Russian Hackers Target Europe with HeadLace Malware and Credential Harvesting

The Russian GRU-backed threat actor APT28 has been attributed as behind a series of campaigns targeting networks across Europe with the HeadLace malware and credential-harvesting web pages. APT28, also known by the names BlueDelta, Fancy Bear, Forest Blizzard, FROZENLAKE, Iron Twilight, ITG05, Pa...

Cyber Espionage Alert: LilacSquid Targets IT, Energy, and Pharma Sectors

A previously undocumented cyber espionage-focused threat actor named LilacSquid has been linked to targeted attacks spanning various sectors in the United States U.S., Europe, and Asia as part of a data theft campaign since at least 2021. "The campaign is geared toward establishing long-term acce...

LilacSquid: The stealthy trilogy of PurpleInk, InkBox and InkLoader

By Anna Bennett, Nicole Hoffman, Asheer Malhotra, Sean Taylor and Brandon White. Cisco Talos is disclosing a new suspected data theft campaign, active since at least 2021, we attribute to an advanced persistent threat actor APT were calling "LilacSquid." LilacSquids victimology includes a diverse...

The Unusual Espionage Act Case Against a Drone Photographer

In seemingly the first case of its kind, the US Justice Department has charged a Chinese national with using a drone to photograph a Virginia shipyard where the US Navy was assembling nuclear submarines...

Stealthy BLOODALCHEMY Malware Targeting ASEAN Government Networks

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered that the malware known as BLOODALCHEMY used in attacks targeting government organizations in Southern and Southeastern Asia is in fact an updated version of Deed RAT, which is believed to be a successor to ShadowPad. "The origin of BLOODALCHEMY and Deed R...

New Frontiers, Old Tactics: Chinese Espionage Group Targets Africa & Caribbean Govts

The China-linked threat actor known as Sharp Panda has expanded their targeting to include governmental organizations in Africa and the Caribbean as part of an ongoing cyber espionage campaign. "The campaign adopts Cobalt Strike Beacon as the payload, enabling backdoor functionalities like C2...

Inside Operation Diplomatic Specter: Chinese APT Group's Stealthy Tactics Exposed

Governmental entities in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia are the target of a Chinese advanced persistent threat APT group as part of an ongoing cyber espionage campaign dubbed Operation Diplomatic Specter since at least late 2022. "An analysis of this threat actor's activity reveals long-term...

Foxit PDF Reader Flaw Exploited by Hackers to Deliver Diverse Malware Arsenal

Multiple threat actors are weaponizing a design flaw in Foxit PDF Reader to deliver a variety of malware such as Agent Tesla, AsyncRAT, DCRat, NanoCore RAT, NjRAT, Pony, Remcos RAT, and XWorm. "This exploit triggers security warnings that could deceive unsuspecting users into executing harmful...

China-Linked Hackers Adopt Two-Stage Infection Tactic to Deploy Deuterbear RAT

Cybersecurity researchers have shed more light on a remote access trojan RAT known as Deuterbear used by the China-linked BlackTech hacking group as part of a cyber espionage campaign targeting the Asia-Pacific region this year. "Deuterbear, while similar to Waterbear in many ways, shows...

Kimsuky APT Deploying Linux Backdoor Gomir in South Korean Cyber Attacks

The Kimsuky aka Springtail advanced persistent threat APT group, which is linked to North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau RGB, has been observed deploying a Linux version of its GoBear backdoor as part of a campaign targeting South Korean organizations. The backdoor, codenamed Gomir, is...

China-Linked Hackers Suspected in ArcaneDoor Cyberattacks Targeting Network Devices

The recently uncovered cyber espionage campaign targeting perimeter network devices from several vendors, including Cisco, may have been the work of China-linked actors, according to new findings from attack surface management firm Censys. Dubbed ArcaneDoor, the activity is said to have commenced...

Microsoft Outlook Flaw Exploited by Russia's APT28 to Hack Czech, German Entities

Czechia and Germany on Friday revealed that they were the target of a long-term cyber espionage campaign conducted by the Russia-linked nation-state actor known as APT28, drawing condemnation from the European Union E.U., the North Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO, the U.K., and the U.S. The Cze...

Ex-NSA Employee Sentenced to 22 Years for Trying to Sell U.S. Secrets to Russia

A former employee of the U.S. National Security Agency NSA has been sentenced to nearly 22 years 262 months in prison for attempting to transfer classified documents to Russia. "This sentence should serve as a stark warning to all those entrusted with protecting national defense information that...

Unmasking ArcaneDoor: A Cyber Espionage Surge Against Critical Infrastructure

Discovery of a Digital Breach Even our most sensitive governmental and infrastructural data is not guaranteed safe. A new breach has been uncovered, ominously named "ArcaneDoor." According to HiveForce Labs, this campaign has been meticulously orchestrated with the primary aim of breaching the...

ArcaneDoor a Novel Espionage Campaign Exploits Cisco Zero-Days

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Espionage - A Linux Packet Sniffing Suite For Automated MiTM Attacks

Espionage is a network packet sniffer that intercepts large amounts of data being passed through an interface. The tool allows users to to run normal and verbose traffic analysis that shows a live feed of traffic, revealing packet direction, protocols, flags, etc. Espionage can also spoof ARP so,...

State-Sponsored Hackers Exploit Two Cisco Zero-Day Vulnerabilities for Espionage

A new malware campaign leveraged two zero-day flaws in Cisco networking gear to deliver custom malware and facilitate covert data collection on target environments. Cisco Talos, which dubbed the activity ArcaneDoor, attributed it as the handiwork of a previously undocumented sophisticated...

ArcaneDoor Unlocked: Tackling State-Sponsored Cyber Espionage in Network Perimeters

Cisco recently uncovered a sophisticated cyber espionage campaign, ArcaneDoor, targeting perimeter network devices used by government and critical infrastructure sectors. This campaign involves state-sponsored actors exploiting two zero-day vulnerabilities CVE-2024-20353 and CVE-2024-20359 aimed...

ArcaneDoor - New espionage-focused campaign found targeting perimeter network devices

Updated 2024-04-25 16:57 GMT with minor wording corrections regarding the targeting of other vendors. ArcaneDoor is a campaign that is the latest example of state-sponsored actors targeting perimeter network devices from multiple vendors. Coveted by these actors, perimeter network devices are the...

German Authorities Issue Arrest Warrants for Three Suspected Chinese Spies

German authorities said they have issued arrest warrants against three citizens on suspicion of spying for China. The full names of the defendants were not disclosed by the Office of the Federal Prosecutor aka Generalbundesanwalt, but it includes Herwig F., Ina F., and Thomas R. "The suspects are...