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...

MuddyC2Go: New C2 Framework Iranian Hackers Using Against Israel

Iranian nation-state actors have been observed using a previously undocumented command-and-control C2 framework called MuddyC2Go as part of attacks targeting Israel. "The framework's web component is written in the Go programming language," Deep Instinct security researcher Simon Kenin said in a...

Iranian Group Tortoiseshell Launches New Wave of IMAPLoader Malware Attacks

The Iranian threat actor known as Tortoiseshell has been attributed to a new wave of watering hole attacks that are designed to deploy a malware dubbed IMAPLoader. "IMAPLoader is a .NET malware that has the ability to fingerprint victim systems using native Windows utilities and acts as a...

Malvertising Campaign Targets Brazil's PIX Payment System with GoPIX Malware

The popularity of Brazil's PIX instant payment system has made it a lucrative target for threat actors looking to generate illicit profits using a new malware called GoPIX. Kaspersky, which has been tracking the active campaign since December 2022, said the attacks are pulled off using malicious...

TetrisPhantom: Cyber Espionage via Secure USBs Targets APAC Governments

Government entities in the Asia-Pacific APAC region are the target of a long-running cyber espionage campaign dubbed TetrisPhantom. "The attacker covertly spied on and harvested sensitive data from APAC government entities by exploiting a particular type of secure USB drive, protected by hardware...

New Admin Takeover Vulnerability Exposed in Synology's DiskStation Manager

A medium-severity flaw has been discovered in Synology's DiskStation Manager DSM that could be exploited to decipher an administrator's password and remotely hijack the account. "Under some rare conditions, an attacker could leak enough information to restore the seed of the pseudorandom number...

New Report: Child Sexual Abuse Content and Online Risks to Children on the Rise

Certain online risks to children are on the rise, according to a recent report from Thorn, a technology nonprofit whose mission is to build technology to defend children from sexual abuse. Research shared in the Emerging Online Trends in Child Sexual Abuse 2023 report, indicates that minors are...

Microsoft is Rolling out Support for Passkeys in Windows 11

Microsoft is officially rolling out support for passkeys in Windows 11 today as part of a major update to the desktop operating system. The feature allows users to login to websites and applications without having to provide a username and password, instead relying on their device PIN or biometri...

Inside XWorm: Malware Analysts Decode the Stealthy Tactics of the Latest Variant

XWorm is a relatively new representative of the remote access trojan cohort that has already earned its spot among the most persistent threats across the globe. Since 2022, when it was first observed by researchers, it has undergone a number of major updates that have significantly enhanced its...

Sophisticated Phishing Campaign Deploying Agent Tesla, OriginBotnet, and RedLine Clipper

A sophisticated phishing campaign is using a Microsoft Word document lure to distribute a trifecta of threats, namely Agent Tesla, OriginBotnet, and RedLine Clipper, to gather a wide range of information from compromised Windows machines. "A phishing email delivers the Word document as an...

Three CISOs Share How to Run an Effective SOC

The role of the CISO keeps taking center stage as a business enabler: CISOs need to navigate the complex landscape of digital threats while fostering innovation and ensuring business continuity. Three CISOs; Troy Wilkinson, CISO at IPG; Rob Geurtsen, former Deputy CISO at Nike; and Tammy Moskites...

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...

Experts Uncover How Cybercriminals Could Exploit Microsoft Entra ID for Elevated Privilege

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a case of privilege escalation associated with a Microsoft Entra ID formerly Azure Active Directory application by taking advantage of an abandoned reply URL. "An attacker could leverage this abandoned URL to redirect authorization codes to themselves,...

China-Linked Bronze Starlight Group Targeting Gambling Sector with Cobalt Strike Beacons

An ongoing cyber attack campaign originating from China is targeting the Southeast Asian gambling sector to deploy Cobalt Strike beacons on compromised systems. Cybersecurity firm SentinelOne said the tactics, techniques, and procedures point to the involvement of a threat actor tracked as Bronze...

North Korean Hackers Suspected in New Wave of Malicious npm Packages

The npm package registry has emerged as the target of yet another highly targeted attack campaign that aims to entice developers into downloading malevolent modules. Software supply chain security firm Phylum told The Hacker News the activity exhibits similar behaviors to that of a previous attac...

LOLBAS in the Wild: 11 Living-Off-The-Land Binaries That Could Be Used for Malicious Purposes

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a set of 11 living-off-the-land binaries-and-scripts LOLBAS that could be maliciously abused by threat actors to conduct post-exploitation activities. "LOLBAS is an attack method that uses binaries and scripts that are already part of the system for...

"Mysterious Team Bangladesh" Targeting India with DDoS Attacks and Data Breaches

A hacktivist group known as Mysterious Team Bangladesh has been linked to over 750 distributed denial-of-service DDoS attacks and 78 website defacements since June 2022. "The group most frequently attacks logistics, government, and financial sector organizations in India and Israel,"...

New Malvertising Campaign Distributing Trojanized IT Tools via Google and Bing Search Ads

A new malvertising campaign has been observed leveraging ads on Google Search and Bing to target users seeking IT tools like AnyDesk, Cisco AnyConnect VPN, and WinSCP, and trick them into downloading trojanized installers with an aim to breach enterprise networks and likely carry out future...

