LinkedIn AI opt-out, NSA leadership candidates, Python foundation withdraws - Cybersecurity Headlines

Cyber Security Headlines – Episode Summary

Podcast: Cyber Security Headlines
Host: Steve Prentiss (CISO Series)
Date: October 31, 2025
Episode: LinkedIn AI opt-out, NSA leadership candidates, Python foundation withdraws

Episode Overview

This episode delivers a concise round-up of the day’s most urgent cybersecurity news, covering stories such as LinkedIn’s AI data collection policy, changes in NSA leadership, the Python Software Foundation’s stance on DEI restrictions, notable cyberattacks, and updates on quantum computing outages. Hosted in a serious, news-centered tone, Steve Prentiss provides both context and expert insights on stories impacting the global cybersecurity community.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. LinkedIn AI Training Data Collection – User Opt-Out Deadline

(Timestamp: 00:08–01:16)

Policy Change: LinkedIn announces that starting Monday, November 3rd, it will begin using profile details, public posts, feed activity, and more from users in the UK, EU, Switzerland, Canada, and Hong Kong to train its AI models.
Exclusions: Private messages are not included.
Implications: Data will also be shared with Microsoft entities for more personalized advertising.
User Action: Deadline to opt out is Monday, November 3rd.
Quote:

"LinkedIn users have until Monday to opt out of its AI training program."
— Steve Prentiss (00:10)
Tone: Cautious, emphasizing user rights and transparency concerns.

2. NSA Leadership Shake-Up

(Timestamp: 01:16–01:48)

Background: Army Lt. Gen. William Hartman has been serving as acting NSA head; the agency is expected to appoint a new permanent leader soon.
Candidates: Army Lt. Gen. Paul Stanton and Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas Hensley are named as frontrunners.
Quote:

"The National Security Agency is apparently readying a number of senior personnel moves meant to reinvigorate the organization."
— Steve Prentiss (01:21)
Significance: Signals possible changes in U.S. cybersecurity leadership doctrine.

3. Python Software Foundation Withdraws from U.S. Grant

(Timestamp: 01:48–02:29)

Reason: The foundation pulled out of a $1.5M National Science Foundation research grant due to contract language prohibiting DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives.
Statement: Lauren Crary, Deputy Executive Director, states incompatibility with DEI restriction.
Quote:

"The organization could not agree to language in the contract that required a confirmation that the foundation would not operate any programs that advance or promote diversity, equity and inclusion."
— Steve Prentiss quoting Lauren Crary (02:10)
Context: Illustrates the intersection of open source security and evolving U.S. policy environments.

4. Business Rival Credits Marks & Spencer Cyber Attack for Profit Surge

(Timestamp: 02:29–03:10)

Context: Next, a UK retailer, reports that its sales overperformed after a cyberattack disrupted rival Marks & Spencer’s operations.
Market Impact: Online-first competitors benefited from the disruption, while non-digital retailers did not.
Quote:

"Next reported that it was, 'continuing to see sales overperform in the wake of a cyberattack on its rival Marks & Spencer.'"
— Steve Prentiss (02:35)
Insight: Explores secondary victimization and ecosystem ripple effects of cyberattacks.

5. Dentsu’s U.S. Unit (Merkle) Suffers Data Breach

(Timestamp: 03:29–04:10)

Details: Merkle had files with supplier, client, and employee payroll/national insurance data stolen.
Unknowns: The nature of the breach (ransomware or otherwise) is undisclosed.
Quote:

"Merkel…suffered an attack recently that resulted in the theft of files exposing… supplier, client and employee data including personal payroll national insurance details."
— Steve Prentiss (03:40)
Takeaway: Yet another example of the targeting of supply chain and service providers.

