At a glance

October highlighted three major trends: the continued wave of ransomware attacks targeting France’s public and healthcare sectors, a record Patch Tuesday from Microsoft followed by an emergency WSUS fix, and multiple CISA directives in the United States addressing actively exploited vulnerabilities. Internationally, the aftermath of the Jaguar Land Rover breach served as a stark reminder of how a single cyber incident can disrupt an entire supply chain.

Key events of the month

France

Pontarlier Hospital
A ransomware attack crippled the hospital on October 18–19, forcing a temporary return to paper-based operations. The incident once again exposed the fragility of the healthcare sector, where compromised credentials and insufficiently hardened systems remain common entry points.

Regional surge in Occitanie
France’s national cybersecurity agency (ANSSI) reported a sharp increase in ransomware incidents across the Occitanie region. Local governments and SMEs were among the main targets, reinforcing the need for a Zero Trust approach and continuous monitoring of remote access.

Cybermois 2025
The national Cybermois awareness campaign ran throughout October, emphasizing the basics of cybersecurity: regular updates, phishing vigilance, and strict control over digital usage policies.

United States

Record Patch Tuesday
On October 14, Microsoft released 172 fixes, including three zero-days and eight critical vulnerabilities — one of the largest security updates of recent years.

Emergency WSUS patch
An out-of-band update addressed a critical flaw in Windows Server Update Services that was already being actively exploited. Unpatched environments faced a significant risk of large-scale compromise.

CISA directive on F5 appliances
On October 15, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) mandated immediate patching of BIG-IP, BIG-IQ, and F5OS devices before October 29, following multiple remotely exploitable vulnerabilities.

International

Aftermath of the Jaguar Land Rover attack
The automaker continued its production recovery in early October after the cyberattack that struck in late August. According to the UK Cyber Monitoring Centre, the estimated economic impact reached nearly £1.9 billion, with widespread disruptions across the supply chain.

Oracle Critical Patch Update
Oracle’s October release included 374 security fixes, over 230 of which addressed remotely exploitable vulnerabilities without authentication — particularly affecting ERP and middleware environments.

Observed trends

Ransomware remains opportunistic
The threat remains highly active, especially across healthcare, education, and local administration sectors.
(→ See also: How to Combat Shadow AI)

Patching under pressure
The combination of a massive Patch Tuesday and an emergency WSUS update exposed the limits of overly spaced maintenance cycles.

Fragile supply chains
The Jaguar Land Rover case demonstrated how a single compromise can quickly cascade through an entire industrial ecosystem.

Strengthened cyber awareness
Awareness campaigns in France and the United States during October reinforced that education and daily vigilance remain the strongest defenses against evolving threats.

Technical watchpoints

Windows Server and WSUS
Apply the October 2025 patches immediately and verify the trust chain of update servers to detect any anomalies in distribution.

F5 BIG-IP, BIG-IQ, F5OS
Patch all exposed appliances without delay and maintain a complete inventory of affected assets.

Oracle perimeter
Prioritize internet-facing components and schedule application regression tests after patching.

Recommendations for CTOs and CISOs

Reduce the attack surface

• Enforce multi-factor authentication across all remote sessions.
• Segment sensitive environments and replace direct connections with isolated, controlled sessions.

Isolate web and AI usage

• Run web browsing and downloads within isolated environments.
• Block the upload of sensitive data to uncontrolled AI services.

Supply chain security

• Audit all critical dependencies and enforce minimum cybersecurity standards, including MFA and timely patching.

Where Reemo makes a difference

• Remote Desktop: High-performance remote connections with strong authentication and a hardened, end-to-end secure protocol.
• RBI (Remote Browser Isolation): Containerized browsing isolation that neutralizes web-based threats before they reach user endpoints.
• Application and Access Isolation: Segmentation of application environments to prevent lateral movement.
• Reemo Bastion+: Granular management of privileged access, just-in-time approvals, and full session traceability.

These combined approaches significantly reduce the risk of initial intrusion, limit lateral movement, and accelerate response and recovery during security incidents.