Iranian Hackers Deploy MiniFast and MiniJunk V2 via Phishing and SEO Poisoning

The Iranian state-sponsored threat actor known as Nimbus Manticore aka Screening Serpens and UNC1549 has been attributed to a fresh campaign using lures impersonating organizations in the aviation and software sectors across the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East following the joint U.S.-Israeli...

OpenAI Blocks 20 Global Malicious Campaigns Using AI for Cybercrime and Disinformation

OpenAI on Wednesday said it has disrupted more than 20 operations and deceptive networks across the world that attempted to use its platform for malicious purposes since the start of the year. This activity encompassed debugging malware, writing articles for websites, generating biographies for...

New Silver SAML Attack Evades Golden SAML Defenses in Identity Systems

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed a new attack technique called Silver SAML that can be successful even in cases where mitigations have been applied against Golden SAML attacks. Silver SAML "enables the exploitation of SAML to launch attacks from an identity provider like Entra ID against...

Iranian Threat Actor Adapts Tactics to Stay One Step Ahead

Summary: Charming Kitten, an Iranian threat actor, has recently been linked to a series of attacks targeting the Middle East. This campaign involves deploying a new backdoor called BASICSTAR through a deceptive webinar portal. Threat Level - Red | Attack Report For a detailed threat advisory,...

Microsoft Warns of New 'FalseFont' Backdoor Targeting the Defense Sector

Organizations in the Defense Industrial Base DIB sector are in the crosshairs of an Iranian threat actor as part of a campaign designed to deliver a never-before-seen backdoor called FalseFont. The findings come from Microsoft, which is tracking the activity under its weather-themed moniker Peach...

New PowerExchange Backdoor Used in Iranian Cyber Attack on UAE Government

An unnamed government entity associated with the United Arab Emirates U.A.E. was targeted by a likely Iranian threat actor to breach the victim's Microsoft Exchange Server with a "simple yet effective" backdoor dubbed PowerExchange. According to a new report from Fortinet FortiGuard Labs, the...

Iranian Tortoiseshell Hackers Targeting Israeli Logistics Industry

At least eight websites associated with shipping, logistics, and financial services companies in Israel were targeted as part of a watering hole attack. Tel Aviv-based cybersecurity company ClearSky attributed the attacks with low confidence to an Iranian threat actor tracked as Tortoiseshell,...

Iranian Hackers Using SimpleHelp Remote Support Software for Persistent Access

The Iranian threat actor known as MuddyWater is continuing its time-tested tradition of relying on legitimate remote administration tools to commandeer targeted systems. While the nation-state group has previously employed ScreenConnect, RemoteUtilities, and Syncro, a new analysis from Group-IB h...

Hackers Using New Version of FurBall Android Malware to Spy on Iranian Citizens

The Iranian threat actor known as Domestic Kitten has been attributed to a new mobile campaign that masquerades as a translation app to distribute an updated variant of an Android malware known as FurBall. "Since June 2021, it has been distributed as a translation app via a copycat of an Iranian...

Microsoft Warns of Ransomware Attacks by Iranian Phosphorus Hacker Group

Microsoft's threat intelligence division on Wednesday assessed that a subgroup of the Iranian threat actor tracked as Phosphorus is conducting ransomware attacks as a "form of moonlighting" for personal gain. The tech giant, which is monitoring the activity cluster under the moniker DEV-0270 aka...

MuddyWater targets Israeli organizations by exploiting unpatched log4j vulnerabilities

Threat Level Attack Report For a detailed threat advisory, download the pdf file here Summary MuddyWater, an Iranian threat actor, exploits Log4j two vulnerabilities in SysAid applications to target Israeli organizations. As soon as the attacker gains access to the targeted organization, it...

New Exploit Lets Malware Attackers Bypass Patch for Critical Microsoft MSHTML Flaw

A short-lived phishing campaign has been observed taking advantage of a novel exploit that bypassed a patch put in place by Microsoft to fix a remote code execution vulnerability affecting the MSHTML component with the goal of delivering Formbook malware. "The attachments represent an escalation ...

Hackers Using Microsoft MSHTML Flaw to Spy on Targeted PCs with Malware

A new Iranian threat actor has been discovered exploiting a now-addressed critical flaw in the Microsoft Windows MSHTML platform to target Farsi-speaking victims with a previously undocumented PowerShell-based information stealer designed to harvest extensive details from infected machines. "The...

Exchange, Fortinet Flaws Being Exploited by Iranian APT, CISA Warns

A state-backed Iranian threat actor has been using multiple CVEs – including both serious Fortinet vulnerabilities for months and a Microsoft Exchange ProxyShell weakness for weeks – looking to gain a foothold within networks before moving laterally and launching BitLocker ransomware and other...

Evolving trends in Iranian threat actor activity – MSTIC presentation at CyberWarCon 2021

Over the past year, the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center MSTIC has observed a gradual evolution of the tools, techniques, and procedures employed by malicious network operators based in Iran. At CyberWarCon 2021, MSTIC analysts presented their analysis of these trends in Iranian nation state...

Iranian Hackers Abuse Dropbox in Cyberattacks Against Aerospace and Telecom Firms

Details have emerged about a new cyber espionage campaign directed against the aerospace and telecommunications industries, primarily in the Middle East, with the goal of stealing sensitive information about critical assets, organizations' infrastructure, and technology while remaining in the dar...

Researchers uncover a new Iranian malware used in recent cyberattacks

An Iranian threat actor has unleashed a new cyberespionage campaign against a possible Lebanese target with a backdoor capable of exfiltrating sensitive information from compromised systems. Cybersecurity firm Check Point attributed the operation to APT34, citing similarities with previous...

Iranian RANA Android Malware Also Spies On Instant Messengers

A team of researchers today unveiled previously undisclosed capabilities of an Android spyware implant—developed by a sanctioned Iranian threat actor—that could let attackers spy on private chats from popular instant messaging apps, force Wi-Fi connections, and auto-answer calls from specific...

Iran-Linked Group ‘TEMP.Zagros’ Updates Tactics, Techniques In Latest Campaign

Researchers say a massive phishing campaign targeting Asia and Middle East regions is linked to an Iranian-based threat actor TEMP.Zagros, also known as MuddyWater. This latest attack illustrates an evolution by the threat actor, which has now adopted new tactics, techniques and procedures. “We...