In today’s cybersecurity news…
CISA Adds actively exploited XSS Bug to KEV
CISA has added a security flaw that impacts OpenPLC ScadaBR to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, citing evidence of active exploitation. The vulnerability (CVE-2021-26829) has a CVSS score of 5.4 and is a cross-site scripting (XSS) flaw that affects Windows and Linux versions of the software via system_settings.shtm. The security company Forescout had seen a pro-Russian hacktivist group called TwoNet targeting its honeypot in September 2025, mistaking it for a water treatment facility.
Japanese brewer Asahi provides details regarding October ransomware attack
The Japanese brewer Asahi announced on Thursday that the ransomware attack that occurred in October “may have exposed personal PII of about 1.5 million customers, as well as thousands of employees, their family members and external contacts,” but not credit-card details. The company has “seen no evidence the data has been published online and said the impact appears limited to systems managed in Japan.” The attack forced production shutdowns, delayed product launches and disrupted order processing and shipping nationwide.
California law regulating web browsers might impact national data privacy
In October, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law to amend the state’s Consumer Privacy Act in order to mandate that web browsers “create a turnkey tool for residents to opt out from data sharing once instead of having to do so each time they visit a website.” Now, privacy changes required by a “newly enacted California law could mean web browsers will soon offer all Americans a mechanism to easily opt out of all data sharing and sales when surfing the web.” Currently most web browsers do not offer mechanisms for residents to exercise these rights, but once they do, tens of millions of consumers, including those outside of California, may benefit. The law goes into effect on January 1, 2027.
Windows 11 Password window disappears
Microsoft is warning its customers that Windows 11 updates released since August “may cause the password sign-in option to disappear from the lock screen options, even though the button remains functional.” The password icon appears only when multiple sign-in options such as PIN, security key, password, fingerprint are available. For users who use just passwords, the icon may not appear at all since Windows will just show the password field by default. However, hovering over the space where the icon should appear reveals the button, allowing users to sign in with their password. Microsoft has yet to provide a timeline for a fix.
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Microsoft to speed up Teams
Additional Microsoft news, the company says that in January it will be adding a new Teams call handler to reduce launch times and boost call performance for the Windows desktop client. The process will be named, ms-teams_modulehost.exe, which will handle the calling stack separately from the main application process (ms-teams.exe), to optimize resource usage and enhance meeting experiences, without requiring additional end-user training. IT admins are “advised to prepare for the change by allowlisting the new process in security software and endpoint protection systems to prevent false-positive detections and calling issues, and user confusion.
French Soccer Federation suffers data breach
The breach came as a result of a compromised account, which allowed attackers to steal PII belonging to its members. The breach involved software “used by clubs for their administrative management, and in particular that of their members. The organization did not disclose the number of members impacted.
Democrat wins Virginia largely on topic of datacenters
John McAuliff, a 33-year-old small business owner and former civil servant, won election to Virginia’s legislature this month, in part due to voters’ concern over “the deleterious effects of datacenters and their impact on electricity bills.” The datacenters of Loudoun County handle more traffic than any other concentration in the world and are central to the functioning of much of the internet. The warehouse-sized facilities impose upon farmland and create significant noise, in addition to electricity bills. A 2024 report from the Virginia general assembly’s joint legislative audit and review commission stated that Virginia’s rate structure charges the facilities themselves for the use of electric power, however, “energy prices are likely to increase for all customers to cover the costs of new infrastructure and power importing needed.” McAuliff described this as an artificial tax on everyday Virginians to benefit Amazon, Google, some of the companies with the biggest market caps in human history. Which is not to say they don’t provide benefits to those communities, but we need to do a much, much better job of extracting those benefits, because the companies can afford them.”