Saturday Security: Three Breaches, Three Lessons and How Attackers Keep Adapting

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This week, three very different data breaches proved one thing: no sector is safe. From nation-state espionage to data theft to social engineering, the tactics vary — but the results are the same: exposed data, shaken trust, and hard lessons.
Here’s what happened:

SonicWall — A nation-state actor breached its cloud backup service, stealing firewall configuration files via an exploited API call. Even cybersecurity vendors can have blind spots.
Hyundai AutoEver America — Hackers had access for more than a week, exposing Social Security numbers and driver’s licenses across its IT environment.
University of Pennsylvania — A social engineering attack led to over a million donor records stolen and a fraudulent mass email sent to 700,000 recipients.
Three breaches. Three methods: API abuse, network intrusion, and human deception. Different industries, same message — security is everyone’s job.
https://www.darkreading.com/cyberattacks-data-breaches/sonicwall-firewall-backups-nation-state-actor
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hyundai-autoever-america-data-breach-exposes-ssns-drivers-licenses/
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/university-of-pennsylvania-confirms-data-stolen-in-cyberattack/
What’s your takeaway? Which breach worries you most? Drop a comment.
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0:00 – Intro: Three breaches, one message
0:08 – SonicWall breach: API exploited by nation-state actor
0:20 – Hyundai AutoEver hack: SSNs and driver’s licenses exposed
0:32 – University of Pennsylvania: Social engineering and data theft
0:42 – The takeaway: No one is immune

*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from psilva's prophecies authored by psilva. Read the original post at: https://psilvas.wordpress.com/2025/11/08/saturday-security-three-breaches-three-lessons-and-how-attackers-keep-adapting/

About Author

AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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