The Last Watchdog - Software

News alert: Comp AI lands $2.6M pre-seed to modernize compliance, disrupt SOC 2 market - The Last Watchdog

San Francisco, Calif., Aug. 1, 2025, CyberNewswire—Comp AI, an emerging player in the compliance automation space, today announced it has secured $2.6 million in pre-seed funding to accelerate its mission of transforming how companies achieve compliance with critical frameworks like SOC 2 and HIPAA. The funding round was co-led by OSS Capital and Grand Ventures,

STRATEGIC REEL: Proactive by design: Fortinet retools network defense for real-time threats - The Last Watchdog

Security teams can no longer afford to wait for alerts — not when cyberattacks unfold in milliseconds. That’s the core warning from Fortinet’s Derek Manky in a new Last Watchdog Strategic Reel recorded at RSAC 2025. As adversaries adopt AI-driven tooling, defenders must rethink automation, exposure management, and the role of human analysts. “We saw

SHARED INTEL Q&A: Inside the access mess no one sees — and the identity risk no one owns - The Last Watchdog

For decades, identity and access management (IAM) and privileged access management (PAM) sat on the sidelines of cybersecurity strategy—viewed more as IT maintenance than frontline defense. Related: The hidden threat of rogue access But that’s changing. Fast. Historically, security investments prioritized the visible: firewalls, antivirus software, endpoint monitoring. IAM and PAM—meant to control who gets

News Alert: SquareX exposes DevTools blind spot allowing widespread browser extension attacks - The Last Watchdog

Palo Alto, Calif., July 29, 2025, CyberNewswire — Despite the expanding use of browser extensions, the majority of enterprises and individuals still rely on labels such as “Verified” and “Chrome Featured” provided by extension stores as a security indicator. The recent Geco Colorpick case exemplifies how these certifications provide nothing more than a false sense

News alert: Living Security report reveals that just 10% of employees drive 73% of cyber risk - The Last Watchdog

Austin, TX, July 21, 2025, CyberNewswire — Living Security, the global leader in Human Risk Management (HRM), today released the 2025 State of Human Cyber Risk Report, an independent study conducted by leading research firm Cyentia Institute. The report provides an unprecedented look at behavioral risk inside organizations and reveals how strategic HRM programs can reduce that risk 60%

STRATEGIC REEL: From guesswork to ground truth — stopping threats before they spread - The Last Watchdog

In today’s post-signature world, attackers don’t just break in — they blend in. In this second installment of the Last Watchdog Strategic LinkedIn Reel (LW SLR) series, Corelight CEO Brian Dye delivers a clear-eyed take on how defenders can regain the upper hand with network-derived ground truth. This high-impact reel distills key insights from our

News alert: xonPlus launches real-time alerting platform to detect exposed enterprise credentials - The Last Watchdog

Chennai, India, July 25, 2025, CyberNewswire — xonPlus, a real-time digital risk alerting system, officially launches today to help security teams detect credential exposures before attackers exploit them. The platform detects data breaches and alerts teams and systems to respond instantly. Built by the team behind XposedOrNot, an open-source breach detection tool used by thousands,

News Alert: SquareX, Fortune 500 CISOs to debut bowser security guide at Black Hat USA 2025 - The Last Watchdog

Palo Alto, Calif., July 17, 2025, CyberNewswire — SquareX announced the official launch of The Browser Security Field Manual at Black Hat USA 2025. In addition to a comprehensive practical guide to the latest TTPs attackers are using to target employees in the browser, this comprehensive manual features industry perspectives from leading CISOs from multiple

MY TAKE: The signal vs. the noise: email messaging in the era of my AI talking to your AI - The Last Watchdog

Not long ago, I found myself staring at a reply that could’ve come from a bot. Related: Microsoft purges 'knowledge workers' It was a polite follow-up from a PR rep reiterating a pitch I had already acknowledged — and responded to with a thoughtful, clearly outlined counter-offer. My reply wasn’t off-the-shelf. It was a handcrafted

GUEST ESSAY: Why IoT security must start at the module—a blueprint for scaling IoT security - The Last Watchdog

