Google Accuses Spanish Spyware Vendor of Exploiting Chrome, Firefox, & Windows Zero-Days

A Barcelona-based surveillanceware vendor named Variston IT is said to have surreptitiously planted spyware on targeted devices by exploiting several zero-day flaws in Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Windows, some of which date back to December 2018. "Their Heliconia framework exploits n-day vulnerabilities in Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Defender, and provides all the tools necessary to

Hackers Leak Another Set of Medibank Customer Data on the Dark Web

Medibank on Thursday confirmed that the threat actors behind the devastating cyber attack have posted another dump of data stolen from its systems on the dark web after its refusal to pay a ransom. "We are in the process of analyzing the data, but the data released appears to be the data we believed the criminal stole," the Australian health insurer said. "While our investigation continues there

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 privileges. "The vulnerability is found in the Dev UI Config Editor, which is vulnerable to drive-by

What Developers Need to Fight the Battle Against Common Vulnerabilities

Today's threat landscape is constantly evolving, and now more than ever, organizations and businesses in every sector have a critical need to consistently produce and maintain secure software. While some verticals - like the finance industry, for example - have been subject to regulatory and compliance requirements for some time, we are seeing a steady increase in attention on cybersecurity best

Schoolyard Bully Trojan Apps Stole Facebook Credentials from Over 300,000 Android Users

More than 300,000 users across 71 countries have been victimized by a new Android threat campaign called the Schoolyard Bully Trojan. Mainly designed to steal Facebook credentials, the malware is camouflaged as legitimate education-themed applications to lure unsuspecting users into downloading them. The apps, which were available for download from the official Google Play Store, have now been

Researchers 'Accidentally’ Crash KmsdBot Cryptocurrency Mining Botnet Network

An ongoing analysis into an up-and-coming cryptocurrency mining botnet known as KmsdBot has led to it being accidentally taken down. KmsdBot, as christened by the Akamai Security Intelligence Response Team (SIRT), came to light mid-November 2022 for its ability to brute-force systems with weak SSH credentials. The botnet strikes both Windows and Linux devices spanning a wide range of

LastPass Suffers Another Security Breach; Exposed Some Customers Information

Popular password management service LastPass said it's investigating a second security incident that involved attackers accessing some of its customer information. "We recently detected unusual activity within a third-party cloud storage service, which is currently shared by both LastPass and its affiliate, GoTo," LastPass CEO Karim Toubba said. GoTo, formerly called LogMeIn, acquired LastPass

North Korea Hackers Using New "Dolphin" Backdoor to Spy on South Korean Targets

The North Korea-linked ScarCruft group has been attributed to a previously undocumented backdoor called Dolphin that the threat actor has used against targets located in its southern counterpart. "The backdoor [...] has a wide range of spying capabilities, including monitoring drives and portable devices and exfiltrating files of interest, keylogging and taking screenshots, and stealing

Researchers Find a Way Malicious NPM Libraries Can Evade Vulnerability Detection

New findings from cybersecurity firm JFrog show that malware targeting the npm ecosystem can evade security checks by taking advantage of an "unexpected behavior" in the npm command line interface (CLI) tool. npm CLI's install and audit commands have built-in capabilities to check a package and all of its dependencies for known vulnerabilities, effectively acting as a warning mechanism for

This Malicious App Abused Hacked Devices to Create Fake Accounts on Multiple Platforms

A malicious Android SMS application discovered on the Google Play Store has been found to stealthily harvest text messages with the goal of creating accounts on a wide range of platforms like Facebook, Google, and WhatsApp. The app, named Symoo (com.vanjan.sms), had over 100,000 downloads and functioned as a relay for transmitting messages to a server, which advertises an account creation

French Electricity Provider Fined for Storing Users’ Passwords with Weak MD5 Algorithm

The French data protection watchdog on Tuesday fined electricity provider Électricité de France (EDF) €600,000 for violating the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements. The Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL) said the electric utility breached European regulation by storing the passwords for over 25,800 accounts by hashing them using the 

Australia Passes Bill to Fine Companies up to $50 Million for Data Breaches

The Australian government has passed a bill that markedly increases the penalty for companies suffering from serious or repeated data breaches. To that end, the maximum fines have been bumped up from the current AU$2.22 million to AU$50 million, 30% of an entity's adjusted turnover in the relevant period, or three times the value of any benefit obtained through the misuse of information,

3 New Vulnerabilities Affect OT Products from German Companies Festo and CODESYS

Researchers have disclosed details of three new security vulnerabilities affecting operational technology (OT) products from CODESYS and Festo that could lead to source code tampering and denial-of-service (DoS). The vulnerabilities, reported by Forescout Vedere Labs, are the latest in a long list of flaws collectively tracked under the name OT:ICEFALL. "These issues exemplify either an

