APT28 Uses BEARDSHELL and COVENANT Malware to Spy on Ukrainian Military

The Russian state-sponsored hacking group tracked as APT28 has been observed using a pair of implants dubbed BEARDSHELL and COVENANT to facilitate long‑term surveillance of Ukrainian military personnel. The two malware families have been put to use since April 2024, ESET said in a new report shar...

⚡ Weekly Recap: Password Manager Flaws, Apple 0-Day, Hidden AI Prompts, In-the-Wild Exploits & More

Cybersecurity today moves at the pace of global politics. A single breach can ripple across supply chains, turn a software flaw into leverage, or shift who holds the upper hand. For leaders, this means defense isn't just a matter of firewalls and patches—it's about strategy. The strongest...

South Asian Ministries Hit by SideWinder APT Using Old Office Flaws and Custom Malware

High-level government institutions in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan have emerged as the target of a new campaign orchestrated by a threat actor known as SideWinder. "The attackers used spear phishing emails paired with geofenced payloads to ensure that only victims in specific countries...

Malicious npm Package Leverages Unicode Steganography, Google Calendar as C2 Dropper

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a malicious package named "os-info-checker-es6" that disguises itself as an operating system information utility to stealthily drop a next-stage payload onto compromised systems. "This campaign employs clever Unicode-based steganography to hide its initia...

OtterCookie v4 Adds VM Detection and Chrome, MetaMask Credential Theft Capabilities

The North Korean threat actors behind the Contagious Interview campaign have been observed using updated versions of a cross-platform malware called OtterCookie with capabilities to steal credentials from web browsers and other files. NTT Security Holdings, which detailed the new findings, said t...

SonicWall Confirms Active Exploitation of Flaws Affecting Multiple Appliance Models

SonicWall has revealed that two now-patched security flaws impacting its SMA100 Secure Mobile Access SMA appliances have been exploited in the wild. The vulnerabilities in question are listed below - CVE-2023-44221 CVSS score: 7.2 - Improper neutralization of special elements in the SMA100 SSL-VP...

Mozilla Patches Critical Firefox Bug Similar to Chrome's Recent Zero-Day Vulnerability

Mozilla has released updates to address a critical security flaw impacting its Firefox browser for Windows, merely days after Google patched a similar flaw in Chrome that came under active exploitation as a zero-day. The security vulnerability, CVE-2025-2857, has been described as a case of an...

CISA Adds NAKIVO Vulnerability to KEV Catalog Amid Active Exploitation

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA has added a high-severity security flaw impacting NAKIVO Backup & Replication software to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities KEV catalog, citing evidence of active exploitation. The vulnerability in question is CVE-2024-48248 CVSS...

Apple Patches Actively Exploited Zero-Day Affecting iPhones, Macs, and More

Apple has released software updates to address several security flaws across its portfolio, including a zero-day vulnerability that it said has been exploited in the wild. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-24085 CVSS scores: 7.3/7.8, has been described as a use-after-free bug in the Core Med...

Bitcoin Fog Founder Sentenced to 12 Years for Cryptocurrency Money Laundering

The 36-year-old founder of the Bitcoin Fog cryptocurrency mixer has been sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison for facilitating money laundering activities between 2011 and 2021. Roman Sterlingov, a dual Russian-Swedish national, pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering and operatin...

Foxit PDF Reader Flaw Exploited by Hackers to Deliver Diverse Malware Arsenal

Multiple threat actors are weaponizing a design flaw in Foxit PDF Reader to deliver a variety of malware such as Agent Tesla, AsyncRAT, DCRat, NanoCore RAT, NjRAT, Pony, Remcos RAT, and XWorm. "This exploit triggers security warnings that could deceive unsuspecting users into executing harmful...

Grandoreiro Banking Trojan Resurfaces, Targeting Over 1,500 Banks Worldwide

The threat actors behind the Windows-based Grandoreiro banking trojan have returned in a global campaign since March 2024 following a law enforcement takedown in January. The large-scale phishing attacks, likely facilitated by other cybercriminals via a malware-as-a-service MaaS model, target ove...

