APT29 Deploys GRAPELOADER Malware Targeting European Diplomats Through Wine-Tasting Lures

The Russian state-sponsored threat actor known as APT29 has been linked to an advanced phishing campaign that's targeting diplomatic entities across Europe with a new variant of WINELOADER and a previously unreported malware loader codenamed GRAPELOADER. "While the improved WINELOADER variant is...

Cyber Signals Issue 9 | AI-powered deception: Emerging fraud threats and countermeasures

Introduction | Security snapshot | Threat briefing Defending against attacks | Expert profile Microsoft maintains a continuous effort to protect its platforms and customers from fraud and abuse. From blocking imposters on Microsoft Azure and adding anti-scam features to Microsoft Edge, to fightin...

ResolverRAT Campaign Targets Healthcare, Pharma via Phishing and DLL Side-Loading

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a new, sophisticated remote access trojan called ResolverRAT that has been observed in attacks targeting healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors. "The threat actor leverages fear-based lures delivered via phishing emails, designed to pressure recipients int...

Threat actors thrive in chaos

Welcome to this week's edition of the Threat Source newsletter. If there's one thing that threat actors love, it's chaos. Headlines in the news that provoke an emotional response make excellent phishing lures because the intense feelings invoked by a provocative subject line cause our critical...

Malicious code in bitcoinlibdbfix (PyPI)

--- -= Per source details. Do not edit below this line.=- Source: kam193 a5cb52fa4f2ac6a68416c59a513399e01bb388d5e238260b712a513db3d97233 It overwrites the 'clw' command from legit bitconinlib package and attempts to exfiltrate its database on the usage. As a context, it appears to be created to...

New Investment Scam Leverages AI, Social Media Ads to Target Victims Worldwide

Cybersecurity researchers are calling attention to a new kind of investment scam that leverages a combination of social media malvertising, company-branded posts, and artificial intelligence AI powered video testimonials featuring famous personalities, ultimately leading to financial and data los...

APT-K-47 Uses Hajj-Themed Lures to Deliver Advanced Asyncshell Malware

The threat actor known as Mysterious Elephant has been observed using an advanced version of malware called Asyncshell. The attack campaign is said to have used Hajj-themed lures to trick victims into executing a malicious payload under the guise of a Microsoft Compiled HTML Help CHM file, the...

North Korean Hackers Target Energy and Aerospace Industries with New MISTPEN Malware

A North Korea-linked cyber-espionage group has been observed leveraging job-themed phishing lures to target prospective victims in energy and aerospace verticals and infect them with a previously undocumented backdoor dubbed MISTPEN. The activity cluster is being tracked by Google-owned Mandiant...

China-linked APT17 Targets Italian Companies with 9002 RAT Malware

A China-linked threat actor called APT17 has been observed targeting Italian companies and government entities using a variant of a known malware referred to as 9002 RAT. The two targeted attacks took place on June 24 and July 2, 2024, Italian cybersecurity company TG Soft said in an analysis...

New Poco RAT Targets Spanish-Speaking Victims in Phishing Campaign

Spanish language victims are the target of an email phishing campaign that delivers a new remote access trojan RAT called Poco RAT since at least February 2024. The attacks primarily single out mining, manufacturing, hospitality, and utilities sectors, according to cybersecurity company Cofense...

South Korean ERP Vendor's Server Hacked to Spread Xctdoor Malware

An unnamed South Korean enterprise resource planning ERP vendor's product update server has been found to be compromised to deliver a Go-based backdoor dubbed Xctdoor. The AhnLab Security Intelligence Center ASEC, which identified the attack in May 2024, did not attribute it to a known threat act...

Cybercriminals Exploit Free Software Lures to Deploy Hijack Loader and Vidar Stealer

Threat actors are luring unsuspecting users with free or pirated versions of commercial software to deliver a malware loader called Hijack Loader, which then deploys an information stealer known as Vidar Stealer. "Adversaries had managed to trick users into downloading password-protected archive...

FlyingYeti Exploits WinRAR Vulnerability to Deliver COOKBOX Malware in Ukraine

Cloudflare on Thursday said it took steps to disrupt a month-long phishing campaign orchestrated by a Russia-aligned threat actor called FlyingYeti targeting Ukraine. "The FlyingYeti campaign capitalized on anxiety over the potential loss of access to housing and utilities by enticing targets to...

Latrodectus Malware Loader Emerges as IcedID's Successor in Phishing Campaigns

Cybersecurity researchers have observed a spike in email phishing campaigns starting early March 2024 that delivers Latrodectus, a nascent malware loader believed to be the successor to the IcedID malware. "These campaigns typically involve a recognizable infection chain involving oversized...

North Korea's Lazarus Group Deploys New Kaolin RAT via Fake Job Lures

The North Korea-linked threat actor known as Lazarus Group employed its time-tested fabricated job lures to deliver a new remote access trojan called Kaolin RAT. The malware could, "aside from standard RAT functionality, change the last write timestamp of a selected file and load any received DLL...

OfflRouter virus causes Ukrainian users to upload confidential documents to VirusTotal

During a threat-hunting exercise, Cisco Talos discovered documents with potentially confidential information originating from Ukraine. The documents contained malicious VBA code, indicating they may be used as lures to infect organizations. The results of the investigation have shown that the...

Iran-Linked UNC1549 Hackers Target Middle East Aerospace & Defense Sectors

An Iran-nexus threat actor known as UNC1549 has been attributed with medium confidence to a new set of attacks targeting aerospace, aviation, and defense industries in the Middle East, including Israel and the U.A.E. Other targets of the cyber espionage activity likely include Turkey, India, and...

Brazilian Feds Dismantle Grandoreiro Banking Trojan, Arresting Top Operatives

A Brazilian law enforcement operation has led to the arrest of several Brazilian operators in charge of the Grandoreiro malware. The Federal Police of Brazil said it served five temporary arrest warrants and 13 search and seizure warrants in the states of São Paulo, Santa Catarina, Pará, Goiás, a...

AllaKore RAT’s Grip Tightens on Mexican Financial Institutions

Summary: A threat actor has been targeting Mexican banks and cryptocurrency trading since at least 2021. Using custom installers, the actor distributes a modified version of the AllaKore RAT, an open-source remote access tool. The campaign cleverly mimics the Mexican Social Security Institute IMS...

New TTPs observed in Mint Sandstorm campaign targeting high-profile individuals at universities and research orgs

Since November 2023, Microsoft has observed a distinct subset of Mint Sandstorm PHOSPHORUS targeting high-profile individuals working on Middle Eastern affairs at universities and research organizations in Belgium, France, Gaza, Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In this campaign,...