Researchers Detail Multistage Attack Hijacking Systems with SSLoad, Cobalt Strike

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered an ongoing attack campaign that's leveraging phishing emails to deliver a malware called SSLoad. The campaign, codenamed FROZENSHADOW by Securonix, also involves the deployment of Cobalt Strike and the ConnectWise ScreenConnect remote desktop software...

New RedLine Stealer Variant Disguised as Game Cheats Using Lua Bytecode for Stealth

A new information stealer has been found leveraging Lua bytecode for added stealth and sophistication, findings from McAfee Labs reveal. The cybersecurity firm has assessed it to be a variant of a known malware called RedLine Stealer owing to the fact that the command-and-control C2 server IP...

Russian APT Deploys New 'Kapeka' Backdoor in Eastern European Attacks

A previously undocumented "flexible" backdoor called Kapeka has been "sporadically" observed in cyber attacks targeting Eastern Europe, including Estonia and Ukraine, since at least mid-2022. The findings come from Finnish cybersecurity firm WithSecure, which attributed the malware to the...

Zero-Day Alert: Critical Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS Flaw Under Active Attack

Palo Alto Networks is warning that a critical flaw impacting PAN-OS software used in its GlobalProtect gateways is being actively exploited in the wild. Tracked as CVE-2024-3400, the issue has a CVSS score of 10.0, indicating maximum severity. "A command injection vulnerability in the GlobalProte...

AllaKore RAT Malware Targeting Mexican Firms with Financial Fraud Tricks

Mexican financial institutions are under the radar of a new spear-phishing campaign that delivers a modified version of an open-source remote access trojan called AllaKore RAT. The BlackBerry Research and Intelligence Team attributed the activity to an unknown Latin America-based financially...

Hackers Weaponize Windows Flaw to Deploy Crypto-Siphoning Phemedrone Stealer

Threat actors have been observed leveraging a now-patched security flaw in Microsoft Windows to deploy an open-source information stealer called Phemedrone Stealer. "Phemedrone targets web browsers and data from cryptocurrency wallets and messaging apps such as Telegram, Steam, and Discord," Tren...

Turkish Hackers Exploiting Poorly Secured MS SQL Servers Across the Globe

Poorly secured Microsoft SQL MS SQL servers are being targeted in the U.S., European Union, and Latin American LATAM regions as part of an ongoing financially motivated campaign to gain initial access. "The analyzed threat campaign appears to end in one of two ways, either the selling of 'access'...

New Variant of DLL Search Order Hijacking Bypasses Windows 10 and 11 Protections

Security researchers have detailed a new variant of a dynamic link library DLL search order hijacking technique that could be used by threat actors to bypass security mechanisms and achieve execution of malicious code on systems running Microsoft Windows 10 and Windows 11. The approach "leverages...

6 Steps to Accelerate Cybersecurity Incident Response

Modern security tools continue to improve in their ability to defend organizations' networks and endpoints against cybercriminals. But the bad actors still occasionally find a way in. Security teams must be able to stop threats and restore normal operations as quickly as possible. That's why it's...

Sophisticated MATA Framework Strikes Eastern European Oil and Gas Companies

An updated version of a sophisticated backdoor framework called MATA has been used in attacks aimed at over a dozen Eastern European companies in the oil and gas sector and defense industry as part of a cyber espionage operation that took place between August 2022 and May 2023. "The actors behind...

Apple Rolls Out Security Patches for Actively Exploited iOS Zero-Day Flaw

Apple on Wednesday rolled out security patches to address a new zero-day flaw in iOS and iPadOS that it said has come under active exploitation in the wild. Tracked as CVE-2023-42824, the kernel vulnerability could be abused by a local attacker to elevate their privileges. The iPhone maker said i...

Beware of MalDoc in PDF: A New Polyglot Attack Allowing Attackers to Evade Antivirus

Cybersecurity researchers have called attention to a new antivirus evasion technique that involves embedding a malicious Microsoft Word file into a PDF file. The sneaky method, dubbed MalDoc in PDF by JPCERT/CC, is said to have been employed in an in-the-wild attack in July 2023. "A file created...

