Kali365 phishing kit bypasses MFA and steals Microsoft logins

When the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI publishes a dedicated public service announcement about a new phishing kit, it’s worth paying attention to. The agency is now warning about “Kali365,” a phishing‑as‑a‑service PhaaS platform that helps even low‑skilled attackers hijack Microsoft 365...

Company bragged phone mics could listen to conversations. They couldn’t.

A media company and two of its marketing partners have been fined for selling a service which, they said, listened in to people's conversations through their phones. Actually they did nothing of the sort. Most people have worried at some point that their phone has been listening to them through t...

Fake LinkedIn emails abuse Adobe to track victims

Cybercriminals are abusing Adobe infrastructure in a LinkedIn phishing campaign that steals passwords and redirects victims to the legitimate LinkedIn site afterward. The phishing email masquerades as a business inquiry designed to look like it's come via LinkedIn and includes a fake “contract”...

Fake software on GitHub and SourceForge distribute Deno RAT

During our threat hunting activities, we found fake installers and plugins impersonating popular software including ChatGPT, Claude, AutoTune, and Kontakt on GitHub and SourceForge distributing a Deno backdoor known as DinDoor. Attackers are using compromised YouTube channels to distribute links ...

700+ education and tech websites hijacked in huge ClickFix malware campaign

Attackers are abusing a critical Ghost Content Management System CMS vulnerability to hijack more than 700 legitimate websites and inject a fake Cloudflare verification step that tricks visitors into running a Windows command that installs malware. These social engineering campaigns—where website...

Scammers pretending to be Microsoft had help from US executives

A pop-up appears on your computer, warning of a virus. You call the "Microsoft technician" in the pop-up message, and they explain that they need remote access to fix it. Most of us know this script by now. It's a scam, operated by people intent on siphoning money from your account. A court case...

A week in security (May 18 – May 24)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Update Chrome now: Critical bugs could let attackers run code Microsoft Defender vulnerabilities are being exploited in the wild TikTok, YouTube, and Roblox face scrutiny, but age gates won’t fix child safety Catch spyware in the act with Windows Webcam Monitoring...

Update Chrome now: Critical bugs could let attackers run code

Google has issued updates for the Chrome browser patching a number of high‑severity vulnerabilities. The update includes fixes for two critical vulnerabilities that can be used for remote code execution just by visiting a malicious website. The stable channel has been updated to 148.0.7778.178/17...

Microsoft Defender vulnerabilities are being exploited in the wild

Two Microsoft Defender vulnerabilities are being actively exploited in the wild. On May 20, 2026, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA added a notable set of actively exploited vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities KEV catalog. The KEV catalog tracks...

TikTok, YouTube, and Roblox face scrutiny, but age gates won’t fix child safety

A damaging new report from Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, has delivered a stark verdict: TikTok and YouTube's content feeds are "not safe enough" for children. This isn't just another regulatory slap on the wrist. Ofcom is putting out a wake-up call for anyone working in cybersecurity,...

Catch spyware in the act with Windows Webcam Monitoring

You’re working hard late at night, replying to emails and planning the week ahead. Then suddenly, a PDF file requests access to your camera. Why would a PDF need camera access? Cybercriminals often disguise spyware inside seemingly harmless files and programs. An unexpected request for access to...

Researchers left AI agents alone in a virtual town and watched it all unravel

Tech leaders have spent the past year telling everyone that AI agents are about to run financial systems, file your tax returns, and quietly buy your groceries. Just leave them alone, the rhetoric goes; they'll handle it. But a New York startup left ten of them alone in a virtual town for two...

Fake malware-signing service Fox Tempest dismantled by Microsoft

Microsoft says it dismantled a malware-signing-as-a-service MSaaS called Fox Tempest, which helped cybercriminals make malware appear legitimate. The service let customers submit malicious files to be digitally signed with short-lived Microsoft-issued certificates, making the malware look...

Firefox 151 packs big privacy upgrades into a small update

Mozilla has published release notes for Firefox browser version 151.0, and this update includes several genuinely meaningful privacy and security improvements. Three changes stand out in particular: Stronger anti‑fingerprinting Broader protection for local network access More control over private...

Biometrics, diagnoses, and bank details exposed in major healthcare breach

NYC Health + Hospitals NYC H+H posted a data breach notice about a months‑long breach via a third‑party vendor that exposed highly sensitive patient and employee data for at least 1.8 million people, including medical records, government IDs, geolocation data, and even fingerprint and palm‑print...

Facebook scam promises cheap Aldi meat boxes, steals payment info instead

Sometimes you spot posts on social media that make you wonder if any moderation takes place at all. Which is concerning, because two- thirds of all online shopping scams now start on Facebook and Instagram. Online shopping scams are alarmingly common and have become one of the most frequently...

YouTube wants your face to fight deepfakes

If you're worried about deepfake likenesses of yourself showing up online, you're not alone; YouTube is worried for you. It wants to protect you by having you upload a selfie video and government ID to its site. The idea is that the video giant will use its own AI to patrol the service for fake...

