Last week, a prominent US senator called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Microsoft for cybersecurity negligence over the role it played last year in health giant Ascension's ransomware breach, which caused life-threatening disruptions at 140 hospitals and put the medical records of 5.6 million patients into the hands of the attackers. Lost in the focus on Microsoft was something as, or more, urgent: never-before-revealed details that now invite scrutiny of Ascension’s own security failings.

In a letter sent last week to FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said an investigation by his office determined that the hack began in February 2024 with the infection of a contractor's laptop after they downloaded malware from a link returned by Microsoft’s Bing search engine. The attackers then pivoted from the contractor device to Ascension’s most valuable network asset: the Windows Active Directory, a tool administrators use to create and delete user accounts and manage system privileges to them. Obtaining control of the Active Directory is tantamount to obtaining a master key that will open any door in a restricted building.

Wyden blasted Microsoft for its continued support of its three-decades-old implementation of the Kerberos authentication protocol that uses an insecure cipher and, as the senator noted, exposes customers to precisely the type of breach Ascension suffered. Although modern versions of Active Directory by default will use a more secure authentication mechanism, it will by default fall back to the weaker one in the event a device on the network—including one that has been infected with malware—sends an authentication request that uses it. That enabled the attackers to perform Kerberoasting , a form of attack that Wyden said the attackers used to pivot from the contractor laptop directly to the crown jewel of Ascension’s network security.

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Last week, a prominent US senator called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Microsoft for cybersecurity negligence over the role it played last year in health giant Ascension's ransomware breach, which caused life-threatening disruptions at 140 hospitals and put the medical records of 5.6 million patients into the hands of the attackers. Lost in the focus on Microsoft was something as, or more, urgent: never-before-revealed details that now invite scrutiny of Ascension’s own security failings.

In a letter sent last week to FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said an investigation by his office determined that the hack began in February 2024 with the infection of a contractor's laptop after they downloaded malware from a link returned by Microsoft’s Bing search engine. The attackers then pivoted from the contractor device to Ascension’s most valuable network asset: the Windows Active Directory, a tool administrators use to create and delete user accounts and manage system privileges to them. Obtaining control of the Active Directory is tantamount to obtaining a master key that will open any door in a restricted building.

Wyden blasted Microsoft for its continued support of its three-decades-old implementation of the Kerberos authentication protocol that uses an insecure cipher and, as the senator noted, exposes customers to precisely the type of breach Ascension suffered. Although modern versions of Active Directory by default will use a more secure authentication mechanism, it will by default fall back to the weaker one in the event a device on the network—including one that has been infected with malware—sends an authentication request that uses it. That enabled the attackers to perform Kerberoasting , a form of attack that Wyden said the attackers used to pivot from the contractor laptop directly to the crown jewel of Ascension’s network security.

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Last week, a prominent US senator called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Microsoft for cybersecurity negligence over the role it played last year in health giant Ascension's ransomware breach, which caused life-threatening disruptions at 140 hospitals and put the medical records of 5.6 million patients into the hands of the attackers. Lost in the focus on Microsoft was something as, or more, urgent: never-before-revealed details that now invite scrutiny of Ascension’s own security failings.

In a letter sent last week to FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said an investigation by his office determined that the hack began in February 2024 with the infection of a contractor's laptop after they downloaded malware from a link returned by Microsoft’s Bing search engine. The attackers then pivoted from the contractor device to Ascension’s most valuable network asset: the Windows Active Directory, a tool administrators use to create and delete user accounts and manage system privileges to them. Obtaining control of the Active Directory is tantamount to obtaining a master key that will open any door in a restricted building.

Wyden blasted Microsoft for its continued support of its three-decades-old implementation of the Kerberos authentication protocol that uses an insecure cipher and, as the senator noted, exposes customers to precisely the type of breach Ascension suffered. Although modern versions of Active Directory by default will use a more secure authentication mechanism, it will by default fall back to the weaker one in the event a device on the network—including one that has been infected with malware—sends an authentication request that uses it. That enabled the attackers to perform Kerberoasting , a form of attack that Wyden said the attackers used to pivot from the contractor laptop directly to the crown jewel of Ascension’s network security.

