Ex-Google Engineer Arrested for Stealing AI Technology Secrets for China

The U.S. Department of Justice DoJ announced the indictment of a 38-year-old Chinese national and a California resident for allegedly stealing proprietary information from Google while covertly working for two China-based tech companies. Linwei Ding aka Leon Ding, a former Google engineer who was...

New Migo Malware Targeting Redis Servers for Cryptocurrency Mining

A novel malware campaign has been observed targeting Redis servers for initial access with the ultimate goal of mining cryptocurrency on compromised Linux hosts. "This particular campaign involves the use of a number of novel system weakening techniques against the data store itself," Cado securi...

Malicious NPM Packages Exfiltrate Hundreds of Developer SSH Keys via GitHub

Two malicious packages discovered on the npm package registry have been found to leverage GitHub to store Base64-encrypted SSH keys stolen from developer systems on which they were installed. The modules named warbeast2000 and kodiak2k were published at the start of the month, attracting 412 and...

Free Decryptor Released for Black Basta and Babuk's Tortilla Ransomware Victims

A decryptor for the Tortilla variant of the Babuk ransomware has been released by Cisco Talos, allowing victims targeted by the malware to regain access to their files. The cybersecurity firm said the threat intelligence it shared with Dutch law enforcement authorities made it possible to arrest...

Top 7 Trends Shaping SaaS Security in 2024

Over the past few years, SaaS has developed into the backbone of corporate IT. Service businesses, such as medical practices, law firms, and financial services firms, are almost entirely SaaS based. Non-service businesses, including manufacturers and retailers, have about 70% of their software in...

Ransomware-as-a-Service: The Growing Threat You Can't Ignore

Ransomware attacks have become a significant and pervasive threat in the ever-evolving realm of cybersecurity. Among the various iterations of ransomware, one trend that has gained prominence is Ransomware-as-a-Service RaaS. This alarming development has transformed the cybercrime landscape,...

DarkGate and PikaBot Malware Resurrect QakBot's Tactics in New Phishing Attacks

Phishing campaigns delivering malware families such as DarkGate and PikaBot are following the same tactics previously used in attacks leveraging the now-defunct QakBot trojan. "These include hijacked email threads as the initial infection, URLs with unique patterns that limit user access, and an...

North Korean Hackers Targeting Crypto Experts with KANDYKORN macOS Malware

State-sponsored threat actors from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea DPRK have been found targeting blockchain engineers of an unnamed crypto exchange platform via Discord with a novel macOS malware dubbed KANDYKORN. Elastic Security Labs said the activity, traced back to April 2023,...

Xenomorph Banking Trojan: A New Variant Targeting 35+ U.S. Financial Institutions

An updated version of an Android banking trojan called Xenomorph has set its sights on more than 35 financial institutions in the U.S. The campaign, according to Dutch security firm ThreatFabric, leverages phishing web pages that are designed to entice victims into installing malicious Android ap...

Retool Falls Victim to SMS-Based Phishing Attack Affecting 27 Cloud Clients

Software development company Retool has disclosed that the accounts of 27 of its cloud customers were compromised following a targeted and SMS-based social engineering attack. The San Francisco-based firm blamed a Google Account cloud synchronization feature recently introduced in April 2023 for...

Mozilla Rushes to Patch WebP Critical Zero-Day Exploit in Firefox and Thunderbird

Mozilla on Tuesday released security updates to resolve a critical zero-day vulnerability in Firefox and Thunderbird that has been actively exploited in the wild, a day after Google released a fix for the issue in its Chrome browser. The shortcoming, assigned the identifier CVE-2023-4863, is a he...

Outlook Hack: Microsoft Reveals How a Crash Dump Led to a Major Security Breach

Microsoft on Wednesday revealed that a China-based threat actor known as Storm-0558 acquired the inactive consumer signing key to forge tokens and access Outlook by compromising an engineer's corporate account. This enabled the adversary to access a debugging environment that contained informatio...

