daily plain-text briefing: security, markets, business, and pittsburgh
Citizen Lab found Pegasus spyware on a European lawmaker who investigated its abuse, as Google and the FBI dismantled a 2-million-device proxy botnet and fresh stealers spread across platforms.
Latest developments: Citizen Lab reported July 3 that former Member of the European Parliament Stelios Kouloglou suffered two Pegasus infections while he sat on the PEGA committee investigating commercial-spyware abuse across the bloc.
NSO Group's Pegasus lets operators read a target's messages, calls, and location. Forensic analysis of Kouloglou's device showed attackers could have gained full access, which one sitting parliamentarian called a direct attack on the rule of law.
Sources: The Hacker News · The Record · Wired Security · ↑ top
Latest developments: Google and the FBI disrupted NetNut on July 3, severing a residential proxy network built on roughly 2 million compromised Android devices, including smart TVs and streaming boxes.
NetNut rented access to the infected devices so cybercriminals and nation-state actors could route attacks through victims' home connections and mask their identities. The takedown cut off that infrastructure.
Sources: BleepingComputer · SecurityWeek · ↑ top
Latest developments: The Hacker News disclosed July 3 Bad Epoll (CVE-2026-46242), a patched Linux kernel flaw that hands any unprivileged user root across desktops, servers, and Android, sitting in the same stretch of code where Anthropic's Mythos model recently caught a different bug, while runZero disclosed seven still-unpatched flaws in the FatFs filesystem library embedded in millions of devices.
FatFs reads and writes FAT and exFAT media inside security cameras, drones, industrial controllers, and hardware crypto wallets, so its bugs reach far beyond servers. Administrators should apply the Bad Epoll fix now and watch for FatFs firmware updates.
Sources: The Hacker News · The Hacker News · ↑ top
Latest developments: BleepingComputer detailed July 3 ARToken, a phishing-as-a-service platform that operates as an affiliate of the EvilTokens platform and exposes an extensive toolkit built to compromise Microsoft 365 accounts.
ARToken gives lower-skilled criminals ready-made kits to steal Microsoft 365 credentials and session tokens. Defenders should enforce phishing-resistant multifactor authentication and monitor for suspicious OAuth and token activity.
Sources: BleepingComputer · ↑ top
Latest developments: Jamf Threat Labs flagged July 3 PamStealer, a macOS infostealer shipped as a compiled AppleScript file impersonating the open-source Maccy clipboard manager and abusing PAM checks to capture Mac login passwords.
PamStealer spreads through fake Maccy download sites and siphons sensitive data once installed. Mac users should download software only from trusted sources and treat unexpected AppleScript files as suspect.
Sources: The Hacker News · ↑ top
Latest developments: SecurityWeek reported July 3 that ShinyHunters breached Medtronic's corporate IT systems in April 2026 and stole personal and medical information on 3.8 million people.
Medtronic, the medical-device maker, joins the string of ShinyHunters victims. Affected patients face exposure of personal and health records and should watch for identity-theft and phishing attempts.
Sources: SecurityWeek · ↑ top
Latest developments: Thursday's worse-than-expected June nonfarm payrolls kept the dollar weak against major currencies into Friday, with traders watching Japan's Ministry of Finance for signs of surprise intervention.
The United States payrolls report released July 2 undershot forecasts, and the dollar has stayed soft against a basket of currencies as markets weigh a cooling labor market and the Federal Reserve's next move.
Sources: WSJ Markets · ↑ top
Latest developments: Investors dumped AI-linked shares Thursday, whiplashing tech-heavy indexes across Asia on doubts about the profitability of the AI build-out, and European semiconductor stocks steadied Friday after following the rout.
Cracks in the artificial-intelligence trade drove a sharp Thursday selloff in Asian and European chip and tech stocks, and the Wall Street Journal reports private software loans were already deteriorating faster than at any point in five years before the 'SaaS-pocalypse' fears struck.
Sources: WSJ Markets · WSJ Markets · WSJ Markets · ↑ top
Tonight: Scattered Showers And Thunderstorms, low 74F.
Independence Day: Mostly Sunny then Isolated Showers And Thunderstorms, high 95F.
Saturday Night: Scattered Showers And Thunderstorms, low 71F.
Latest developments: Mancini's Bread marked its 100th year in business this week, timing the milestone to the Independence Day holiday.
Mancini's Bread, the family bakery known across the Pittsburgh region for its Italian loaves, is celebrating a full century in business.
