CYBERSECURITY

Iranian-backed Handala Hack Hits Ireland-Based Stryker with Wiper Attack

With the background of recent government warnings about increased cyber-attacks from Iranian-backed hackers, the Irish Examiner has reported that the Stryker site located in Cork, Ireland has been hit with a wiper attack by the Iranian-backed Handala Hacking Team.

The Stryker facility in Cork employs approximately 5,000 individuals and “has been crippled by a cyberattack” being described as a wiper attack, which wipes all of the targeted system’s data and is politically motivated. Read more

ENFORCEMENT + LITIGATION

Soft Selling Text Messages Could Count as Solicitations Under the TCPA

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, in Veronica Bramlett, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated v. RES 360 LLC and Peach City Properties LLC, No. 1:25-CV-3312-MLB (N.D. Ga. Mar. 4, 2026) recently granted in part and denied in part a motion to dismiss a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) telephone solicitation claim based on text messages offering to buy the plaintiff’s home.

The complaint alleged that defendants—who offer real estate-related services—sent multiple texts offering to buy the plaintiff’s home and emphasizing a “quick,” “easy,” “hassle-free” transaction, including the ability to close quickly and avoid a public listing. Read more

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

North Korean Threat Groups Using AI in Remote Technical Employee Schemes

Microsoft Threat Intelligence issued a report on March 6, 2026, entitled, “AI as tradecraft: How threat actors operationalize AI,” which outlines how threat actors, including those from North Korea, are “operationalizing AI along the cyberattack lifecycle…to bypass safeguards and perform malicious activity.” The threat actors are adopting AI “as operational enablers, embedding AI into their workflows to increase the speed, scale, and resilience of cyber operations.” Read more

Privacy Tip #483

Whistleblower Alleges DOGE Employee Stole Social Security Data on a Thumb Drive

The Washington Post has published a report detailing a whistleblower complaint alleging that a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employee stole two complete databases from the U.S. Social Security Administration while employed by DOGE as a software engineer.

The databases stolen include the “’Numident’ and the ‘Master Death File,’ which could cover records for more than 500 million living and dead Americans, including Social Security numbers and birth data.” 

Read more about the whistleblower's allegations and the serious concerns this raises about data security in this week’s Privacy Tip. Read more