19-May-2026 INTERPOL Nets 201, GhostTree Bypasses Windows, Verizon Reports Rising Breaches

Welcome to Hacked dAily, the first AI-driven cybersecurity podcast by Cytadel Cyber, delivering essential insights for CISOs and security leaders. Today's top story highlights INTERPOL's Operation Ramz, which arrested 201 individuals in a massive MENA region crackdown on cybercrime, demonstrating the critical importance and success of international cooperation in disrupting phishing scams and malware networks. Next, security researchers unveil GhostTree, a path manipulation technique that bypasses Windows defenses, emphasizing an urgent need for updating enterprise security measures to counteract potential unauthorized access exploits. Verizon's Data Breach Investigations Report shows exploited vulnerabilities now account for 31% of breaches, up from 20%, with a concerning gap in handling critical vulnerabilities, while ransomware tactics evolve with fewer victims choosing to pay attackers. AdvancedHEALTH faces a ransomware incident affecting 2.3 million patient records, spotlighting cybersecurity challenges in healthcare and the imperative for robust data protection strategies to safeguard sensitive information. Lastly, AI-empowered voice deepfakes present new hurdles, urging a reevaluation of verification protocols to thwart potential fraud in sectors reliant on voice recognition, as identifying these imitations becomes essential for maintaining digital communication integrity. 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.