A compromised credential belonging to a trusted backup application has given attackers a single key into 173 Microsoft 365 tenants, in what Microsoft is calling an active supply chain attack. The credential belongs to ConnectWise Cloud Backup, formerly SkyKick, a service managed service providers use to back up and restore their clients' Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace data.

Canadian AI company Cohere announced on October 15 that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire AISLE, a cybersecurity startup that builds autonomous systems to discover and remediate previously unknown vulnerabilities in critical software. Cohere described the move as a proposed agreement rather than a closed deal, and the financial terms were not disclosed. AISLE said it will share more details as the transaction progresses, and that its focus for customers and partners remains continuity and stronger products.

A critical flaw in the Linux kernel is forcing virtualization hosts to patch and reboot, after a researcher showed that code inside a guest virtual machine can read memory belonging to the host itself. Tracked as CVE-2026-99999 and nicknamed PwnEscape, the vulnerability is rated critical, with a CVSS score of 9.3. It breaks one of the basic promises of cloud and sandbox platforms: that an untrusted guest stays inside its own machine.

A critical flaw in BeyondTrust Remote Support was exploited as a zero-day for weeks before a fix shipped, according to disclosures released this week by BeyondTrust and by Google Threat Intelligence Group and Mandiant. Investigators attribute the activity to Armory Castle, a suspected China-nexus espionage actor also tracked as UNC5221 and Warp Panda.

Proofpoint has agreed to acquire Varonis Systems in an all-cash transaction valued at about 6.3 billion dollars, the companies announced on October 15, 2026. The definitive agreement brings together Proofpoint, a specialist in protecting people and AI agents against cyber threats, with Varonis, a Miami-based firm focused on data and AI security. Proofpoint is a portfolio company of private equity firm Thoma Bravo.

U.S. semiconductor stocks were set to lose about $2 trillion in market value on Thursday, extending a steep selloff that had already erased $1.64 trillion over the previous six trading sessions, according to Reuters.

GlobalFoundries has been selected as the technology provider and operator for two new semiconductor manufacturing facilities at its Malta, New York, site under a U.S.-Japan initiative providing up to 21 billion dollars in funding. The company announced the plan on October 14, saying Japan will provide the investment while GlobalFoundries contributes its manufacturing technology and operational expertise. The fabs are intended to expand trusted U.S. production of foundational semiconductors and strengthen supply chains for automotive, industrial and connected infrastructure markets.

Oxford-based Salience Labs has closed an oversubscribed $125 million Series B funding round to scale its photonic networking chips for AI data center infrastructure. The round was led by Bullhound Capital, whose principal Callum Stewart is joining the company's board. New and returning backers include AMD Ventures, Intel Capital, SBI Group, Hudson River Trading and the British Business Bank, along with existing shareholders Applied Ventures, Oxford Science Enterprises, Cambridge Innovation Capital and Silicon Catalyst Ventures.

ASML gave the clearest signal yet on Wednesday that the artificial intelligence buildout is still accelerating upstream, in the factories that make the chips themselves. The Dutch lithography giant reported third-quarter net sales of 11.662 billion euros and net income of 4.960 billion euros, with a gross margin of 57.5 percent and basic earnings per share of 12.95 euros.

Enterprise VPN appliances are supposed to guard the edge of the network. This week, one of the most widely used of them became the way in.