Simply Cyber Newsletter #141

Start your work week off at full speed with expert analysis and actionable intel from top cybersecurity news stories. Share with your End Users, Peers, and Executives to support weekly security awareness with the Simply Cyber Newsletter!

FOR END USERS

Dating App Breach Exposes Images of 13,000 Women. The dating app Tea confirmed a data breach exposing 72,000 archived images, including 13,000 selfies and photo IDs submitted by users before February 2024. While contact info was not leaked, private photos were accessed from a system that should have been retired.

What you need to know: Share this story with your peers and discuss what your organization is doing to educate your end users about privacy and what the fallout could look like if a single control in the chain fails. Many users don’t realize that uploading a selfie or ID during verification is a high-trust action, often done without question. Use this moment to reinforce privacy education, ask vendors how identity data is stored or deleted, and review internal practices for services requesting personal images. End users need to understand they may be giving away more than a photo; they may be handing over a piece of their identity. Build awareness now so future disclosures don’t become fire drills.

This is a great time to help employees think through a personal incident response plan. Even if passwords weren’t compromised, exposed identity documents or facial images can still be used in scams, especially those targeting financial services, account recovery, or identity verification flows. Encourage users to be alert for phishing attempts referencing the breach, fraudulent account openings, or verification bypasses. A personal plan should include credit monitoring, knowing how to freeze credit, and reporting suspicious messages early. Privacy is more than passwords; it’s about protecting how attackers might impersonate you.

FOR PEERS

Hackers Exploit Critical WordPress Theme Flaw to Hijack Sites via Remote Plugin Install. A critical vulnerability in the “Alone” WordPress theme (CVE-2025-5394, CVSS 9.8) is being actively exploited for site takeovers. Attackers are uploading PHP backdoors and rogue plugins through a missing capability check, allowing full control. WordPress instances must be patched and monitored.

What you need to know: Please share this with your peers and use it as a reminder to audit how your organization monitors and patches WordPress environments. Because of how familiar WordPress is and how easily it shows up on platforms like Shodan, attackers can spot unpatched instances fast. This specific flaw in the “Alone” theme is serious, but the bigger lesson applies to any public-facing Content Management System.

Ask your team if they collect logs from WordPress plugin activity, admin changes, and requests to admin-ajax.php, which should all be visible and reviewed. Schedule periodic scans across your IP space to catch unmanaged assets if other teams can stand up WordPress sites independently. WordPress must be patched regularly, and plugin installs should be tightly controlled.

We cannot secure what we do not know exists. If a WordPress site is online, it’s a potential attack surface. Stay ahead of these threats by knowing what’s exposed and keeping the basics locked down.

FOR EXECUTIVES

Naval Group Denies Hack Claims, Alleges "Reputational Attack" Naval Group denies claims of a major cyber breach after attackers posted alleged classified data. Investigations are ongoing amid reputational pressure.

What you need to know: This is not just a breach story. It is a case study in how public claims, true or not, can destabilize trust. Naval Group faces pressure from two cybercrime groups making bold allegations, offering data samples, and demanding anonymous negotiation. So far, no confirmed intrusion has been reported. What matters here is not whether denial is the right call, but whether your organization plans to respond when the pressure hits.

In some cases, silence can protect investigations and prevent escalation. In others, it creates uncertainty. Talk with your leadership team about how unverified public claims would be handled. Who controls the message? Have alternate communication channels been vetted? Strategic denial is not about ignoring reality, but protecting your ability to respond on your terms.

FROM THE DESK OF GERRY

I’ll be in Vegas this week for BlackHat and DEF CON!

Connect with other who will be there this week in Simply Cyber Discord and visit the #conchat and #las-vegas channels to see who else is hanging out from #TeamSC: https://simplycyber.io/discord

SIMPLY CYBER MEDIA GROUP PODCAST LINEUP

SIMPLY DEFENSIVE - MON. AUG 4 @ 9:30AM EDT

SIMPLY OFFENSIVE - TUE. AUG 5 @ 9:30 AM EDT

SIMPLY SOCIAL ENGINEERING - WED. AUG 6 @ 1 PM EDT

CYBERSECURITY MENTORS - THU, AUG 7 @ 9:30 AM EDT

SIMPLY SECURED - FRI, AUG 8 @ 9:30 AM EDT 

Visit youtube.com/@SimplyCyber/podcasts to explore all the SCMG podcasts!

SC MEDIA GROUP WEEKLY EVENTS SCHEDULE

SIMPLY CYBER CON 2025

When: Sunday, Nov. 2nd & Monday, Nov. 3rd

We’re excited to share Simply Cyber Con is back for the third year in a row!

Registration is now available! Head over to the website to learn more about conference registration and training day options.

Ready to share your knowledge? Navigate to the Call For Papers section of simplycybercon.org and submit yours now!

Interested in sponsoring? Review the sponsor packet. It’s going to be the best Simply Cyber Con yet, don’t miss out on this chance to sponsor and share your business with #TeamSC!

Stay tuned for updates! #simplycybercon

SC ACADEMY THE PLACE FOR CYBER CAREERS

At Simply Cyber Academy, we specialize in making GRC and Cybersecurity Careers a reality. Empower your career by learning real in-demand skills from cyber experts and the theory behind those skills with Simply Cyber Academy.

The popular GRC Analyst Master Class is a must for kickstarting your GRC Cybersecurity career. In addition, we have new courses covering various areas of focus in cyber available to help you advance in your career.

Check out the NEW FREE courses available in the academy and our new blog!

LET’S CONNECT

Stay current on trending topics, tips, events and resources in cybersecurity, connect with Simply Cyber on socials for new content.

As always, please send me feedback. Which tip above is your favorite? What do you want more or less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know. Just send a DM on X with #actionableintel in the subject so I can find it.

Join us on the Daily Cyber Threat Brief happening every weekday morning at 8 AM Eastern on YouTube and LinkedIn.

Find more about what’s happening this week in the Simply Cyber community, below. Join us on the Daily Cyber Threat Brief happening every weekday morning at 8 AM Eastern on YouTube and LinkedIn.

Thank you and see you again next week, #TeamSC!

Gerry