is prototyping real-time facial recognition with a Pentagon supplier for police and military use, even as ICE seeks eyeglasses that identify people on sight. see: Meta Tests Facial Recognition for Police and Military * [UPDATE (new)] Apple pulled VKontakte, VK Music, and other Russian apps from the App Store, prompting Russia to accuse the company of political censorship. see: Russia Accuses Apple of Censorship Over VK Removal * [TREND] Commentators sharpened AI skepticism as Zitron catalogs bubble warning signs, Newport derides 'doom trolling' marketing, and Figma's Dylan Field calls AI a design tailwind. see: Premium: Notes From The Bubble, Volume 1; Dear AI Companies: Stop the "Doom Trolling"; An Interview with Figma CEO Dylan Field About Design and AI * [UPDATE (new)] Around Pittsburgh, distrust fuels a Lancaster measles outbreak, thousands packed Point State Park for the America250PA concert, and ACT UP warns of HIV funding cuts. see: Lancaster Measles Outbreak Defies Containment; Thousands Pack Point State Park for America 250 Concert; ACT UP Presses for HIV Funding in Pittsburgh SECURITY ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. LARGE-SCALE CREDENTIAL ATTACKS TARGET SECURITY APPLIANCES Vulnerabilities and Exploits · [credentials, patch] Latest developments: Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42 published a threat brief on June 26 laying out how organizations blunt large-scale credential attacks, the guidance aimed squarely at campaigns like FortiBleed that drained 110 million logins from 430,000 FortiGate firewalls. Credential-harvesting operations increasingly hit the perimeter devices security vendors sell, FortiGate firewalls above all, turning stolen logins into footholds; defenders should rotate exposed credentials, enforce multi-factor authentication, and hunt for rogue sniffers. - Unit 42 (Palo Alto): https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/large-scale-credential-attacks/ - Help Net Security: https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2026/06/28/week-in-review-fortibleed-campaigns-impact-on-orgs-cisco-unified-cm-flaw-exploited/ 2. OPENAI PREVIEWS GPT-5.6 WITH CYBER SAFEGUARDS AI Security · [ai, policy] Latest developments: OpenAI released GPT-5.6 in three versions—Sol, Terra, and Luna—as a limited preview to a small number of companies, restricting access and adding stronger cyber safeguards as part of an ongoing engagement with the U.S. government. Sol stands as the flagship and most powerful, Terra balances efficiency and power, and Luna tunes for speed and affordability; OpenAI's curbed rollout reflects worry that frontier models sharpen offensive cyber capability. - The Hacker News: https://thehackernews.com/2026/06/openai-limits-gpt-56-rollout-as-sol.html 3. AI RESHAPES THE CYBERSECURITY WORKFORCE Cybersecurity Operations · [ai] Latest developments: Dark Reading reported that confidence in autonomous AI penetration testing is slipping as fewer companies lean on the technology to find weaknesses, while a separate analysis argued AI opens new entry-level cybersecurity roles for candidates with strong human judgment. Security teams are recalibrating where AI helps: automated pen testing draws fresh skepticism even as human decision-making anchors early-career work. - Dark Reading: https://www.darkreading.com/cybersecurity-operations/ai-decline-confidence-autonomous-penetration-testing - Dark Reading: https://www.darkreading.com/cybersecurity-operations/ai-wont-wipe-out-entry-level-cybersecurity-jobs 4. META TESTS FACIAL RECOGNITION FOR POLICE AND MILITARY Policy and Regulation · [surveillance, policy] Latest developments: Bruce Schneier flagged that Meta is prototyping real-time facial recognition for police and military use with a Pentagon supplier, even as Immigration and Customs Enforcement seeks eyeglasses that identify people on sight. The effort would put live identity matching into the hands of officers and soldiers, raising surveillance and civil-liberties stakes around wearable recognition gear. - Schneier on Security: https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/06/meta-is-testing-facial-recognition-for-police-and-military.html 5. RUSSIA ACCUSES APPLE OF CENSORSHIP OVER VK REMOVAL Policy and Regulation · [policy] Latest developments: Apple pulled VK's flagship VKontakte along with VK Music, VK Messenger, VK Video, Odnoklassniki, and Mail.ru's email app from the App Store, and Russia accused the company of political censorship. The removals strip Russian iOS users of the country's dominant social and email apps; Moscow frames Apple's move as politically motivated. - The Record: https://therecord.media/russia-accuses-apple-of-political-censorship-after-vk-removal 6. OPEN SOURCE SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE TACKLES END-OF-LIFE SOFTWARE Application Security · [open-source, patch] Latest developments: The Open Source Sustainability Initiative launched to help enterprises manage and secure aging, end-of-life open source projects while holding to regulatory compliance. End-of-life open source components keep shipping inside enterprise software without maintainers or patches; the initiative aims to track and secure them before attackers do. - Dark Reading: https://www.darkreading.com/application-security/initiative-tackles-security-end-of-life-open-source PITTSBURGH ---------------------------------------------------------------- Weather: Today: Patchy Fog then Chance Showers And Thunderstorms, high 85F. Tonight: Chance Showers And Thunderstorms then Partly Cloudy, low 67F. Monday: Mostly Sunny, high 90F. Around town: * Lancaster Measles Outbreak Defies Containment Latest developments: A June 28 Post-Gazette report found that lingering distrust and low vaccination rates threaten efforts to contain the measles outbreak centered in Lancaster County. Public-health workers in Lancaster County are struggling to halt a measles outbreak as vaccine skepticism and low immunization rates let the disease spread, part of a widening Pennsylvania case count that has already reached Northumberland County. