infosecfollow

daily plain-text briefing: security, markets, business, and pittsburgh

A twenty-year-old management-interface flaw leaves more than 24,000 servers handing out password hashes, while Teams-based voice phishing keeps feeding ransomware crews their first foothold.


Emerging Trends and Key Updates

Security

1. Exposed Server BMCs Leak Password Hashes

Vulnerabilities and Exploits · [vulnerability, exposure]

Latest developments: New research disclosed July 28, 2026 found more than 24,000 internet-exposed baseboard management controllers that hand out a user's password hash over UDP port 623 before any login, abusing a weakness baked into the IPMI 2.0 authentication handshake since 2004.

read more

A baseboard management controller runs beneath the host operating system and can power-cycle the server, mount virtual media, open a remote console, and flash firmware, so an attacker who cracks a leaked hash gains control that host security tools never see; administrators should pull IPMI interfaces off the public internet and lock down port 623.

Sources: BleepingComputer · Help Net Security · ↑ top

2. Teams Vishing and Phishing Drive Ransomware

Ransomware and Cybercrime · [ransomware, phishing, social-engineering]

Latest developments: Sophos detailed a campaign in which attackers phoned employees through Microsoft Teams, ran custom malware and remote-access tools, and deployed Chaos ransomware, while Cisco Talos's second-quarter incident-response report logged a surge in phishing-based initial access and the weaponization of legitimate remote-management software.

read more

Voice phishing and abused IT tools give ransomware crews a foothold that resembles ordinary help-desk activity; organizations should verify Teams callers, restrict remote-management installs, and hunt for unexpected RMM agents.

Sources: Sophos News · Cisco Talos · ↑ top

3. Hugging Face Image Models Generate Nonconsensual Deepfakes

AI Security · [ai, abuse, deepfake]

Latest developments: Researchers tested the most popular image-editing models hosted on Hugging Face and found they readily produce explicit nonconsensual deepfakes, backing the finding with 1,000 real prompts that show how people wield the tools, Wired reported July 28, 2026.

read more

The open model repository distributes image editors that generate sexual imagery of real people without consent, exposing Hugging Face to the same abuse that plagues commercial generators and raising pressure to police model uploads and prompts.

Sources: Wired Security · ↑ top

4. Fake App Store Wallet Steals $1.8 Million in Bitcoin

Ransomware and Cybercrime · [fraud, cryptocurrency, mobile]

Latest developments: Three people sued Apple on July 27, 2026, claiming a fraudulent Sparrow Wallet app they downloaded from the App Store drained roughly $1.8 million in Bitcoin from their holdings.

read more

The counterfeit cryptocurrency wallet passed App Store review and impersonated the legitimate Sparrow Wallet, and the plaintiffs contend Apple's vetting failed to catch it; users should confirm wallet apps against the developer's official channels before entering seed phrases.

Sources: BleepingComputer · ↑ top

5. Wyden Pushes to Purge Obsolete Federal VPNs

Policy and Regulation · [policy, vpn]

Latest developments: Senate Intelligence Committee member Ron Wyden wrote to CISA, the Office of Management and Budget, and NIST on July 27, 2026, urging them to lead a government-wide effort to rip obsolete virtual private network products out of federal agencies.

read more

Wyden argues that outdated VPN appliances, a repeated entry point for nation-state and criminal intruders, still sit across federal networks; he wants the three agencies to inventory and retire them.

Sources: The Record · ↑ top

6. UK Court Rejects Bahrain Spyware Immunity Claim

Nation-State Activity · [spyware, surveillance, legal]

Latest developments: A United Kingdom court rejected the Kingdom of Bahrain's claim of state immunity on July 27, 2026, clearing the way for a lawsuit alleging Bahraini officials planted spyware that exfiltrated files, intercepted communications, and switched on the microphones and cameras of the targets' computers.

read more

The ruling lets exiled critics pursue Bahrain in British courts over state-sponsored hacking, a precedent that narrows the immunity governments invoke to escape spyware suits.

Sources: The Record · ↑ top

Business and Politics

AI and Chip Selloff Widens as Central Banks Warn

Latest developments: The retreat ran to a third session Tuesday with South Korea's Kospi leading Asian losses and Micron, Intel, and Sandisk falling premarket, while Bank for International Settlements economists and Singapore's central bank warned the AI boom itself now raises the risk of monetary-policy errors and financial-stability and cybersecurity threats.

read more

A flight from artificial-intelligence and semiconductor stocks that has erased hundreds of billions in Big Tech value keeps spreading through global markets ahead of this week's earnings from the largest U.S. hyperscalers, testing whether the trillions committed to data centers will pay off.

Sources: FT World · WSJ Markets · FT World · ↑ top

Pittsburgh

Weather

Today: Chance Showers And Thunderstorms, high 82F.

