SesameOp: Novel backdoor uses OpenAI Assistants API for command and control

Microsoft Incident Response – Detection and Response Team DART researchers uncovered a new backdoor that is notable for its novel use of the OpenAI Assistants Application Programming Interface API as a mechanism for command-and-control C2 communications. Instead of relying on more traditional...

SesameOp: Novel backdoor uses OpenAI Assistants API for command and control

Microsoft Incident Response – Detection and Response Team DART researchers uncovered a new backdoor that is notable for its novel use of the OpenAI Assistants Application Programming Interface API as a mechanism for command-and-control C2 communications. Instead of relying on more traditional...

Year-Long Nation-State Hack Hits US Telecom Ribbon Communications

Ribbon Communications discloses a year-long breach by nation-state actors. The attack highlights critical supply chain risk, reflecting the Salt Typhoon and F5 espionage trends...

Salt Typhoon APT Group: What Public Sector Leaders and Defenders Should Know

The Rapid7 Threat Focus: Salt Typhoon report profiles one of the most sophisticated and persistent state-sponsored threat actors operating today. Salt Typhoon, a Chinese espionage advanced persistent threat APT group linked to the Ministry of State Security MSS, has spent years infiltrating globa...

Mem3nt0 mori – The Hacking Team is back!

In March 2025, Kaspersky detected a wave of infections that occurred when users clicked on personalized phishing links sent via email. No further action was required to initiate the infection; simply visiting the malicious website using Google Chrome or another Chromium-based web browser was...

SideWinder's Shifting Sands: Click Once for Espionage

SideWinder's Shifting Sands: Click Once for Espionage By Ernesto Fernández Provecho and Pham Duy Phuc · October 22, 2025 In September 2025, the Trellix Advanced Research Center ARC detected a campaign targeting a European embassy located in New Delhi, India. Further investigation led to the...

Extortion and ransomware drive over half of cyberattacks

In 80% of the cyber incidents Microsoft’s security teams investigated last year, attackers sought to steal data—a trend driven more by financial gain than intelligence gathering. According to the latest Microsoft Digital Defense Report, written with our Chief Information Security Officer Igor...

From HealthKick to GOVERSHELL: The Evolution of UTA0388's Espionage Malware

A China-aligned threat actor codenamed UTA0388 has been attributed to a series of spear-phishing campaigns targeting North America, Asia, and Europe that are designed to deliver a Go-based implant known as GOVERSHELL. "The initially observed campaigns were tailored to the targets, and the message...

Phantom Taurus: New China-Linked Hacker Group Hits Governments With Stealth Malware

Government and telecommunications organizations across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia have emerged as the target of a previously undocumented China-aligned nation-state actor dubbed Phantom Taurus over the past two-and-a-half years. "Phantom Taurus' main focus areas include ministries of forei...

MI6 Opens Dark Web Portal “Silent Courier” for Russians to Share Secrets

The UK's spy agency, MI6, has launched a new dark web portal called Silent Courier to securely recruit agents worldwide, particularly from Russia. Learn how this shift to the dark web marks a new era in modern espionage and national security...

Abandoned Sogou Zhuyin Update Server Hijacked, Weaponized in Taiwan Espionage Campaign

An abandoned update server associated with input method editor IME software Sogou Zhuyin was leveraged by threat actors as part of an espionage campaign to deliver several malware families, including C6DOOR and GTELAM, in attacks primarily targeting users across Eastern Asia. "Attackers employed...

Chinese Hackers Murky, Genesis, and Glacial Panda Escalate Cloud and Telecom Espionage

Cybersecurity researchers are calling attention to malicious activity orchestrated by a China-nexus cyber espionage group known as Murky Panda that involves abusing trusted relationships in the cloud to breach enterprise networks. "The adversary has also shown considerable ability to quickly...

FBI Warns FSB-Linked Hackers Exploiting Unpatched Cisco Devices for Cyber Espionage

A Russian state-sponsored cyber espionage group known as Static Tundra has been observed actively exploiting a seven-year-old security flaw in Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE software as a means to establish persistent access to target networks. Cisco Talos, which disclosed details of the activity, sa...

The Coordinated Embassy Hunt: Unmasking the DPRK-linked GitHub C2 Espionage Campaign

The Coordinated Embassy Hunt: Unmasking the DPRK-linked GitHub C2 Espionage Campaign By Pham Duy Phuc and Alex Lanstein · August 18, 2025 The Trellix Advanced Research Center uncovered a sophisticated espionage operation targeting diplomatic missions across several regions in South Korea during...

North Korean Group ScarCruft Expands From Spying to Ransomware Attacks

North Korean hackers ScarCruft shift from spying to ransomware, using VCD malware in phishing attacks, targeting South Korea…...

CERT-UA Warns of HTA-Delivered C# Malware Attacks Using Court Summons Lures

The Computer Emergency Response Team of Ukraine CERT-UA has warned of cyber attacks carried out by a threat actor called UAC-0099 targeting government agencies, the defense forces, and enterprises of the defense-industrial complex in the country. The attacks, which leverage phishing emails as an...

CL-STA-0969 Installs Covert Malware in Telecom Networks During 10-Month Espionage Campaign

Telecommunications organizations in Southeast Asia have been targeted by a state-sponsored threat actor known as CL-STA-0969 to facilitate remote control over compromised networks. Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 said it observed multiple incidents in the region, including one aimed at critical...

Secret Blizzard Deploys Malware in ISP-Level AitM Attacks on Moscow Embassies

The Russian nation-state threat actor known as Secret Blizzard has been observed orchestrating a new cyber espionage campaign targeting foreign embassies located in Moscow by means of an adversary-in-the-middle AitM attack at the Internet Service Provider ISP level and delivering a custom malware...

Chinese Firms Linked to Silk Typhoon Filed 15+ Patents for Cyber Espionage Tools

Chinese companies linked to the state-sponsored hacking group known as Silk Typhoon aka Hafnium have been identified as behind over a dozen technology patents, shedding light on the shadowy cyber contracting ecosystem and its offensive capabilities. The patents cover forensics and intrusion tools...

Cyber Espionage Campaign Hits Russian Aerospace Sector Using EAGLET Backdoor

Russian aerospace and defense industries have become the target of a cyber espionage campaign that delivers a backdoor called EAGLET to facilitate data exfiltration. The activity, dubbed Operation CargoTalon , has been assigned to a threat cluster tracked as UNG0901 short for Unknown Group 901...