North America
macOS users
macOS users worldwide are being targeted by the highly active information-stealing malware (infostealer) known as Odyssey Stealer.
Recent telemetry data shows a sharp surge in Odyssey Stealer activity aimed at macOS systems. Earlier campaigns were largely limited to users in the United States, France and Spain, but newer samples are now spreading well beyond those regions, targeting users across North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
Threat actors typically deploy Odyssey Stealer through social engineering, most commonly by creating fake CAPTCHA verification pages that trick users into initiating the malware themselves.
SourceHow it could affect your business
Infostealers are an increasingly serious threat. Designed to quietly harvest credentials, session tokens and other sensitive data, they enable attackers to reuse access across multiple services. Raising user awareness is critical, especially around fake websites that impersonate legitimate software downloads or verification steps, so users know how to spot and avoid social engineering traps before malware is installed.
Europe
La Sapienza University
La Sapienza University in Rome, Europe’s largest university by student enrollment, suffered a significant cyberattack that crippled its IT systems and caused widespread operational disruption.
The university disclosed the incident in a social media post last week, stating that its IT infrastructure had been targeted in a cyberattack. As a precaution and to protect data integrity and security, La Sapienza immediately shut down its network systems.
In response, the university formed a technical task force to begin remediation and restoration efforts. Its main website is back online, with recovery work continuing.
SourceHow it could affect your business
Disruptions like this highlight why a robust business continuity and disaster recovery strategy is critical for resilience in the face of cyberattacks. Having encrypted, reliable backups, tested recovery plans and clear restoration procedures helps organizations restore services faster and limit operational downtime when core systems are taken offline.
Latin America & the Caribbean
Ministry of Mines and Energy of Brazil
An espionage campaign targeted government agencies and critical infrastructure organizations across 37 countries, including Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy.
According to a recent report, the state-backed campaign has been active for over a year and appears focused on collecting intelligence on rare-earth minerals, trade deals and economic partnerships. Victims include Brazil’s energy ministry, a key government agency in a country believed to hold the world’s second-largest supply of rare earth minerals.
The report notes that the group’s methods, choice of targets and scale of operations are alarming. Researchers warn that the campaign could carry long-term implications for national security and the stability of essential services.
SourceHow it could affect your business
Nation-state campaigns continue to target government agencies and critical infrastructure across countries, often with long-term strategic goals in mind. Organizations operating in sensitive sectors need heightened awareness of these threats, along with robust monitoring and detection capabilities, to spot activity early and limit its impact.
Europe
Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Instituut Pulhof
In a troubling sequence of events, cybercriminals hacked Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Instituut Pulhof, a secondary school in Berchem, Belgium, and escalated extortion by demanding ransom payments from both the school and parents.
According to reports, attackers compromised the school shortly after the Christmas holidays. They initially demanded a €100,000 ransom, later reducing it to €15,000. When the school did not respond, parents began receiving emails demanding €50 per child, with threats to publicly leak and sell student data on the dark web if payment was not made.
The attackers reportedly exfiltrated 45 GB of data belonging to students and staff, including ID cards, mental health records, diplomas and the school’s financial data.
SourceHow it could affect your business
Relying on criminals to keep their word is never an option, as attackers can still leak or sell data even after payment is made. Organizations need proactive threat monitoring, encrypted backups and a robust business continuity and disaster recovery strategy so they can restore operations quickly and continue business as usual without being forced into ransom decisions.
