Microsoft has released PowerToys 0.102, with two new mouse utilities, new command-line tools, and Command Palette improvements. Mouse Button Lock, one of the new mouse tools, makes it easier to select items on screen by locking a mouse button while you hold down a key. "With Mouse Button Lock, press and hold a button for a moment, then let go. Windows keeps treating it as held, so you can continue dragging or selecting until you click any button," Microsoft senior product manager Niels Laute explained. "This is especially useful for gaming, working in professional applications that require extensive dragging and selection, and improving accessibility for users who find it difficult to hold down a mouse button for extended periods." Microsoft also added CursorHide to PowerToys, another mouse utility that automatically hides the mouse pointer while you type or when you aren't moving the mouse.
Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Share: Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Press Release CISA, FBI and Partners Warn Organizations of SafePay Ransomware Actors Targeting Multiple Critical Infrastructure Sectors Provides: Technical Insights of Tactics, Detection Guidance and IOCs, Actions and Mitigations to Prevent/Reduce Impact Released October 21, 2026 Related topics: Cyber Threats and Response , Malware, Phishing, and Ransomware WASHINGTON – Today, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Secret Service (USSS), and international partners released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory, #StopRansomware: SafePay Ransomware, that warns organizations of one of the most active ransomware group in 2026, impacting approximately 600 victims across sectors in the Americas, Europe and Australia. To help organizations protect against this group, the advisory provides observed tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), indicators of compromise (IOCs) and recommended mitigations.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) says the SafePay ransomware gang has breached over 600 critical infrastructure organizations worldwide since 2024. In a joint report with the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), Germany's Landeskriminalamt Rheinland-Pfalz, and the UK's National Crime Agency and North West Regional Organised Crime Unit, the federal agency added that paying ransoms does not guarantee recovery of files encrypted in ransomware attacks and urged victims to report incidents to law enforcement. "SafePay is one of the most active ransomware groups and have affected businesses and critical infrastructure in North America, South America, Europe, and Australia—including at least 600 organizations from multiple critical infrastructure sectors since August 2024," CISA said.
Citizen Lab confirmed Pegasus on a Serbian rector’s iPhone 6 days before elections, raising the known civil society spyware target count to 16. The Citizen Lab published a research note confirming that the iPhone of Vladan Đokić, Rector of the University of Belgrade, was infected with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware sometime in 2026. The infection used a zero-click exploit, meaning Đokić did nothing to trigger it. No tap, no opened file, nothing. “In collaboration with the SHARE Foundation, we found with high confidence that Professor Vladan Đokić, Rector of the University of Belgrade, and prominent supporter of the Serbian student movement, was hacked with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware in 2026.” states Citizen Lab. Đokić became a prominent figure in Serbia’s student-led pro-democracy movement after refusing to facilitate a government crackdown on protesters. Serbian authorities raided his offices on March 31, seizing computers and servers. The Citizen Lab found the infection with high confidence and describes the investigation as ongoing. The timing raises questions. The discovery came just six days before Serbia’s snap parliamentary elections on October 25. Until September, Đokić had been publicly named as a possible candidate to lead the Student List. Since he spoke out against the crackdown, pro-government media have repeatedly attacked him. Citizen Lab explained what a Pegasus infection means. Once installed, the spyware can give its operator the same access to a device as its owner. This includes private and encrypted messages, and the ability to turn on the microphone and camera without the owner’s knowledge. “With the assistance of the SHARE Foundation, the Citizen Lab analyzed forensic artifacts collected from Vladan Đokić’s Apple iPhone at his request and with his consent.” reads the report. “We found with high confidence that it was infected with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware in 2026. The infection leveraged a zero-click exploit.” In a statement published by the university, Đokić called the spyware “another attempt of intimidation.” He called for an independent investigation, the public release of its findings, and criminal prosecution of those responsible. “Additionally, we note that Rade Bajić, who, as a prosecutor, investigated official corruption in a failed project in Belgrade, received an Apple Threat Notification.” continues Citizen Labs. The Citizen Lab also flagged Rade Bajić, a senior prosecutor who worked on the “Generalštab” case, a corruption investigation into the removal of heritage protections from a Belgrade site to clear the way for a luxury development backed by a company linked to Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law. Bajić says he was removed from the investigation in November 2025 without explanation, and spoke at a student protest in February denouncing political interference in the case. He received an Apple Threat Notification on August 13 and a reminder on August 27. The Citizen Lab treats this as a high-confidence indicator that his device was likely targeted with mercenary spyware. Forensic analysis of his device is still ongoing and no confirmation of infection has been published yet. These two cases bring the known total to at least 16 members of Serbian civil society targeted or infected with commercial spyware in 2026. In September, the SHARE Foundation, with support from Citizen Lab and Amnesty International, reported