HeadCrab 2.0 Goes Fileless, Targeting Redis Servers for Crypto Mining

Cybersecurity researchers have detailed an updated version of the malware HeadCrab that's known to target Redis database servers across the world since early September 2021. The development, which comes exactly a year after the malware was first publicly disclosed by Aqua, is a sign that the...

NoaBot: Latest Mirai-Based Botnet Targeting SSH Servers for Crypto Mining

A new Mirai-based botnet called NoaBot is being used by threat actors as part of a crypto mining campaign since the beginning of 2023. "The capabilities of the new botnet, NoaBot, include a wormable self-spreader and an SSH key backdoor to download and execute additional binaries or spread itself...

Microsoft Warns of Hackers Exploiting OAuth for Cryptocurrency Mining and Phishing

Microsoft has warned that adversaries are using OAuth applications as an automation tool to deploy virtual machines VMs for cryptocurrency mining and launch phishing attacks. "Threat actors compromise user accounts to create, modify, and grant high privileges to OAuth applications that they can...

Threat actors misuse OAuth applications to automate financially driven attacks

Threat actors are misusing OAuth applications as an automation tool in financially motivated attacks. OAuth is an open standard for token-based authentication and authorization that enables applications to get access to data and resources based on permissions set by a user. Threat actors compromi...

Researchers Uncover Undetectable Crypto Mining Technique on Azure Automation

Cybersecurity researchers have developed what's the first fully undetectable cloud-based cryptocurrency miner leveraging the Microsoft Azure Automation service without racking up any charges. Cybersecurity company SafeBreach said it discovered three different methods to run the miner, including o...

Threat Roundup for October 27 to November 3

Today, Talos is publishing a glimpse into the most prevalent threats weve observed between Oct. 27 and Nov. 3. As with previous roundups, this post isnt meant to be an in-depth analysis. Instead, this post will summarize the threats weve observed by highlighting key behavioral characteristics,...

ExelaStealer: A New Low-Cost Cybercrime Weapon Emerges

A new information stealer named ExelaStealer has become the latest entrant to an already crowded landscape filled with various off-the-shelf malware designed to capture sensitive data from compromised Windows systems. "ExelaStealer is a largely open-source infostealer with paid customizations...

What is Cracktivator software?

Cisco Talos coined the term "Cracktivator software" to reference counterfeit or modified software for pirated versions of Windows applications. One of our teammates, James Nutland, led the research to look into cracked versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system and other Microsoft...

How looking at decades of spam led Jaeson Schultz from Y2K to the metaverse and cryptocurrency

At this point in his career, Jaeson Schultz has seen nearly every type of online scam there is to see. From fake bomb threats at schools, to "sextortion" campaigns, cryptocurrency mining, metaverse and more of the 2010s, to the earliest type of spam emails in the 1990s that promised to protect...

New AMBERSQUID Cryptojacking Operation Targets Uncommon AWS Services

A novel cloud-native cryptojacking operation has set its eyes on uncommon Amazon Web Services AWS offerings such as AWS Amplify, AWS Fargate, and Amazon SageMaker to illicitly mine cryptocurrency. The malicious cyber activity has been codenamed AMBERSQUID by cloud and container security firm...

Cybercriminals Target Graphic Designers with Cryptojacking Malware

Threat Level Attack Report For a detailed threat advisory, download the pdf file here Summary Cybercriminals are taking advantage of a legitimate Windows tool known as Advanced Installer to compromise the computers of graphic designers with cryptocurrency mining malware. These scripts are designe...

Microsoft Teams used to deliver DarkGate Loader malware

Researchers have found a new method by which cybercriminals are spreading the DarkGate Loader malware. Until now, DarkGate was typically distributed via phishing emails. The malspam campaign used stolen email threads to lure victims into clicking a hyperlink, which downloaded the malware. But...

Cybercriminals Weaponizing Legitimate Advanced Installer Tool in Crypto-Mining Attacks

A legitimate Windows tool used for creating software packages called Advanced Installer is being abused by threat actors to drop cryptocurrency-mining malware on infected machines since at least November 2021. "The attacker uses Advanced Installer to package other legitimate software installers,...

A secondhand account of the worst possible timing for a scammer to strike

Welcome to this weeks edition of the Threat Source newsletter. Up until last week, I had never considered the timing of a scam to be important. Im so used to just swiping away emails or text messages at random times during the day that Id never considered what would happen if an adversary happene...

Cybercriminals target graphic designers with GPU miners

Cybercriminals are abusing Advanced Installer, a legitimate Windows tool used for creating software packages, to drop cryptocurrency-mining malware on infected machines. This activity has been ongoing since at least November 2021. The attacker uses Advanced Installer to package other legitimate...

Cryptojacking: Understanding and defending against cloud compute resource abuse

In cloud environments, cryptojacking – a type of cyberattack that uses computing power to mine cryptocurrency – takes the form of cloud compute resource abuse, which involves a threat actor compromising legitimate tenants. Cloud compute resource abuse could result in financial loss to targeted...

Python-Based PyLoose Fileless Attack Targets Cloud Workloads for Cryptocurrency Mining

A new fileless attack dubbed PyLoose has been observed striking cloud workloads with the goal of delivering a cryptocurrency miner, new findings from Wiz reveal. "The attack consists of Python code that loads an XMRig Miner directly into memory using memfd, a known Linux fileless technique,"...

Silentbob Campaign: Cloud-Native Environments Under Attack

Cybersecurity researchers have unearthed an attack infrastructure that's being used as part of a "potentially massive campaign" against cloud-native environments. "This infrastructure is in early stages of testing and deployment, and is mainly consistent of an aggressive cloud worm, designed to...

New Cryptocurrency Mining Campaign Targets Linux Systems and IoT Devices

Internet-facing Linux systems and Internet of Things IoT devices are being targeted as part of a new campaign designed to illicitly mine cryptocurrency. "The threat actors behind the attack use a backdoor that deploys a wide array of tools and components such as rootkits and an IRC bot to steal...

New Cryptocurrency Mining Campaign Targets Linux Systems and IoT Devices

Internet-facing Linux systems and Internet of Things IoT devices are being targeted as part of a new campaign designed to illicitly mine cryptocurrency. "The threat actors behind the attack use a backdoor that deploys a wide array of tools and components such as rootkits and an IRC bot to steal...