Daily Cyber Threat Brief – Episode 1035 (December 29, 2025)

Host: Daniel Lowry (filling in for Dr. Gerald Auger)
Theme: The latest cybersecurity news and expert insights for industry professionals, with community Q&A, practical takeaways, and a dose of humor.

Episode Overview

In this episode of the Daily Cyber Threat Brief, Daniel Lowry ("Sick Boy," filling in for Gerald "Jer Bear" Auger) leads viewers through the top cybersecurity headlines from December 29, 2025. Covering breaches, AI’s energy consumption, the ongoing ramifications of the LastPass breach, and more, Daniel provides context, commentary, and community interaction. The show closes with an interactive Jawjacking segment where Daniel answers live questions from the #TeamSC cybersecurity community.

Key Stories & Insights

1. Rainbow Six Siege Breach Rocks Gaming Community

(07:30 – 14:28)

• Incident: Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege suffered a notable breach, leading to “all types of chaos,” including the unbanning of previously banned players, manipulation of in-game moderation, and mass distribution of premium credits and cosmetics.
• Impact: About $13M (USD) worth in in-game currency, with Ubisoft shutting down both the game and marketplace to stem further damages.
  • “Where there’s ways to have money, there will be threat actors out there trying to do threat acty things.” (08:20, Daniel)
• Response: Ubisoft stated users wouldn’t be punished for spending illicit credits, but all transactions since 11:00 AM Paris time would be rolled back.
• Other notes: Rumors of a larger Ubisoft breach, possibly related to recent Mongo Bleed vulnerabilities.
• Takeaway: Highlights the risks in virtual economies and the importance of patch management.

2. AI Data Centers Boost Power Demand with Jet Engines

(14:28 – 20:43)

• Summary: Due to massive grid connection delays (up to 7 years) and soaring power needs for AI, data centers are deploying aero-derivative turbines and repurposing diesel generators—including those meant for disaster recovery in other sectors.
• Anecdote: Daniel’s brother delivers these turbines and attests to the scale being “massive.”
• Concerns: Using backup power intended for critical infrastructure (e.g., hospitals, insurance HQs) raises reliability and resilience questions.
  • “The population of India can’t…use as much power every day as AI does. So that seems to be a problem.” (15:24, Daniel)
• Outlook: Calls for new energy sources, possibly modular nuclear plants as in France.
• Takeaway: AI’s growth is straining physical infrastructure. Cross-industry impact is unavoidable.

3. LastPass 2022 Breach Still Draining Crypto Wallets

(20:43 – 28:41)

• Update: TRM Labs shows that threat actors are still cracking poorly secured LastPass vaults, using stolen backups to drain crypto wallets as late as 2025.
• Attribution: Evidence points to Russian cybercrime infrastructure.
• End User Experience: Daniel shares his migration from LastPass to Bitwarden and stresses password hygiene:
  • “It’s the gift that keeps on giving.”
  • “I literally went through my entire vault changing passwords. It took me like two days…But it had to be done.” (21:29, Daniel)
• Technical Note: Mixers (Wasabi Wallet) are being used to launder crypto, but enforcement and tracing are catching up.
• Takeaway: Cloud vaults are only as strong as your master password. Immediate action required when breach occurs.

4. ChatGPT to Prioritize Sponsored Content in Answers

(28:41 – 36:36)

• News: OpenAI is planning to integrate sponsored content—ads—within ChatGPT’s response window.
• Industry Context: This mirrors the advertising evolution of Google and YouTube, where organic search quality seems reduced to service more ads and revenue.
• Cultural Reaction: Daniel voices ad fatigue and skepticism:
  • “Are you sick of just being advertised out of your minds, like, where everything is an advertisement?” (29:40)
  • Points out privacy concerns: “ChatGPT…knows way more about you than Google does…that’s not good.”
• Implications: Generative AI’s deep knowledge of users raises risks of highly personalized, potentially manipulative sponsored content.
• Takeaway: Advertising models increasingly permeate everything digital; skepticism and awareness are necessary.

5. New York Mandates Social Media Warning Labels for Addictive Features

(37:29 – 46:17)

• Legislation: New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill requiring platforms to show cigarette-like warning labels to young users about addictive features like infinite scroll and autoplay.
• Broader Context: Connects to broader evidence of psychological addiction embedded in social media design.
• Daniel’s Observation: “Social media has become cigarettes.”
  • He highlights how moderation and user education are now government priorities.
• Classroom Anecdote: “My wife is a teacher…her school is finally enforcing the no phone policy. Those kids were definitely in withdrawals for the first few weeks.” (Audience quote relayed by Daniel)
• Takeaway: Recognizes legislative efforts as a first step, but places onus on users and communities to drive genuine change.