New Python Variant of Chaes Malware Targets Banking and Logistics Industries

Banking and logistics industries are under the onslaught of a reworked variant of a malware called Chaes. "It has undergone major overhauls: from being rewritten entirely in Python, which resulted in lower detection rates by traditional defense systems, to a comprehensive redesign and an enhanced...

North Korean Hackers Targets Russian Missile Engineering Firm

Two different North Korean nation-state actors have been linked to a cyber intrusion against NPO Mashinostroyeniya, a major Russian missile engineering company. Cybersecurity firm SentinelOne said it identified "two instances of North Korea related compromise of sensitive internal IT...

Enhancing Security Operations Using Wazuh: Open Source XDR and SIEM

In today's interconnected world, evolving security solutions to meet growing demand is more critical than ever. Collaboration across multiple solutions for intelligence gathering and information sharing is indispensable. The idea of multiple-source intelligence gathering stems from the concept th...

Malicious Apps Use Sneaky Versioning Technique to Bypass Google Play Store Scanners

Threat actors are leveraging a technique called versioning to evade Google Play Store's malware detections and target Android users. "Campaigns using versioning commonly target users' credentials, data, and finances," Google Cybersecurity Action Team GCAT said in its August 2023 Threat Horizons...

Casbaneiro Banking Malware Goes Under the Radar with UAC Bypass Technique

The financially motivated threat actors behind the Casbaneiro banking malware family have been observed making use of a User Account Control UAC bypass technique to gain full administrative privileges on a machine, a sign that the threat actor is evolving their tactics to avoid detection and...

Global Retailers Must Keep an Eye on Their SaaS Stack

Brick-and-mortar retailers and e-commerce sellers may be locked in a fierce battle for market share, but one area both can agree on is the need to secure their SaaS stack. From communications tools to order management and fulfillment systems, much of today's critical retail software lives in SaaS...

Google Releases Android Patch Update for 3 Actively Exploited Vulnerabilities

Google has released its monthly security updates for the Android operating system, addressing 46 new software vulnerabilities. Among these, three vulnerabilities have been identified as actively exploited in targeted attacks. One of the vulnerabilities tracked as CVE-2023-26083 is a memory leak...

Chinese Hackers Exploit VMware Zero-Day to Backdoor Windows and Linux Systems

The Chinese state-sponsored group known as UNC3886 has been found to exploit a zero-day flaw in VMware ESXi hosts to backdoor Windows and Linux systems. The VMware Tools authentication bypass vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2023-20867 CVSS score: 3.9, "enabled the execution of privileged commands...

Over Half of Security Leaders Lack Confidence in Protecting App Secrets, Study Reveals

It might come as a surprise, but secrets management has become the elephant in the AppSec room. While security vulnerabilities like Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures CVEs often make headlines in the cybersecurity world, secrets management remains an overlooked issue that can have immediate and...

Top 10 Cybersecurity Trends for 2023: From Zero Trust to Cyber Insurance

As technology advances, cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated. With the increasing use of technology in our daily lives, cybercrime is on the rise, as evidenced by the fact that cyberattacks caused 92% of all data breaches in the first quarter of 2022. Staying current with cybersecurity...

Researchers Uncover Darknet Service Allowing Hackers to Trojanize Legit Android Apps

Researchers have shed light on a new hybrid malware campaign targeting both Android and Windows operating systems in a bid to expand its pool of victims. The attacks entail the use of different malware such as ERMAC, Erbium, Aurora, and Laplas, according to a ThreatFabric report shared with The...

Researchers Uncover Covert Attack Campaign Targeting Military Contractors

A new covert attack campaign singled out multiple military and weapons contractor companies with spear-phishing emails to trigger a multi-stage infection process designed to deploy an unknown payload on compromised machines. The highly-targeted intrusions, dubbed STEEPMAVERICK by Securonix, also...

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...