Google Prevented 2.28 Million Malicious Apps from Reaching Play Store in 2023

Google on Monday revealed that almost 200,000 app submissions to its Play Store for Android were either rejected or remediated to address issues with access to sensitive data such as location or SMS messages over the past year. The tech giant also said it blocked 333,000 bad accounts from the app...

Major Security Flaws Expose Keystrokes of Over 1 Billion Chinese Keyboard App Users

Security vulnerabilities uncovered in cloud-based pinyin keyboard apps could be exploited to reveal users' keystrokes to nefarious actors. The findings come from the Citizen Lab, which discovered weaknesses in eight of nine apps from vendors like Baidu, Honor, iFlytek, OPPO, Samsung, Tencent, Viv...

Hackers Target Middle East Governments with Evasive "CR4T" Backdoor

Government entities in the Middle East have been targeted as part of a previously undocumented campaign to deliver a new backdoor dubbed CR4T. Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky said it discovered the activity in February 2024, with evidence suggesting that it may have been active since at...

FTC Fines Mental Health Startup Cerebral $7 Million for Major Privacy Violations

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission FTC has ordered mental telehealth company Cerebral from using or disclosing personal medical data for advertising purposes. It has also been fined more than $7 million over charges that it revealed users' sensitive personal health information and other data to...

Vietnam-Based Hackers Steal Financial Data Across Asia with Malware

A suspected Vietnamese-origin threat actor has been observed targeting victims in several Asian and Southeast Asian countries with malware designed to harvest valuable data since at least May 2023. Cisco Talos is tracking the cluster under the name CoralRaider, describing it as financially...

Microsoft Edge Bug Could Have Allowed Attackers to Silently Install Malicious Extensions

A now-patched security flaw in the Microsoft Edge web browser could have been abused to install arbitrary extensions on users' systems and carry out malicious actions. "This flaw could have allowed an attacker to exploit a private API, initially intended for marketing purposes, to covertly instal...

Malicious Ads Targeting Chinese Users with Fake Notepad++ and VNote Installers

Chinese users looking for legitimate software such as Notepad++ and VNote on search engines like Baidu are being targeted with malicious ads and bogus links to distribute trojanized versions of the software and ultimately deploy Geacon, a Golang-based implementation of Cobalt Strike. "The malicio...

Kasseika Ransomware Using BYOVD Trick to Disarms Security Pre-Encryption

The ransomware group known as Kasseika has become the latest to leverage the Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver BYOVD attack to disarm security-related processes on compromised Windows hosts, joining the likes of other groups like Akira, AvosLocker, BlackByte, and RobbinHood. The tactic allows...

BreachForums Founder Sentenced to 20 Years of Supervised Release, No Jail Time

Conor Brian Fitzpatrick has been sentenced to time served and 20 years of supervised release for his role as the creator and administrator of BreachForums. Fitzpatrick, who went by the online alias "pompompurin," was arrested in March 2023 in New York and was subsequently charged with conspiracy ...

Preventing Data Loss: Backup and Recovery Strategies for Exchange Server Administrators

In the current digital landscape, data has emerged as a crucial asset for organizations, akin to currency. It's the lifeblood of any organization in today's interconnected and digital world. Thus, safeguarding the data is of paramount importance. Its importance is magnified in on-premises Exchang...

Npm Trojan Bypasses UAC, Installs AnyDesk with "Oscompatible" Package

A malicious package uploaded to the npm registry has been found deploying a sophisticated remote access trojan on compromised Windows machines. The package, named "oscompatible," was published on January 9, 2024, attracting a total of 380 downloads before it was taken down. oscompatible included ...

3 Ransomware Group Newcomers to Watch in 2024

The ransomware industry surged in 2023 as it saw an alarming 55.5% increase in victims worldwide, reaching a staggering 4,368 cases. --- Figure 1: Year over year victims per quarter The rollercoaster ride from explosive growth in 2021 to a momentary dip in 2022 was just a teaser—2023 roared back...

