Prime Cyber Insights: The Executive Bullseye and AI Vulnerabilities

Welcome to Prime Cyber Insights. I am Aaron Cole, and we are opening today's show by looking at how the threat landscape is evolving to hit the very top of the corporate ladder in 2026. And I'm Lauren Mitchell. Today, we're connecting the dots between sophisticated AI vulnerabilities and why cyber risk has officially become a primary boardroom obsession, according to the latest global data. Let's jump into the tech first, Lauren. Researchers at MIGO Security recently disclosed a significant flaw in Google Gemini. they found that indirect prompt injections could bypass authorization guardrails by using Google Calendar as an extraction point. Essentially, an attacker could hide a malicious payload inside a standard calendar invite. That's notable. It's a fascinating, if terrifying escalation, Aaron. When a user asks Gemini an innocent question about their schedule, the AI parses that malicious invite and can be tricked into creating a new event that exfiltrates a summary of the user's private meetings. We also saw similar data leak concerns with the Chainlit framework recently. It proves that vulnerabilities are no longer just in the code. They're in the way AI interprets language. Exactly. And those language-based attacks are becoming highly personalized. Reliakwest is currently tracking a LinkedIn phishing campaign, specifically targeting executives and IT admins. They use industry-related lures to build trust before sending a link that drops a malicious DLL via side-loading, disguised alongside a legitimate open-source PDF reader. The use of legitimate open-source penetration tools for persistence is what stands out to me, Aaron. By moving the attack to social media, threat actors are exploiting the blind spots in corporate security filters. It's a surgical approach designed for lateral movement once they've compromised a high-value identity. Among PWCs, 29th Global CEO Survey just dropped, showing that 31% of CEOs now feel their companies are highly exposed to cyber risks. That's a steady climb from 21% just two years ago. In Germany, that concern is even higher at 34%. It's no longer just an IT problem. It's a growth problem. The survey notes that cyber risk now ranks right alongside macroeconomic volatility as a top threat. Interestingly, 84% of CEOs are planning to improve enterprise-wide cybersecurity, specifically in response to geopolitical risks. They realize that in 2026, stakeholder trust is easily lost through data breaches or irresponsible AI deployment. To wrap up today's insights. Audit your AI service accounts. Treat LinkedIn invites with the same scrutiny as external emails. And remember that resilience starts with the board. I am Aaron Cole. And I'm Lauren Mitchell. Stay vigilant and join us next time on Prime Cyber Insights. Neural Newscast is AI-assisted, human-reviewed. View our AI transparency policy at neuralnewscast.com.