================================================================ INFOSECFOLLOW -- security, markets, business, pittsburgh Sunday, July 19, 2026 - 12:05 PM EDT ================================================================ A previously unknown actor ran SonicWall SMA VPN appliances as root-granting zero-days for nearly a month before disclosure, as Russia's Sandworm aimed fake CAPTCHAs at Ukraine. CONTENTS: Emerging Trends and Key Updates | Security | Business and Politics | Pittsburgh | Sports | Reading | Markets EMERGING TRENDS AND KEY UPDATES ---------------------------------------------------------------- * [TREND] Enterprise gateways and update channels are becoming attack surface as UTA0533 ran SonicWall SMA appliances as root zero-days while another actor subverted ViPNet to breach Russian agencies. see: SonicWall SMA Zero-Days Exploited as Root; ViPNet Update Channel Subverted * [TREND] Russia's GRU-linked Sandworm sub-cluster UAC-0145 used fake CAPTCHA ClickFix lures to trick Ukrainians into running data-stealing malware on their own machines. see: Sandworm Turns ClickFix on Ukraine * [UPDATE (new)] 7-Zip shipped version 26.02 to patch a remote code execution flaw triggered when a user opens a specially crafted compressed archive. see: 7-Zip Patches Archive RCE * [UPDATE (new)] U.S. Central Command launched fresh strikes to punish Iran after an Iranian missile attack in Jordan killed two American service members. see: U.S. Strikes Iran After Troops Die in Jordan * [TREND] Locally, the new I-376 Commercial Street Bridge slid into place as returning Canadian wildfire smoke pushed Southwestern Pa. back to a Code Orange alert. see: New Commercial Street Bridge Slides Into Place; Smoke Returns, Code Orange for Southwestern Pa. SECURITY ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. SONICWALL SMA ZERO-DAYS EXPLOITED AS ROOT Vulnerabilities and Exploits · [zero-day, ransomware, exploit] Latest developments: Volexity tied the pre-disclosure exploitation to a previously undocumented actor it tracks as UTA0533, which has hit SonicWall Secure Mobile Access 1000 appliances as zero-days since June 22, 2026, weeks before the flaws went public. Two chained SMA 1000 flaws hand attackers root-level control of the VPN gateways, and the Inc ransomware crew already weaponized the chain. Administrators running SonicWall Secure Mobile Access should patch and hunt for compromise now. - The Hacker News: https://thehackernews.com/2026/07/sonicwall-sma-zero-days-exploited.html - Dark Reading: https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/inc-ransomware-exploits-sonicwall-sma-zero-days 2. SANDWORM TURNS CLICKFIX ON UKRAINE Nation-State Activity · [apt, nation-state, malware] Latest developments: Ukraine's CERT-UA attributed a fresh ClickFix campaign to UAC-0145, a sub-cluster of GRU-linked Sandworm, which tricks Ukrainian users through fake CAPTCHA prompts into running data-stealing malware on their own machines. ClickFix lures instruct victims to paste and run a command disguised as a human-verification check. Sandworm, the hacking unit of Russia's GRU military intelligence, now points the technique at Ukrainian devices. - The Hacker News: https://thehackernews.com/2026/07/uac-0145-uses-clickfix-captchas-to.html 3. VIPNET UPDATE CHANNEL SUBVERTED Nation-State Activity · [apt, supply chain, nation-state] Latest developments: BleepingComputer reported July 19, 2026 that an advanced threat actor is subverting the update mechanism of the ViPNet secure-networking suite to plant malware on Russian organizations, including government agencies. ViPNet secures private networks across Russian government and enterprise. The actor hijacks its trusted software-update channel to reach agency systems that the product is meant to protect. - BleepingComputer: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hackers-abuse-vipnet-software-to-target-russian-govt-agencies/ 4. 7-ZIP PATCHES ARCHIVE RCE Vulnerabilities and Exploits · [patch, rce] Latest developments: 7-Zip shipped version 26.02 on July 18, 2026 to fix a remote code execution flaw that fires when a user opens a specially crafted compressed archive. The bug lets attackers run code by persuading a victim to open a malicious archive in the widely used 7-Zip utility. Users should update to 26.02. - BleepingComputer: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/update-now-7-zip-fixes-rce-flaw-exploitable-with-malicious-archives/ BUSINESS AND POLITICS ---------------------------------------------------------------- * U.S. Strikes Iran After Troops Die in Jordan Latest developments: An Iranian ballistic-missile attack in Jordan killed two U.S. service members and left one missing, and U.S. Central Command answered with fresh strikes to "swiftly punish" Iran as Israel warned that Tehran's fire is landing close. The month-old interim deal meant to end the U.S.-Iran war has crumbled, and American and Iranian forces trade strikes across the region while Iran begins hitting U.S. Gulf allies, keeping oil markets on edge. - WSJ World News: https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/two-u-s-servicemembers-killed-one-missing-in-iran-missile-attack-on-jordan-a59f9699 - FT World: https://www.ft.com/content/e8e8adc5-7c56-45a8-99fc-bb5acfda263e?syn-25a6b1a6=1 - WSJ World News: https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-iran-fighting-escalates-8d744da2 PITTSBURGH ---------------------------------------------------------------- Weather: This Afternoon: Mostly Sunny, high 82F. Tonight: Mostly Clear, low 58F. Monday: Sunny, high 84F. Business: * Pennsylvania American Water Wins Rate Increase Latest developments: The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission voted 4-1 Thursday, July 16, to grant Pennsylvania American Water a $74.9 million overall annual revenue increase, trimming the utility's original request and ordering new customer-service and consumer-protection measures. Pennsylvania American Water, the