Microsoft is changing Edge’s plaintext password behavior

Microsoft said it will change Edge’s password handling as a “defense‑in‑depth” measure. Originally, Edge decrypted the entire saved‑password store on startup and kept all credentials resident in process memory in clear text for the whole browser session, regardless of whether a given credential w...

A week in security (May 11 – May 17)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Attackers replaced JDownloader installer downloads with malware Meta’s confusing new approach to chat privacy Why Malwarebytes blocks some Yahoo Mail redirects Fake Claude search results lure Mac users into ClickFix attack Deepfake sextortion forces schools to remo...

AI is distorting the Holocaust (Lock and Code S07E10)

This week on the Lock and Code podcast … In May of last year, a warning about AI came from somewhere unexpected: The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. Posting publicly on social media, the museum warned about a Facebook account using generative AI to create fake images of people who died in the...

Attackers replaced JDownloader installer downloads with malware

If you downloaded the JDownloader installer during the compromise window May 6-7, you are advised to verify the file. JDownloader is a popular download management application, particularly favored for automated downloads from file-hosting services, video sites, and premium link generators. The...

Meta’s confusing new approach to chat privacy

Recent news had us wondering whether Meta actually knows what it wants. On one platform, Meta is promoting AI chats that it says even it cannot read. On another, it has removed one of the few features that genuinely prevented Meta from accessing private conversations. "Meta removed support for...

Why Malwarebytes blocks some Yahoo Mail redirects

Some Malwarebytes users have recently noticed frequent web protection alerts while reading email in Yahoo Mail’s web interface. These alerts are caused by background connections from the Yahoo Mail page to a set of third‑party domains that our products and other security tools currently classify ...

Deepfake sextortion forces schools to remove student photos from websites

Schools love a good photo, whether it's from a trip to a castle, a science prize ceremony, or sports day shot from three angles. For two decades, celebratory images like these have gone straight onto school websites, captioned with a name and a grade. But those days are gone, because it's the...

Texas sued Netflix over claims it secretly collected and sold users’ data

Attorney General AG of Texas Ken Paxton announced that he sued Netflix for spying on Texans, including children, and collecting users’ data without their knowledge or consent. The suit alleges Netflix secretly tracks and monetizes detailed viewing behavior of users, including children, while...

May 2026 Patch Tuesday: no zero-days but plenty to fix

This month’s Patch Tuesday remedies 137 security vulnerabilities, including 31 marked critical by Microsoft, with no zero-days actively exploited in the wild. Microsoft defines a zero-day as “a flaw in software for which no official patch or security update is available yet.” This month, Microsof...

Fake Claude search results lure Mac users into ClickFix attack

Researchers found that cybercriminals are using sponsored search results and shared Claude chats to lure victims into a typical ClickFix attack to install malware on macOS devices. ClickFix is a social engineering method that tricks users into infecting their own device with malware. Users are...

1 in 8 employees have sold company logins or know someone who has

UK anti-fraud non-profit Cifas just published research that should bother anyone who runs a business, or buys from one: One in eight workers at large enterprises have either sold their company login credentials or know someone who did. The internet is awash with compromised credentials that...

Stolen Canvas data was “returned” after hacker agreement, Instructure says

The Instructure/Canvas data breach that has dominated cybersecurity coverage recently has reached a new stage. Millions of students had personal data stolen, with extortion group ShinyHunters claiming credit for the data breach and applying extra pressure for their ransom demands by bothering...

Yarbo responds to robot flaws that could mow down their owners

A researcher found that Yarbo yard robots came with a host of vulnerabilities which, among others, allowed an attacker to harvest WiFi passwords. Security researcher Andreas Makris found he could remotely hijack thousands of Yarbo yard robots worldwide, and proved it by having his mower run him...

A week in security (May 4 – May 10)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Microsoft says Edge’s plaintext password behavior is "by design" ShinyHunters escalates Canvas attacks with school login defacements Massive AI investment scam network spans 15,500 domains If a fake moustache can fool age checks, is the Online Safety Act working?...

Microsoft says Edge’s plaintext password behavior is “by design”

Some time ago, we discussed whether you should allow your browser to remember your passwords. In that article we mentioned the importance of encryption. “ With a browser password manager, someone with access to your browser could see your passwords in clear text, although Windows can be set to as...

ShinyHunters escalates Canvas attacks with school login defacements

Days after confirming a major data breach, Instructure is now facing a second blow. Earlier this week, Instructure confirmed a major data breach affecting its cloud‑hosted Canvas environment, with the ShinyHunters group claiming it stole hundreds of millions of records tied to thousands of school...

Massive AI investment scam network spans 15,500 domains

Researchers tracked a large AI‑themed investment scam campaign involving more than 15,000 domains. It uses cloaking and deepfakes to hide from security tools while targeting ordinary users. Criminals abused the Keitaro ad-tracking platform as part of a cloaking system so real victims see scam...