Developers Beware: Malicious Rust Libraries Caught Transmitting OS Info to Telegram Channel

In yet another sign that developers continue to be targets of software supply chain attacks, a number of malicious packages have been discovered on the Rust programming language's crate registry. The libraries, uploaded between August 14 and 16, 2023, were published by a user named "amaperf,"...

VirusTotal Data Leak Exposes Some Registered Customers' Details

Data associated with a subset of registered customers of VirusTotal, including their names and email addresses, were exposed after an employee inadvertently uploaded the information to the malware scanning platform. The security incident, which comprises a database of 5,600 names in a 313KB file,...

New SOHO Router Botnet AVrecon Spreads to 70,000 Devices Across 20 Countries

A new malware strain has been found covertly targeting small office/home office SOHO routers for more than two years, infiltrating over 70,000 devices and creating a botnet with 40,000 nodes spanning 20 countries. Lumen Black Lotus Labs has dubbed the malware AVrecon, making it the third such...

Threat Group UNC3944 Abusing Azure Serial Console for Total VM Takeover

A financially motivated cyber actor has been observed abusing Microsoft Azure Serial Console on virtual machines VMs to install third-party remote management tools within compromised environments. Google-owned Mandiant attributed the activity to a threat group it tracks under the name UNC3944,...

Netgear Routers' Flaws Expose Users to Malware, Remote Attacks, and Surveillance

As many as five security flaws have been disclosed in Netgear RAX30 routers that could be chained to bypass authentication and achieve remote code execution. "Successful exploits could allow attackers to monitor users' internet activity, hijack internet connections, and redirect traffic to...

Apache Superset Vulnerability: Insecure Default Configuration Exposes Servers to RCE Attacks

The maintainers of the Apache Superset open source data visualization software have released fixes to plug an insecure default configuration that could lead to remote code execution. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2023-27524 CVSS score: 8.9, impacts versions up to and including 2.0.1 and relat...

Shein's Android App Caught Transmitting Clipboard Data to Remote Servers

An older version of Shein's Android application suffered from a bug that periodically captured and transmitted clipboard contents to a remote server. The Microsoft 365 Defender Research Team said it discovered the problem in version 7.9.2 of the app that was released on December 16, 2021. The iss...

Application Security vs. API Security: What is the difference?

As digital transformation takes hold and businesses become increasingly reliant on digital services, it has become more important than ever to secure applications and APIs Application Programming Interfaces. With that said, application security and API security are two critical components of a...

Critical RCE Vulnerability Discovered in ClamAV Open Source Antivirus Software

Cisco has rolled out security updates to address a critical flaw reported in the ClamAV open source antivirus engine that could lead to remote code execution on susceptible devices. Tracked as CVE-2023-20032 CVSS score: 9.8, the issue relates to a case of remote code execution residing in the HFS...

Experts Detail Chromium Browser Security Flaw Putting Confidential Data at Risk

Details have emerged about a now-patched vulnerability in Google Chrome and Chromium-based browsers that, if successfully exploited, could have made it possible to siphon files containing confidential data. "The issue arose from the way the browser interacted with symlinks when processing files a...

Two New Security Flaws Reported in Ghost CMS Blogging Software

Cybersecurity researchers have detailed two security flaws in the JavaScript-based blogging platform known as Ghost, one of which could be abused to elevate privileges via specially crafted HTTP requests. Ghost is an open source blogging platform that's used in more than 52,600 live websites, mos...

December 2022 Patch Tuesday: Get Latest Security Updates from Microsoft and More

Tech giant Microsoft released its last set of monthly security updates for 2022 with fixes for 49 vulnerabilities across its software products. Of the 49 bugs, six are rated Critical, 40 are rated Important, and three are rated Moderate in severity. The updates are in addition to 24 vulnerabiliti...

Researchers Disclose Critical RCE Vulnerability Affecting Quarkus Java Framework

A critical security vulnerability has been disclosed in the Quarkus Java framework that could be potentially exploited to achieve remote code execution on affected systems. Tracked as CVE-2022-4116 CVSS score: 9.8, the shortcoming could be trivially abused by a malicious actor without any...

