OS Weekly: Extortion Without Ransomware, a 2M-Device Botnet Takedown & AI's Double Edge

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This week showed how quickly cyber-extortion economics are shifting: a $1 million payout to a group with no evidence of ever encrypting a file, and a law-enforcement takedown of a proxy empire built on two million unknowing devices. Add a sharp read on AI’s asymmetric future and an unexpected lesson from the board-game table, and there’s plenty here for working defenders and aspiring practitioners alike.

Botnet on CybersecurityOS

OS Weekly: Extortion Without Ransomware, a 2M-Device Botnet Takedown & AI's Double Edge