David Kennedy, TrustedSec CEO, joins 'The Exchange' to discuss the cybersecurity threat private companies could face from Iran.

David Kennedy, CEO of TrustedSec, has warned that private companies should be on high alert for potential cyber attacks from Iran. He notes that Iran has developed significant cyber capabilities, comparable to other nation states, and often targets sectors such as manufacturing, supply chain, retail, and critical infrastructure. U.S. agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and CISA, have recently issued advisories to both private and government entities to remain vigilant.

Kennedy explains that Iran typically uses tactics such as phishing and social engineering to breach user accounts, and has increasingly targeted cloud infrastructure and software service providers. With over 85 percent of critical infrastructure in the U.S. owned by the private sector, Kennedy stresses the importance of heightened defensive measures to detect and prevent potential breaches that could cause widespread disruption.

Companies need to be on high alert from Iran cyber attacks

Expert, David, we have seen the Iranian regime, which obviously, at least for now, its missiles appear to be a little impotent. That's good news. But they are still a risk on the cyber side, are they not? That's absolutely correct. Iran has been building up their cyber capabilities for a number of years, and they are on par with other nation states. They very much leverage their cyber capabilities very similarly to what we do here in the United States with Cyber Command, a direct extension of military force. And so DHS recently released an advisory, along with CISA, the Cyber Security Infrastructure and Security Agency, around private sector corporations and government entities to be on high alert right now for these cyber attacks. And what's really interesting about cyber attacks is that there's really been no red lines ever drawn. It's kind of a loose playing field. So Iran can inflict some pretty substantial damage in the United States, specifically in manufacturing, supply chain, retail, critical infrastructure, things that can disrupt our normal day life, that cause pain here in the United States, and really not be seen as crossing that red line of loss of life or direct military force as it goes along. So we're all on high alert right now. And my advice to private sector corporations is to be at a high alert right now from a defensive perspective, because we are anticipating some retaliation from Iran, specifically from their cyber capabilities. Yeah. And we just showed some of the SOCs, the Fortinets, the CrowdStrikes, the Zscalers. We can bring them back up, guys. They're all higher by about one and a half to two and a half percent as well. So anything related to that is higher right now. The markets, by the way, are at session highs. Palo Alto is up about 1.7 percent. If you're a company right now, David, if you're advising a corporation, who are always on the lookout, by the way, for cyber threats, what is your is there new advice here? Yeah, Iran operates by a very specific playbook. You know, they typically go after user accounts through phishing or social engineering. They directly attack external perimeters. Most recently, they've been getting more into the cloud infrastructure and software as a service provider. So can they impact not just one organization or company, but hundreds, if not thousands of corporations and companies? They've also been probing our critical infrastructure, our grids, water treatment facilities. Interesting statistic, over 85 percent of our critical infrastructure is private sector owned. It's not owned by the government. So right now, you know, we have to be very digilent on putting our defenses up and monitoring for those specific issues as they arise so that we can minimize the damage. You know, the catastrophic breaches that we see is when an attacker has been in an infrastructure for a long, you know, maintained period of time. And that's the major concern. Iran has been trying to conduct these operations for this type of event. So, you know, they have footholds in organizations, they have footholds in critical infrastructure that may not have been detected at this period of time, that they can launch these types of attacks and cause these massive outages. We have to be really diligent to try to find these before that actually happens. And that's my recommendation to companies right now is be very digilent, more so than normal because of these times. And Iran specifically targeting these other industry vehicles, which is not typical for them, is something that's definitely going to happen. You know, I don't put you on the spot, David, but we're kind of rolling with the news here that there's the ability of the United States to kind of take Iran offline. I mean, the people there have very limited access to information as well. But can we just kind of wipe out their Internet, for lack of a better term? We definitely have those capabilities with the NSA, their offensive capabilities, as well as with Cyber Command. We are very good at what we do. I was actually stationed in Bahrain, in Iraq, in Qatar. Wait, all these areas that are that are known that are being that's happening right now. And our offensive capabilities are second to none. And that's definitely something that's on the playing table for these types of operations. But again, it's more of an escalatory type of event. Right. We came in with the bombs. Iran sent six that were intercepted and seems to be a de-escalation situation. If we go and we start conducting these operations abroad, which I'm sure they're already happening. What do you mean you were stationed there? I did not. You're breaking news to us on the air, David. What did you do over there? I was in the intelligence community. I did two tours in Iraq and one in Bahrain and then Afghanistan and spent a lot of time in the Middle East.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv will do "anything" to advance EU accession talks. Zelenskyy spoke alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, President of the European Council António Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Ukraine will do 'anything' to advance EU accession talks: Zelenskyy

President Donald Trump said Washington will start sending letters to countries on Friday specifying what tariff rates they will face on imports to the United States, a clear shift from earlier pledges to strike scores of individual deals.

Washington

Global Tariffs

Trump: Letters telling countries their tariff rate going out Friday

Indonesian rescuers on Thursday (July 3) temporarily halted a search for 30 people still missing after a ferry carrying 65 people sank near the island of Bali with the loss of six lives, the national search and rescue agency said.

Gilimanuk

Indonesia suspends search for 30 missing after ferry sinks near Bali

After marathon debate sessions in the Senate and House, President Donald Trump’s budget bill passed in the House. Republicans secured the biggest win of Trump’s presidency.

Trump’s landmark ‘big, beautiful bill’ narrowly passes U.S. House

Florida says the first group of migrant detainees have arrived at the new immigration detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz." CBS News correspondent Shanelle Kaul has more.