DDoS Attacks on the Environmental Services Industry Surge by 61,839% in 2023

The environmental services industry witnessed an "unprecedented surge" in HTTP-based distributed denial-of-service DDoS attacks, accounting for half of all its HTTP traffic. This marks a 61,839% increase in DDoS attack traffic year-over-year, web infrastructure and security company Cloudflare sai...

FTC Bans Outlogic (X-Mode) From Selling Sensitive Location Data

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission FTC on Tuesday prohibited data broker Outlogic, which was previously known as X-Mode Social, from sharing or selling any sensitive location data with third-parties. The ban is part of a settlement over allegations that the company "sold precise location data that...

Beware: Scam-as-a-Service Aiding Cybercriminals in Crypto Wallet-Draining Attacks

Cybersecurity researchers are warning about an increase in phishing attacks that are capable of draining cryptocurrency wallets. "These threats are unique in their approach, targeting a wide range of blockchain networks, from Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain to Polygon, Avalanche, and almost 20...

Chameleon Android Banking Trojan Variant Bypasses Biometric Authentication

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered an updated version of an Android banking malware called Chameleon that has expanded its targeting to include users in the U.K. and Italy. "Representing a restructured and enhanced iteration of its predecessor, this evolved Chameleon variant excels in...

Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023: Insights, Mitigators and Best Practices

John Hanley of IBM Security shares 4 key findings from the highly acclaimed annual Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023 What is the IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report? The IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report is an annual report that provides organizations with quantifiable information about the financial...

Four U.S. Nationals Charged in $80 Million Pig Butchering Crypto Scam

Four U.S. nationals have been charged for participating in an illicit scheme that earned them more than $80 million via cryptocurrency investment scams. The defendants – Lu Zhang, 36, of Alhambra, California; Justin Walker, 31, of Cypress, California; Joseph Wong, 32, Rosemead, California; and...

WordPress Releases Update 6.4.2 to Address Critical Remote Attack Vulnerability

WordPress has released version 6.4.2 with a patch for a critical security flaw that could be exploited by threat actors by combining it with another bug to execute arbitrary PHP code on vulnerable sites. "A remote code execution vulnerability that is not directly exploitable in core; however, the...

Microsoft Warns of Malvertising Scheme Spreading CACTUS Ransomware

Microsoft has warned of a new wave of CACTUS ransomware attacks that leverage malvertising lures to deploy DanaBot as an initial access vector. The DanaBot infections led to "hands-on-keyboard activity by ransomware operator Storm-0216 Twisted Spider, UNC2198, culminating in the deployment of...

FCC Enforces Stronger Rules to Protect Customers Against SIM Swapping Attacks

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission FCC is adopting new rules that aim to protect consumers from cell phone account scams that make it possible for malicious actors to orchestrate SIM-swapping attacks and port-out fraud. "The rules will help protect consumers from scammers who target data...

N. Korea's BlueNoroff Blamed for Hacking macOS Machines with ObjCShellz Malware

The North Korea-linked nation-state group called BlueNoroff has been attributed to a previously undocumented macOS malware strain dubbed ObjCShellz. Jamf Threat Labs, which disclosed details of the malware, said it's used as part of the RustBucket malware campaign, which came to light earlier thi...

The Dark Side of Browser Isolation – and the Next Generation Browser Security Technologies

The landscape of browser security has undergone significant changes over the past decade. While Browser Isolation was once considered the gold standard for protecting against browser exploits and malware downloads, it has become increasingly inadequate and insecure in today's SaaS-centric world...

Threat Report: High Tech Industry targeted the most with 46% of attack traffic tagged by NLX

How To Use This Report Enhance situational awareness of techniques used by threat actors Identify potential attacks targeting your industry Gain insights to help improve and accelerate your organization's threat response Summary of Findings The Network Effect Threat Report offers insights based o...

New BLISTER Malware Update Fuelling Stealthy Network Infiltration

An updated version of a malware loader known as BLISTER is being used as part of SocGholish infection chains to distribute an open-source command-and-control C2 framework called Mythic. "New BLISTER update includes keying feature that allows for precise targeting of victim networks and lowers...