Hackers Use ModernLoader to Infect Systems with Stealers and Cryptominers

As many as three disparate but related campaigns between March and Jun 2022 have been found to deliver a variety of malware, including ModernLoader, RedLine Stealer, and cryptocurrency miners onto compromised systems. "The actors use PowerShell, .NET assemblies, and HTA and VBS files to spread...

Researchers Detail Evasive DarkTortilla Crypter Used to Deliver Malware

A .NET-based evasive crypter named DarkTortilla has been used by threat actors to distribute a broad array of commodity malware as well as targeted payloads like Cobalt Strike and Metasploit, likely since 2015. "It can also deliver 'add-on packages' such as additional malicious payloads, benign...

Tornado Cash Developer Arrested After U.S. Sanctions the Cryptocurrency Mixer

Dutch authorities on Friday announced the arrest of a software developer in Amsterdam who is alleged to be working for Tornado Cash, days after the U.S. sanctioned the decentralized crypto mixing service. The 29-year-old individual is "suspected of involvement in concealing criminal financial flo...

SmokeLoader Infecting Targeted Systems with Amadey Info-Stealing Malware

An information-stealing malware called Amadey is being distributed by means of another backdoor called SmokeLoader. The attacks hinge on tricking users into downloading SmokeLoader that masquerades as software cracks, paving the way for the deployment of Amadey, researchers from the AhnLab Securi...

Hackers Distributing Password Cracking Tool for PLCs and HMIs to Target Industrial Systems

Industrial engineers and operators are the target of a new campaign that leverages password cracking software to seize control of Programmable Logic Controllers PLCs and co-opt the machines to a botnet. The software "exploited a vulnerability in the firmware which allowed it to retrieve the...

Microsoft Windows Autopatch is Now Generally Available for Enterprise Systems

Microsoft on Monday announced the general availability of a feature called Autopatch that automatically keeps Windows and Office software up-to-date on enrolled endpoints. The launch, which comes a day before Microsoft is expected to release its monthly round of security patches, is available for...

New ToddyCat Hacker Group on Experts' Radar After Targeting MS Exchange Servers

An advanced persistent threat APT actor codenamed ToddyCat has been linked to a string of attacks aimed at government and military entities in Europe and Asia since at least December 2020. The relatively new adversarial collective is said to have commenced its operations by targeting Microsoft...

High-Severity RCE Vulnerability Reported in Popular Fastjson Library

Cybersecurity researchers have detailed a recently patched high-severity security vulnerability in the popular Fastjson library that could be potentially exploited to achieve remote code execution. Tracked as CVE-2022-25845 CVSS score: 8.1, the issue relates to a case of deserialization of...

VMware Patches Important Bug Affecting ESXi, Workstation and Fusion Products

VMWare has shipped updates to Workstation, Fusion, and ESXi products to address an "important" security vulnerability that could be weaponized by a threat actor to take control of affected systems. The issue relates to a heap-overflow vulnerability — tracked as CVE-2021-22045 CVSS score: 7.7 —...

13 New Flaws in Siemens Nucleus TCP/IP Stack Impact Safety-Critical Equipment

As many as 13 security vulnerabilities have been discovered in the Nucleus TCP/IP stack, a software library now maintained by Siemens and used in three billion operational technology and IoT devices that could allow for remote code execution, denial-of-service DoS, and information leak...

Modified Version of WhatsApp for Android Spotted Installing Triada Trojan

A modified version of the WhatsApp messaging app for Android has been trojanized to intercept text messages, serve malicious payloads, display full-screen ads, and sign up device owners for unwanted premium subscriptions without their knowledge. "The Trojan Triada snuck into one of these modified...

A Wide Range of Cyber Attacks Leveraging Prometheus TDS Malware Service

Multiple cybercriminal groups are leveraging a malware-as-a-service MaaS solution to carry out a wide range of malicious software distribution campaigns that result in the deployment of payloads such as Campo Loader, Hancitor, IcedID, QBot, Buer Loader, and SocGholish against individuals in Belgi...

