Fortra's November 2025 Patch Priority Index (PPI) brings together important vulnerabilities for Microsoft and Google.Up first on the list are patches for Chromium and Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) that resolve five issues, including inappropriate implementation and out-of-bounds write vulnerabilities.Next on the list are patches for Microsoft Office, Word, and Excel. These patches resolve 11...

A new report from the United States's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has shone a revealing light on the state of the criminal industry of ransomware.The report, which examines ransomware incidents from 2022 to 2024, reveals that attackers extorted more than $2.1 billion over the three-year period.Yes, that number is enormous - but it hides a more interesting story beneath it: that...

Today’s Patch Tuesday Alert addresses Microsoft’s December 2025 Security Updates. The FIRE team is actively working on coverage for these vulnerabilities and expect to ship that coverage as soon as it is completed.In-The-Wild & Disclosed CVEsCVE-2025-62221A use after free vulnerability in the Windows Cloud Files Mini Filter could allow an authenticated user to elevate their privileges to SYSTEM....

Anthropic’s recent report on the first AI-orchestrated cyber espionage campaign isn’t just another headline, it’s a turning point. Attackers leveraged AI to automate nearly every stage of the intrusion lifecycle: reconnaissance, vulnerability scanning, exploitation, credential harvesting, and exfiltration. What’s striking is the speed and sophistication: tasks that once required weeks of human...

The age of AI is no time to be getting behind on alerts. But the old system of prioritizing patches based on CVSS scores alone is outmoded and ineffective.Fortra brings AI into the patch prioritization arena, enhancing traditional CVSS scoring with ML models that determine how likely that a vulnerability is to get exploited in a real-world scenario. Then, reconfiguring priorities from there. This...

If you're reading this article, I can be pretty sure that your organisation relies on the internet. It may be for serving customers, delivering apps, running cloud services, or simply maintaining your day-to-day operations.The fact is that if your connection to the internet is disrupted, it is likely that there will be an impact on your business to a lesser or greater extent.And that's why a new...

What is account takeover fraud?Account takeover fraud (also known as ATO fraud) occurs when a malicious hacker or fraudster compromises and gains control of an account without legitimate authorisation.Typically the online account might be a bank account, email account, or social media profile that has been accessed after stealing login credentials through phishing, malware, a data breach, or...

Attackers increasingly target the identity layer, “abusing overprivileged accounts, misconfigured roles, or insecure tokens to gain lateral access,” as noted in the Fortra FIRE team’s recent Secure AI Innovation guide. Forbes reports that 75% of attacks now utilize identity-based threats, and recent research reveals that 90% of organizations have experienced an identity-related security incident...

IntroductionIn an increasingly digitized world, the battle between organizations and cyber adversaries has never been more dynamic, or more consequential. Every industry, from financial services to healthcare, education, and beyond, faces attackers who are constantly evolving, armed with automation, AI-driven tactics, and global criminal networks. The question is no longer if adversaries will...

40% of global organisations could be hit by security breaches due to "shadow AI" by 2030, according to analyst firm Gartner.Shadow AI - the use of artificial intelligence tools by employees without a company's approval and oversight - is becoming a significant cybersecurity risk.Unlike traditional "shadow IT," which involves workers installing unauthorised software or plugging in unapproved...

APIs can no longer be relegated to the back burner of security. As one of the primary ways in which GenAI models function, API security is closely linked – if not synonymous with – AI security. The issue is changing the mindset. Before the AI wave, APIs were the primary tool of developers to connect applications on the backend. They still are. However, placing them squarely in the dev circle for...

Today’s clients and consumers aren’t satisfied with bare-minimum compliance checkboxes anymore - if ever they were. As the stakes rise on organizational data value, so does attention to its security. That’s why data security is now not only table stakes, but a key differentiator when choosing where to invest. Organizations that want to stay ahead of competitors have a unique opportunity; as data...

After years of delays, the UK government has finally introduced landmark cybersecurity legislation that could reshape how British organisations defend against digital attacks.The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill arrives as cyber-attacks cost the British economy an estimated £14.7 billion annually - approximately 0.5% of GDP.The bill significantly expands the types of organisation required to...

Artificial intelligence is already present in our workflows, communication tools, customer systems, and even decision-making processes. Yet, most organizations are still catching up to what this means for risk and responsibility.AI’s rapid advancement echoes previous technology shifts - like Cloud Migration and Automation and SaaS adoption - where governance lagged behind innovation.But AI isn’t...

In the era of big data, the ultimate irony is that many companies are too afraid to use their own.The data confidence gap has become a significant aspect of security discussions today, as different departments approach the table with varying metrics, and none of them align. For a company to use its information in a way that genuinely moves the business forward, every party that leverages that data...

AI use is growing rapidly. Research from Stanford University found that 78% of organizations reported using the technology in 2024, up from 55% the previous year.Unfortunately, however, that speed of implementation often comes at the cost of security and the problem is that, in a mad dash to adopt AI and remain competitive, organizations are chasing innovation faster than they can secure and...

Cybersecurity has entered uncharted waters. The 2026 PwC Global Digital Trust Insights report makes this painfully clear. A rapidly shifting world, amplified by geopolitical turbulence and unprecedented technology leaps, is testing the limits of our cyber strategies.I read the numbers and paused. Sixty percent of business and tech leaders rank cyber risk investment among their top three strategic...

What has happened?Many of the world's top artificial intelligence companies are making a simple but dangerous mistake. They are accidentally publishing their passwords and digital keys on GitHub, the popular code-sharing website that is used by millions of developers every day.The problem was found by security researchers at Wiz who examined 50 leading AI firms, and discovered that 65% of them had...