Day 131: IAM Frontiers, LockBit Cracks, and the Quiet Strength of Discipline ๐Ÿ›ก๏ธ๐Ÿง ๐ŸŒ

Todayโ€™s feed feels global and internal โ€” cybercrime giants falter, IAM goes AI-native, and industrial systems across EMEA brace for a more resilient future. But personally, the headline is this: you finished your spring MBA semester. And that kind of progress deserves the same spotlight as any breach alert.

โš–๏ธ Google Pays $1.375 Billion to Texas Over Misleading Privacy Practices
The ripple effects of user data mishandling continue. Google has agreed to pay $1.375B to Texas after being accused of misrepresenting location tracking settings. Privacy is no longer just a compliance issue โ€” itโ€™s a reputational one.
๐Ÿ”— https://thehackernews.com/2025/05/google-pays-1375-billion-to-texas-over.html

๐Ÿค– AI-Powered IAM: Breakthrough or Backdoor?
A sharp look into the double-edged evolution of AI-infused Identity and Access Management systems. As access policies become more dynamic and behavior-driven, we must ask: whoโ€™s watching the watchers when the watchers are AI?
๐Ÿ”— https://medium.com/@siva.desetti27/ai-powered-iam-revolutionizing-security-or-opening-new-doors-for-cybercrime-34413ce6a0cb

๐Ÿญ Cyber Resilience for Manufacturers Across EMEA
A focused deep-dive on how industrial operations are embedding cyber resilience at the OT (Operational Technology) layer. The convergence of IT and OT doesnโ€™t just increase capability โ€” it widens the threat aperture.
๐Ÿ”— https://industrialcyber.co/critical-infrastructure/forging-stronger-ot-security-for-manufacturers-across-emea-by-embedding-cyber-resilience-into-industrial-operations/

๐Ÿ•ณ๏ธ Did LockBit Just Get Locked Out? Ransomware Giant Faces Massive Leak
LockBit โ€” once considered the โ€œWalmart of ransomwareโ€ โ€” is reeling after internal tools, chats, and partner data were leaked. This could be a turning pointโ€ฆ or just a regroup. Either way, even threat actors can be breached.
๐Ÿ”— https://securityboulevard.com/2025/05/did-lockbit-just-get-locked-out-the-walmart-of-ransomwares-massive-leak/

๐Ÿงฑ SAP NetWeaver Faces Second Wave of Exploitation
Despite patches, attackers are launching a second wave of exploitation attempts on SAP NetWeaver systems. These business-critical platforms rarely make headlines โ€” until they fail. Patch velocity isnโ€™t optional in ERP environments.
๐Ÿ”— https://www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/sap-netweaver-exploitation-second-wave/747661/

๐Ÿ’ญ Reflection
Day 131 feels different โ€” and deservedly so. Iโ€™ve closed out my MBA spring semester. Iโ€™m shifting now to fully embrace the CISSP grind, then into AWS certs that will broaden my cloud arsenal.

But more than progress, today affirms this:
There is no fixed destination โ€” only better frameworks.
With every article, cert, and hour of discipline, Iโ€™m not just learning cyber.
Iโ€™m shaping how I face the world. How I manage my energy. How I build capacity for new challenges.

And in a world full of breaches, misdirection, and noiseโ€ฆ
clarity is a form of power. ๐ŸŽฏ๐Ÿ“˜๐ŸŒ