NYC Inauguration bans Flipper Zero, UK taxes crypto, Finland seizes ship - Cybersecurity Headlines

Summary4 min read

Cyber Security Headlines

Episode: NYC Inauguration bans Flipper Zero, UK taxes crypto, Finland seizes ship
Host: Steve Prentiss (CISO Series)
Date: January 2, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode delivers rapid-fire updates on major developments in cybersecurity from around the globe. Key stories include new security measures at the NYC mayoral inauguration, increased crypto regulation in the UK, cable sabotage in the Baltic Sea, ongoing fallout from ransomware attacks, next-gen phishing tactics, a massive compensation plan after a South Korean data breach, femtocell vulnerabilities in Korea, and a pioneering orbital manufacturing project.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. NYC Mayoral Inauguration Bans Flipper Zero and Raspberry Pi

Content:
The inauguration of NYC's new mayor Zoran Mandani introduces an updated security checklist. In addition to standard prohibited items, Flipper Zero penetration testing devices and Raspberry Pi computers have been specifically banned.
Notable Insight:
Event organizers did not explain “why these were singled out specifically, rather than a generic mention of portable technologies.”
- (Steve Prentiss, 00:23)

2. UK Requires Crypto Platforms to Share User Account Details

Content:
UK crypto buyers must now share account details with HMRC. The law, which took force on January 1, empowers the tax agency to collect info from crypto exchanges, aiming to recover unpaid capital gains tax.
Notable Insight:
HMRC will “begin automatically collecting information on all users of cryptocurrency exchanges, which are effectively the industry's banks, in a bid to start collecting tens of millions in unreal unpaid tax.”
- (Steve Prentiss, 01:03)

3. Finland Seizes Ship Suspected of Cable Sabotage

Content:
Finnish authorities detained a ship suspected of damaging a subsea Baltic telecommunications cable. The incident occurred December 31 in Estonia’s economic zone. The ship, found with its anchor chain down, was ordered to safe Finnish anchorage.
Notable Quotes:
“Finland's border guard found the ship with its anchor chain lowered into the sea and so instructed the vessel to move to safe anchorage within Finland's territorial waters.”
- (Steve Prentiss, 01:46)

4. More US Banks Exposed by Marquee Software Ransomware Attack

Content:
Following a significant attack on Marquee Software in August, two more banks—Artisans Bank and Vera Bank—report compromised customer data. Stolen info includes product updates and service analysis, but not direct customer accounts.
Notable Clarifications:
Both banks “stressed the hackers never breached their own systems and only stole information maintained by Marquee Software.”
- (Steve Prentiss, 02:23)

5. Air Traffic Service Enables Exploitative ClickFix Attacks

Content:
“Air Traffic,” a platform flagged by Hudson Rock researchers, allows attackers to simulate browser glitches and trick users into running malware with up to a “60% conversion rate.” Attackers must first compromise or inject code into websites.
Technical Details:
“The platform promises conversion rates as high as 60% and can determine the target system to deliver compatible payloads.”
- (Steve Prentiss, 03:50)

6. Coupang Announces $1.17 Billion Breach Compensation

Content:
Coupang, dubbed Korea’s Amazon, will provide $1.17B in purchase vouchers to roughly 34 million users affected by a mass data breach. Notifications will be sequentially sent via text.

7. Korea Telecom Criticized for Femtocell Security Failures

Content:
South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT found thousands of insecure femtocells deployed by Korea Telecom, facilitating long-term attacks, fraud, and surveillance. All devices shared credentials, had no root password, and stored keys plaintext.
Notable Details:
“Attackers could extract a certificate, clone femtocells and have them accepted as legitimate by Korea Telecom's network for up to 10 years.”
“Compromised devices allowed attackers to intercept texts, learn subscriber IDs and track calls.”
- (Steve Prentiss, 05:15–05:55)

8. Space Forge Sends Microwave-Sized Furnace into Orbit

Content:
Wales-based Space Forge launched a small orbital factory, demonstrating it could heat up to 1800°F. The project aims to manufacture ultra-pure semiconductors in space for use in electronics and telecommunication.
Scientific Insight:
“When they are being manufactured in a weightless environment, these atoms line up absolutely perfectly. The vacuum of space also means that contaminants can't sneak in, and the purer and more ordered that a semiconductor is, the better it works.”
- (Steve Prentiss, 06:43)

Memorable Quotes

On Flipper Zero ban:
“No details explaining why these were singled out specifically, rather than a generic mention of portable technologies.”
(00:23)
On UK's crypto regulations:
“HMRC will begin automatically collecting information on all users of cryptocurrency exchanges, which are effectively the industry's banks…to start collecting tens of millions in unreal unpaid tax.”
(01:03)
On femtocell vulnerability:
“…devices use the same network authentication certificate, had no root password, stored keys in plain text and exposed remote SSH access.”
(Steve Prentiss, 05:24)
On the power of manufacturing in space:
“When manufactured in a weightless environment, these atoms line up absolutely perfectly.”
(Steve Prentiss, 06:43)

Key Timestamps

00:06 — Episode Headlines/Introduction
00:15 — NYC Inauguration device ban
01:00 — UK crypto tax enforcement
01:46 — Finland seizes cable sabotage ship
02:20 — Bank breach fallout from Marquee Software attack
03:40 — Air Traffic ‘ClickFix’ malware platform
04:30 — Coupang breach compensation announcement
05:15 — Korea Telecom’s femtocell security failure exposed
06:43 — Space Forge launches orbital factory

In Summary

This episode spotlights new vectors in cyber risk—physical, technical, legal, and geopolitical—with uncommonly concise, informative reporting. Standout insights include the specifics of the NYC device ban, the aggressive UK crypto reporting law, and the ‘ClickFix’ attack platform. The episode also draws attention to persistent infrastructure threats, such as those from cable sabotage and telecom supply chain vulnerabilities, as well as landmark compensation efforts after colossal data breaches.

