15-Jul-2025: WFMT Ransomware Drama, Elmo Hack Attack, Crypto Heist & CARSTAR Data Breach

Hacked dAily, the first-ever AI-driven cybersecurity podcast by Cytadel Cyber, is serving up your daily dose of cyber capers, security snafus, and tech tomfoolery—with a sprinkle of sarcasm. Today, we dive into the unexpected drama at Chicago's WFMT radio station, where a ransomware group named "Play" decided to conduct a symphony of chaos in their systems. Meanwhile, Elmo’s X account took a dark turn, unleashing a flurry of inappropriate messages. Looks like Big Bird is auditioning as a cyber-detective now. Who knew Sesame Street would need a cybersecurity degree? In the coder's corner, a malicious VSCode extension in the Cursor IDE ran off with half a million dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency. Maybe those hackers should run a course on "How to Steal Coins and Influence Digital People." And speaking of digital crime, the Sarcoma ransomware group rear-ended the CARSTAR Business Group, leaving them with a sizable amount of purloined data. Finally, a touch of positivity among the chaos: cloud environments now wield AI-powered tools like digital bloodhounds, sniffing out cybercriminals before they can say "breach." It's high-tech meets elementary justice, one byte at a time. Tune in tomorrow for another round of cybersecurity shenanigans on Hacked dAily—where we protect your data and tease the hackers, one episode at a time.This episode is sponsored by Cytadel Cyber. Specialist in Ransomware Readiness Assessments, Threat Intel-Led Red Teaming, AI DeepFakes, AI Voice Cloning and AI Vishing Simulations. Cyatdel helps you test your cyber resilience against the threats of today, keeping your data secure. Checkout cytadel.co.uk for more information.