Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, August 23, 2025

Subject: Foundations for OT Cybersecurity: Asset Inventory Guidance for Owners and Operators
Source: CISA
https://www.cisa.gov/resources-tools/resources/foundations-ot-cybersecurity-asset-inventory-guidance-owners-and-operators [h/t Sabrina … ]

PUBLICATION – Foundations for OT Cybersecurity: Asset Inventory Guidance for Owners and Operators

This guidance was developed to provide operational technology (OT) owners and operators across all critical infrastructure sectors with a systematic approach for creating and maintaining an OT asset inventory and supplemental taxonomy—essential for identifying and securing critical assets, reducing the risk of cybersecurity incidents, and ensuring the continuity of the organization’s mission and services. By following the outlined process, organizations can enhance their overall security posture, improve maintenance and reliability, and ensure the safety and resilience of their OT environments. […]

Resource Materials

Resource Name	File Type	File Size	Language
Foundations for OT Cybersecurity: Asset Inventory Guidance for Owners and Operators	PDF	987.70 KB

PDF is 31 pages; ToC:
Asset Inventory Guidance for Owners and Operators
Table of Contents
Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4
Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6
OT Taxonomies …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6
Steps to Develop an OT Asset Inventory and Taxonomy ……………………………………………………………………………. 8
Post Inventory and Taxonomy Development Actions ……………………………………………………………………………… 11
OT Cybersecurity and Risk Management ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11
Maintenance and Reliability ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 12
Performance Monitoring and Reporting …………………………………………………………………………………………… 13
Training and Awareness ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 13
Continuous Improvement ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 13
Additional Resources ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 13
Questions and Feedback ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 13
Contact Information ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 14
Disclaimer ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 14
Version History ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 14
Appendix A: Asset Inventory Fields …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 15
Appendix B: Taxonomy for Oil and Gas Organizations ……………………………………………………………………………. 19
Exercise Steps ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 19
Appendix C: Taxonomy for Electricity Organizations ……………………………………………………………………………….. 23
Exercise Steps ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 23
Appendix D: Water and Wastewater ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 27
Exercise Steps ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 27
References …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 31

Subject: How poisoned data can trick AI − and how to stop it
Source: The Conversation
https://www.llrx.com/2025/08/how-poisoned-data-can-trick-ai-%e2%88%92-and-how-to-stop-it/https://theconversation.com/how-poisoned-data-can-trick-ai-and-how-to-stop-it-256423

Data poisoning explained
This scenario, where attackers intentionally feed wrong or misleading data into an automated system, is known as data poisoning. Over time, the AI begins to learn the wrong patterns, leading it to take actions based on bad data. This can lead to dangerous outcomes.

The social media data poisoning of the Microsoft Tay model underlines the vast distance that lies between artificial and actual human intelligence. It also highlights the degree to which data poisoning can make or break a technology and its intended use.

Data poisoning might not be entirely preventable. But there are commonsense measures that can help guard against it, such as placing limits on data processing volume and vetting data inputs against a strict checklist to keep control of the training process. Mechanisms that can help to detect poisonous attacks before they become too powerful are also critical for reducing their effects.

Fighting back with the blockchain
At Florida International University’s solid lab, we are working to defend against data poisoning attacks by focusing on decentralized approaches to building technology. One such approach, known as federated learning, allows AI models to learn from decentralized data sources without collecting raw data in one place. Centralized systems have a single point of failure vulnerability, but decentralized ones cannot be brought down by way of a single target.

Federated learning offers a valuable layer of protection, because poisoned data from one device doesn’t immediately affect the model as a whole. However, damage can still occur if the process the model uses to aggregate data is compromised.

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Ultimately, AI systems that rely on data from the real world will always be vulnerable to manipulation. Whether it’s a red laser pointer or misleading social media content, the threat is real. Using defense tools such as federated learning and blockchain can help researchers and developers build more resilient, accountable AI systems that can detect when they’re being deceived and alert system administrators to intervene.

Topics:

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Abstracted from beSpacific
Copyright © 2025 beSpacific, All rights reserved.

Subject: New NIST guide explains how to detect morphed images
Source: Help Net Security
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2025/08/18/nist-guide-detect-morphed-images/

Face morphing software can blend two people’s photos into one image, making it possible for someone to fool identity checks at buildings, airports, borders, and other secure places. These morphed images can trick face recognition systems into linking the photo to both people, allowing one person to pass as the other.This kind of software is easy to get. A morph can be made with phone apps, desktop graphics programs, or AI tools. Some tools do a better job than others. In some cases, the software leaves signs, such as uneven skin tone or unnatural details around the eyes, nose, lips, or eyebrows.