6. WhatsApp Adds Passkey for Encrypted Backup

(Timestamp: 04:10–04:45)

Update: New passkey protection added to end-to-end encrypted WhatsApp backups, simplifying recovery if users lose their device.
Steps: Can be managed via Settings > Chat > Chat Backup.
Quote:

"The addition of a passkey removes the need to dig up the recovery password."
— Steve Prentiss (04:35)
Benefit: Improves account and backup security for users worldwide.

7. Cloud Atlas Hackers Target Russian Agriculture

(Timestamp: 04:45–05:29)

Incident: Phishing emails disguised as official event messages used to target Russia’s agricultural sector ahead of an industry forum.
Technical Detail: Malicious files exploit an old Microsoft Office flaw active since 2017.
Quote:

"The hackers sent phishing emails disguised as the event's official program containing a malicious file that exploited an old Microsoft Office flaw active since 2017."
— Steve Prentiss (05:15)
Relevance: Shows ongoing risks of unpatched software and sector-specific espionage.

8. IBM Cloud Quantum Computer “Aachen” Offline

(Timestamp: 05:29–06:13)

Issue: IBM’s Aachen quantum computer (Germany-based) is temporarily unavailable in the Qiskit runtime service.
Technical Note: Quantum computers are inherently unstable and outages/failures are not uncommon at this stage of technology.
Quote:

"It can be difficult to maintain a qubit in a stable state and therefore current quantum machines can produce errors or just fail to finish a job."
— Steve Prentiss (06:04)
Perspective: A realistic view on quantum technology’s operational reliability in 2025.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|----------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:10 | Steve Prentiss | "LinkedIn users have until Monday to opt out of its AI training program." | | 02:10 | Prentiss/Crary | "The organization could not agree to language in the contract that required a confirmation that the foundation would not operate any programs that advance or promote diversity, equity and inclusion." | | 04:35 | Steve Prentiss | "The addition of a passkey removes the need to dig up the recovery password." | | 05:15 | Steve Prentiss | "The hackers sent phishing emails disguised as the event's official program containing a malicious file that exploited an old Microsoft Office flaw active since 2017." | | 06:04 | Steve Prentiss | "It can be difficult to maintain a qubit in a stable state and therefore current quantum machines can produce errors or just fail to finish a job." |

Important Timestamps

00:08–01:16 – LinkedIn AI opt-out details
01:16–01:48 – NSA leadership update
01:48–02:29 – Python Foundation/NSF grant withdrawal
02:29–03:10 – Next and Marks & Spencer cyberattack fallout
03:29–04:10 – Dentsu/Merkle breach
04:10–04:45 – WhatsApp passkey rollout
04:45–05:29 – Cloud Atlas cyberespionage
05:29–06:13 – IBM Aachen quantum computer outage

Episode Tone and Style

Language: Professional, concise, and informative
Delivery: Newsroom-style, focused on headline clarity and factual reporting

This episode provides a robust briefing on top cybersecurity headlines with clear implications for professionals and organizations monitoring current threats, policy changes, and technology evolution.

Transcript

A (0:00)

From the CISO series, it's Cybersecurity Headlines.

B (0:06)