A few years ago, a casino was breached via a smart fish tank thermometer. Related: NIST's IoT security standard It’s a now-famous example of how a single overlooked IoT device can become an entry point for attackers — and a cautionary tale that still applies today. The Internet of Things (IoT) is expanding at an

News alert: INE Security debuts advanced eMAPT certification to close mobile security talent gap - The Last Watchdog

Cary, NC, July 10, 2025, CyberNewsire—INE Security, a leading provider of cybersecurity education and cybersecurity certifications, today launched its significantly enhanced eMAPT (Mobile Application Penetration Testing) certification. The updated certification delivers the industry's most comprehensive and practical approach to mobile application security testing. CSO Magazine recently recognized eMAPT among the Top 16 OffSec, pen-testing, and

MY TAKE: Microsoft gave rise to the ‘knowledge worker’—and now it’s rendering them obsolete - The Last Watchdog

When Chris Sacca declared that AI would decimate professional services, he wasn’t exaggerating. He was just early. Related: Are we Super F**ked by AI? Now, with Microsoft laying off 15,000 workers in two months, we have confirmation that this is not theoretical. It’s happening. And it’s not just happening somewhere abstract. It’s happening in Redmond.

News alert: Reflectiz expands Datadog’s security scope to cover client-side web vulnerabilities - The Last Watchdog

BOSTON, July 9, 2025, CyberNewswire -- Reflectiz, a leading cybersecurity company specializing in web exposure management, today announced a new integration with Datadog, Inc. (NASDAQ: DDOG), the monitoring and security platform for cloud applications. This integration combines advanced website security intelligence with enterprise-grade observability, empowering organizations with continuous visibility and control over their expanding attack

Test Again 2 July 1st 4:59pm - The Last Watchdog

Test Again July 1st 4:58pm - The Last Watchdog

News alert: SquareX research finds browser AI agents are proving riskier than human employees - The Last Watchdog

Palo Alto, Calif., Jun. 30, 2025, CyberNewswire--Every security practitioner knows that employees are the weakest link in an organization, but this is no longer the case. SquareX’s research reveals that Browser AI Agents are more likely to fall prey to cyberattacks than employees, making them the new weakest link that enterprise security teams need to

STRATEGIC REEL: APIs are the new perimeter — and business logic attacks are slipping through - The Last Watchdog

APIs have become the digital glue of the enterprise — and attackers know it. Related: API security - the big picture In this debut edition of the Last Watchdog Strategic Reel (LWSR), A10 Networks’ Field CISO Jamison Utter cuts through the noise from RSAC 2025 with a sharp breakdown of today’s API threatscape. From 15,000

News alert: Halo Security’s attack surface management platform wins MSP Today’s top award - The Last Watchdog

Miami, June 18, 2025, CyberNewswire -- Halo Security today announced that its attack surface management solution has been named a 2025 MSP Today Product of the Year Award winner by TMC, a leading global media company recognized for building communities in technology and business through live events and digital marketing platforms. The MSP Today Product

MY TAKE: Microsoft takes ownership of AI risk — Google, Meta, Amazon, OpenAI look the other way - The Last Watchdog

Last week at Microsoft Build, Azure CTO Mark Russinovich made headlines by telling the truth. Related: A basis for AI optimism In a rare moment of public candor from a Big Tech executive, Russinovich warned that current AI architectures—particularly autoregressive transformers—have structural limitations we won’t engineer our way past. And more than that, he acknowledged

GUEST ESSAY: The AI illusion: Don’t be fooled, innovation without guardrails is just risk–at scale - The Last Watchdog

Artificial intelligence is changing everything - from how we search for answers to how we decide who gets hired, flagged, diagnosed, or denied. Related: Does AI take your data? It offers speed and precision at unprecedented scale. But without intention, progress often leaves behind a trail of invisible harm. We are moving fast. Too fast.