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: https://www.post-gazette.com/news/health/2026/06/28/distrust-low-vaccine-rates-containment-lancaster-measles/stories/202606280073 * Thousands Pack Point State Park for America 250 Concert Latest developments: Thousands filled Point State Park on June 27 for the America250PA Commonwealth Concert headlined by Nelly and Third Eye Blind, which organizers called the largest free statewide concert series staged for the nation's 250th anniversary. Pittsburgh and America250PA drew thousands through rain to Point State Park downtown for a free Commonwealth Concert headlined by Nelly and Third Eye Blind, marking the United States Semiquincentennial. - WPXI: https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/thousands-pack-point-state-park-historic-america-250-concert/AM2CI3QUWVDKDJKQ6Z2PY7KIBM/ - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: https://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2026/06/27/america-250-concert-pittsburgh-nelly-third-eye-blind/stories/202606270050 * ACT UP Presses for HIV Funding in Pittsburgh Latest developments: A June 28 Post-Gazette report detailed a local ACT UP group's awareness campaign warning that 'AIDS is not over' as federal HIV funding faces cuts. A Pittsburgh ACT UP chapter mounted a public campaign arguing AIDS remains a live threat and pressing to protect HIV funding against proposed federal reductions. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: https://www.post-gazette.com/news/health/2026/06/28/aids-hiv-funding-cut-act-up/stories/202606280035 SPORTS ---------------------------------------------------------------- Pirates (41-42) Sat Jun 27 · Reds 9 · Pirates 7 · Final Eugenio Suárez hits 3-run homer in 9th as Reds rally for 9-7 win over Pirates https://plaintextsports.com/mlb/2026-06-27/cin-pit Up Next · Reds @ Pirates · Sun Jun 28, 1:35 PM https://plaintextsports.com/mlb/2026-06-28/cin-pit Around the Teams: * Pirates Activate Konnor Griffin Latest developments: The Pittsburgh Pirates activated top prospect Konnor Griffin from the injured list June 26, ending the rehab assignment he had begun at Double-A Altoona. The Post-Gazette reported the Pirates brought infield prospect Konnor Griffin off the injured list to reinforce a roster thinned by injuries, and he homered leading off in his return. - Post-Gazette Pirates: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pirates/2026/06/26/konnor-griffin-injury-il-activate-brannigan/stories/202606260067 * Don Kelly Reaches 100th Win as Pirates Manager Latest developments: A June 26 Post-Gazette feature marked Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly's 100th career managerial victory. The Pirates celebrated manager Don Kelly's 100th win, with players saying 'he deserves it' and hoping the milestone points toward a postseason push. - Post-Gazette Pirates: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pirates/2026/06/26/kelly-100-wins-manager-mlb-postseason/stories/202606250057 * Pirates Open Legacy Hall at PNC Park Latest developments: The Post-Gazette previewed June 25 the Pirates' new Legacy Hall at PNC Park, a fan space assembling the franchise's history. The Pittsburgh Pirates' new Legacy Hall at PNC Park will let fans young and old 'see a lot of history,' gathering the team's past into an interactive exhibit at the ballpark. - Post-Gazette Pirates: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pirates/2026/06/25/legacy-hall-pnc-park-pittsburgh-baseball-history/stories/202606240069 READING ---------------------------------------------------------------- * Ed Zitron -- Premium: Notes From The Bubble, Volume 1 Zitron launches an ongoing series of dispatches cataloguing what he reads as warning signs that the AI investment bubble is beginning to unravel. https://www.wheresyoured.at/premium-notes-from-the-bubble-volume-1/ * Stratechery -- An Interview with Figma CEO Dylan Field About Design and AI Ben Thompson interviews Figma chief executive Dylan Field on building the company and why Field sees AI as a tailwind rather than a threat to design software. https://stratechery.com/2026/an-interview-with-figma-ceo-dylan-field-about-design-and-ai/ * Cal Newport -- Dear AI Companies: Stop the "Doom Trolling" Newport argues AI companies should stop hyping their own products as dangerous as a marketing tactic, likening it to Ford publishing a whitepaper warning its F-150 is alarmingly unsafe. https://calnewport.com/dear-ai-companies-stop-the-doom-trolling/ MARKETS (weekly average, change vs prior week) ---------------------------------------------------------------- S&P 500 7,381.60 ▼ -1.4% Dow 51,805.04 ▲ +0.4% Nasdaq 25,577.30 ▼ -2.7% WTI crude 71.90 ▼ -9.0% EUR/USD 1.1382 ▼ -1.3% GBP/USD 1.3200 ▼ -0.8% USD/JPY 161.63 ▲ +0.7% ================================================================ Generated 2026-06-28 09:06 EDT. Sources: 24 security feeds; 9 Pittsburgh feeds; 4 Pittsburgh arts and events feeds; 6 Pittsburgh sports beat and podcast feeds; 4 Team USA feeds; the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, and the Financial Times; and Ed Zitron, Stratechery, Cal Newport. Markets from Yahoo Finance, weather from the NWS, scores from ESPN. Summaries are AI-generated from the linked reporting; verify at the sources. ================================================================