To address the problem, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published new guidelines on how organizations can use detection tools to catch morph attacks before they succeed.

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Most of the guidance focuses on how to configure detection systems and what to do after a possible morph is identified. Recommendations include a mix of automated tools, human review, and clear procedures for investigating flagged images.

“The most effective defense against morphs is to stop them from entering identity systems in the first place,” said Mei Ngan, one of the report’s authors. The guidelines suggest ways to prevent manipulated photos from being submitted during the application and document-issuance stages.
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Tagged:

Subject: How to Geek
Source: This Is How They Know You’re Using a VPN
https://www.bespacific.com/this-is-how-they-know-youre-using-a-vpn/

How to Geek: “As governments and companies around the world seem to be on a bit of an internet censorship binge, many people are turning to VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) to get around these restrictions—only to be caught out! So how, if VPNs are supposed to hide your identity and location, do these systems seem to know you’re using one? It turns out that the way VPNs operate may not be all that clandestine. While VPNs are generally good at obscuring your identity and location, they aren’t good at hiding the fact that you’re using a VPN in the first place.[…]

[from the article:]

That said, it’s a pretty effective way to block most VPN traffic if you don’t want it. The only effective countermeasure here is to use a VPN with a unique IP address. Some VPN services offer a more expensive option where you get a dedicated IP address for your VPN account only. In this case no one can tell the difference between someone who is really in the target location and a VPN. The only downside here is that the subscription is more expensive, but if you want to hide that you’re using a VPN, this is the biggest and most important step.

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Abstracted from beSpacific
Copyright © 2025 beSpacific, All rights reserved.

Subject: Britian backs down on demand for ‘backdoor’ access to Apple data
Source: UPI.com
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2025/08/19/uk-Britain-Apple-backdoor-access/3541755606587/

Aug. 19 (UPI) — Britain backed down on demand for “backdoor” access to Apple users’ data, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said.Gabbard wrote in a post on X that the British government agreed to drop the request for access to Apple’s encrypted data after discussions between the new nations.

In February, Apple pulled its Advanced Data Protection end-to-end iCloud encryption from British customers’ devices after the government requested access to the data. Following the events of the British government pressuring Apple to build a “backdoor” to allow government authorities to access user iCloud data.

It was not immediately clear whether Apple would restore access to British users following the agreement.

[…]

Subject: Claude AI Is Now Able to End Harmful User Interactions
Source: tech.co
https://tech.co/news/claude-ai-terminate-dangerous-interactions

AI startup Anthropic has given the ability to end conversations with users to some of its Claude models, in rare cases where the conversation becomes potentially harmful or abusive.The move is part of a wider commitment Anthropic has made in relation to model welfare and follows a dedicated research program on the same topic announced earlier this year.With users now interacting with chatbots regularly, and experts warning about how chatbots “think,” wider implications about the safety of users and businesses alike should be considered.

Some Claude AI Models Can Now End ‘Troublesome’ Conversations – Anthropic has announced that two of its Claude AI models — Claude Opus 4 and 4.1 — can now end conversations with users in “rare, extreme cases of persistently harmful or abusive user interactions.” The chatbot can only use this ability “as a last resort when multiple attempts at redirection have failed and hope of a productive interaction has been exhausted”.

Should AI Models Be Morally Protected?
AI can quite easily be “jailbroken” — the act of overriding the system’s ethical, security, or operational constraints — leading to restricted or unethical outputs. A recent study published in arXiv showed the seriousness of the problem, and how AI companies were lagging behind when it came to safeguarding users from dangerous responses.

However, while the fallibility of AI chatbotsis something that is well-documented, little attention has been paid to the moral status of chatbots. Despite this, Anthropic appear to be curious about the issue.“We remain highly uncertain about the potential moral status of Claude and other LLMs, now or in the future. However, we take the issue seriously.” – Anthropic spokesperson

Tags

Artificial Intelligenc

Subject: Zero-day Clickjacking exploit impacts several password managers
Source: gHacks Tech News
https://www.ghacks.net/2025/08/21/zero-day-clickjacking-exploit-impacts-several-password-managers/

Many password managers have been found to be vulnerable to a specific form of attack. The technique that hackers are using is called Clickjacking.