News alert: Arsen launches AI-powered vishing simulation to help combat voice phishing at scale - The Last Watchdog

Paris, Jun. 3, 2025, CyberNewswire--Arsen, the cybersecurity startup known for defending organizations against social engineering threats, has announced the release of its new Vishing Simulation module, a cutting-edge tool designed to train employees against one of the fastest-growing attack vectors: voice phishing (vishing). This new module uses AI-generated voices and adaptive dialogue systems to simulate

SHARED INTEL Q&A: A sharper lens on rising API logic abuse — and a framework to fight back - The Last Watchdog

In today’s digital enterprise, API-driven infrastructure is the connective tissue holding everything together. Related: The DocuSign API-abuse hack From mobile apps to backend workflows, APIs are what keep digital services talking—and scaling. But this essential layer of connectivity is also where attackers are gaining traction, often quietly and with alarming precision. Jamison Utter, a cybersecurity

RSAC Fireside Chat: Operationalizing diverse security to assure customers, partners–and insurers - The Last Watchdog

Catastrophic outages don’t just crash systems — they expose assumptions. Related: Getting the most from cyber insurance At RSAC 2025, I met with ESET Chief Security Evangelist Tony Anscombe to trace a quiet but growing convergence: endpoint defense, cyber insurance, and monoculture risk are no longer separate concerns. They’re overlapping — and reshaping how security

Shared Intel Q&A: Can risk-informed patching finally align OT security with real-world threats? - The Last Watchdog

Cyber threats to the U.S. electric grid are mounting. Attackers—from nation-state actors to ransomware gangs—are growing more creative and persistent in probing utility networks and operational technology systems that underpin modern life. Related: The evolution of OT security And yet, many utility companies remain trapped in a compliance-first model that often obscures real risks rather

News alert: Seraphic launches BrowserTotal™ — a free AI-powered tool to stress test browser security - The Last Watchdog

Tel Aviv, Israel, June 9, 2025, CyberNewswire -- Seraphic Security, a leader in enterprise browser security, today announced the launch of BrowserTotal, a unique and proprietary public service enabling enterprises to assess their browser security posture in real-time. The launch coincides with the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit 2025, where Seraphic will be showcasing the

MY TAKE: Are we ‘Super f**cked’ by AI? — debate gets 10 million-plus views on YouTube - The Last Watchdog

The day after my column dissecting Chris Sacca's viral outburst went live—his now-notorious claim that we are "super f**ked" by artificial intelligence—I stumbled onto another AI conversation that had already amassed over 10 million views: a roundtable debate hosted by Steven Bartlett on his widely watched YouTube show, Diary of a CEO. Related: Ordinary folks

News alert: $198K in Grants Awarded to Boost Cybersecurity Workforce in Massachusetts - The Last Watchdog

Boston, MA, Jun. 4, 2025, – The Healey-Driscoll administration and Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s (MassTech) MassCyberCenter awarded $198,542 to four Massachusetts-based programs focused on preparing professionals for the cybersecurity workforce. MassTech provided the funds through the Alternative Cyber Career Education (ACE) Grant Program, a statewide effort to support young adults and retrain existing professionals with alternative options to

News alert: Aembit brings ‘Workload IAM’ to Microsoft stack, secures hybrid AI and app access - The Last Watchdog

Silver Spring, MD, June 3, 2025, CyberNewswire -- Aembit, the workload identity and access management (IAM) company, today announced a major expansion of its platform to support Microsoft environments. With this launch, enterprises can now enforce secure, policy-based access for software workloads and agentic AI running on Windows Server, Active Directory, Microsoft Entra ID, and

MY TAKE: Are we ‘Super f**ked’ by agentic AI — or finally able to take charge of what comes next? - The Last Watchdog

When VC mogul Chris Sacca declared AI is the death knell for professional services, I flinched. Not because he’s wrong — but because it’s only half the story. Related: GenAI grows up - at RSAC 2025 As a journalist who’s covered multiple technology shifts from the inside, I’ve learned to distinguish hype from real inflection

SHARED INTEL Q&A: When every IoT Device and AI assistant has an identity — who’s in control? - The Last Watchdog

As enterprise adoption of generative AI accelerates, security teams face a new identity dilemma — not just more users and devices, but a growing swarm of non-human agents and autonomous systems requesting access to sensitive assets. Related: Top 10 Microsoft Copilot risks At the same time, traditional identity and access management (IAM) tools are buckling

RSAC Fireside Chat: Human and machine identity risks are converging — and they’re finally visible - The Last Watchdog

