1.15M Records at Risk After UH Cancer Center Ransomware Attack

University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center reported its Epidemiology Division was hit by a cyberattack in which an unauthorized actor encrypted and may have exfiltrated research files containing names paired with Social Security or driver’s license numbers, including Hawaiʻi DOT driver’s license records from 2000 and Honolulu voter rolls from 1998. Notices were mailed February 23, 2026, to 87,493 Multiethnic Cohort Study participants; UH says about 1.15 million additional individuals may be implicated. Call centers open March 2, offering 12 months credit monitoring and $1M identity-theft insurance; President Wendy Hensel ordered a 10-campus IT review.

Russian Intelligence Acquiring Properties Near European Military Bases

European intelligence officials reported that Russian services are acquiring Russian-linked properties near military bases and critical infrastructure in at least a dozen European countries as potential “Trojan horse” sites for surveillance and sabotage. Officials fear some locations may already hold drones, explosives, or covert equipment for deniable attacks that could disrupt transport, energy, and communications while complicating a NATO Article 5 response. Finland’s September 22, 2018, raid on Airiston Helmi - linked to 17 Archipelago Sea properties - found a helipad, nine piers, and advanced communications gear. Finland imposed a near-blanket purchase ban in July 2025.

Blumenthal Probes Binance Over $1.7B in Alleged Iran-Linked Flows

Senator Richard Blumenthal opened an inquiry into Binance after reports that internal investigators identified more than $1 billion in exchange flows to Iranian entities, including links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and were later fired. Binance denies violating U.S. sanctions and says it offboarded implicated accounts. The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times cited a Hong Kong firm, “Blessed Trust,” and alleged that Binance employees used its account, a claim Binance and Blessed Trust dispute. Blumenthal asked co-CEO Richard Teng for details on controls against Iranian and Russian sanctions evasion.

User Accidentally Acquires Access to 7,000 DJI Robot Vacuum Cameras

Software engineer Sammy Azdoufal, while building a game-controller interface for the DJI Romo robot vacuum, uncovered a backend credential flaw that reportedly granted access to live camera feeds, microphone audio, maps, and status data from nearly 7,000 vacuums in 24 countries. The issue arose as he reverse-engineered the device’s cloud communications, with servers allegedly treating a single owner token as valid across thousands of devices. DJI said it identified the vulnerability in late January 2026 and deployed automatic fixes via updates on February 8 and February 10, with no user action required. The episode highlights the escalating risks of smart-home surveillance and exploitation as connected home robots proliferate.

Pennsylvania Declares Crisis Mode as Avian Flu Hits 7.4M Birds

Pennsylvania is confronting its most severe highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak since the 1980s, with USDA reporting 9.38 million birds affected nationwide as of February 20, 2026 - 7.48 million of them in Pennsylvania, largely in Lancaster County. Gov. Josh Shapiro announced added state resources to protect the $7.1 billion poultry industry, including a dedicated response team to expand testing and biosecurity, and Pennsylvania’s HPAI recovery fund to provide grants for impacted farms. Officials identified the Route 283 corridor (Manheim–Lancaster City) as the current hot zone; nearby farms are under quarantine, and 40+ USDA staff support containment

Judge Threatens Contempt for Wearing AI Glasses During Zuckerberg Testimony

During Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony on February 18, 2026, in a high-profile social media addiction trial, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl warned courtroom attendees wearing AI-enabled smart glasses - reportedly Meta’s Ray-Ban Meta AI Glasses - to stop recording and delete any footage or face contempt of court. Fast Company frames the moment as an early courtroom stress test for always-on wearable cameras and the erosion of “public” privacy norms. The episode signals mounting judicial and regulatory sensitivity to ambient recording, particularly in proceedings where witness security, evidence integrity, and consent boundaries are tightly controlled.

Ransomware Shuts Down All 35 UMMC Clinics Statewide

The University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) shut down all 35 of its outpatient clinics statewide after a ransomware attack launched Thursday, February 19, 2026, disrupted phone and electronic systems, including its Epic electronic health records platform and IT network. UMMC took systems offline “out of an abundance of caution” during safety testing, according to Vice Chancellor LouAnn Woodward, and is working with law enforcement and the FBI; officials have not confirmed whether patient data was compromised. Hospitals and emergency departments remain open, but appointments, including chemotherapy and elective procedures, were canceled, with staff reverting to paper documentation to sustain time-sensitive care.

Collapse of London's MFS Exposes Barclays, Apollo to Billions in Fraud Allegations

The collapse of MFS, a little-known London-based nonbank mortgage lender now facing fraud allegations, has created fresh counterparty and reputational exposure for major Wall Street firms that entrusted the company with millions of dollars. The note explicitly draws parallels to prior credit-market blowups, including First Brands and Tricolor, implying a recurring pattern: opaque lenders scaling with institutional backing before governance and underwriting questions surface. With limited public detail so far, the episode underscores the need for tighter due diligence, monitoring, and concentration limits across private credit and specialty finance pipelines.

Palo Alto Softened China Attribution in Cyber Report Fearing Beijing Retaliation

Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 softened a threat report on “The Shadow Campaigns,” opting not to explicitly link hacking group “TGR-STA-1030” to China despite researchers’ confidence, according to two sources. The published language instead cited a “state-aligned group that operates out of Asia,” after Chinese authorities reportedly banned software from about 15 U.S. and Israeli cybersecurity firms, including Palo Alto, on national security grounds. Unit 42 said it first detected the activity in early 2025 and assessed compromises of government and critical-infrastructure targets in 37 countries. Palo Alto denied retaliation concerns; China’s embassy called attribution complex.

​Read the article​