6. Fake Microsoft Activation Script Domain Delivers PowerShell Malware

(46:17 – 54:41)

• Technical Threat: Typosquatted site (“getactivatedwin[.]com” vs. legitimate “getactivatewin[.]com”) gives users the Cosmoli Loader, which subsequently drops cryptominers and remote access trojans.
• Social Engineering: Victims receive popups warning of infection, instructing them to check for “weird” PowerShell processes—unlikely advice for typical users.
• Daniel’s Take: “I’m gonna go with 70% of the people that got infected…have no idea what a task manager is, let alone a weird PowerShell process.”
• Practical Guidance: Avoid executing untrusted scripts; test suspicious code in a sandbox environment when possible.
• Takeaway: Even sophisticated or “tech-savvy” users can fall to familiar but cunning attacks like typosquatting.

7. Krebs Warns on Parked Domains Now Mostly Serving Malware

(54:41 – 63:50)

• Threat Analysis: Brian Krebs and Infoblox research show that 90% of parked domains now redirect visitors to scams or malware, a reversal from 2014’s 5%.
• Technical Detail: Parked domains and typo-squatted domains are actively monetized in chains of redirects, routinely targeting residential IPs.
• Daniel’s Reaction: “The Internet is a stupid place now. Used to be fun and exciting and now…where there’s advertising dollars…people go, ‘How can I manipulate this to get that money?’”
• Practical Limitations: There are few silver bullets beyond vigilance, correct typing, and perhaps AI-assisted validation—though even these aren’t foolproof.
• Takeaway: The shift from benign to malicious use of parked domains reflects a wider commercialization and exploitation of the web.

Notable Quotes & Commentary

• On the gaming breach:
  “My boys and girls that are out there that got banned because we’re total D-bag…they got to manipulate in-game moderation feeds and grant massive amounts of in-game currency and cosmetic items to accounts worldwide. Isn’t that crazy?” (09:00, Daniel)
• On AI power:
  “AI’s need for power…is that much of, like, the population of India per day or some junk like that. It’s insane.” (15:24)
• On password vaults:
  “That’s what LastPass did. They made the combination to the safe 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or they just left the door open.” (22:10)
• On advertising creep:
  “We’re being, like, over-advertised, I think, right? The fact that I can’t hit pause on watching a show without getting an ad that pops up on my tv…” (29:40)
• On social media’s addictive design:
  “How many of you are unaware that social media is extremely addictive? Throw that in the chat if you’re like, I legit had no idea…” (38:09)
• On typosquatting:
  “It’s just a fun little psychological trick that your brain is like, if you’re not on guard for, you will get popped by. Interesting thing though, right?” (47:18)
• On the state of the internet:
  “The Internet is an advertising tool at this point, at least in my estimation.” (56:00)

Jawjacking Q&A Highlights

(64:47 – 87:31)

[Q&A is live, fast-paced, select highlights below:]

• Lab Ideas for Old Laptops:
  “Take a couple and make them vulnerable lab machines…Build your own hack the box.” (67:30)
• NIST Framework Relevance:
  “It’s like a haircut. It’s only perfect for a very short amount of time…Old things are still relevant. It’s the new things we have to add to the old stuff.” (68:30)
• Zero Trust Routers:
  “With security, the more complexity you add, the more the user experience tends to take a hit…that’s why a lot doesn’t get implemented.” (69:40)
• Would You Trust Privacy-Centric ISPs?
  “If it was usable, I’d go for it…The more you increase privacy, the less likely your data is available for a threat actor.” (71:30)
• On Law Enforcement Flock Cameras Without Encryption:
  “Not good…All this privacy stuff rings true together. We should be opting into security and privacy as much as we possibly can.” (76:00)
• On Free Speech & Privacy:
  “It [the First and Fourth Amendments] exists; it’s just not being respected…If you care for your privacy, you’re a free speech advocate.” (82:00)
• Zero-Day Disclosure During Holidays:
  “If you’re talking about releasing zero days—there’s no fix—they haven’t done responsible disclosure…I’m not for that at all…You’ve got to err on the side of caution.” (87:00)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 07:30 – Rainbow Six Siege breach story
• 14:28 – AI data centers and power consumption crisis
• 20:43 – LastPass compromise still draining crypto
• 28:41 – ChatGPT ads incoming
• 37:29 – NY warning labels for social media addiction
• 46:17 – Typo-squatted MS Activation Script drops malware
• 54:41 – Krebs on malicious parked domains
• 64:47 – Jawjacking and audience Q&A

Closing Thoughts

The show threads together themes of cyber exploitation fueled by the profit motive—whether by cybercriminals, major tech platforms, or advertising brokers. Daniel interweaves technical explanations, practical advice, and a healthy skepticism about the “convenience over security” culture that persists both online and off.

Final words:
“It’s on us to stay informed…and while it’s meant to be addictive, if you get trapped by it, that’s not your fault necessarily…But for those of us that know, and we’ve got loved ones around us, [we] need to talk.” (45:40)

For Further Participation

• Watch live and join the #TeamSC chat at simplycyber.io/streams
• Connect with Simply Cyber at simplycyber.io/socials
• Episode archives and jawjacking Q&A every weekday morning at 8 AM Eastern

“Stay secure, and I’ll see you all tomorrow.” – Daniel Lowry