For more details or to track these stories as they develop, visit cisoseries.com.

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Transcript4 lines

[00:00]
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From the CISO series, it's Cybersecurity Headlines.
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These are the cybersecurity headlines for Friday, January 2, 2026. I'm Steve Prentiss. New York City mayoral inauguration bans Flipper Zero and Raspberry PI devices as part of New York City's 2026 mayoral inauguration of Zoran Mandani, some new items have been added to the list of prohibited items such as backp weapons and laser pens. As first reported by the tech blog site Adafruit, the event's official FAQ now includes Flipper Zero and Raspberry PI devices. Event organizers have not provided any details explaining why these were singled out specifically, rather than a generic mention of portable technologies. Crypto Must now share account details with UK tax officials as of yesterday January 1, people buying cryptocurrency in the UK must now share their account details with the country's tax authorities or face penalties. This move, enacted by the UK's tax body HMRC, is designed to ensure they pay all relevant tax on buying and selling crypto, including capital gains tax. HMRC will begin automatically collecting information on all users of cryptocurrency exchanges, which are effectively the industry's banks, in a bid to start collecting tens of millions in unreal unpaid tax. Finland seizes suspected cable sabotage Ship Finnish authorities have announced the seizure of a ship suspected of damaging a subsea telecommunications cable in the Baltic Sea. This is after a series of faults were detected in undersea cables and in this case in part of a cable running through Estonia's exclusive economic zone. This was detected on December 31. Estonia is a northern European country located directly across the Gulf of Finland from Helsinki. Finland's border guard found the ship with its anchor chain lowered into the sea and so instructed the vessel to move to safe anchorage within Finland's territorial waters. End quote. Two More Banks suffer Marquee Software Ransomware Attack following up on a story we covered early in December, two more US Banks are now warning customers about fallout from an August ransomware attack on the financial software company Marquee Software. These two banks, Artisans bank and Vera bank, confirmed that the breaches resulted in access to customer communication data such as informational updates and analysis of bank products and services that may best fit customer needs. Both banks stressed the hackers never breached their own systems and only stole information maintained by Marquee Software. End quote Huge thanks to our sponsor ThreatLocker Want Real Zero Trust Training Zero Trust World 2026 delivers hands on labs and workshops that show CISOs exactly how to implement and maintain zero trust in real environments. Join us March 4 through 6 in Orlando, plus a live CISO series episode on March 6 and get $200 off with the code ZTWCISO26@ZTW.com New air traffic service exploits ClickFix through fake browser glitches Researchers at Hudson Rock are warning of this new platform that allows threat actors to automate click fix attacks by generating fake glitches on compromised websites to lure users into downloading payloads or following malicious instructions. The platform promises conversion rates as high as 60% and can determine the target system to deliver compatible payloads. The researchers describe air traffic that is spelled err T R A F F I C as requiring prior access either to a website that accepts victim traffic or where it has injected malicious code into a legitimate compromised website and then add air traffic to it via an HTML line. Coupang to spend over $1 billion to compensate users South Korea's leading e commerce and logistics platform, often dubbed Korea's Amazon, has announced the amount, specifically the equivalent of $1.17 billion to compensate almost 34 million people affected by its recent data breach. This compensation will be in the form of purchase vouchers for impacted users. Coupang plans to sequentially notify all 33.7 million account users via text message regarding the voucher redemption process. Korean telco failed at femtocell security, say investigators South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT found that Korea Telecom deployed thousands of poorly secured femtocells enabling long running attacks involving micropayments, fraud and customer surveillance. Femtocells are customer premises equipment which include a small mobile base station and use a wired broadband service for backhaul into a carrier's network. Carriers typically deploy them in areas where mobile network signals are weak to improve coverage in and around customers homes. In this situation, all devices use the same network authentication certificate, had no root password, stored keys in plain text and exposed remote SSH access. Attackers could extract a certificate, clone femtocells and have them accepted as legitimate by Korea Telecom's network for up to 10 years. Investigators believe up to 20 clones were used one for 10 months. During 2024 2025, compromised devices allowed attackers to intercept texts, learn subscriber IDs and track calls, all of which was compounded by Korea Telecoms lacking proper femtocell management tools. This according to the register UK company sends factory with 1800 degree furnace into space Space Forge, a company based in Cardiff in Wales, has sent a factory the size of a microwave oven into orbit and has demonstrated that its furnace can be switched on and reach temperatures of around 1800 degrees Fahrenheit. The company plans to manufacture material for semiconductors for use in electronics, communications infrastructure, computing and transport. The company explains, conditions in space are ideal for making semiconductors which have the atoms that they're made of arranged in a highly ordered 3D structure. When they are being manufactured in a weightless environment, these atoms line up absolutely perfectly. The vacuum of space also means that contaminants can't sneak in, and the purer and more ordered that a semiconductor is, the better it works. End Quote did you know that you can subscribe to our events calendar? Just head on over to our events page@cisoseries.com and look for the subscribe button. You'll know when all of our Super Cyber Friday and Department of no Live streams start, as well as our live CISO Series, podcast, recordings and other meetups. Make sure you are up to date with all the fun events from the CISO Series. And if you have some thoughts on the news from today or about this show in general, please be sure to reach out to us@feedbackisoseries.com we would love to hear from you. I'm Steve Prentiss reporting for the CISO Series.
[07:59]
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Cybersecurity headlines are available every weekday. Head to cisoseries.com for the full stories behind the headlines.
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It.