CyberWire Daily (N2K Networks): "America Goes Solo on Cyber"

Date: January 8, 2026
Host: Dave Bittner
Guest: Caitlin Clark, Senior Director of Cybersecurity Services, Venable

Episode Overview

This episode of CyberWire Daily tackles the major shift in U.S. cybersecurity engagement: America’s abrupt withdrawal from international cybersecurity organizations as directed by President Trump, along with industry news on recent vulnerabilities and threat activity. The episode concludes with a deep-dive interview with Caitlin Clark of Venable, focusing on the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (CISA 2015) and its recent lapse, and muses on the use of facial recognition in wildlife versus human contexts.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. U.S. Withdrawal from Global Cybersecurity Institutions

[00:55]

• President Trump signs an executive order for the United States to exit 66 international organizations—including major cybersecurity bodies.
  • Global Forum on Cyber Expertise: Supports global cybersecurity capacity-building.
  • European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats: Counteracts blended cyber, informational, and political threats.
• Federal agencies instructed to halt participation and funding where legally possible.
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio comments:
  • Many organizations "redundant, mismanaged or driven by ideological agendas that conflict with U.S. priorities."
• Move includes withdrawal from climate, human rights, and international law organizations.
• Described as one of the most extensive pullbacks from multilateral engagement in years.

2. Critical Vulnerabilities & Security Incidents

"NIGHTMARE" Vulnerability in N8N Automation Platform

[02:00]

• Severity: 10.0 (maximum).
• Description: Content-type confusion in webhook parsing enables remote, unauthenticated full compromise.
• Over 100,000 servers exposed.
• Mitigation: Restrict public webhooks; upgrade to latest version.
  • "N8N developers warn there's no official workaround beyond restricting public webhooks and urge users to upgrade..."
    — Host [02:45]

Cisco ISE Vulnerability

[03:00]

• Issue: Improper XML parsing; public proof-of-concept released.
• Exploit Potential: Read sensitive data files with administrative creds.
• Action: Cisco urges prompt patching.

HPE OneView Critical Flaw

[03:20]

• Exploit: Remote code execution.
• Status: Actively exploited per CISA and HPE.
• All versions before 11.0 affected, with no workarounds.
• Federal agencies must patch by Jan 28, 2026.

3. Sophisticated Malware Campaigns Targeting Multiple Sectors

[04:07]

• Victims: Manufacturing and government organizations in Italy, Finland, Saudi Arabia.
• Campaign Techniques:
  • Phishing emails with weaponized Office files, SVGs, or ZIPs with LNK shortcuts.
  • Shared evasive commodity loader among multiple threat groups.
  • Payloads: PureLog, AsyncRAT, Remcos.
  • Methods: Steganography, trojanized open source code, process hollowing.
• "Analysts assess the shared infrastructure and evolving techniques as evidence of coordinated high maturity threat activity." — Host [05:18]

4. AI Security: Defining the Boundaries

[06:00]

• Microsoft disputes claims that flaws in Copilot AI (prompt injection, prompt leakage, etc.) are genuine vulnerabilities.
  • Argues issues do not "cross a security boundary."
• Some researchers agree; others note competitors (e.g., Anthropic Claude) fare better in input validation.
• OWASP GenAI Project: "Prompt disclosure matters only when it enables real-world impact." — Host [06:50]
• Debate reflects ongoing uncertainty around standards for AI security.

5. Microsoft 365: Mandatory Multi-Factor Authentication

[07:20]

• Enforcement Date: Feb 9, 2026.
• Post-deadline: Admins without MFA blocked from accessing admin centers.
• Urged to enable MFA now to avoid disruptions.

6. Major Data Exposure: Illinois Department of Human Services

[08:05]

• Personal and health information of 700,000+ residents posted to public mapping tools.
• Data included names, addresses, benefits status.
• Exposed up to four years before removal in fall 2025.
• Response: Policy changes, no evidence of misuse yet.

7. Criminal Case: Snapchat Nude Image Thefts

[09:00]

• Oswego, IL man Kyle Svara charged for hacking ~600 Snapchat accounts (hired by already-jailed Steve Waithe).
• Charges: Aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, computer fraud.
• Court appearance scheduled for Feb 4, 2026.