High-Severity Flaw Reported in Critical System Used by Oil and Gas Companies

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed details of a new vulnerability in a system used across oil and gas organizations that could be exploited by an attacker to inject and execute arbitrary code. The high-severity issue, tracked as CVE-2022-0902 CVSS score: 8.1, is a path-traversal vulnerabili...

New UEFI Firmware Flaws Reported in Several Lenovo Notebook Models

PC maker Lenovo has addressed yet another set of three shortcomings in the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface UEFI firmware affecting several Yoga, IdeaPad, and ThinkBook devices. "The vulnerabilities allow disabling UEFI Secure Boot or restoring factory default Secure Boot databases incl. dbx...

Uber Blames LAPSUS$ Hacking Group for Recent Security Breach

Uber on Monday disclosed more details related to the security incident that happened last week, pinning the attack on a threat actor it believes is affiliated to the notorious LAPSUS$ hacking group. "This group typically uses similar techniques to target technology companies, and in 2022 alone ha...

New Vulnerabilities Reported in Baxter's Internet-Connected Infusion Pumps

Multiple security vulnerabilities have been disclosed in Baxter's internet-connected infusion pumps used by healthcare professionals in clinical environments to dispense medication to patients. "Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could result in access to sensitive data and alterati...

Former CIA Engineer Convicted of Leaking 'Vault 7' Hacking Secrets to WikiLeaks

Joshua Schulte, a former programmer with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency CIA, has been found guilty of leaking a trove of classified hacking tools and exploits dubbed Vault 7 to WikiLeaks. The 33-year-old engineer had been charged in June 2018 with unauthorized disclosure of classified...

Pakistani Hackers Targeting Indian Students in Latest Malware Campaign

The advanced persistent threat APT group known as Transparent Tribe has been attributed to a new ongoing phishing campaign targeting students at various educational institutions in India at least since December 2021. "This new campaign also suggests that the APT is actively expanding its network ...

Microsoft Mitigates RCE Vulnerability Affecting Azure Synapse and Data Factory

Microsoft on Monday disclosed that it mitigated a security flaw affecting Azure Synapse and Azure Data Factory that, if successfully exploited, could result in remote code execution. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2022-29972, has been codenamed "SynLapse" by researchers from Orca Security, who...

Bugs in Wyze Cams Could Let Attackers Takeover Devices and Access Video Feeds

Three security vulnerabilities have been disclosed in the popular Wyze Cam devices that grant malicious actors to execute arbitrary code and access camera feeds as well as unauthorizedly read the SD cards, the latter of which remained unresolved for nearly three years after the initial discovery...

Critical Bugs in TerraMaster TOS Could Open NAS Devices to Remote Hacking

Researchers have disclosed details of critical security vulnerabilities in TerraMaster network-attached storage TNAS devices that could be chained to attain unauthenticated remote code execution with the highest privileges. The issues reside in TOS, an abbreviation for TerraMaster Operating Syste...

Hardcoded SSH Key in Cisco Policy Suite Lets Remote Hackers Gain Root Access

Cisco Systems has released security updates to address vulnerabilities in multiple Cisco products that could be exploited by an attacker to log in as a root user and take control of vulnerable systems. Tracked as CVE-2021-40119, the vulnerability has been rated 9.8 in severity out of a maximum of...

A New Bug in Microsoft Windows Could Let Hackers Easily Install a Rootkit

Security researchers have disclosed an unpatched weakness in Microsoft Windows Platform Binary Table WPBT affecting all Windows-based devices since Windows 8 that could be potentially exploited to install a rootkit and compromise the integrity of devices. "These flaws make every Windows system...

Apple to Scan Every Device for Child Abuse Content — But Experts Fear for Privacy

Apple on Thursday said it's introducing new child safety features in iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and macOS as part of its efforts to limit the spread of Child Sexual Abuse Material CSAM in the U.S. To that effect, the iPhone maker said it intends to begin client-side scanning of images shared via every...