Chinese Cyber Espionage Hackers Using USB Devices to Target Entities in Philippines

A threat actor with a suspected China nexus has been linked to a set of espionage attacks in the Philippines that primarily relies on USB devices as an initial infection vector. Mandiant, which is part of Google Cloud, is tracking the cluster under its uncategorized moniker UNC4191. An analysis of the artifacts used in the intrusions indicates that the campaign dates as far back as September

New Flaw in Acer Laptops Could Let Attackers Disable Secure Boot Protection

Acer has released a firmware update to address a security vulnerability that could be potentially weaponized to turn off UEFI Secure Boot on affected machines. Tracked as CVE-2022-4020, the high-severity vulnerability affects five different models that consist of Aspire A315-22, A115-21, and A315-22G, and Extensa EX215-21 and EX215-21G. <!--adsense--> The PC maker described the vulnerability as

Hackers Using Trending TikTok 'Invisible Challenge' to Spread Malware

Threat actors are capitalizing on a popular TikTok challenge to trick users into downloading information-stealing malware, according to new research from Checkmarx. The trend, called Invisible Challenge, involves applying a filter known as Invisible Body that just leaves behind a silhouette of the person's body. But the fact that individuals filming such videos could be undressed has led to a

7 Cyber Security Tips for SMBs

When the headlines focus on breaches of large enterprises like the Optus breach, it’s easy for smaller businesses to think they’re not a target for hackers. Surely, they’re not worth the time or effort?  Unfortunately, when it comes to cyber security, size doesn’t matter.  Assuming you’re not a target leads to lax security practices in many SMBs who lack the knowledge or expertise to put simple

Irish Regulator Fines Facebook $277 Million for Leak of Half a Billion Users' Data

Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) has levied fines of €265 million ($277 million) against Meta Platforms for failing to safeguard the personal data of more than half a billion users of its Facebook service, ramping up privacy enforcement against U.S. tech firms. The fines follow an inquiry initiated by the European regulator on April 14, 2021, close on the heels of a leak of a "collated

CISA Warns of Actively Exploited Critical Oracle Fusion Middleware Vulnerability

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Monday added a critical flaw impacting Oracle Fusion Middleware to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog, citing evidence of active exploitation. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2021-35587, carries a CVSS score of 9.8 and impacts Oracle Access Manager (OAM) versions 11.1.2.3.0, 12.2.1.3.0, and 12.2.1.4.0. <!--

Researchers Detail AppSync Cross-Tenant Vulnerability in Amazon Web Services

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has resolved a cross-tenant vulnerability in its platform that could be weaponized by an attacker to gain unauthorized access to resources. The issue relates to a confused deputy problem, a type of privilege escalation where a program that doesn't have permission to perform an action can coerce a more-privileged entity to perform the action. The shortcoming was reported

The 5 Cornerstones for an Effective Cyber Security Awareness Training

It's not news that phishing attacks are getting more complex and happening more often. This year alone, APWG reported a record-breaking total of 1,097,811 phishing attacks. These attacks continue to target organizations and individuals to gain their sensitive information.  The hard news: they're often successful, have a long-lasting negative impact on your organization and employees, including:

Over a Dozen New BMC Firmware Flaws Expose OT and IoT Devices to Remote Attacks

Over a dozen security flaws have been discovered in baseboard management controller (BMC) firmware from Lanner that could expose operational technology (OT) and internet of things (IoT) networks to remote attacks. BMC refers to a specialized service processor, a system-on-chip (SoC), that's found in server motherboards and is used for remote monitoring and management of a host system, including

Elon Musk Confirms Twitter 2.0 will Bring End-to-End Encryption to Direct Messages

Twitter chief executive Elon Musk confirmed plans for end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for direct messages on the platform. The feature is part of Musk's vision for Twitter 2.0, which is expected to be what's called an "everything app." Other functionalities include longform tweets and payments, according to a slide deck shared by Musk over the weekend. <!--adsense--> The company's plans for

All You Need to Know About Emotet in 2022

For 6 months, the infamous Emotet botnet has shown almost no activity, and now it's distributing malicious spam. Let's dive into details and discuss all you need to know about the notorious malware to combat it. Why is everyone scared of Emotet? Emotet is by far one of the most dangerous trojans ever created. The malware became a very destructive program as it grew in scale and sophistication.

