Hamas-linked Hackers Targeting High-Ranking Israelis Using 'Catfish' Lures

A threat actor with affiliations to the cyber warfare division of Hamas has been linked to an "elaborate campaign" targeting high-profile Israeli individuals employed in sensitive defense, law enforcement, and emergency services organizations. "The campaign operators use sophisticated social...

Deep Panda deploys new rootkit “Fire Chili” by exploiting Log4shell in VMware horizon

THREAT LEVEL: Red For a detailed advisory, download the pdf file here Deep Panda, a Chinese APT group, took advantage of the well-known Log4Shell vulnerability in VMware Horizon servers to deploy a backdoor, rootkit, and steal sensitive data. This threat actor is primarily targeting firms in the...

Researchers Trace Widespread Espionage Attacks Back to Chinese 'Cicada' Hackers

A Chinese state-backed advanced persistent threat APT group known for singling out Japanese entities has been attributed to a new long-running espionage campaign targeting new geographies, suggesting a "widening" of the threat actor's targeting. The widespread intrusions, which are believed to ha...

Multiple Hacker Groups Capitalizing on Ukraine Conflict for Distributing Malware

At least three different advanced persistent threat APT groups from across the world have launched spear-phishing campaigns in mid-March 2022 using the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war as a lure to distribute malware and steal sensitive information. The campaigns, undertaken by El Machete, Lyceum, and...

Qualys Multi-Vector EDR Excels in 2022 MITRE ATT&CK Evaluation

MITRE evaluated Qualys Multi-Vector EDR against competing alternatives, and the results are in. This blog reviews the basics of MITRE ATT&CK evaluation, how our EDR solution performed, and how to interpret the ratings. MITRE Engenuity has released the results of round 4 of its ATT&CK Evaluations...

New PlugX variant “Talisman” used by famous Chinese APT

THREAT LEVEL: Red. For a detailed advisory, download the pdf file here PlugX is a well-known malware family with samples dating back to as early as 2008. A Chinese state-backed threat actor, RedFoxtrot group, is discovered to use a new variant of the PlugX malware, Talisman. The threat actor grou...

New Hacking Campaign by Transparent Tribe Hackers Targeting Indian Officials

A threat actor of likely Pakistani origin has been attributed to yet another campaign designed to backdoor targets of interest with a Windows-based remote access trojan named CrimsonRAT since at least June 2021. "Transparent Tribe has been a highly active APT group in the Indian subcontinent,"...

Chinese APT Combines Fresh Hodur RAT with Complex Anti-Detection

The Chinese advanced persistent threat APT Mustang Panda a.k.a. Temp.Hex, HoneyMyte, TA416 or RedDelta has upgraded its espionage campaign against diplomatic missions, research entities and internet service providers ISPs – largely in and around Southeast Asia. For one thing, the APT has deployed...

Chinese APT Hackers Targeting Betting Companies in Southeast Asia

A Chinese-speaking advanced persistent threat APT has been linked to a new campaign targeting gambling-related companies in South East Asia, particularly Taiwan, the Philippines, and Hong Kong. Cybersecurity firm Avast dubbed the campaign Operation Dragon Castling, describing its malware arsenal ...

Chinese 'Mustang Panda' Hackers Spotted Deploying New 'Hodur' Malware

A China-based advanced persistent threat APT known as Mustang Panda has been linked to an ongoing cyber espionage campaign using a previously undocumented variant of the PlugX remote access trojan on infected machines. Slovak cybersecurity firm ESET dubbed the new version Hodur, owing to its...

DarkHotel APT group targeting the Hospitality Industry in China

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DarkHotel APT Targets Wynn, Macao Hotels to Rip Off Guest Data

An advanced persistent threat APT group has been targeting luxury hotels in Macao, China with a spear-phishing campaign aimed at breaching their networks and stealing the sensitive data of high-profile guests staying at resorts, including the Grand Coloane Resort and Wynn Palace. A threat researc...

Sandworm APT Hunts for ASUS Routers with Cyclops Blink Botnet

The modular botnet known as Cyclops Blink, linked to the same advanced persistent threat APT behind the NotPetya wiper attacks, is expanding its device targeting to include ASUS routers. Further, it’s likely that the botnet’s purpose is far more sinister than the average Mirai-knockoff’s penchant...

Suspected DarkHotel APT Activity Update

Suspected DarkHotel APT activity update One Hotel to rule them all, One Hotel to find them, One Hotel to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. By John Fokker · March 17, 2022 This story was also written by Thibault Seret Introduction: Our advanced threat research team has discovered a...

Suspected DarkHotel APT Activity Update

Suspected DarkHotel APT activity update One Hotel to rule them all, One Hotel to find them, One Hotel to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. By John Fokker · March 17, 2022 This story was also written by Thibault Seret Introduction: Our advanced threat research team has discovered a...

Russian Ransomware Gang Retool Custom Hacking Tools of Other APT Groups

A Russian-speaking ransomware outfit likely targeted an unnamed entity in the gambling and gaming sector in Europe and Central America by repurposing custom tools developed by other APT groups like Iran's MuddyWater, new research has found. The unusual attack chain involved the abuse of stolen...

Researchers Find New Evidence Linking Kwampirs Malware to Shamoon APT Hackers

New findings released last week showcase the overlapping source code and techniques between the operators of Shamoon and Kwampirs, indicating that they "are the same group or really close collaborators." "Research evidence shows identification of co-evolution between both Shamoon and Kwampirs...

Iranian linked conglomerate MuddyWater comprised of regionally focused subgroups

By Asheer Malhotra, Vitor Ventura and Arnaud Zobec. Cisco Talos has observed new cyber attacks targeting Turkey and other Asian countries we believe with high confidence are from groups operating under the MuddyWater umbrella of APT groups. U.S. Cyber Command recently connected MuddyWater to...

Daxin Espionage Backdoor Ups the Ante on Chinese Malware

The Daxin malware is taking aim at hardened government networks around the world, according to researchers, with the goal of cyberespionage. The Symantec Threat Hunter team noticed the advanced persistent threat APT weapon in action in November, noting that it’s “the most advanced piece of malwar...

Broadcom Software Discloses APT Actors Deploying Daxin Malware in Global Espionage Campaign

Broadcom Software—an industry member of CISA’s Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative JCDC—uncovers an advanced persistent threat APT campaign against select governments and other critical infrastructure targets in a publication titled Daxin: Stealthy Backdoor Designed for Attacks Against Hardened...