Latest developments: Organizers announced July 3 that the Formula One Powerboat National Championship will race Pittsburgh's three rivers over the July 4 weekend in 2027, the first time in roughly a decade.
The Formula One Powerboat National Championship will bring high-speed racing back to the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio rivers on the July 4, 2027, weekend, returning the event to Pittsburgh after about ten years away.
Sources: WPXI · Pittsburgh Post-Gazette · ↑ top
Latest developments: PennDOT set the start date: it will close the Parkway East between the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and the Edgewood/Swissvale exit at 9 p.m. on July 10 to begin replacing the aging Commercial Street Bridge.
PennDOT will shut Interstate 376's Parkway East between the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and Exit 77 at Edgewood and Swissvale starting the night of July 10 to replace the deteriorating Commercial Street Bridge near Frick Park.
Latest developments: Pittsburgh Regional Transit revealed a specially wrapped light rail vehicle July 3 honoring America250, the national commemoration of the Declaration of Independence.
Pittsburgh Regional Transit put into service a light rail car wrapped in America250 imagery, marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Latest developments: The federal Trump Accounts program launches July 4, seeding $1,000 for each qualifying baby born during President Trump's second term into stock-market investments.
Starting July 4, the White House will deposit $1,000 for each eligible baby born during President Trump's second term, with the money invested in the stock market to grow; families can check whether their child qualifies.
Latest developments: Pittsburgh's Fourth of July program, voted the nation's best by USA Today readers, will add a Plain White T's concert, line dancing, and Ferris wheel rides atop the city's largest-ever fireworks show on Saturday.
Pittsburgh marks America's 250th birthday Saturday, July 4, with a record fireworks display plus a Plain White T's performance, line dancing, and Ferris wheel rides spanning Downtown, the North Shore, and Mount Washington.
Latest developments: Folk-pop singer Noah Kahan headlines PNC Park on Friday night, July 3, drawing fans who packed the North Shore ballpark despite the extreme heat.
Noah Kahan performs at PNC Park on Pittsburgh's North Shore the evening of Friday, July 3, with crowds arriving early in 90-degree heat.
Latest developments: The Pittsburgh BBQ & Bands Fest returns over the holiday weekend, bigger than before with nearly 50 vendors and cover bands, organizers say.
The Pittsburgh BBQ & Bands Fest runs the Fourth of July weekend in Monroeville, featuring nearly 50 food vendors and live cover bands.
Latest developments: A Post-Gazette analysis published July 1 explains why the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's annual budget rose $7 million to $42 million, driven largely by its film-music recording work.
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's yearly budget climbed $7 million to $42 million, a jump the Post-Gazette attributes substantially to the orchestra's growing business scoring films.
Sources: Post-Gazette Arts & Entertainment · ↑ top
Pirates (44-44)
Thu Jul 2 · Pirates 6 · Phillies 1 · Final
Valdez helps Pirates beat Phillies 6-1 to split their four-game series
Fri Jul 3 · Pirates 1 · Nationals 7 · Top 8th (in progress at last update)
Up Next · Pirates @ Nationals · Sat Jul 4, 11:05 AM
Latest developments: A July 3 Post-Gazette video weighed whether Steelers defenders Derrick Harmon, Jack Sawyer, and others can take second-year jumps in 2026.
Post-Gazette Steelers analysts assessed the odds that young defensive linemen Derrick Harmon and Jack Sawyer, among others, make significant second-season leaps for Pittsburgh.
Sources: Post-Gazette Steelers · ↑ top
Latest developments: Folarin Balogun spoke publicly for the first time since his red card, calling it an 'emotional rollercoaster' on his 25th birthday, and with his one-match ban confirmed the United States is weighing Ricardo Pepi and Haji Wright to start against Belgium.
USMNT striker Folarin Balogun will sit out the World Cup round-of-16 match against Belgium after his sending-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina, leaving Mauricio Pochettino's side to consider Ricardo Pepi and Haji Wright to fill the role.
Sources: ESPN Soccer · Guardian World Cup 2026 · ↑ top
S&P 500 7,452.06 ▲ +0.6% Dow 52,316.67 ▲ +1.1% Nasdaq 25,840.84 ▲ +0.1% WTI crude 69.26 ▼ -3.7% EUR/USD 1.1415 ▲ +0.3% GBP/USD 1.3295 ▲ +0.7% USD/JPY 161.98 ▲ +0.2%