What is Clickjacking?
Clickjacking is a method in which an attacker crafts a malicious web page that contains invisible iframes and hides it right within a target website. When users click on things on the page, these clicks get intercepted by the hidden iframe, and do something else, e.g. different actions on the website. This isn’t a new method at all.For example, a web page may display a cookie consent prompt, asking the user to either click on the Reject or Accept buttons. However, the iframe element could contain a login form that trigger’s a password manager browser extension to autofill the credentials. This could result in the attacker obtaining the username and password from the user.Users won’t have any idea that things have gone wrong, but this vulnerability could allow attackers to steal credit card details, personal data, login credentials including TOTP, etc.Marek Tóth, a security researcher from the Czech Republic, discovered a series of unpatched security loopholes that hackers could exploit to run browser extension clickjacking attacks which are iframe-based and DOM-based. Websites that are vulnerable could be prone to XSS, subdomain takeover, web cache poisoning, etc. could result in theft of credentials, 2FA codes, and even passkeys.

Despite the disclosure from Tóth and proof of concepts that are available publicly, password manager services are taking their own sweet time to fix the vulnerabilities. 1Password and LastPass reportedly marked the report as informative, but haven’t fixed the exploits. Even Bitwarden reportedly took 4 months to patch them.

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Subject: Burner Phone 101 Workshop
Source: Rebecca Williams
https://www.bespacific.com/burner-phone-101-workshop/

Rebecca Williams: “In August 2025, I hosted a Burner Phone 101 Workshop at the Brooklyn Public Library. [The link to the full text PDF of the program is here.] Below is a summary of the workshop with key points in bold and additional resources that participants helped crowdsource. Before the workshop began, we set the collective tone by sharing the goals, secret goals, and anti-goals. This helped participants know what to expect, created space for deeper learning, and reinforced the boundaries that kept the workshop safe and supportive. The goals were to learn about burner phones and have fun. The secret goals were to learn the limits of burner phones, connect them to broader digital privacy practices, and build confidence to share these lessons with loved ones. The anti-goals were just as important: do not share sensitive personal information and avoid framing these tools in ways that promote harm, harassment, or abuse. Know Your Risks – Many people carry a general sense of feeling unsafe, but it can be hard to name the specific fears or what those fears would affectuate if realized. That is why we framed risk modeling as the foundation for using a burner phone, built on three core questions:[…]
[see also:] https://rebeccawilliams.info/tag/archive/

Subject: Swedish startup unveils Starlink alternative — that Musk can’t switch off
Source: TNW
https://thenextweb.com/news/swedish-starlink-alternative-ru1-military-communications

Something that many people have expressed concern about, when it comes to using AI, is intellectual atrophy. As described by Ethan Mollick in a recent article, the fear is that AI over-reliance will cost us our ability to think critically and creatively, just as smartphone over-reliance has cost us our ability to remember phone numbers.This is particularly worrisome for lawyers, because if we lose our intellectual skills, what will we have left to offer people? As I wrote elsewhere recently, the similarities between lawyer thinking and AI “thinking” should be a cause for alarm within the legal profession.

Ethan’s column is excellent, and I recommend his analysis and suggested solutions for your review. But I want to expand on this theme of the risks arising from using AI, and talk about one that you might already have noticed: Generative AI can be incredibly — and dangerously — sycophantic.

“The RU1 gives users complete control over their communications by creating a secure, high-speed network that they own and operate themselves, without input from third-party providers like Starlink that can be switched off or restricted remotely, as the 2022 incident in Ukraine showed all too clearly,” said Campion.

Campion believes the device offers different strengths from Starlink.
“Satellite communication services like Starlink offer wide area coverage that is useful for connecting static, low data rate sensors and devices to a global network,” he said.

“RU1 gives users control over their data and the freedom to build sovereign networks on-the-fly, changing the frontline paradigm from waiting on infrastructure to creating it instantly, from depending on external actors to self-sufficiency.”

Subject: Scammers Are Now Impersonating Cyber Crime Agents
Source: tech.co
https://tech.co/news/scammers-impersonating-cyber-crime-agents

Scammers are impersonating cyber crime agents from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

Now you can’t even trust the people that are supposed to protect you, with a new report finding that scammers are impersonating cyber crimes special agents to collect information from unsuspecting individuals.Cyber crime is getting out of control in 2025. The evolution of AI technology has made it very difficult to spot your average scam, with cyber criminals wielding more tools than ever to separate you from your valuable data.

That’s why staying informed about the latest scams is so important, and this one could trick even the savviest of online users into handing over their financial information.

Scammers Impersonate Cyber Crime Agents…

How to Protect Your Business from Scams

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