state's largest investor-owned water and wastewater utility, sought higher rates; the commission approved the added $74.9 million in yearly revenue and attached service and consumer-protection conditions, raising bills across its Pennsylvania service territory. - WPXI: https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/puc-approves-modified-rate-change-pennsylvania-american-water/ANH5NLW5UREWBCYEANIMYYLPK4/ Around town: * New Commercial Street Bridge Slides Into Place Latest developments: PennDOT's contractor began the lateral slide of the new I-376 Commercial Street Bridge around 10 a.m. Sunday, July 19, pushing the prebuilt span 102 feet into position on 42 hydraulic skids between the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and the Edgewood-Swissvale exit. The Parkway East stays closed through August 3 while crews replace the Commercial Street Bridge; PennDOT imploded the old span earlier in the week and now skids the new 22-million-pound structure into place, forcing detours for thousands of drivers. - WTAE: https://www.wtae.com/article/penndot-new-parkway-east-bridge-being-slid/73179332 - KDKA: https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/parkway-east-commercial-street-bridge-replacement-begins/ - WPXI: https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/crews-start-sliding-new-commercial-street-bridge-into-place/IQQZS75WUJCKNIACXYA3GE4HY4/ * Fetterman's Small-Dollar Donors Dry Up Latest developments: A Post-Gazette review of fundraising found the once-formidable small-dollar donor base of Senator John Fetterman has collapsed, the latest sign of his strained standing with Democrats over his support for Israel. Fetterman, the Pennsylvania Democrat elected to the Senate in 2022, has drawn party backlash for backing Israel and breaking with the left, and his grassroots online fundraising has thinned sharply as he heads into a difficult stretch with the base. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2026/07/19/fetterman-campaign-fundraising-israel-congress/stories/202607160077 * Smoke Returns, Code Orange for Southwestern Pa. Latest developments: A thinner plume of Canadian wildfire smoke pushed the region back to a Code Orange air-quality alert Sunday, July 19, days after storms scrubbed out last week's hazardous Code Purple haze. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection rated air quality Code Orange, unhealthy for sensitive groups, across southwestern Pennsylvania as smoke drifted over Pittsburgh, though skies continued clearing through the afternoon into the upper 70s. - WTAE: https://www.wtae.com/article/code-orange-air-quality-alert-issued-for-southwestern-pa/73179244 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: https://www.post-gazette.com/news/weather-news/2026/07/19/pittsburgh-weather-tornadoes/stories/202607190070 SPORTS ---------------------------------------------------------------- Pirates (51-48) Sat Jul 18 · Pirates 7 · Guardians 1 · Final https://plaintextsports.com/mlb/2026-07-18/pit-cle Sat Jul 18 · Pirates 3 · Guardians 5 · Final Bazzana hits 2-run homer in 9th to rally Guardians to 5-3 victory over Pirates https://plaintextsports.com/mlb/2026-07-18/pit-cle Up Next · Pirates @ Guardians · Sun Jul 19, 1:40 PM https://plaintextsports.com/mlb/2026-07-19/pit-cle Around the Teams: * Harmon's Pass-Rush Upside at Steelers Camp Latest developments: A Post-Gazette training-camp countdown, July 19, argued defensive lineman Derrick Harmon's untapped pass-rush ability could drive a sharp jump in his sack production this season. The Steelers count on Harmon to strengthen their defensive front; the Post-Gazette's camp preview casts him as a disruptive interior rusher poised to break out as Pittsburgh opens training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. - Post-Gazette Steelers: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2026/07/19/training-camp-countdown-derrick-harmon-defensive-lineman/stories/202607190035 Team USA: * USMNT's World Cup Run, in Images Latest developments: As the 2026 World Cup closes with Sunday's Spain-Argentina final, ESPN published a photo time capsule of the U.S. men's national team's home-tournament run, which ended in the round of 16. The USMNT held the country's attention for a month as co-host of the 2026 World Cup before bowing out to Belgium in the round of 16; ESPN's retrospective gathers the images U.S. Soccer will remember from the campaign. - ESPN Soccer: https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/49352246/2026-world-cup-capsule-images-usmnt-remember-forever READING ---------------------------------------------------------------- * Stratechery -- IBM Misses, IBM's Mainframe Moat, IBM's Many AI Problems Ben Thompson dissects IBM's disappointing preliminary results that rattled the broader software market, the enduring strength of its mainframe franchise, and the several ways AI threatens that moat. https://stratechery.com/2026/ibm-misses-ibms-mainframe-moat-ibms-many-ai-problems/ * Ed Zitron -- The OpenAI Bubble Ed Zitron argues OpenAI amounts to a financial bubble, laying out why he believes its economics and valuation cannot hold. https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-openai-bubble/ * Cal Newport -- Why Reading Matters Cal Newport responds to Rose Horowitch's Atlantic piece "The End of Reading Is Here," arguing that sustained reading of hard books remains cognitively essential even as the habit erodes. https://calnewport.com/why-reading-matters/ MARKETS (weekly average, change vs prior week) ---------------------------------------------------------------- S&P 500 7,524.56 ▼ -0.1% Dow 52,472.99 ▼ -0.4% Nasdaq 25,930.32 ▼ -0.5% WTI crude 79.56 ▲ +11.7% EUR/USD 1.1434 ▲ +0.1% GBP/USD 1.3430 ▲ +0.4% USD/JPY 162.28 = +0.0% ================================================================ Generated 2026-07-19 12:05 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. ================================================================