an earlier wave of attacks. The victims included a student protester confirmed to have been infected with Pegasus, opposition party members, and local officials. Those cases occurred around the period leading up to Serbia’s March local elections. The latest confirmed case was discovered just six days before the October parliamentary elections. Serbia’s security service dismissed the September reports as purely trivial sensationalism and said it operates within Serbian law. Citizen Lab did not identify who was behind the attack on Đokić’s phone. Pegasus is sold only to governments and state agencies, which limits the number of possible operators. If you received an Apple Threat Notification, treat your device as compromised until a technical expert confirms otherwise. In Serbia, contact the SHARE Foundation. Everywhere else, Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline supports journalists, human rights defenders, and activists. Enable Lockdown Mode on your iPhone immediately, keep iOS updated, and get your close contacts and colleagues screened as well. Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon Pierluigi Paganini (SecurityAffairs – hacking, Pegasus)
Nikkei disclosed a data breach affecting over 1.8 million records after hackers used stolen credentials to access a cloud service for system development. Japanese media company Nikkei has disclosed a data breach affecting more than 1.8 million records. The company, known for its financial news publications, including The Nikkei and the Financial Times, said attackers accessed a cloud service used for system development. On the morning of October 7, the hackers used previously stolen credentials to gain access. Nikkei has published details of the incident in an official statement. “A cloud service used by Nikkei Inc. for system development was accessed without authorization, and as of October 16, approximately 1.83 million items of personal information had been leaked.” reads the data breach notice published by the company. “About 150,000 items contained one or more of the following: name, email address, postal address, phone number or date of birth. Of these, about 120,000 included an email address. About 1.68 million items contained only information that cannot identify an individual. No credit card information is included in any of the leaked information.” The security breach did not compromise financial information. The company reported the breach to Japan’s Personal Information Protection Commission on October 11. The company is still investigating the scope of the security breach and what personal information was stolen. According to the notice, attackers used stolen login details to access a cloud service on October 7. Nikkei has since blocked the stolen credentials. As of October 16, the company had found no signs of further damage, such as misuse of the leaked data, system outages, or changes to its data. Nikkei apologized for the incident and said it would inform all individuals whose personal information was exposed. In May 2022, the Japanese media giant Nikkei disclosed a ransomware attack, while in November 2025, it disclosed a data breach stemming from the compromise of a Slack account. Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon Pierluigi Paganini (SecurityAffairs – hacking, Nikkei)
Palo Alto Networks has disclosed that it's continuing to observe exploitation of a now-patched security flaw impacting PAN-OS and Prisma Access by ransomware actors. The activity relates to CVE-2026-0257 (CVSS score: 7.8), an authentication bypass flaw that could be exploited by bad actors to set up unauthorized VPN connections. It was patched by Palo Alto Networks in May 2026 and was
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is ordering federal civilian agencies to stop using DeepSeek products and remove them from government systems. The order also covers products from the Chinese AI company's affiliates and third-party products and services built using DeepSeek technology. DeepSeek (Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd) develops large language models and offers a chatbot, API services, and models suitable for coding and reasoning tasks. Its AI tools became extremely popular early on, but were but were soon followed by reports of security risks [1, 2, 3, 4] and concerns about the potential for Chinese authorities to access users’ conversations. The DHS is now taking regulatory action to limit the use of DeepSeek and derivatives on critical systems in the United States, and has issued a notice of order for agencies to:
CJIS v6.1 requires agencies to maintain strong authentication, account security, and audit controls while demonstrating ongoing compliance. Specops outlines five practical priorities covering MFA, account management, passwords, logging, and audit readiness.
A Nigerian national was sentenced to eight years in prison for his involvement in a series of spearphishing attacks targeting US tax preparation businesses since 2019. 40-year-old Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu (also known as Chukwuemeka Victor Eletuo and So Kwan Leung) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and wire fraud after being extradited from France to the United States in August 2025. "Chukwuemeka Amachukwu believed he was operating safely offshore when he targeted his victims, but he has now been held to account and now faces a serious sentence for his crimes," said US Attorney Jamie McDonald in a Monday press release. "Amachukwu took part in sophisticated schemes to hack into US businesses, steal and use stolen identity information of victims, and commit fraud. These crimes imposed significant harm on the victims and the public, and so it is only appropriate that the crimes also come with a significant sentence for the defendant."
ConnectWise on Monday said it has taken remediation measures, including strengthening administrative-access protections and resetting accounts and replacing application credentials, as it continues to respond to a security incident that led to unauthorized access to application identities associated with Cloud Backup. The company said it has completed the following actions since it began
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