Sam's News — tech — 2026-09-22¶

Security¶

9 Hacking Group ShinyHunters Claims FBI Data Breach, Steals Employee and Applicant Information¶

Extortion gang ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for breaching the FBI and stealing personal data on thousands of agents and job applicants, including names, addresses, and phone numbers, after compromising an Oracle PeopleSoft server and pivoting to Amazon-hosted government cloud infrastructure.

Claimed September 22, 2026
Stole data on nearly all FBI agents and job applicants
Breached Oracle PeopleSoft HR server, then Amazon government cloud
Obtained terabytes of data including agent home addresses and spouse phone numbers
Poses counterintelligence threat; second known FBI system breach in 2026

Sources: TechCrunch AI Web Searched, BleepingComputer RSS

8 EvilTokens PhaaS platform disrupted after compromising 12,000 Microsoft accounts¶

Microsoft's Digital Crimes Unit led a disruption of the EvilTokens phishing-as-a-service platform that compromised over 12,000 Microsoft accounts at 10,000+ organizations.

Sources: BleepingComputer RSS, The Register RSS, Microsoft Security Blog RSS

8 BigDiskBuster zero-day blocks Microsoft Defender from receiving updates¶

A zero-day proof-of-concept tool called BigDiskBuster blocks Microsoft Defender updates by filling disk space, with no patch or CVE yet available. The tool was published by a former Microsoft researcher who has been releasing exploits without coordination since April.

Published September 19, 2026 on GitHub
Authored by Abdelhamid Naceri, former MSRC researcher
Fills C:\ drive to block Defender platform and signature updates
No patch, CVE, or advisory currently available
Also blocks MRT.exe replacement via Windows Update handle

Sources: The Hacker News AI Web Searched, The Register RSS

7.5 ClosedQuorum Windows malware uses AI models to autonomously decide attack tactics¶

ClosedQuorum is the first publicly documented Windows malware to use autonomous AI-based command and control, delegating tactical decisions to a panel of commercial LLMs (DeepSeek, Qwen, Mistral, Google Gemini) without human operator involvement to harvest credentials and crypto wallets.

Discovered by Cisco Talos through CAIRN project
Uses panel of up to 4 commercial LLMs for autonomous C2 decisions
Objectives: credential and crypto wallet harvesting
Artifacts connected to carding forum posts from 2025; no confirmed in-the-wild deployment
Cisco released CAIRN open-source toolkit September 22, 2026
First Windows malware using LLMs for autonomous C2 decision-making
Queries Google Gemini, DeepSeek, Qwen, and Mistral in voting system
Predefined actions: stealing credentials and cryptocurrency wallets
DeepSeek breaks ties, followed by Qwen, Mistral, Gemini
Talos released CAIRN toolkit to hunt AI-integrated malware

Sources: Cisco Talos Intelligence Center AI Web Searched, BleepingComputer RSS, The Register AI Web Searched

7.5 Researchers warn of stolen password threat to US water infrastructure¶

Security researchers have identified stolen passwords exposing America's water providers to potential cyber attacks.

Sources: TechCrunch RSS

Infrastructure¶

8 Verizon fiber cable cut in New Jersey disrupts hundreds of US flights¶

A construction crew accidentally severed a Verizon fiber cable used for air traffic control in New Jersey on September 21, 2026, causing over 1,000 flight cancellations and ground stops at NYC airports. The cable was repaired by Monday evening.

Verizon fiber cable severed by construction crew in New Jersey on September 21, 2026
Ground stops implemented at all three major New York City airports; disruptions throughout Northeast
Over 1,000 U.S. flights canceled on day of incident
U.S. Transportation Secretary initially said Amtrak crew caused incident; Amtrak disputed, stating New Jersey Transit contractor responsible
Cable repaired by Monday evening; FAA operations resuming by evening though delays persisted

Sources: The Verge AI Web Searched

AI¶

8 Claude Opus 5.5 Achieves Cost Parity with 40% Price Reduction¶

Anthropic released Claude Opus 5.5, delivering performance matching its flagship model at 40% lower cost through reduced token pricing and improved caching efficiency.

Released September 22, 2026
Input tokens: $4/million (down 20%); output: $20/million (down 20%)
Cached reads: $0.20/million (down from $0.50)
40% cost reduction on typical workloads versus Opus 5
Opus 5 released July 2026

Sources: Tech My Money AI Web Searched, ZDNET RSS, VentureBeat RSS, Pulse 2.0 RSS, qz.com RSS, Yahoo Tech RSS

8 OpenAI introduces GPT-6 Sol and Luna models¶

OpenAI announced GPT-6 Sol and Luna models, optimized for complex tasks and high-volume clerical work respectively, priced 50% lower than GPT-5.6 predecessors with improved factuality and reduced token consumption.

Released September 22, 2026, 90 minutes after Anthropic's Opus 5.5
Sol for coding/agentic workflows; Luna for document summarization, extraction, Q&A
50% price reduction from GPT-5.6 predecessors
GPT-6 Sol makes ~50% fewer factual errors than GPT-5.6 Sol
GPT-6 Luna costs ~1/100th of GPT-5.6 Sol at similar capability

Sources: TechCrunch AI Web Searched, ZDNET AI Web Searched, 9to5Mac AI Web Searched, Hacker News (front page) RSS

7.5 Anthropic and OpenAI Release Lower-Cost AI Models Amid Calls for Slowdown¶

Both Anthropic and OpenAI have released lower-cost versions of their language models, marking the first major product announcements since calls for decelerated AI development.

Sources: Engadget RSS, CNET RSS, CNBC RSS, Fortune RSS, Engadget RSS, techmymoney.com RSS Update to: Anthropic reportedly plans new AI model release despite CEO's call for AI development slowdown

Funding¶

7.5 Snorkel AI raises $350M Series E at $3.5B valuation amid surging demand for training data¶

Snorkel AI raised $350 million in Series E funding at a $3.5 billion valuation, nearly tripling its value from the $1.3 billion achieved 17 months prior. The startup, which provides training data and simulated environments for AI, reported a $375 million annualized revenue run-rate, an 18-fold increase over the prior 12 months.

$350 million Series E funding at $3.5 billion valuation
Valuation tripled from $1.3 billion in 17 months
$375 million annualized revenue run-rate (18x increase year-over-year)
Shifted from data labeling automation to data-as-a-service model
Founded 2019, commercially launched 2019

Sources: TechCrunch AI Web Searched