From the Skyhigh Studios, I’m Scott Schlee, and these are your cybersecurity headlines for the week of Wednesday, February 5th, 2025.

Headlines this week:

• 
  
• Android Users Urged to Update Devices Due to Critical Vulnerabilities
  
• Smiths Group Suffers Global Cyberattack
  
• TalkTalk Investigates Potential Data Breach
  
• Apple Releases Critical Security Updates
  
• Law Enforcement Shuts Down Illicit Cybercrime Services
  
• Google Blocks Over 2 Million Risky Android Apps in 2024
  
• UnitedHealth Discloses Massive Data Breach
  
• DeepSeek AI Chatbot’s Data Exposure & Proposed US Government Ban
  

Thank you again for listening to Skyhigh Cloudcast. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe on your favorite platform so you never miss an update. If you like the show, please leave us a review. It helps others find the podcast. For more information about Skyhigh Security or CloudCast, please visit skyhighsecurity.com.

Sources:

• 
  
• Android Users Urged to Update Devices Due to Critical Vulnerabilities: thesun.ie
  
• Smiths Group Suffers Global Cyberattack: thetimes.co.uk
  
• TalkTalk Investigates Potential Data Breach: thesun.ie
  
• Apple Releases Critical Security Updates: diesec.com
  
• Law Enforcement Shuts Down Illicit Cybercrime Services: thehackernews.com
  
• Google Blocks Over 2 Million Risky Android Apps in 2024: diesec.com
  
• United Health Discloses Massive Data Breach: diesec.com
  
• DeepSeek AI Chatbot’s Data Exposure: diesec.com
  
• Lawmakers Advocate for DeepSeek Ban on Government Devices: wsj.com
  

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CloudCast is hosted by Skyhigh Security’s very own Digital Experience Manager, Scott Schlee. Scott’s engaging demeanor and wit, backed by over 20 years in digital media production and web development, has led to successful collaborations with top-tier brands. His experience includes hosting and producing a wide range of podcasts and videos. Scott has been recognized for his outstanding work, including an award-winning digital short and a Webby Awards nomination for Viral Marketing (Branded). Beyond his professional achievements, Scott’s personal journey as a decade-long pancreatic cancer survivor has led him to share his story with the U.S. Congress and other organizations as an advocate for increased cancer research funding.

Transcript

Google released a security update addressing nearly 50 flaws in the Android operating system, including a high-severity vulnerability that could allow attackers to install malware or steal files without user authentication. Users are strongly advised to update their devices promptly to mitigate these risks.

Smiths Group, a multinational engineering firm, experienced a cyberattack leading to unauthorized access to its systems. The company isolated the affected systems and is collaborating with cybersecurity experts to assess and recover from the incident. The breach resulted in a 1.7% drop in the company’s share price.

Telecom company TalkTalk is investigating claims of a data breach after a hacker alleged they were selling data from nearly 19 million of the company’s current and former customers. The breach reportedly involves customer names, emails, IP addresses, and phone numbers, though no financial information is believed to be at risk.

Apple issued updates to address a zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2025-24085) in its Core Media component, which could allow malicious applications to escalate privileges on affected devices. Users are advised to update their iPhones, Macs, and other Apple devices to the latest software versions to protect against potential exploits.

A series of law enforcement operations led to the takedown of online marketplaces such as Cracked, Nulled, Sellix, StarkRDP, and HeartSender, which were involved in selling hacking tools, illegal goods, and crimeware solutions. These actions impacted millions of users and disrupted significant illegal activities.

Google reported that it blocked a record 2.3 million harmful Android apps from the Play Store in 2024, utilizing AI-powered reviews to detect threats more efficiently. Additionally, 158,000 developer accounts were banned for attempting to distribute malware, highlighting ongoing efforts to secure the app ecosystem.

UnitedHealth revealed that a data breach in 2024 affected approximately 190 million Americans, making it the largest healthcare data breach in U.S. history. The compromised information includes personal and healthcare data, underscoring the critical need for robust data protection measures in the healthcare sector.

Our final stories this week focus on DeepSeek, the Chinese-developed AI chatbot, facing major security concerns. Released on January 10, 2025, for iOS and Android, it quickly became the most-downloaded free app on the U.S. iOS App Store by January 27, surpassing even ChatGPT. Researchers have recently discovered that the platform exposed over a million lines of sensitive data online, including software keys and user chat logs, raising serious privacy risks. U.S. lawmakers are now pushing to ban DeepSeek from government devices, citing fears that foreign governments could potentially access and misuse the data. This follows a growing trend of regulatory crackdowns on AI applications with potential national security implications. The situation highlights the ongoing debate around AI governance, data privacy, and the risks associated with rapidly developing AI models.

And those are your headlines for the week. Thank you again for listening to Skyhigh Cloudcast. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe on your favorite platform so you never miss an update. If you like the show, please leave us a review. It helps others find the podcast. For more information about Skyhigh Security or Cloudcast, please visit skyhighsecurity.com.

Please Note: All transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and human transcription, and may contain errors. Please check the corresponding audio before quoting in print.

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