Interpol Arrests Moroccan Hacker Engaged in Nefarious Cyber Activities

Law enforcement authorities with the Interpol have apprehended a threat actor responsible for targeting thousands of unwitting victims over several years and staging malware attacks on telecom companies, major banks, and multinational corporations in France as part of a global phishing and credit...

U.S. Declares Emergency in 17 States Over Fuel Pipeline Cyber Attack

The ransomware attack against Colonial Pipeline's networks has prompted the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration FMCSA to issue a regional emergency declaration in 17 states and the District of Columbia D.C.. The declaration provides a temporary exemption to Parts 390 through 399 of t...

Apple AirDrop Bug Could Leak Your Personal Info to Anyone Nearby

New research has uncovered privacy weaknesses in Apple's wireless file-sharing protocol that could result in the exposure of a user's contact information such as email addresses and phone numbers. "As an attacker, it is possible to learn the phone numbers and email addresses of AirDrop users – ev...

China's Baidu Android Apps Caught Collecting Sensitive User Data

Two popular Android apps from Chinese tech giant Baidu were temporarily unavailable on the Google Play Store in October after they were caught collecting sensitive user details. The two apps in question—Baidu Maps and Baidu Search Box—were found to collect device identifiers, such as the...

Russian Hacker Gets 9-Year Jail for Running Online Shop of Stolen Credit Cards

A United States federal district court has finally sentenced a Russian hacker to nine years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty of running two illegal websites devoted to facilitating payment card fraud, computer hacking, and other crimes. Aleksei Yurievich Burkov, 30, pleaded guilty in...

Watch Out: Android Apps in Google Play Store Capitalizing on Coronavirus Outbreak

Preying on public fears, the ongoing coronavirus outbreak is proving to be a goldmine of opportunity for attackers to stage a variety of malware attacks, phishing campaigns, and create scam sites and malicious tracker apps. Now in a fresh twist, third-party Android app developers too have begun t...

Let's Encrypt Issued A Billion Free SSL Certificates in the Last 4 Years

Let's Encrypt, a free, automated, and open certificate signing authority CA from the nonprofit Internet Security Research Group ISRG, has said it's issued a billion certificates since its launch in 2015. The CA issued its first certificate in September 2015, before eventually reaching 100 million...

New OpenSMTPD RCE Flaw Affects Linux and OpenBSD Email Servers

OpenSMTPD has been found vulnerable to yet another critical vulnerability that could allow remote attackers to take complete control over email servers running BSD or Linux operating systems. OpenSMTPD, also known as OpenBSD SMTP Server, is an open-source implementation of the Simple Mail Transfe...

OpenSSH now supports FIDO U2F security keys for 2-factor authentication

Here's excellent news for sysadmins. You can now use a physical security key as hardware-based two-factor authentication to securely log into a remote system via SSH protocol. OpenSSH, one of the most widely used open-source implementations of the Secure Shell SSH Protocol, yesterday announced th...

Download: The State of Security Breach Protection 2020 Survey Results

What are the key considerations security decision-makers should take into account when designing their 2020 breach protection? To answer this, we polled 1,536 cybersecurity professionals in The State of Breach Protection 2020 survey Download the full survey here to understand the common practices...

Firefox Blocks Inline and Eval JavaScript on Internal Pages to Prevent Injection Attacks

In an effort to mitigate a large class of potential cross-site scripting issues in Firefox, Mozilla has blocked execution of all inline scripts and potentially dangerous eval-like functions for built-in "about: pages" that are the gateway to sensitive preferences, settings, and statics of the...

Firefox Web Browser Now Blocks Third-Party Tracking Cookies By Default

As promised, Mozilla has finally enabled "Enhanced Tracking Protection" feature on its Firefox browser by default, which from now onwards would automatically block all third-party tracking cookies that allow advertisers and websites to track you across the web. Tracking cookies, also known as...

Hackers Actively Exploiting Widely-Used Social Share Plugin for WordPress

Hackers have been found exploiting a pair of critical security vulnerabilities in one of the popular social media sharing plugins to take control over WordPress websites that are still running a vulnerable version of the plugin. The vulnerable plugin in question is Social Warfare which is a popul...