Tonight: Chance Showers And Thunderstorms, low 64F.

Wednesday: Slight Chance Rain Showers then Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms, high 79F.

Business

Haitians Leave Charleroi as Protected Status Ends

Latest developments: Haitian residents are leaving the Mon Valley borough of Charleroi in Washington County as their federal Temporary Protected Status expires.

read more

Charleroi drew national attention two years ago for a fast-growing Haitian population that filled jobs and storefronts in the small Washington County town; the end of Temporary Protected Status is now prompting an exodus that reshapes the borough's workforce and economy.

Sources: TribLive · ↑ top

Little Debbie Driver Charged in $17,000 Invoice Fraud

Latest developments: The City of Washington police charged James Powell, 39, of Valley Grove, West Virginia, with multiple felonies after an investigation that began in May.

read more

Police say Powell, a route driver for Stewart Snacks, LLC, an independent Little Debbie distributor, sold his snack inventory for cash at Washington County flea markets, then filed roughly $17,000 in fake invoices to make it appear Giant Eagle, Shop 'n Save, and other stores had bought the product.

Sources: KDKA · WPXI · ↑ top

Around Town

Cognetti Ad Targets Data Centers in Swing House Race

Latest developments: Democrat Paige Cognetti launched a television ad attacking data centers in her challenge to freshman Republican Representative Rob Bresnahan in a northeastern Pennsylvania swing congressional district.

read more

Cognetti, the mayor of Scranton, uses the spot's line "we're not for sale" to make sprawling data-center development a wedge issue against Bresnahan, one of the most competitive U.S. House races in Pennsylvania.

Sources: WPXI · ↑ top

Mayes Runs Hair-Care Drive Under New CROWN Act

Latest developments: With Pennsylvania's CROWN Act now law barring discrimination based on natural and protective hairstyles, state Representative La'Tasha Mayes is holding a natural hair-care product drive for foster youth, accepting donations through July 31.

read more

Mayes, who represents Pittsburgh, is collecting natural hair-care products for young people in foster care to mark passage of the CROWN Act, which prohibits race-based hair discrimination in Pennsylvania schools and workplaces.

Sources: Pittsburgh City Paper · ↑ top

Sports

Pirates (55-52)

Mon Jul 27 · Diamondbacks 2 · Pirates 3 · Final (10)

Brandon Lowe’s 10th-inning hit rallies the Pirates over the Diamondbacks 3-2

Up Next · Diamondbacks @ Pirates · Tue Jul 28, 6:40 PM

Around the Teams

T.J. Watt Chases a Bounce-Back Season

Latest developments: The Post-Gazette's training-camp countdown cast edge rusher T.J. Watt as a player looking to rebound in 2026 after a down year by his standards.

read more

Watt, the Steelers' star outside linebacker, opens camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe aiming to return to elite form and anchor a defense that leans on his pass rush opposite Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig.

Sources: Post-Gazette Steelers · ↑ top

Cherington Says Pirates Will Be 'Open-Minded' at Deadline

Latest developments: Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said the club will stay "open-minded" on moves ahead of the July 31 trade deadline as it hunts bullpen help.

read more

With the Pirates hovering around the National League's third wild-card spot, Cherington signaled the front office could add rather than sell, weighing bullpen upgrades against trade interest in players like shortstop Oneil Cruz.

Sources: Post-Gazette Pirates · ↑ top

First-Rounder Derek Curiel Signs With Pirates

Latest developments: The Pirates officially signed their 2026 first-round draft pick, outfielder Derek Curiel, who said he is excited to "make an impact."

read more

Curiel joins the organization as a headline addition to a farm system the Pirates are counting on to reshape the roster, formalizing his entry after being selected in the first round of the 2026 MLB draft.

Sources: Post-Gazette Pirates · ↑ top

Team USA

Pochettino's USMNT Future Unresolved After the World Cup

Latest developments: ESPN reports U.S. Soccer needs a prompt answer on whether Mauricio Pochettino stays as United States men's national team head coach following the 2026 World Cup.

read more

Pochettino's status is the lingering question for U.S. Soccer as the federation turns toward the 2030 World Cup cycle, leaving planning for the national team on hold until the coach's decision comes.

Sources: ESPN Soccer · ↑ top

Reading

Markets

weekly average, change vs prior week

S&P 500     7,448.32  ▼ -0.8%
Dow        52,062.44  ▼ -0.5%
Nasdaq     25,314.74  ▼ -2.1%
WTI crude      87.17  ▲ +8.0%
EUR/USD       1.1401  ▼ -0.3%
GBP/USD       1.3370  ▼ -0.5%
USD/JPY       163.24  ▲ +0.6%