Mike Baker

That's why federal cybersecurity officials are taking the latest advisory so seriously.

In fact, federal agencies say they are, quote, urgently warning infrastructure operators about what's happening, describing this campaign as one aimed at causing direct, quote, disruptive effects within the U.S.

And there's another layer here that's worth paying attention to.

According to sources familiar with the advisory, this isn't a new vulnerability.

It's an old one that hasn't been fully addressed.

One source said, quote, government and experts have been warning about Internet connected systems for years and how vulnerable they are.

The companies who paid attention already removed those systems and followed the guidance, end quote.

The concern now is for the ones that didn't, because obviously those are the systems being targeted.

And in some cases, hackers have attempted to deploy destructive malware, or wipers, designed to erase data and cripple systems entirely.

It's still unclear how successful those efforts were, but again, the intent is clear.

Now, here on the PDB, we've been watching a steady pattern from Iran-linked cybergroups in recent months.

They've leaked private emails, as an example from FBI Director Kash Patel, disrupted operations at a major American medical device company, and in many cases, they've gone online, boasting about those and other intrusions as part of a psychological campaign.

American intelligence agencies have been warning about this trajectory as well.

In their annual Worldwide Threat Assessment released last month, they said Tehran maintains a persistent intent to target the U.S.

and its allies in cyberspace.

So even as President Trump signals a two-week ceasefire with Iran, this kind of cyber activity gives Tehran a way to keep pressure on the U.S.

without, perhaps, triggering direct military retaliation.

Okay, I want to turn now to Lebanon, where Israel is carrying out the most intense strikes of its current conflict with Hezbollah, even as the terror group reportedly stands down under the ceasefire tied to the U.S.

and Iran.

In what officials in the Jewish state are describing as the largest coordinated operation of the war so far, Israel is hitting more than 100 Hezbollah targets across Beirut, the Beqaa Valley, and southern Lebanon.