The Alarming Rise of Infostealers: How to Detect this Silent Threat

A new study conducted by Uptycs has uncovered a stark increase in the distribution of information stealing a.k.a. infostealer or stealer malware. Incidents have more than doubled in Q1 2023, indicating an alarming trend that threatens global organizations. According to the new Uptycs' whitepaper,...

Apache OpenMeetings Web Conferencing Tool Exposed to Critical Vulnerabilities

Multiple security flaws have been disclosed in Apache OpenMeetings, a web conferencing solution, that could be potentially exploited by malicious actors to seize control of admin accounts and run malicious code on susceptible servers. "Attackers can bring the application into an unexpected state,...

TeamTNT's Cloud Credential Stealing Campaign Now Targets Azure and Google Cloud

A malicious actor has been linked to a cloud credential stealing campaign in June 2023 that's focused on Azure and Google Cloud Platform GCP services, marking the adversary's expansion in targeting beyond Amazon Web Services AWS. The findings come from SentinelOne and Permiso, which said the...

How Pen Testing can Soften the Blow on Rising Costs of Cyber Insurance

As technology advances and organizations become more reliant on data, the risks associated with data breaches and cyber-attacks also increase. The introduction of data privacy laws, such as the GDPR, has made it mandatory for organizations to disclose breaches of personal data to those affected. ...

Japanese Cryptocurrency Exchange Falls Victim to JokerSpy macOS Backdoor Attack

An unknown cryptocurrency exchange located in Japan was the target of a new attack earlier this month to deploy an Apple macOS backdoor called JokerSpy. Elastic Security Labs, which is monitoring the intrusion set under the name REF9134, said the attack led to the installation of Swiftbelt, a...

MULTI#STORM Campaign Targets India and U.S. with Remote Access Trojans

A new phishing campaign codenamed MULTISTORM has set its sights on India and the U.S. by leveraging JavaScript files to deliver remote access trojans on compromised systems. "The attack chain ends with the victim machine infected with multiple unique RAT remote access trojan malware instances, su...

Severe Vulnerabilities Reported in Microsoft Azure Bastion and Container Registry

Two "dangerous" security vulnerabilities have been disclosed in Microsoft Azure Bastion and Azure Container Registry that could have been exploited to carry out cross-site scripting XSS attacks. "The vulnerabilities allowed unauthorized access to the victim's session within the compromised Azure...

Brazilian Cybercriminals Using LOLBaS and CMD Scripts to Drain Bank Accounts

An unknown cybercrime threat actor has been observed targeting Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking victims to compromise online banking accounts in Mexico, Peru, and Portugal. "This threat actor employs tactics such as LOLBaS living-off-the-land binaries and scripts, along with CMD-based scripts to...

The Importance of Managing Your Data Security Posture

Data security is reinventing itself. As new data security posture management solutions come to market, organizations are increasingly recognizing the opportunity to provide evidence-based security that proves how their data is being protected. But what exactly is data security posture, and how do...

Improved BlackCat Ransomware Strikes with Lightning Speed and Stealthy Tactics

The threat actors behind BlackCat ransomware have come up with an improved variant that prioritizes speed and stealth in an attempt to bypass security guardrails and achieve their goals. The new version, dubbed Sphynx and announced in February 2023, packs a "number of updated capabilities that...

Critical Firmware Vulnerability in Gigabyte Systems Exposes ~7 Million Devices

Cybersecurity researchers have found "backdoor-like behavior" within Gigabyte systems, which they say enables the UEFI firmware of the devices to drop a Windows executable and retrieve updates in an unsecure format. Firmware security firm Eclypsium said it first detected the anomaly in April 2023...

Dark Frost Botnet Launches Devastating DDoS Attacks on Gaming Industry

A new botnet called Dark Frost has been observed launching distributed denial-of-service DDoS attacks against the gaming industry. "The Dark Frost botnet, modeled after Gafgyt, QBot, Mirai, and other malware strains, has expanded to encompass hundreds of compromised devices," Akamai security...

Breaking the Mold: Pen Testing Solutions That Challenge the Status Quo

Malicious actors are constantly adapting their tactics, techniques, and procedures TTPs to adapt to political, technological, and regulatory changes quickly. A few emerging threats that organizations of all sizes should be aware of include the following: Increased use of Artificial Intelligence a...

2023 Cybersecurity Maturity Report Reveals Organizational Unpreparedness for Cyberattacks

In 2022 alone, global cyberattacks increased by 38%, resulting in substantial business loss, including financial and reputational damage. Meanwhile, corporate security budgets have risen significantly because of the growing sophistication of attacks and the number of cybersecurity solutions...

Cryptojacking Group TeamTNT Suspected of Using Decoy Miner to Conceal Data Exfiltration

The cryptojacking group known as TeamTNT is suspected to be behind a previously undiscovered strain of malware used to mine Monero cryptocurrency on compromised systems. That's according to Cado Security, which found the sample after Sysdig detailed a sophisticated attack known as SCARLETEEL aime...