These are the cybersecurity headlines for Friday, October 31, 2025. I'm Steve Prentiss. LinkedIn users have until Monday to opt out of its AI training program, as reported by Graham Cluley. The Microsoft owned professional networking site has quietly announced that as of this upcoming Monday, November 3rd, it will start profile details, public posts, feed activity data and more from users in the uk, the eu, Switzerland, Canada and Hong Kong to train its artificial intelligence models. These countries had been excluded from its AI training models to this point. Private messages will not be used. LinkedIn says additional data from LinkedIn will also be shared with other Microsoft related business entities for the purpose of serving up more personalized and relevant ads. End quote New names surface for NSA leadership After months of being led in an acting capacity by Army Lt. Gen. William Hartman, the National Security Agency is apparently readying a number of senior personnel moves meant to reinvigorate the organization. Army Lt. Gen. Paul Stanton, currently the leader of Cyber Command's network defense arm, and Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas Hensley, the head of Air Force Information Warfare Command, are considered to be frontrunners for the job, according to three people familiar with the administration's search End quote Open source security group pulls out of US grant citing DEI restrictions the Python Software foundation, which promotes safe and secure Python coding practices and helps oversee PyPi, the world's largest open source code repository for Python, said yesterday it will withdraw from a $1.5 million research grant from the National Science Foundation. Lauren Crary, the foundation's deputy executive director, said the organization could not agree to language in the contract that required a confirmation that the foundation would not operate any programs that advance or promote diversity, equity and inclusion. End quote Business rival credits cyber attack on Marks Spencer for boosting its profits British clothing retailer Next reported that it was, quote, continuing to see sales overperform in the wake of a cyberattack on its rival Marks Spencer. The company credits favorable weather conditions and competitor disruption for a surge in sales in the first half of this year, according to reports from analytics company Kantar, Marks and Spencer. Rivals that had an online presence such as Zara, H and M and Sainsbury's all experienced a sales uplift, while clothing retailers without a significant online presence such as Primark did not. Huge thanks to our sponsor, Conveyor security reviews don't have to feel like a hurricane. Most teams are buried in back and forth emails and never ending customer requests for documentation or answers. But Conveyor takes all that chaos and turns it into calm. AI fills in the questionnaires. Your trust center is always ready and sales cycles move without stalls. Breathe easier. Check out conveyor@www.conveyor.com that is c o n v e y o r.com Marketing agency Dentsu says its US unit suffered cyberattack and breach Merkel, the US subsidiary of the Japanese multinational advertising and public relations company Dentsu, suffered an attack recently that resulted in the theft of files exposing quote, supplier, client and employee data including personal Payrol national insurance details. A statement posted on the Dentsu website did not elaborate on exactly when this happened. Merkel is a customer experience agency that specializes in data driven performance based marketing. It is unclear at this point whether ransomware was involved. WhatsApp adds passkey protection to end to end encrypted backups this new feature means that if you lose your device, you can use methods like fingerprint face or the screen lock code of your previous device to access WhatsApp's backup. This follows on from a backup encryption process that Meta added in 2021, but the addition of a pass key removes the need to dig up the recovery password. This feature will be rolled out over the next few months and users can go to Settings Chat Chat Backup end to end encrypted backup to determine whether the option is currently available. Cloud Atlas hackers target Russian agriculture sector ahead of industry forum the Russia based cybersecurity firm F6 has reported on a cyber espionage campaign by the state backed threat actor Cloud Atlas, targeting the country's agricultural center. Once again, the attack coincided with preparations for the Russian Agriculture Forum scheduled for the end of the month in Moscow. According to F6, the hackers sent phishing emails disguised as the event's official program containing a malicious file that exploited an old Microsoft Office. Flawed active since 2017, IBM Cloud experiences a quantum computer outage the company sent out an advisory yesterday morning stating the quantum computer IBM Aachen is temporarily unavailable within the Qiskit runtime service. Aachen, spelled A A C H E N, is physically based near Stuttgart in Germany, and the Qiskit Runtime is a cloud service that allows IBM customers to use its quantum processors. Aachen came online in April of this year. IBM has not said much about the cause of the outage, but as posted in the register, it is known in the industry that it can be difficult to maintain a qubit in a stable state and therefore current quantum machines can produce errors or just fail to finish a job. End quote. If you are going to be in New York City in early November you need to join us for a CISO Series Podcast recording. We will be recording at Faircon 25 on November 5th at the beautiful Glass House on 12th Avenue. The conference is stacked with everything you'd ever want to know about cyber and risk management. If you want to join us for the show and the podcast recording, we've got a promo code to save you 75% off registration. Just head to the events page@cisoseries.com to register. And if you have some thoughts on the news from today or about this show in general, please do reach out to us@feedbackisoseries.com we would love to hear from you. I'm Steve Prentiss reporting for the CISO Series.