The **United States** military has been aware for years that adversaries could exploit location data to track troops' phones, yet has largely failed to implement available protections. This negligence persists despite the Pentagon acknowledging that U.S. adversaries are actively using this data to target soldiers. Concurrently, U.S. law enforcement has issued warnings about rising “anti-tech extremism” amidst growing backlash against AI technologies. Connectivity in **Iran** has begun to return after a nearly 90-day internet shutdown, amidst internal political struggles and negotiations with the U.S. However, researchers remain cautious about the extent and duration of this restoration. ### AI's Dual Role: Enhancing Attacks and Defenses As cybercriminals increasingly leverage AI to exploit vulnerabilities and develop sophisticated hacking tools, the technology is also revolutionizing how security researchers hunt for vulnerabilities. The AI era is creating a bug-hunting arms race. Meanwhile, scammers are exploiting real hotel reservation data for targeted spear-phishing campaigns, potentially impacting customer data from around 350 hotels and vacation rentals worldwide. ### MyPillow Targeted by Play Ransomware **Play**, a Russian-language ransomware operation, has claimed responsibility for extracting sensitive data from **MyPillow**. The compromised data allegedly includes private and personal confidential information, client documents, budgets, payroll data, IDs, taxes, and other financial records. **Mike Lindell**, the CEO of MyPillow, has dismissed the claims as a politically motivated attack, denying any data breaches. Lindell, a prominent supporter of false claims regarding the 2020 election, faces previous defamation rulings related to those claims. ### A Ransomware Group Is Stealing Data in Person Ransomware groups are escalating their tactics, with the **FBI** reporting that the **Silent Ransom Group (SRG)** is physically infiltrating law firms to steal data. Instead of solely relying on malware, SRG is sending individuals to company offices to directly access computers and exfiltrate data onto external drives. This novel approach highlights the evolving and increasingly brazen methods employed by cybercriminals. The FBI believes that the Russian-speaking ransomware group could be paying freelancers who do not necessarily know who they are working for. ### BusPatrol School Bus Cameras Aim to Feed Surveillance Data to Cops **BusPatrol**, an AI surveillance company with cameras installed in thousands of U.S. school buses, intends to transform these cameras into automatic license plate readers. This initiative would record the location of every vehicle a bus passes and provide the data to law enforcement without a warrant, essentially turning school buses into "roaming surveillance vehicles." ### Dropping ShotSpotter Improved Chicago Police Response Times for 911 Calls A study by University of Chicago sociology professor Rob Vargas found that the **Chicago Police Department** experienced improved response times to urgent 911 calls after the city discontinued the use of **ShotSpotter** gunshot detection technology. The data suggests that ShotSpotter alerts may have led to false positives, diverting officers from other critical emergency calls.