If a fake moustache can fool age checks, is the Online Safety Act working?

A report based on a survey by the UK’s Internet Matters shows that much of the responsibility for managing the online safety of children still falls on families. The Online Safety Act came into effect in July, 2025, and the report explores what has changed in the online lives of UK families since...

Google Chrome’s silent 4GB AI download problem [updated]

Google Chrome has been quietly downloading a 4GB AI model onto users' devices without asking first. Security researcher Alexander Hanff, aka ThatPrivacyGuy, reports that Chrome has been silently installing Gemini Nano, Google's on-device AI model, as a file called weights.bin stored in the...

Attackers adopt JavaScript runtime Bun to spread NWHStealer

In our previous research, we analyzed a Windows infostealer we track as NWHStealer. The attackers behind this stealer are continuously finding new methods to distribute the stealer. During our hunting activities, we noticed how attackers are using a JavaScript runtime called Bun to help distribut...

Millions of students’ personal data stolen in major education breach

Instructure, the company behind the Canvas learning management system LMS, confirmed a cyber incident and subsequent data breach affecting its cloud‑hosted environment. The ShinyHunters ransomware group claims it is behind the attack and says it stole roughly 275 million records tied to students,...

Update WhatsApp now: Two new flaws could expose you to malicious files

Meta has published a new security advisory for messaging app WhatsApp, announcing patches for two vulnerabilities. WhatsApp has fixed two security flaws that could be abused to interfere with how media and attachments are handled on your device. There is no evidence that either bug has been...

Cyberattacks are raising your prices (Lock and Code S07E09)

This week on the Lock and Code podcast… Your prices could be going up because of a little something that one group has started calling the “cyber tax.” Not a “tax” in any regulatory sense of the word, this newly named “cyber tax” is instead a consequence of the growing number of cyberattacks on...

Thousands of Facebook accounts stolen by phishing emails sent through Google

Researchers have uncovered a long-running phishing operation that abuses trusted Google services to hijack tens of thousands of Facebook accounts. The compromised Facebook accounts are mainly business and advertiser profiles, which criminals can monetize after gaining access and control. The...

The 2026 World Cup scam economy is already running before the first whistle

The FIFA World Cup 2026 is scheduled to begin June 11 across the US, Canada, and Mexico. The web is filling with sites impersonating ticket vendors, telecoms, sticker publishers, toy manufacturers, immigration services, and crypto projects, all linked to the World Cup brand. Together, they map ou...

A week in security (April 27 – May 3)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: 3 easy-to-miss cybersecurity risks for small businesses Actively exploited cPanel bug exposes millions of websites to takeover More PayPal emails hijacked to deliver tech support scams Hackers stole hundreds of thousands of Roblox accounts: Here’s what to do...

3 easy-to-miss cybersecurity risks for small businesses

There’s a lot to security that isn’t necessarily “cyber.” It’s not all hackers or complex network attacks. Alongside traditional cyberattacks that deploy malware or exploit known software vulnerabilities, there are also less technical—yet equally devastating—forms of theft. This doesn’t mean that...

Actively exploited cPanel bug exposes millions of websites to takeover

Security researchers are warning about a newly discovered vulnerability in the widely used web server management software cPanel and WebHost Manager WHM. This is a critical, actively exploited authentication-bypass bug in cPanel/WHM that lets attackers gain administrative access to the interface...

More PayPal emails hijacked to deliver tech support scams

Scammers have found another way to get deceptive messages delivered through PayPal’s legitimate services. In December 2025, we reported that PayPal closed a loophole that let scammers send real emails with fake purchase notices. In those cases, scammers created a PayPal subscription and then paus...

Hackers stole hundreds of thousands of Roblox accounts: Here’s what to do

More than 610,000 Roblox accounts were reportedly stolen. Was yours or your child's among them? Ukrainian police arrested three individuals in Lviv who allegedly orchestrated one of the largest Roblox account theft operations to date. Between October 2025 and January 2026, the hacking group is sa...

Researchers built a chatbot that only knows the world before 1931

The internet's chatbots have read every forum rant, leaked Slack log, and confident blog post your uncle ever wrote about chemtrails. The results are predictable: they reflect the state of the internet, and it isn't pretty. That, along with some questionable design decisions, is partly why Elon...

Microsoft won’t patch PhantomRPC: Feature or bug?

A researcher has discovered a weakness called PhantomRPC that Microsoft does not consider a vulnerability it plans to patch. PhantomRPC involves Windows Remote Procedure Call RPC, the core of communication between Windows processes. The vulnerability lets a process with impersonation rights...

Scam-checking just got a lot easier: Malwarebytes is now in Claude

For years, Malwarebytes has protected people by going where they are, and where people are today is increasingly within AI tools. As these chatbots tackle more everyday questions—like what to wear for an interview, how to replace a pendant light in the home, and where to eat during upcoming...