CyberWire Daily

Wrapping RSAC 2026 up with a bow.

Mar 26, 2026
Guest
Kevin Magee
Kevin Magee, Global Director of Cybersecurity Startups at Microsoft for Startups, returns from RSAC with on-the-floor interviews. He discusses AI reshaping cyber risk, telecom backbone implants, CISA warnings about weakened defenses, ransomware resurfacing, and startups blending psychology with security. Short, lively street-level reporting from the conference floor.
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INSIGHT

Shutdown Furloughs Force CISA Into Reactive Mode

  • CISA's reactive posture during a DHS shutdown weakens proactive cyber programs and industry coordination.
  • Acting Director Nick Anderson said ~60% of CISA staff were furloughed, slowing incident response and policy work.
INSIGHT

Stealth Backdoors Hidden In Telecom Backbone

  • China-linked actors implanted kernel-level BPF backdoors and credential harvesters inside global telecom backbone.
  • Researchers found BPF doors, Cross-C2, TinyShell, and HTTPS-triggered packet filters across vendors like Cisco and Fortinet.
INSIGHT

Pay2Key Returns With Faster, Stealthier Ransomware

  • Iran-linked Pay2Key returned with faster execution and anti-forensics, compressing defenders' response windows.
  • Incident used TeamViewer, Mimikatz/Lazagne, AD tools, and self-extracting archives to encrypt infrastructure within three hours.
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