Okay, let's be real: This week in tech news is basically a masterclass in "How to Ignore Every Warning Sign Until the House Burns Down."

Listen, I don't even know where to start with this chaos buffet, but let's dive into the carnage, shall we?

So apparently, hackers have been waltzing through Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN systems SINCE 2023. That's right, for THREE YEARS, threat actors have been adding "malicious rogue peers" like they're sliding into DMs, and we're just NOW finding out about it? The Five Eyes intelligence agencies are basically screaming "WE TOLD YOU SO" while organizations scramble like it's a fire drill they forgot was scheduled.

And here's my favorite part: The most at-risk organizations? The ones who exposed their management interfaces to the public internet. You know what that's like? That's like leaving your front door wide open with a neon sign that says "FREE STUFF INSIDE" and then acting shocked when you get robbed. This isn't sophisticated hacking—this is walking through an unlocked door that says "PLEASE HACK ME."

It’s fine though… Nothing to see here.

Oh, you thought we were done? Cute.

At this point, I'm pretty sure it'd be faster to list the companies that haven't been breached this week. The fact that we're treating massive data breaches like weather reports ("Looks like scattered data leaks this week with a high chance of credential theft!") shows how completely desensitized we've become.

ISC2 launched a code of conduct for cybersecurity professionals, which is lovely and everything, but feels a bit like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Yes, ethical guidelines are important! But maybe let's also focus on the part where organizations keep leaving their digital doors wide open and the government is actively dismantling its cyber defenses?

P.S. Shoutout to Autumn Skerritt, the infrastructure engineer who chose certification over meals and is now fortifying cloud environments at Cisco. Her story is genuinely inspiring and proves that individual resilience exists even when institutional competence clearly doesn't.

This week perfectly encapsulates everything broken about our approach to cybersecurity:

We're speedrunning a cybersecurity apocalypse, and apparently the strategy is to just... close our eyes and hope for the best?

The call is coming from inside the house, people. And we disconnected the phone, fired the security guard, and posted the alarm code on social media.

At this rate, 2027's cybercrime damages aren't going to be $10.5 trillion—they're going to require inventing new numbers. Maybe we can start measuring in "how many times we ignored obvious warning signs" instead of dollars. It'd be more accurate.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go change all my passwords and weep gently into my keyboard.

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN users hit in series of active attacks (Five Eyes alert)
The UK’s NCSC and Five Eyes partners warn of ongoing threat activity targeting Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN deployments. Reported tradecraft includes adding a rogue peer, escalating access, and establishing persistence—especially dangerous where management interfaces are exposed to the internet.
Source: Computer Weekly | Wed, Feb 25

Exposed Cisco products exploited, agencies say — “highly sophisticated” intruders
A parallel government-focused write-up reinforces the urgency: patching, investigating exposure, and hunting for compromise indicators are the immediate priorities.
Source: Nextgov | Wed, Feb 25

TechCrunch: Cisco bug exploited to break into big customer networks since 2023
Reporting underscores a long exploitation timeline and multi-agency urgency to patch—another reminder that edge-device security is a prime battleground.
Source: TechCrunch | Thu, Feb 26

The week in breach news: France bank registry + Figure fintech incidents
A breach of France’s bank registry reportedly exposed data tied to 1.2M users, while an attack on blockchain fintech Figure affected 1M customers—highlighting how large-scale identity and financial datasets remain prime targets.
Source: Kaseya | Wed, Feb 25

CarGurus breach impacts 12.5 million accounts
TechCrunch reports customer contact details were stolen (names, emails, phone numbers, physical addresses), underscoring continued risk for consumer marketplaces holding sensitive identity data.
Source: TechCrunch | Tue, Feb 24

TechCrunch: CISA reportedly in dire shape amid Trump cuts and layoffs
Industry and bipartisan lawmakers reportedly warn the agency may be under-resourced for a major crisis—an especially consequential claim during an active period for large-scale exploitation campaigns.
Source: TechCrunch | Wed, Feb 25

CISA CIO expected to leave after receiving transfer orders
Another leadership shakeup signals ongoing turbulence within the agency’s senior ranks.
Source: Nextgov | Thu, Feb 26