Cybercriminals Targeting Law Firms with GootLoader and FakeUpdates Malware

Six different law firms were targeted in January and February 2023 as part of two disparate threat campaigns distributing GootLoader and FakeUpdates aka SocGholish malware strains. GootLoader, active since late 2020, is a first-stage downloader that's capable of delivering a wide range of seconda...

Coinbase Employee Falls for SMS Scam in Cyber Attack, Limited Data Exposed

Popular cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase disclosed that it experienced a cybersecurity attack that targeted its employees. The company said its "cyber controls prevented the attacker from gaining direct system access and prevented any loss of funds or compromise of customer information."...

GoDaddy Discloses Multi-Year Security Breach Causing Malware Installations and Source Code Theft

Web hosting services provider GoDaddy on Friday disclosed a multi-year security breach that enabled unknown threat actors to install malware and siphon source code related to some of its services. The company attributed the campaign to a "sophisticated and organized group targeting hosting...

You Don't Know Where Your Secrets Are

Do you know where your secrets are? If not, I can tell you: you are not alone. Hundreds of CISOs, CSOs, and security leaders, whether from small or large companies, don't know either. No matter the organization's size, the certifications, tools, people, and processes: secrets are not visible in 9...

Google to Pay $29.5 Million to Settle Lawsuits Over User Location Tracking

Google has agreed to pay a total of $29.5 million to settle two different lawsuits brought by Indiana and Washington, D.C., over its "deceptive" location tracking practices. The search and advertising giant is required to pay $9.5 million to D.C. and $20 million to Indiana after the states sued t...

Meta Takes Down Fake Facebook and Instagram Accounts Linked to Pro-U.S. Influence Operation

Meta Platforms on Tuesday said it took down a network of accounts and pages across Facebook and Instagram that were operated by people associated with the U.S. military to spread narratives that depicted the country in a favorable light in the Middle East and Central Asia. The network, which...

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...

Stop Putting Your Accounts At Risk, and Start Using a Password Manager

--- Image via Keeper Right Now, Get 30% Off Keeper, the Most Trusted Name in Password Management. In one way or another, almost every aspect of our lives is online, so it's no surprise that hackers target everything from email accounts to banks to smart home devices, looking for vulnerabilities t...

New Ducktail Infostealer Malware Targeting Facebook Business and Ad Accounts

Facebook business and advertising accounts are at the receiving end of an ongoing campaign dubbed Ducktail designed to seize control as part of a financially driven cybercriminal operation. "The threat actor targets individuals and employees that may have access to a Facebook Business account wit...

Ukrainian Authorities Arrested Phishing Gang That Stole 100 Million UAH

The Cyber Police of Ukraine last week disclosed that it apprehended nine members of a criminal gang that embezzled 100 million hryvnias via hundreds of phishing sites that claimed to offer financial assistance to Ukrainian citizens as part of a campaign aimed at capitalizing on the ongoing...

Researchers Uncover 'Hermit' Android Spyware Used in Kazakhstan, Syria, and Italy

An enterprise-grade surveillanceware dubbed Hermit has been put to use by entities operating from within Kazakhstan, Syria, and Italy over the years since 2019, new research has revealed. Lookout attributed the spy software, which is equipped to target both Android and iOS, to an Italian company...

BlackCat Ransomware Gang Targeting Unpatched Microsoft Exchange Servers

Microsoft is warning that the BlackCat ransomware crew is leveraging exploits for unpatched Exchange server vulnerabilities to gain access to targeted networks. Upon gaining an entry point, the attackers swiftly moved to gather information about the compromised machines, followed by carrying out...

Researchers Warn of Spam Campaign Targeting Victims with SVCReady Malware

A new wave of phishing campaigns has been observed spreading a previously documented malware called SVCReady. "The malware is notable for the unusual way it is delivered to target PCs — using shellcode hidden in the properties of Microsoft Office documents," Patrick Schläpfer, a threat analyst at...

Unpatched Critical Flaws Disclosed in U-Boot Bootloader for Embedded Devices

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed two unpatched security vulnerabilities in the open-source U-Boot boot loader. The issues, which were uncovered in the IP defragmentation algorithm implemented in U-Boot by NCC Group, could be abused to achieve arbitrary out-of-bounds write and...

CISA Warned About Critical Vulnerabilities in Illumina's DNA Sequencing Devices

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA and Food and Drug Administration FDA have issued an advisory about critical security vulnerabilities in Illumina's next-generation sequencing NGS software. Three of the flaws are rated 10 out of 10 for severity on the Common...

U.S. Sanctions Cryptocurrency Mixer Blender for Helping North Korea Launder Millions

The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday moved to sanction virtual currency mixer Blender.io, marking the first time a mixing service has been subjected to economic blockades. The move signals continued efforts on the part of the government to prevent North Korea's Lazarus Group from laundering the...

First Malware Targeting AWS Lambda Serverless Platform Discovered

A first-of-its-kind malware targeting Amazon Web Services' AWS Lambda serverless computing platform has been discovered in the wild. Dubbed "Denonia" after the name of the domain it communicates with, "the malware uses newer address resolution techniques for command and control traffic to evade...