Ochopee

First group of detainees arrive at "Alligator Alcatraz," Florida says

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday (July 3) that he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that he plans to hold a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. CBS News White House reporter Willie James Inman has more.

Trump speaks with Putin, plans call with Zelenskyy

CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez reports on a lawsuit from lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia alleging he suffered “torture and mistreatment” after he was wrongfully deported and held in El Salvador’s notorious mega prison.

Tecoluca

Kilmar Abrego Garcia claims he was tortured in El Salvadoran prison

The Kremlin welcomed the development, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov claiming it proves Western arsenals are being depleted and predicting that less aid will hasten the end of the conflict.

U.S. pauses military aid to Ukraine over depleted weapons stockpile

Two contractors employed by UG Solutions spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity as they were revealing their employers’ internal operations.

Jerusalem

U.S. contractors say live ammo used at Gaza aid distribution site

Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke for hours on the House floor about potential impacts of President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" that Republicans are looking to pass before July 4. Following debate, the House is set for a final vote on the massive budget bill.

House debates Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' ahead of final vote

CBS News political contributor Caroline Polisi joins "CBS Mornings" to break down the jury's verdict in Sean "Diddy" Combs' federal trial and the judge's decision to deny bail for the music mogul ahead of his sentencing.

Manhattan

Sean "Diddy" Combs denied bail after split verdict

Liverpool soccer player Diogo Jota has died aged 28, just weeks after marrying his childhood sweetheart. The footballer passed away in a car crash in northern Spain.

Madrid

Liverpool soccer player dies in car crash 10 days after wedding

The Pentagon said that U.S. strikes 10 days ago had degraded Iran's nuclear program by up to two years, suggesting the U.S. military operation likely achieved its goals despite a far more cautious initial assessment that leaked to the public.

Tehran

Iran Strikes

Iran nuclear program degraded by up to two years: Pentagon

Days before his 90th birthday, the Dalai Lama announced the Gaden Phodrang Trust, a non-profit he founded, will have the sole authority to recognize his future reincarnation, but China insists it will choose the successor of the Tibetan spiritual leader.

Lhasa

China rejects Dalai Lama’s succession plan

The U.S. Congress inched towards approving President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, despite attempts by Democrats to stop it. The bill is Trump’s signature legislation which includes massive spending increases on the military and immigration enforcement while slashing social programs.

Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill nears approval

Sean (Diddy) Combs was found guilty on prostitution-related charges, but was acquitted on more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking giving him a maximum sentence of 20 years. But the courtroom victory was subdued following a judge’s ruling to deny him bail.

New York

Diddy denied bail, avoids life in prison

President Trump says Israel has agreed to a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, but it remains unclear if Hamas will accept the terms. CBS News senior foreign correspondent Debora Patta has more.

Trump says Israel has agreed to Gaza ceasefire conditions

Bryan Kohberger changed his plea to guilty Wednesday for the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students. CBS News national correspondent Carter Evans has more on the case.

Boise

New details revealed as Kohberger pleads guilty for 2022 Idaho murders

The Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down a state abortion law that was adopted in 1849 in a 4-3 landmark decision. CBS News' Shanelle Kaul reports.

Madison

Wisconsin Supreme Court strikes down 176-year-old state abortion ban

Macron and Putin held regular discussions around the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Macron visiting Putin in Russia in February 2022, but dialogue eventually stalled.

Paris

Macron held 'substantial' phone call with Putin

President Trump toured “Alligator Alcatraz,” a migrant detention center he teamed up with Ron DeSantis to build in the Everglades.

Everglades

Protesters gather around ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ as President Trump visits

Jurors in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal criminal trial said they have reached a verdict on four of the five counts, but they cannot reach a verdict on Count 1, which is racketeering conspiracy. The judge has instructed the jury to keep deliberating. Deliberations will resume Wednesday (July 2).

Jury reaches partial verdict in Sean "Diddy" Combs case

The U.S. Senate passed the Republicans' reconciliation bill on Tuesday (July 1) after more than 24 hours of marathon voting on amendments. Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote.

U.S. Senate passes Trump's "big, beautiful bill"

The new order does not rescind existing sanctions on ousted longtime President Bashar al-Assad, his top aides, officials and family members who are accused of having committed war crimes and human rights violations against Syrian civilians.

Trump signs executive order lifting U.S. sanctions on Syria

Former criminology graduate student Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to killing four Idaho college students in 2022, a move that would spare him the death penalty under a deal with prosecutors, ABC News reported on Monday (June 30).

Moscow

Suspect in murders of four Idaho college students to plead guilty

Thailand's Constitutional Court on Tuesday suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from duty pending a case seeking her dismissal, adding to mounting pressure on a government fighting for survival on multiple fronts.

Bangkok

Thai court suspends PM from duty pending case seeking her dismissal

Israeli strikes killed at least 60 people across Gaza on June 30 in some of the heaviest attacks in weeks as Israeli officials were due in Washington for a new ceasefire push by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Israel strikes pound Gaza, killing 60, ahead of U.S. talks

U.S. President Donald Trump says he's not planning to extend the pause on global tariffs set to expire on July 9. Brian Schwartz, reporter for the Wall Street Journal, joins CBS News to discuss.

Trump says he's not planning to extend July 9 global tariff deadline

The jury has informed the judge in Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial that they have concerns about one juror's ability to follow the court's instructions. Deliberations in the trial are underway.

Jury in Sean "Diddy" Combs trial sends note to judge

Jury deliberations are set to begin in the Sean "Diddy" Combs sex trafficking and racketeering trial. CBS News' Katrina Kaufman has the latest updates.