DOJ elevates deputy CIO to top IT role
Nikki Collier is elevated after serving in an acting capacity—another example of federal IT leadership transitions continuing into early 2026.
Source: Nextgov | Wed, Feb 25

Wyden to block NSA director confirmation over oversight + civil liberties concerns
Sen. Wyden signals opposition tied to experience and surveillance oversight posture—keeping intelligence governance in the spotlight.
Source: Nextgov | Thu, Feb 26

Treasury sanctions a Russian zero-day broker
The U.S. Treasury announced sanctions against a Russian broker of zero-day exploits, its founder, and affiliates—citing national security risk and highlighting the commercial market around stolen or traded exploits.
Source: TechCrunch | Tue, Feb 24

The cascading economic ripple effects of cybercrime
A commentary-style piece argues cybercrime’s impact extends far beyond incident response costs into broader economic drag and systemic risk.
Source: Cybercrime Magazine | Thu, Feb 26

ISC2 launches a professional code of conduct for security pros
ISC2 published a code emphasizing ethics and professional conduct—aimed at guiding decision-making amid emerging pressures like AI, disinformation, and evolving threat dynamics.
Source: Computer Weekly | Tue, Feb 24

10 powerful ways to use PowerShell across Windows, Linux, and macOS
A practical list of cross-platform PowerShell capabilities for automation, reporting, and workflow acceleration.
Source: TechRepublic | Thu, Feb 26

Threat prevention & breach detection explainers (RocketCyber / SOC focus)
Two pieces centered on prevention basics and breach detection, emphasizing continuous monitoring and managed SOC response models.
Source: Kaseya | Thu, Feb 26

Lenovo launches AI-driven ‘Premier Support Plus’ for servers
A new “always-on infrastructure” support offer focused on proactive, AI-driven support and reduced downtime for mission-critical environments.
Source: Lenovo Press Release | Thu, Feb 26

Infrastructure engineer profile: fortifying cloud environments
A CompTIA career story spotlighting cloud security work, certification-led mobility, and the day-to-day reality of “less coding, more strategy” in infrastructure security roles.
Source: CompTIA (Video) |

Data practices matter (Trend Watch)
A CompTIA Trend Watch episode arguing strong data practices—and broader digital fluency—are foundational for analytics and AI, and require sustained investment in skills and governance.
Source: CompTIA (Video) | Thu, Feb 26

While everyone's refreshing their feeds for the latest breach count and arguing about whether CISA needs more funding or different leadership, the real story is basic security hygiene and patch management cadence.

You know what's not sexy?

Vulnerability disclosure timelines and management interface hardening. You know what matters more than 90% of the "AI-driven threat detection" platforms being hawked at conferences? Vulnerability disclosure timelines and management interface hardening.

Here's the thing:

…Every major breach, every "how did they get in," every "threat actors had persistent access for three years" traces back to the same issue—patches that weren't applied, interfaces that were exposed to the internet, and security updates that sat in a queue marked "low priority."

The organizations quietly investing in automated patch deployment, zero-trust architecture, and actually following vendor hardening guides right now? Those are the ones that won't be frantically threat-hunting at 3 AM while their CEO drafts a breach notification letter.

If your management interfaces are exposed to the public internet in 2026, you don't need a code of conduct—you need an intervention. The Cisco situation isn't a sophisticated supply chain attack. It's not a zero-day that nobody could have prevented. It's literally walking through doors people left wide open for three years.

Patch your systems. Segment your networks. Don't expose admin panels to the internet. Train your people. Fund your security teams.

Those aren't buzzwords. They're the difference between being a case study in resilience and being this week's breach headline.

But those don't make good conference keynotes, do they?

This week in cybersecurity is a perfect storm of consequences we absolutely saw coming…

The pattern is painfully clear: We keep ignoring basic security practices, defunding the agencies that warn us, and acting shocked when the entirely predictable disaster arrives at our doorstep.

The uncomfortable truth: Most breaches aren't sophisticated nation-state operations. They're the digital equivalent of checking if doors are locked and finding one that isn't.

We don't have a technology problem. We have a priorities problem.

Read. Share. Patch your systems. In that order.

Till next time,