U.S. Bans Chinese Telecom Equipment and Surveillance Cameras Over National Security Risk

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) formally announced it will no longer authorize electronic equipment from Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision, and Dahua, deeming them an "unacceptable" national security threat. All these Chinese telecom and video surveillance companies were previously included in the Covered List as of March 12, 2021. "The FCC is committed to protecting our national

Russia-based RansomBoggs Ransomware Targeted Several Ukrainian Organizations

Ukraine has come under a fresh onslaught of ransomware attacks that mirror previous intrusions attributed to the Russia-based Sandworm nation-state group. Slovak cybersecurity company ESET, which dubbed the new ransomware strain RansomBoggs, said the attacks against several Ukrainian entities were first detected on November 21, 2022. "While the malware written in .NET is new, its deployment is

Update Chrome Browser Now to Patch New Actively Exploited Zero-Day Flaw

Google on Thursday released software updates to address yet another zero-day flaw in its Chrome web browser. Tracked as CVE-2022-4135, the high-severity vulnerability has been described as a heap buffer overflow in the GPU component. Clement Lecigne of Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG) has been credited with reporting the flaw on November 22, 2022. Heap-based buffer overflow bugs can be 

Dell, HP, and Lenovo Devices Found Using Outdated OpenSSL Versions

An analysis of firmware images across devices from Dell, HP, and Lenovo has revealed the presence of outdated versions of the OpenSSL cryptographic library, underscoring a supply chain risk. EFI Development Kit, aka EDK, is an open source implementation of the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), which functions as an interface between the operating system and the firmware embedded in

U.K. Police Arrest 142 in Global Crackdown on 'iSpoof' Phone Spoofing Service

A coordinated law enforcement effort has dismantled an online phone number spoofing service called iSpoof and arrested 142 individuals linked to the operation. The websites, ispoof[.]me and ispoof[.]cc, allowed the crooks to "impersonate trusted corporations or contacts to access sensitive information from victims," Europol said in a press statement. Worldwide losses exceeded €115 million ($

Interpol Seized $130 Million from Cybercriminals in Global "HAECHI-III" Crackdown Operation

Interpol on Thursday announced the seizure of $130 million worth of virtual assets in connection with a global crackdown on cyber-enabled financial crimes and money laundering. The international police operation, dubbed HAECHI-III, transpired between June 28 and November 23, 2022, resulting in the arrests of 975 individuals and the closure of more than 1,600 cases. This comprised two fugitives

New RansomExx Ransomware Variant Rewritten in the Rust Programming Language

The operators of the RansomExx ransomware have become the latest to develop a new variant fully rewritten in the Rust programming language, following other strains like BlackCat, Hive, and Luna. The latest version, dubbed RansomExx2 by the threat actor known as Hive0091 (aka DefrayX), is primarily designed to run on the Linux operating system, although it's expected that a Windows version will

Millions of Android Devices Still Don't Have Patches for Mali GPU Flaws

A set of five medium-severity security flaws in Arm's Mali GPU driver has continued to remain unpatched on Android devices for months, despite fixes released by the chipmaker. Google Project Zero, which discovered and reported the bugs, said Arm addressed the shortcomings in July and August 2022. "These fixes have not yet made it downstream to affected Android devices (including Pixel, Samsung,

Boost Your Security with Europe's Leading Bug Bounty Platform

As 2022 comes to an end, now's the time to level up your bug bounty program with Intigriti. Are you experiencing slow bug bounty lead times, gaps in security skills, or low-quality reports from researchers? Intigriti's expert triage team and global community of ethical hackers are enabling businesses to protect themselves against every emerging cybersecurity threat. Join the likes of Intel,

Bahamut Cyber Espionage Hackers Targeting Android Users with Fake VPN Apps

The cyber espionage group known as Bahamut has been attributed as behind a highly targeted campaign that infects users of Android devices with malicious apps designed to extract sensitive information. The activity, which has been active since January 2022, entails distributing rogue VPN apps through a fake SecureVPN website set up for this purpose, Slovak cybersecurity firm ESET said in a new

This Android File Manager App Infected Thousands of Devices with SharkBot Malware

The Android banking fraud malware known as SharkBot has reared its head once again on the official Google Play Store, posing as file managers to bypass the app marketplace's restrictions. A majority of the users who downloaded the rogue apps are located in the U.K. and Italy, Romanian cybersecurity company Bitdefender said in an analysis published this week. SharkBot, first discovered towards

Black Basta Ransomware Gang Actively Infiltrating U.S. Companies with Qakbot Malware

Companies based in the U.S. have been at the receiving end of an "aggressive" Qakbot malware campaign that leads to Black Basta ransomware infections on compromised networks. "In this latest campaign, the Black Basta ransomware gang is using QakBot malware to create an initial point of entry and move laterally within an organization's network," Cybereason researchers Joakim Kandefelt and