Russian State-Backed 'Infamous Chisel' Android Malware Targets Ukrainian Military

Cybersecurity and intelligence agencies from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.K., and the U.S. on Thursday disclosed details of a mobile malware strain targeting Android devices used by the Ukrainian military. The malicious software, dubbed Infamous Chisel and attributed to a Russian...

Apple Threatens to Pull iMessage and FaceTime from U.K. Amid Surveillance Demands

Apple has warned that it would rather stop offering iMessage and FaceTime services in the U.K. than bowing down to government pressure in response to new proposals that seek to expand digital surveillance powers available to state intelligence agencies. The development, first reported by BBC News...

Cyclops Ransomware Gang Offers Go-Based Info Stealer to Cybercriminals

Threat actors associated with the Cyclops ransomware have been observed offering an information stealer malware that's designed to capture sensitive data from infected hosts. "The threat actor behind this ransomware-as-a-service promotes its offering on forums," Uptycs said in a new report. "Ther...

Malicious PyPI Packages Using Compiled Python Code to Bypass Detection

Researchers have discovered a novel attack on the Python Package Index PyPI repository that employs compiled Python code to sidestep detection by application security tools. "It may be the first supply chain attack to take advantage of the fact that Python bytecode PYC files can be directly...

Meta Takes Down Malware Campaign That Used ChatGPT as a Lure to Steal Accounts

Meta said it took steps to take down more than 1,000 malicious URLs from being shared across its services that were found to leverage OpenAI's ChatGPT as a lure to propagate about 10 malware families since March 2023. The development comes against the backdrop of fake ChatGPT web browser extensio...

Western Digital Hit by Network Security Breach - Critical Services Disrupted!

Data storage devices maker Western Digital on Monday disclosed a "network security incident" that involved unauthorized access to its systems. The breach is said to have occurred on March 26, 2023, enabling an unnamed third party to gain access to a "number of the company's systems." Following th...

"It's The Service Accounts, Stupid": Why Do PAM Deployments Take (almost) Forever To Complete?

Privileged Access Management PAM solutions are regarded as the common practice to prevent identity threats to administrative accounts. In theory, the PAM concept makes absolute sense: place admin credentials in a vault, rotate their passwords, and closely monitor their sessions. However, the hars...

Pompompurin Unmasked: Infamous BreachForums Mastermind Arrested in New York

U.S. law enforcement authorities have arrested a 21-year-old New York man in connection with running the infamous BreachForums hacking forum under the online alias "Pompompurin." The development, first reported by Bloomberg Law, comes after News 12 Westchester, earlier this week, said that federa...

New ScrubCrypt Crypter Used in Cryptojacking Attacks Targeting Oracle WebLogic

The infamous cryptocurrency miner group called 8220 Gang has been observed using a new crypter called ScrubCrypt to carry out cryptojacking operations. According to Fortinet FortiGuard Labs, the attack chain commences with the successful exploitation of susceptible Oracle WebLogic servers to...

2023 Browser Security Report Uncovers Major Browsing Risks and Blind Spots

As a primary working interface, the browser plays a significant role in today's corporate environment. The browser is constantly used by employees to access websites, SaaS applications and internal applications, from both managed and unmanaged devices. A new report published by LayerX, a browser...

Attackers Flood NPM Repository with Over 15,000 Spam Packages Containing Phishing Links

In what's a continuing assault on the open source ecosystem, over 15,000 spam packages have flooded the npm repository in an attempt to distribute phishing links. "The packages were created using automated processes, with project descriptions and auto-generated names that closely resembled one...

Researchers Warn of ReverseRAT Backdoor Targeting Indian Government Agencies

A spear-phishing campaign targeting Indian government entities aims to deploy an updated version of a backdoor called ReverseRAT. Cybersecurity firm ThreatMon attributed the activity to a threat actor tracked as SideCopy. SideCopy is a threat group of Pakistani origin that shares overlaps with...

British Cyber Agency Warns of Russian and Iranian Hackers Targeting Key Industries

The U.K. National Cyber Security Centre NCSC on Thursday warned of spear-phishing attacks mounted by Russian and Iranian state-sponsored actors for information-gathering operations. "The attacks are not aimed at the general public but targets in specified sectors, including academia, defense,...