Interested in Next-Gen Cyber AI? With an ever evolving world, the only option for the ambitious secpro is to stay ahead of the game. Check out our upcoming conference with big names like Mark Simos, Nikhil Kumar, and Katie Paxton-Fear, who have a lot to say about the way they are overcoming new problems with AI and supporting others following their paths!

Welcome to another_secpro!

This week, we're reflecting on the CKC and giving you a handy, printable short guide on the various rungs on the ladder. It's something to help new recruits and non-specialists understand your now mature position - a difficult task on some days!

Also, check out our news and academic reviews sections to stretch your skills and check your mental chops!

If you want more, you know what you need to do: sign up to the premium and get access to everything we have on offer. Click the link above to visit our Substack and sign up there!

Cheers!
Austin Miller
Editor-in-Chief

When we talk about “actions on objectives” in cybersecurity, we’re talking about the part of an attack where the intruder finally tries to get what they came for. It’s the payoff stage. They’ve already found a way in, moved through the network, and positioned themselves to strike. At this point, the attacker shifts from preparation to execution. This is where the real damage happens: data gets stolen, systems get destroyed, or resources get used for the attacker’s purposes.

If you're looking forward to our upcoming conference or just want a little insight into who these industry-leading speakers are, here's a little bio on two of our closest collaborators: Mark Simos and Nikhil Kumar.

Mark Simos is Lead Cybersecurity Architect for Microsoft where he leads the development of cybersecurity reference architectures, best practices, reference strategies, prescriptive roadmaps, CISO workshops, and other guidance to secure organizations in the digital age.

Nikhil is an industry expert and thought leader in Digital Transformation, Zero Trust and InfoSec, AI, Cloud Computing, APIs and SOA, with a passion for applying technology in an actionable manner. An entrepreneur with over 20 years experience, he is known as a servant leader able to create amazing solutions and bridge people, process, business and technology.

UK Telecom Incurs Major Data Theft via Warlock Ransomware: On August 12, Colt Technology Services (UK telecom provider) experienced a cyberattack tied to the Warlock ransomware group. The company had to take internal systems offline—such as its Colt Online customer portal and Voice API platform—after attackers exploited a SharePoint vulnerability (CVE-2025-53770) to extract cryptographic keys and exfiltrate several hundred gigabytes of sensitive data, including financial records, employee salaries, and network diagrams. The stolen data was listed for sale on a Russian Tor forum. The breach highlights urgent needs for improved patch management and security protocols in critical infrastructure sectors.

Businesses Urged to Adopt a New Cyber Defense Playbook Amid AI Strains: A commentary urging businesses to revamp their approach to cybersecurity due to compounding challenges: burnout among security professionals, AI-driven threats, and geopolitical risks (notably around Taiwan and China). It advocates for C-level involvement, better staffing, education, and legislation like Japan’s Active Cyber Defense laws, which expand pre-emptive responses and public-private sharing.

Report: We’ve Entered the "AI Hacking Era"—Both Offense and Defense: Recent findings suggest both cyber defenders and attackers are increasingly deploying AI tools—from automating social engineering and vulnerability scanning to coding support. Google and CrowdStrike utilize AI for vulnerability detection and response; a startup, Xbow, even climbed the HackerOne leaderboard using AI. However, critics highlight concerns over low-quality reports and lack of novel vulnerability discovery. Russian hackers reportedly embed AI in malware to autonomously exfiltrate sensitive data from Ukrainian networks.

Australia Seen as Complacent in Cybersecurity — Alert Issued by Malcolm Turnbull: Former PM Malcolm Turnbull condemned Australia’s lax cybersecurity posture. He cited research from Semperis showing that nearly half of cyberattacks occur on under-staffed weekends or holidays. Business leaders and regulators are treating attacks as routine costs, and major institutions delayed basic security measures like MFA. The report also noted frequent ransom and physical threat demands. Turnbull stressed cyber risk must become an executive-level priority.

Murky Panda Escalates Cloud & Telecom Intrusions: The China-linked cyber espionage group Murky Panda (aka Silk Typhoon) has intensified attacks targeting the cloud and telecom sector. They abuse trusted cloud relationships and rapidly weaponize N-day and zero-day vulnerabilities, exploiting internet-facing appliances to breach networks across North American government, technology, academic, legal, and professional service sectors.

"Ramp and Dump" Phishing—Targeting Brokerage Accounts in a New Scheme: KrebsOnSecurity reports that cybercriminals are deploying phishing kits that convert stolen card data into mobile wallet compromises, pivoting to manipulate penny stocks. Attackers use multiple compromised brokerage accounts to inflate stock prices, then sell off shares once values rise—without needing to generate public hype. The FBI is actively investigating this new "ramp and dump" method.

The significance of artificial intelligence in zero trust technologies: a comprehensive review (Deepa Ajish): Peer-reviewed survey that maps how AI techniques—such as behavioral analytics, continuous authentication, and federated/edge learning—augment core Zero Trust tenets (“never trust, always verify”). It reviews recent literature and outlines open challenges (ethics, drift, governance) for deploying AI across ZT policy decision and enforcement points. Journal of Electrical Systems and Information Technology, vol. 11, article 30.

A novel and secure artificial intelligence enabled zero trust intrusion detection in industrial internet of things architecture (Asif Ali Laghari; Abdullah Ayub Khan; Amel Ksibi; Fahima Hajjej; Natalia Kryvinska; Ahmad Almadhor; Mohamad Afendee Mohamed; Shtwai Alsubai; et al.) Proposes and evaluates an AI-enabled Zero Trust intrusion-detection architecture for IIoT. Uses ML/DL (including federated approaches) to support continuous verification and micro-segmented control in industrial networks, reporting high detection efficacy with resource trade-offs between ML and DL models. Scientific Reports (Nature Portfolio), vol. 15, article 26843.

Developing an AI-Powered Zero-Trust Cybersecurity Framework for Malware Prevention in Nuclear Power Plants (Sajedul Talukder; Palash Kumar Bhowmik; Piyush Sabharwall; Syed Bahauddin Alam): U.S. Department of Energy/Idaho National Laboratory technical paper proposing an AI-driven Zero Trust model (with host intrusion prevention, user-behavior analytics, and network segmentation) tailored to nuclear plant operational networks. It argues for continuous authentication/authorization and AI-assisted prevention to defeat advanced malware (post-Stuxnet threat model).Idaho National Laboratory (PDF).