Weekly Security Sprint EP 171. Cyber conflicts and critical infrastructure, new reports, and crime statistics

<p>On this week&#39;s Security Sprint, Dave and Andy covered the following topics:</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Opening:</strong></p><p>• Nerd Out EP 73: 5th Annual 2/3rd of the Year Awards with the Cybersecurity Evangelist </p><p>• The Gate 15 Interview EP 73. The FBI’s Josh Obstfeld on Artificial Intelligence, Serving our Nation, and New York City! </p><p>• Ice cream makers as ‘critical infrastructure’? EU’s new cybersecurity law suffers wobbly rollout </p><p>• Healthcare finance trends for 2026: A mid-year update — Health-ISAC </p><p><br></p><p><strong>Main Topics</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Iran-linked hackers blamed for cyber-attack that shut down UK power plant </strong>— The Guardian — 23 Aug 2026. Hackers linked to Iran have been blamed for a cyberattack that temporarily shut down a small-scale power generator in the United Kingdom. </p><p>• UK briefs energy chiefs after Iran-linked cyber attack reports </p><p>• Wake-Up Call for CNI After Iranian Attack Shuts Down UK Power Plant </p><p>• &quot;Not a single drop of oil&quot; will be exported if US &quot;economic&quot; war continues: Iran&#39;s security chief </p><p>• Defending Against an Active Threat to Siemens S7 Series PLCs — CISA </p><p><br></p><p><strong>Cyber Threats in Times of Conflict</strong> — Emsisoft — 17 Aug 2026. Emsisoft assesses that events in Ukraine, Venezuela, and the continuing Iran conflict demonstrate that cyber operations have become a routine component of modern conflict, but cautions against assuming every disruption represents a sophisticated state cyberattack or that cyber operations will replace conventional warfare. </p><p><br></p><p><strong>What if America Went Completely Dark?</strong> — The New York Times Magazine — 18 Aug 2026. The New York Times examines the potential consequences of a prolonged nationwide electric-grid failure and emphasizes how quickly an electricity crisis would cascade into communications, water and wastewater, fuel distribution, healthcare, transportation, food supply, finance, public safety, and other essential services. </p><p><br></p><p><strong>Quarterly Threat Report: Second Quarter, 2026 </strong>— Beazley Security — 18 Aug 2026. Beazley Security reports that vulnerability disclosures increased dramatically during the second quarter as agentic AI accelerated vulnerability research, yet confirmed exploitation grew at a substantially slower rate and the fundamental paths attackers used to enter organizations changed very little. </p><p><b