Five Critical Password Security Rules Your Employees Are Ignoring

According to Keeper Security's Workplace Password Malpractice Report, many remote workers aren't following best practices for password security. Password security was a problem even before the advent of widespread remote work. So, what happened post-pandemic? Keeper Security's Workplace Password...

TikTok Quietly Updated Its Privacy Policy to Collect Users' Biometric Data

Popular short-form video-sharing service TikTok quietly revised its privacy policy in the U.S., allowing it to automatically collect biometric information such as faceprints and voiceprints from the content its users post on the platform. The policy change, first spotted by TechCrunch, went into...

PHP's Git Server Hacked to Insert Secret Backdoor to Its Source code

In yet another instance of a software supply chain attack, unidentified actors hacked the official Git server of the PHP programming language and pushed unauthorized updates to insert a secret backdoor into its source code. The two malicious commits were pushed to the self-hosted "php-src"...

Mimecast Finds SolarWinds Hackers Stole Some of Its Source Code

Email security firm Mimecast on Tuesday revealed that the state-sponsored SolarWinds hackers who broke into its internal network also downloaded source code out of a limited number of repositories. "The threat actor did access a subset of email addresses and other contact information and hashed a...

Researchers Unveil New Linux Malware Linked to Chinese Hackers

Cybersecurity researchers on Wednesday shed light on a new sophisticated backdoor targeting Linux endpoints and servers that's believed to be the work of Chinese nation-state actors. Dubbed "RedXOR" by Intezer, the backdoor masquerades as a polkit daemon, with similarities found between the malwa...

Sigma Rules to Live Your Best SOC Life

Security Operations is a 24 x 7 job. It does not stop for weekends or holidays or even that much-needed coffee break after the first hour of the shift is complete. We all know this. Every SOC engineer is hoping for some rest at some point. One of my favorite jokes when talking about Security...

New CISOs Survey Reveals How Small Cybersecurity Teams Can Confront 2021

The pressure on small to medium-sized enterprises to protect their organizations against cyberthreats is astronomical. These businesses face the same threats as the largest enterprises, experience the same relative damages and consequences when breaches occur as the largest enterprises but are...

FBI, CISA, NSA Officially Blame Russia for SolarWinds Cyber Attack

The U.S. government on Tuesday formally pointed fingers at the Russian government for orchestrating the massive SolarWinds supply chain attack that came to light early last month. "This work indicates that an Advanced Persistent Threat APT actor, likely Russian in origin, is responsible for most ...

Payment Card Skimmer Group Using Raccoon Info-Stealer to Siphon Off Data

A cybercrime group known for targeting e-commerce websites unleashed a "multi-stage malicious campaign" earlier this year designed with an intent to distribute information stealers and JavaScript-based payment skimmers. In a new report published today and shared with The Hacker News,...

Cybercriminals Are Using Legit Cloud Monitoring Tools As Backdoor

A cybercrime group that has previously struck Docker and Kubernetes cloud environments has evolved to repurpose genuine cloud monitoring tools as a backdoor to carry out malicious attacks, according to new research. "To our knowledge, this is the first time attackers have been caught using...

Critical Flaws Affect Citrix Endpoint Management (XenMobile Servers)

Citrix today released patches for multiple new security vulnerabilities affecting its Citrix Endpoint Management CEM, also known as XenMobile, a product made for enterprises to help companies manage and secure their employees' mobile devices remotely. Citrix Endpoint Management offers businesses...

US Government Warns of a New Strain of Chinese 'Taidoor' Virus

Intelligence agencies in the US have released information about a new variant of 12-year-old computer virus used by China's state-sponsored hackers targeting governments, corporations, and think tanks. Named "Taidoor," the malware has done an 'excellent' job of compromising systems as early as...

Microsoft Releases Urgent Windows Update to Patch Two Critical Flaws

Microsoft yesterday quietly released out-of-band software updates to patch two high-risk security vulnerabilities affecting hundreds of millions of Windows 10 and Server editions' users. To be noted, Microsoft rushed to deliver patches almost two weeks before the upcoming monthly 'Patch Tuesday...