34 Russian Cybercrime Groups Stole Over 50 Million Passwords with Stealer Malware

As many as 34 Russian-speaking gangs distributing information-stealing malware under the stealer-as-a-service model stole no fewer than 50 million passwords in the first seven months of 2022. "The underground market value of stolen logs and compromised card details is estimated around $5.8 million," Singapore-headquartered Group-IB said in a report shared with The Hacker News. Aside from looting

Ducktail Malware Operation Evolves with New Malicious Capabilities

The operators of the Ducktail information stealer have demonstrated a "relentless willingness to persist" and continued to update their malware as part of an ongoing financially driven campaign. "The malware is designed to steal browser cookies and take advantage of authenticated Facebook sessions to steal information from the victim's Facebook account," WithSecure researcher Mohammad Kazem

Top Cyber Threats Facing E-Commerce Sites This Holiday Season

Delivering a superior customer experience is essential for any e-commerce business. For those companies, there's a lot at stake this holiday season. According to Digital Commerce 360, nearly $1.00 of every $4.00 spent on retail purchases during the 2022 holiday season will be spent online, resulting in $224 billion in e-commerce sales. To ensure your e-commerce site is ready for the holiday rush

Hackers Exploiting Abandoned Boa Web Servers to Target Critical Industries

Microsoft on Tuesday disclosed the intrusion activity aimed at Indian power grid entities earlier this year likely involved the exploitation of security flaws in a now-discontinued web server called Boa. The tech behemoth's cybersecurity division said the vulnerable component poses a "supply chain risk that may affect millions of organizations and devices." The findings build on a prior report 

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 originated from the U.S., primarily singled out Afghanistan, Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,

Nighthawk Likely to Become Hackers' New Post-Exploitation Tool After Cobalt Strike

A nascent and legitimate penetration testing framework known as Nighthawk is likely to gain threat actors' attention for its Cobalt Strike-like capabilities. Enterprise security firm Proofpoint said it detected the use of the software in mid-September 2022 by a red team with a number of test emails sent using generic subject lines such as "Just checking in" and "Hope this works2." However, there

This Malware Installs Malicious Browser Extensions to Steal Users' Passwords and Cryptos

A malicious extension for Chromium-based web browsers has been observed to be distributed via a long-standing Windows information stealer called ViperSoftX. Czech-based cybersecurity company dubbed the rogue browser add-on VenomSoftX owing to its standalone features that enable it to access website visits, steal credentials and clipboard data, and even swap cryptocurrency addresses via an

Researchers Warn of Cyber Criminals Using Go-based Aurora Stealer Malware

A nascent Go-based malware known as Aurora Stealer is being increasingly deployed as part of multiple campaigns designed to steal sensitive information from compromised hosts. "These infection chains leveraged phishing pages impersonating download pages of legitimate software, including cryptocurrency wallets or remote access tools, and the 911 method making use of YouTube videos and SEO-poised

Here's How to Ensure Your Incident Response Strategy is Ready for Holiday Hackers

The best line of defense against holiday hacking schemes is a comprehensive incident response strategy that focuses on end-user vulnerabilities.  The holiday season is upon us and with it a slew of cybersecurity scams preying on end-user vulnerabilities. Because employees often use their business emails and cell phones as their primary point of contact, these scams quickly become a threat to

Luna Moth Gang Invests in Call Centers to Target Businesses with Callback Phishing Campaigns

The Luna Moth campaign has extorted hundreds of thousands of dollars from several victims in the legal and retail sectors. The attacks are notable for employing a technique called callback phishing or telephone-oriented attack delivery (TOAD), wherein the victims are social engineered into making a phone call through phishing emails containing invoices and subscription-themed lures. Palo Alto

U.S. Authorities Seize Domains Used in 'Pig butchering' Cryptocurrency Scams

The U.S. Justice Department (DoJ) on Monday announced the takedown of seven domain names in connection to a "pig butchering" cryptocurrency scam. The fraudulent scheme, which operated from May to August 2022, netted the actors over $10 million from five victims, the DoJ said. Pig butchering, also called Sha Zhu Pan, is a type of scam in which swindlers lure unsuspecting investors into sending

Daixin Ransomware Gang Steals 5 Million AirAsia Passengers' and Employees' Data

The cybercrime group called Daixin Team has leaked sample data belonging to AirAsia, a Malaysian low-cost airline, on its data leak portal. The development comes a little over a week after the company fell victim to a ransomware attack on November 11 and 12, per DataBreaches.net. <!--adsense--> The threat actors allegedly claim to have obtained the personal data associated with five million

Notorious Emotet Malware Returns With High-Volume Malspam Campaign

The notorious Emotet malware has returned with renewed vigor as part of a high-volume malspam campaign designed to drop payloads like IcedID and Bumblebee. "Hundreds of thousands of emails per day" have been sent since early November 2022, enterprise security company Proofpoint said last week, adding, "the new activity suggests Emotet is returning to its full functionality acting as a delivery

Been Doing It The Same Way For Years? Think Again.