Non-human service accounts have quietly become one of the biggest liabilities in enterprise security. Related: Why identity is the cornerstone of cyber defense These machine credentials — used to automate connections between systems — now outnumber humans by 30 to 1. That gap is likely even wider in cloud-intensive environments. Yet despite their scale, service

RSAC Fireside Chat: Cyber risk mitigation turns personal–defending the CEO as an attack vector - The Last Watchdog

Executives are under digital siege—and most don't even know it. Related: Shareholders sue over murder At RSAC 2025, I sat down with Chuck Randolph, SVP of Strategic Intelligence and Security at 360 Privacy, to unpack a trend reshaping the threat landscape: the weaponization of personal data against corporate leaders and high-net-worth individuals. For a full

RSAC Fireside Chat: ‘Purple’ teams dismantle the reactive trap — and can help restore cyber readiness - The Last Watchdog

Reactive security isn’t just outdated — it’s become a liability. Attackers have figured out how to weaponize speed, and defenders are struggling to keep pace. Related: Mastering adversary emulation At RSAC 2025, I spoke with Derek Manky, Chief Security Strategist and Global VP of Threat Intelligence at Fortinet’s FortiGuard Labs, about how and why the

News Alert: Halo Security reaches SOC 2 milestone, validating its security controls and practices - The Last Watchdog

Miami, Fla., May 22, 2025, CyberNewsWire -- Halo Security, a leading provider of attack surface management and penetration testing services, today announced it has successfully achieved SOC 2 Type 1 compliance following a comprehensive audit by Insight Assurance. This certification validates that Halo Security's security controls and practices are properly designed and implemented to meet

SHARED INTEL Q&A: Visibility, not volume — reframing detection for the AI-enabled SOC - The Last Watchdog

For years, network security has revolved around the perimeter: firewalls, antivirus, endpoint controls. But as attackers grow more sophisticated — and as operations scatter to the cloud, mobile, and IoT — it’s increasingly what happens inside the network that counts. Related: The NDR evolution story Enter Network Detection and Response (NDR) — a space once

News alert: INE Security, Abadnet Institute partner to deliver cybersecurity training in Saudi Arabia - The Last Watchdog

Cary, NC. May 22, 2025, CyberNewswire -- INE Security, a global leader in Cybersecurity training and certifications, has announced a strategic partnership with Abadnet Institute for Training, a Riyadh-based leader in specialized Information Technology, Cybersecurity, and Networking training. The collaboration leverages INE Security's internationally recognized cybersecurity training content and Abadnet's established presence in the Saudi

RSAC Fireside Chat: Enterprise browsers arise to align security with the modern flow of work - The Last Watchdog

A quiet but consequential shift is underway in enterprise workspace security. The browser has effectively become the new operating system of business. Related: Gartner's enterprise browser review It didn’t happen all at once. But as SaaS took over, remote work went mainstream, and generative AI entered the picture, the browser quietly assumed a central role.

News alert: DataHub secures $35M Series B to enable AI to safely manage and use data - The Last Watchdog

Palo Alto, Calif., May 21, 2025 – DataHub, by Acryl Data, the leading open source metadata platform, today announced it has raised $35 million in Series B funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners. This latest round brings the company's total funding to $65 million, enabling accelerated development of its context management platform that provides discovery,

News alert: Attaxion integrates its EASM Platform with ENISA’s EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) - The Last Watchdog

Dover, Del., May 21, 2025, CyberNewswire -- Attaxion, the external attack surface management (EASM) vendor with industry-leading asset coverage, announces the integration of the European Vulnerability Database (EUVD) into its platform. Operated by the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), the EUVD is a publicly accessible vulnerability repository developed in response to the NIS2 Directive.

MY TAKE: Semantics aside, “agentic AI” is already reshaping how we work, think, envision what’s next - The Last Watchdog

Stephen Klein didn’t just stir the pot. He lit a fire. Related: Klein's LinkedIn debate In a sharply worded post that quickly went viral on LinkedIn, the technologist and academic took direct aim at what he called the “hype-as-a-service” business model behind so-called agentic AI. His critique was blunt: what the industry is selling as