Featured Interview: Caitlin Clark on CISA 2015 & Information Sharing

Segment Begins: [14:06]

What is CISA 2015?

"I see it as a voluntary framework that authorizes private sector entities to monitor and operate defensive measures on its own information systems and then authorizes those entities to share or receive cyber threat indicators with the federal government and with other private entities."
— Caitlin Clark [14:06]

• Empowers companies to monitor their systems and share threat data.
• Key feature: Legal protections for information sharing—antitrust, disclosure, protection from misuse by U.S. government.

Impact on Private-Government Collaboration

"It's just, it really sped up that process...the beauty of the voluntary framework is it took that discussion [with lawyers] out of the mix...it sped up cyber defenses for the last 10 years."
— Caitlin Clark [16:50]

• Increased speed and breadth of information sharing.
• Prior to CISA 2015: legal review slowed sharing, limited to close circles.
• After passage: emergence of broader alliances like the Cyber Threat Alliance.

Privacy Concerns & Guardrails

"There were some concerns about the types of information that may be shared and particularly around privacy...Congress specifically added a requirement...that PII must be removed from any cyber threat indicator..."
— Caitlin Clark [17:58]

• Congress mandated removal of all personally identifiable information (PII).
• Inspectors General report effective PII removal; no identified violations.

Assessment of CISA 2015's Effectiveness

"It opened the aperture from very small circles of trust to an apparatus for cyber defense that really enables real time sharing in many different sectors across the US Economy."
— Caitlin Clark [19:50]

• Generally regarded as a success.
• Real-time, multi-sector defensive collaboration now possible.

Recent Lapse and Consequences

"During that lapse...information was still being shared, but there was additional friction in the process. Right. Because lawyers had to be brought back in..."
— Caitlin Clark [20:44]

• During the government shutdown-induced lapse, information sharing slowed as legal reviews became necessary again.
• CISA 2015 authority currently extended only to end of the continuing resolution (Jan 2026).

Final Story: Facial Recognition for Bears

[22:00]

• After a grizzly attack on schoolchildren in Canada, facial recognition used to distinguish individual bears.
• AI tools like BearID help count and track wildlife, leading to fewer mistaken captures.
• For humans: facial recognition remains controversial.
  • "For bears, the ethical stakes are lower. No surveillance capitalism, no constitutional rights, just fewer mistaken identities..."
• Amusing close: "The bears have yet to lawyer up."

Notable Quotes

• "Many of the targeted bodies are redundant, mismanaged or driven by ideological agendas that conflict with U.S. priorities."
  — Secretary of State Marco Rubio [01:15]
• "N8N developers warn there's no official workaround beyond restricting public webhooks and urge users to upgrade..."
  — Host [02:45]
• "The debate highlights unresolved questions about what secure means for generative AI systems."
  — Host [07:00]
• "If I was a cyber threat intelligence analyst...I could do so because I felt I had the clarity around sharing that information and it just, it sped up cyber defenses for the last 10 years."
  — Caitlin Clark [16:50]
• "The bears have yet to lawyer up."
  — Host [End Segment, ~23:00]

Important Timestamps

• 00:55 — U.S. withdrawal from global cyber institutions
• 02:00 — NIGHTMARE/N8N vulnerability breakdown
• 04:07 — Advanced malware campaign targeting Europe & Middle East
• 06:00 — Microsoft AI Copilot vulnerability debate
• 07:20 — Microsoft 365 MFA deadline
• 08:05 — Illinois DHS data breach
• 09:00 — Snapchat nude image theft prosecution
• 14:06–21:32 — Caitlin Clark interview: CISA 2015 analysis
• 22:00 — Facial recognition and grizzly bears anecdote

Overall Tone

• Professional, clear, and at times lighthearted (especially in the closing story).
• Emphasis on policy implications, practical action items, and awareness of both evolving attacks and regulatory responses.
• The interview segment stands out for its accessible breakdown of legislation and real-world impacts without jargon.

For further details, visit thecyberwire.com and check out the episode’s full guest interview on the Caveat podcast.