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After the Sept. 10, 2025, assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, President Donald Trump claimed that radical leftist groups foment political violence in the US, and “they should be put in jail.”

“The radical left causes tremendous violence,” he said, asserting that “they seem to do it in a bigger way” than groups on the right.

Top presidential adviser Stephen Miller also weighed in after Kirk’s killing, saying that left-wing political organizations constitute “ a vast domestic terror movement .”

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After the Sept. 10, 2025, assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, President Donald Trump claimed that radical leftist groups foment political violence in the US, and “they should be put in jail.”

“The radical left causes tremendous violence,” he said, asserting that “they seem to do it in a bigger way” than groups on the right.

Top presidential adviser Stephen Miller also weighed in after Kirk’s killing, saying that left-wing political organizations constitute “ a vast domestic terror movement .”

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After the Sept. 10, 2025, assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, President Donald Trump claimed that radical leftist groups foment political violence in the US, and “they should be put in jail.”

“The radical left causes tremendous violence,” he said, asserting that “they seem to do it in a bigger way” than groups on the right.

Top presidential adviser Stephen Miller also weighed in after Kirk’s killing, saying that left-wing political organizations constitute “ a vast domestic terror movement .”

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Last week we drove the new Nissan Leaf, an inexpensive compact electric vehicle . Now equipped with things like active battery thermal management, the new Leaf is actually Nissan's second modern EV, after the debut a couple of years ago of the Ariya SUV . But if you want an Ariya, you ought to hurry—the model has been cut from Nissan USA's offerings for model-year 2026, according to a report in Automotive News .

According to a letter sent by Nissan to its dealers, obtained by the trade publication, "This decision enables the company to reallocate resources and optimize its EV portfolio as the automotive landscape continues to evolve." Whether the Ariya returns for MY27 is unclear and probably depends both on the state of the US EV market by then as well as Nissan's own finances.

The blame? The 15 percent import tariff levied by President Trump, which is one straw too many for the financially beleaguered automaker, as the Ariya is built in Japan at Nissan's Tochigi plant and must be shipped across the ocean to fulfill US orders.

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Last week we drove the new Nissan Leaf, an inexpensive compact electric vehicle . Now equipped with things like active battery thermal management, the new Leaf is actually Nissan's second modern EV, after the debut a couple of years ago of the Ariya SUV . But if you want an Ariya, you ought to hurry—the model has been cut from Nissan USA's offerings for model-year 2026, according to a report in Automotive News .

According to a letter sent by Nissan to its dealers, obtained by the trade publication, "This decision enables the company to reallocate resources and optimize its EV portfolio as the automotive landscape continues to evolve." Whether the Ariya returns for MY27 is unclear and probably depends both on the state of the US EV market by then as well as Nissan's own finances.

The blame? The 15 percent import tariff levied by President Trump, which is one straw too many for the financially beleaguered automaker, as the Ariya is built in Japan at Nissan's Tochigi plant and must be shipped across the ocean to fulfill US orders.

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Last week we drove the new Nissan Leaf, an inexpensive compact electric vehicle . Now equipped with things like active battery thermal management, the new Leaf is actually Nissan's second modern EV, after the debut a couple of years ago of the Ariya SUV . But if you want an Ariya, you ought to hurry—the model has been cut from Nissan USA's offerings for model-year 2026, according to a report in Automotive News .

According to a letter sent by Nissan to its dealers, obtained by the trade publication, "This decision enables the company to reallocate resources and optimize its EV portfolio as the automotive landscape continues to evolve." Whether the Ariya returns for MY27 is unclear and probably depends both on the state of the US EV market by then as well as Nissan's own finances.

The blame? The 15 percent import tariff levied by President Trump, which is one straw too many for the financially beleaguered automaker, as the Ariya is built in Japan at Nissan's Tochigi plant and must be shipped across the ocean to fulfill US orders.

Read full article

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