Cogent Security Gets $42M to Boost AI Vulnerability Defense

Michael Novinson • February 19, 2026

Cogent Security secured $42 million in Series A funding to expand its AI-powered platform. Backed by Bain Capital Ventures, the company plans to triple staff, enhance model accuracy and scale its agent-based architecture to help enterprises automate remediation and counter AI-driven cyberattacks.

Attack Surface Management

Proofpoint Purchases Startup Acuvity to Bolster AI Security

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Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Hospitals at Risk of BeyondTrust Ransomware Hacks

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • February 20, 2026

Federal authorities and industry officials are urging healthcare sector entities to address a critical flaw in BeyondTrust Remote Support and Privileged Remote Access software, which if exploited, could give an attacker a foothold inside a hospital or clinic network.

Cyberwarfare / Nation-State Attacks

Former CISA Official: Shutdown Strains Cyber Operations

Chris Riotta • February 20, 2026

With DHS funding lapsed, CISA is maintaining incident response and threat coordination but scaling back vulnerability scanning, stakeholder engagement and forward-looking initiatives. Former CISA technology strategist Daniel Bardenstein warns prolonged disruption could widen risk exposure.

Cybercrime

Android Malware Taps Google Gemini at Runtime

Pooja Tikekar • February 20, 2026

A newly discovered Android malware strain, "PromptSpy," is using Google's Gemini generative artificial intelligence model to automate part of its persistence mechanism, marking what researchers describe as the second known case of AI-driven mobile malware.

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

How to Spot a North Korean Job Candidate

Greg Sirico • February 20, 2026

They're young, tech-savvy and often the most productive remote worker on the team. They're a major security risk numbering in the thousands that a multitude of Fortune 500 companies have unwittingly ushered into their network. They are North Korean IT workers.

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

ISMG Editors: No Honor Among Ransomware Thieves

Anna Delaney • February 20, 2026

In this week's panel, four ISMG editors examined how cybercriminals may be turning on each other, what security leaders are really saying about machine identities and AI risk, and how shifting U.S.-Europe dynamics are reshaping technology resilience and digital sovereignty.

ATM / POS Fraud

Cashing Out: ATM Jackpotting Attacks Surging Across US

Mathew J. Schwartz • February 20, 2026

Malware-wielding criminals "jackpotted" ATMs across the United States last year to walk away with $20 million thanks to "cash-out" attacks. Tracking that collective haul, the FBI said such attacks are on the rise, and urged operators to implement a range of physical and hardware-level defenses.

Business Continuity Management / Disaster Recovery

Univ. of Mississippi Medical Center Dealing With Cyberattack

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • February 19, 2026

The University of Mississippi Medical Center on Thursday said a ransomware attack has triggered its emergency operations plan and forced its hospitals to cancel all clinic and elective procedures at all locations statewide.

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

Treasury AI Plan Faces Calls for Enforceable Controls

Chris Riotta • February 19, 2026

Security leaders are pressing Treasury to embed enforceable guardrails - covering adversarial testing, AI inventory, identity privilege mapping and real-time monitoring - into its forthcoming financial-sector AI guidance as deepfake fraud, data poisoning and autonomous agent risks escalate.

Cyberwarfare / Nation-State Attacks

Red Flags for OT Abound in Dragos Review of 2025

Shaun Waterman • February 19, 2026

There is a silent epidemic of ransomware attacks on commercial operational technology systems, which are mischaracterized as IT incidents even though they impact operational systems, claims a comprehensive annual review of cyberattacks targeting OT, published this week by security firm Dragos.

Access Management

Audit Finds Security Weaknesses at VA Spokane Medical Center

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • February 19, 2026

A federal watchdog agency inspection of information security at the VA health system in Spokane, Wash. last year found deficiencies across three areas - configuration management, vulnerability management and access controls - that could potentially put sensitive data at risk, a new report said.

Cybercrime

Breach Roundup: Cambodia Scam Center Crackdown

Pooja Tikekar • February 19, 2026

This week, Cambodia shuttered 200 scam centers. EU Parliament banned AI tools. Canada Goose disputed a ShinyHunters leak. Notepad++ patched an updater flaw. Apple fixed a decades-old iOS zero-day. BeyondTrust and Dell patched critical flaws under active exploitation.

Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Massiv Attack: Android Trojan Targets IPTV Users

Greg Sirico • February 19, 2026

Security researchers warn of "Massiv," an Android Trojan - disguised as an IPTV app - targeting users who sideload streaming apps. The malware enables screen capture, overlays and credential theft - and may soon be marketed on criminal underground forums as malware as a service.