Please enjoy our newest podcast, the weekly Security Sprint, on Spotify, Apple, as well as other locations accessible via the Spotify for Podcasters link or almost anywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts.
In this week’s Security Sprint, Dave and Andy covered the following topics:
Opening:
- Trump suggests US used cyberattacks to turn off lights in Venezuela during strikes
- Protests in US cities over Trump’s military intervention in Venezuela
- Trump Ramps Up Incendiary Threats After Venezuela Strike
- White House: RUBIO: This Is Our Hemisphere — and President Trump Will Not Allow Our Security to be Threatened
- PMs of Greenland, Denmark tell Trump to stop U.S. takeover threats
Main Topics:
Leftwing militants claim responsibility for arson attack on Berlin power grid; Protest over climate crisis and AI has cut power to tens of thousands of homes which may take days to fully restore. The Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group) said it had deliberately targeted some of the city’s wealthiest districts. In a 2,500-word pamphlet seen by the Guardian which a police spokesperson called “credible”, the group said it had aimed to “cut the juice to the ruling class”. It condemned a “greed for energy” produced by high-emission fossil fuels, calling the attack “action in the public interest” and an “act of self-defence and international solidarity with all those who protect the earth and life”. In the message, which included details about the fire, Vulkangruppe said that datacentres used for AI were exacerbating the problem of climate-damaging energy consumption while creating dangers to society.
Ransomware:
- Recorded Future: New ransomware tactics to watch out for in 2026
- Semperis: What CISOs Need to Know About Fighting Ransomware in 2026
- Top 10 Ransomware Groups of 2025
MFA: Dozens of Global Companies Hacked via Cloud Credentials from Infostealer Infections & More at Risk. This report provides a granular reconstruction of the compromised assets. Furthermore, we demonstrate that these catastrophic security failures were not the result of zero-day exploits in the platform architecture, but rather the downstream effect of malware infections on employee devices combined with a critical failure to enforce Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).
- One criminal, 50 hacked organizations, and all because MFA wasn’t turned on. “Because the organizations listed below did not enforce MFA, the attacker walks right in through the front door,” the cybersecurity shop said in a Monday report. “No exploits, no cookies – just a password.”
- Cloud file-sharing sites targeted for corporate data theft attacks
AI Deepfakes Are Impersonating Pastors to Try to Scam Their Congregations; Religious communities around the US are getting hit with AI depictions of their leaders sharing incendiary sermons and asking for donations. Pastors and ministers in Birmingham, Alabama, Freeport, New York, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, have warned their followers about AI scams impersonating them in the form of DMs, calls, and deepfakes. Alan Beauchamp, a pastor in the Ozarks, said his Facebook account was hacked, with the hacker posting a fake, possibly AI-generated certificate for cryptocurrency trading with Beauchamp’s name on it and a caption urging his congregants to join him. A megachurch in the Philippines received reports of deepfakes featuring its pastors. An evangelical church in Nebraska issued an AI “scammer alert” on Facebook, and one churchgoer in the comments posted a screenshot of texts purported to be from one of their pastors.
Quick Hits:
- Bleeping Computer: The biggest cybersecurity and cyberattack stories of 2025
- Infosecurity’s Top 10 Cybersecurity Stories of 2025
- Supply chains, AI, and the cloud: The biggest failures (and one success) of 2025.
- Two Americans Plead Guilty to Targeting Multiple U.S. Victims Using ALPHV BlackCat Ransomware
- CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Surged 20% in 2025; CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog Grew By 20% In 2025, Including 24 Vulnerabilities Exploited By Ransomware Groups
Read more about Gate 15’s full podcast menu at our Podcast page. You can subscribe and enjoy all the Gate 15 Podcasts on Spotify for Podcasters, Apple, Spotify, as well as other locations accessible from the Spotify for Podcasters link. Week-to-week, you can hear and learn more about our all-hazards threats, risks, mitigation and other issues impacting homeland security risk management from our team as well as our regular and special guests. The full podcast menu includes:
- The Security Sprint is our weekly rundown of the week’s notable all-hazards security news, risks and threats and some of the key focus areas for organizations to consider behind the headlines. Gate 15 team members discuss physical security, cybersecurity, natural hazards, health threats and other issues across our environment.
- Nerd Out! Security Panel Discussion, moderated by Dave Pounder, focuses on physical security topics including terrorism, extremism, hostile events, and other pertinent topics.
- The Gate 15 Interview, is a monthly interview between Gate 15’s founder and Managing Director, Andy Jabbour and guests from throughout the homeland security risk management community addressing a wide range of all-hazards topics and issues.
- The Cybersecurity Evangelist, with Jennifer Lyn Walker, is a cybersecurity-focused discussion with Jen and invited guests. This is presently a Gate 15 special podcast and occasionally is updated on our Gate 15 podcast channel.
- Venue Security, The IAVM Podcast Series was a 2024 limited series podcast as Gate 15’s founder and Managing Director, Andy Jabbour hosted a series of short interviews with venue safety and security experts from the International Association of Venue Managers’ (IAVM) Venue Safety and Security Committee (VSSC) and other special guests from the IAVM community.
- The Risk Roundtable, was a monthly discussion among our team and occasional guests exploring the all-hazards threats and risks impacting the United States and internationally. This was suspended in September 2023.
We hope you’ll subscribe, listen and share your ideas and other feedback! Reach out to us on Bluesky, LinkedIn, via email at Gate15@gate15.global.