As IT professionals, we all reach a certain point in our IT career where we realize that some of our everyday tasks are done the same way year after year without anyone questioning why it's done that way. Despite the constant change and improvement in technology, some things just get done the same ineffective way without any real thought behind it because "that's the way it's always been done."

Google Wins Lawsuit Against Russians Linked to Blockchain-based Glupteba Botnet

Google has won a lawsuit filed against two Russian nationals in connection with the operation of a botnet called Glupteba, the company said last week. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York imposed monetary sanctions against the defendants and their U.S.-based legal counsel. The defendants have also been asked to pay Google's attorney fees. The defendants' move to press

Google Identifies 34 Cracked Versions of Popular Cobalt Strike Hacking Toolkit in the Wild

Google Cloud last week disclosed that it identified 34 different hacked release versions of the Cobalt Strike tool in the wild, the earliest of which shipped in November 2012. The versions, spanning 1.44 to 4.7, add up to a total of 275 unique JAR files, according to findings from the Google Cloud Threat Intelligence (GCTI) team. The latest version of Cobalt Strike is version 4.7.2. Cobalt

Indian Government Publishes Draft of Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2022

The Indian government on Friday released a draft version of the much-awaited data protection regulation, making it the fourth such effort since it was first proposed in July 2018. The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022, as it's called, aims to secure personal data, while also seeking users' consent in what the draft claims is "clear and plain language" describing the exact kinds of

Microsoft Warns of Hackers Using Google Ads to Distribute Royal Ransomware

A developing threat activity cluster has been found using Google Ads in one of its campaigns to distribute various post-compromise payloads, including the recently discovered Royal ransomware. Microsoft, which spotted the updated malware delivery method in late October 2022, is tracking the group under the name DEV-0569. "Observed DEV-0569 attacks show a pattern of continuous innovation, with

Chinese 'Mustang Panda' Hackers Actively Targeting Governments Worldwide

A notorious advanced persistent threat actor known as Mustang Panda has been linked to a spate of spear-phishing attacks targeting government, education, and research sectors across the world. The primary targets of the intrusions from May to October 2022 included counties in the Asia Pacific region such as Myanmar, Australia, the Philippines, Japan, and Taiwan, cybersecurity firm Trend Micro 

Atlassian Releases Patches for Critical Flaws Affecting Crowd and Bitbucket Products

Australian software company Atlassian has rolled out security updates to address two critical flaws affecting Bitbucket Server, Data Center, and Crowd products. The issues, tracked as CVE-2022-43781 and CVE-2022-43782, are both rated 9 out of 10 on the CVSS vulnerability scoring system. CVE-2022-43781, which Atlassian said was introduced in version 7.0.0 of Bitbucket Server and Data Center,

Meta Reportedly Fires Dozens of Employees for Hijacking Users' Facebook and Instagram Accounts

Meta Platforms is said to have fired or disciplined over two dozen employees and contractors over the past year for allegedly compromising and taking over user accounts, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. Some of these cases involved bribery, the publication said, citing sources and documents. Included among those fired were contractors who worked as security guards at the social media

LodaRAT Malware Resurfaces with New Variants Employing Updated Functionalities

The LodaRAT malware has resurfaced with new variants that are being deployed in conjunction with other sophisticated malware, such as RedLine Stealer and Neshta. "The ease of access to its source code makes LodaRAT an attractive tool for any threat actor who is interested in its capabilities," Cisco Talos researcher Chris Neal said in a write-up published Thursday. Aside from being dropped

Threat hunting with MITRE ATT&CK and Wazuh

Threat hunting is the process of looking for malicious activity and its artifacts in a computer system or network. Threat hunting is carried out intermittently in an environment regardless of whether or not threats have been discovered by automated security solutions. Some threat actors may stay dormant in an organization's infrastructure, extending their access while waiting for the right

Hive Ransomware Attackers Extorted $100 Million from Over 1,300 Companies Worldwide

The threat actors behind the Hive ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) scheme have launched attacks against over 1,300 companies across the world, netting the gang $100 million in illicit payments as of November 2022. "Hive ransomware has targeted a wide range of businesses and critical infrastructure sectors, including government facilities, communications, critical manufacturing, information