Weekly Cybersecurity Roundup (Aug 16–23, 2025): Major Breaches, AI-Driven Attacks, and Awareness Campaigns

The last week has been filled with cybersecurity headlines from global tech companies seeing new breaches to AI-based fraud hitting businesses. Whether you’re an IT professional, an ethical hacker, or simply trying to stay safe online, all of these matters need to be understood. If somebody wanted to build more skills, enrolling in a Cyber security course in India would give one the tools to deal with such threats efficiently.

The biggest stories from the week are: Gmail data exposure at Google, massive telecom breach in the UK, customer data leak from iiNet in Australia, and how AI-assisted new methods are being implemented for cybercrime and defense. India is conducting an enormous public awareness drive to prevent online fraud.

Let’s dive in.

Major Breaches and Cyber Attacks

Google Gmail Data Leak Raises Alarm

Google has been in the news recently for having sensitive Gmail account information leaked through a Salesforce cloud system hack. According to The Sun, scammers are actively taking advantage of the information that was leaked, and already using it to carry out phishing and vishing attacks. While passwords were not compromised directly through the breach, personal details have been exposed, which can easily be used for targeted scams.

Here is what this means for users:

• Always have multi-factor authentication (MFA) enabled on Gmail and Google accounts.
• Run Google’s Security Checkup to look at devices and account access.
• Be on the lookout for any unexpected email or phone calls claiming to be Google.

iiNet Breach Exposes 280,000 Customers

iiNet confirmed a major data breach that affected around 280,000 customers’ email accounts, phone numbers, usernames, and physical addresses. Although it did not leak financial information, News.com.au confirmed that even former customers’ records were included with possible issues regarding data retention.

This attack took place from employee credentials that were stolen, a reminder of how the Technical Insider Risk and Poor Authentication controls are still very much a target with the right bit of phishing.

UK Telecom Firm Colt Hit by Ransomware

In the UK Colt Technology Services confirmed a ransomware attack that was attributed to the Warlock group. According to ITPro the attacker exploited a critical sharepoint vulnerability (CVE-2025-53770) that enabled the attacker to steal hundreds of Gigabytes of sensitive and confidential data, including contracts employment details and financial information.

The stolen data is over one million files and has already appeared on a dark web forum. Due to the attack Colt needed to take down all customer portals and APIs… which shows the impact of exploitable unpatched systems.

AI in Cybersecurity: Opportunity and Threat

The “AI Hacking Era” is Here

A recent report from Tom’s Hardware indicates that cybercriminals are using AI to the fullest extent in terms of automation. From writing malware to generating phishing campaigns, AI reduces the barrier to entry for cybercriminals.

Conversely, defenders are leveraging AI for detecting vulnerabilities faster, more intelligent monitoring, and even generating security reports. The issue with AI is that it can produce an outpouring of “false positives” and confound analysts with noise versus actual threats.

Deepfake CEO Scams on the Rise

One of the newest and fastest-growing attack vectors is CEO impersonation scams utilizing AI. Attackers use deep fake video and audio to convince unsuspecting employees to transfer money or divulge sensitive company information.

According to The Wall Street Journal, U.S. businesses reported more than 105,000 attacks in 2024 with a cost of greater than $200 million dollars in just the first quarter.

Businesses like Ferrari and WPP are among the public businesses attacked in the last year. Some reasonable ways to counteract AI-based CEO impersonation scams are the following:

• All employees should be trained to verify odd requests for money and sensitive company information through other communications.
• Use deepfake detection software.
• Enforce an internal approvals process at companies for transferring money.

Cybersecurity Awareness and Public Initiatives

SBI’s Cybersecurity Awareness Drive in India

It was not all bad news this week. In India, the State Bank of India (SBI) launched a unique awareness campaign, a cybersecurity awareness van. According to a report from the Times of India, it will travel across 33 districts in Chhattisgarh from August 15 to November 30 and use street plays, puppet plays and other AV content to educate the citizenry.

The emphasis is on the issue of discouraging individuals from sending OTPs, passwords, or banking information to strangers. A reminder that technical defenses are only part of the solution – human awareness is just as important.

Key Takeaways for Businesses and Users

Cybersecurity Story	What It Means	Actionable Step
Google Gmail breach	Cloud misconfigurations & phishing risks	Enable MFA, update devices, verify suspicious emails
iiNet customer data leak	Insider risks remain high	Train employees, enforce least privilege access
Colt ransomware attack	Unpatched systems are easy prey	Apply patches quickly, monitor for CVEs
AI-powered hacking	Both sides use AI	Deploy AI-based defense but validate findings
Deepfake scams	Social engineering is evolving	Verify CEO/CFO requests, adopt verification protocols
SBI campaign	Awareness is key	Run regular phishing simulations, spread awareness internally

Conclusion

There have been three hard truths about cybersecurity that seem to have been reinforced recently:

Phishing and stealing credentials remain the easiest ones. Both incidents involving Google and II-Net prove the point.

Unpatched systems are the weakest links. The Colt attack was just an example of how much a missed update can cost.

AI now alters the terrain. Deepfakes and automated malware are not more of a possibility; they are here and now.

The silver lining is that defenders keep growing smarter, and that in itself is the reason why these mass campaigns such as SBI prove to be helpful in bringing awareness to cybersecurity.

If you intend to build a career in IT, want to become an ethical hacker, or just want to keep yourself safe in the digital world, then an ethical hacking course in India will keep you in front of the unfolding threats. Let it be your weekly nudge to patch your systems, train your teams, and stay alert.