Over 60K Adware Apps Posing as Cracked Versions of Popular Apps Target Android Devices

Thousands of adware apps for Android have been found to masquerade as cracks or modded versions of popular applications to serve unwanted ads to users as part of a campaign ongoing since October 2022. "The campaign is designed to aggressively push adware to Android devices with the purpose to drive revenue," Bitdefender said in a technical report shared with The Hacker News. "However, the threat

5 Reasons Why IT Security Tools Don't Work For OT

Attacks on critical infrastructure and other OT systems are on the rise as digital transformation and OT/IT convergence continue to accelerate. Water treatment facilities, energy providers, factories, and chemical plants — the infrastructure that undergirds our daily lives could all be at risk. Disrupting or manipulating OT systems stands to pose real physical harm to citizens, environments, and

Zero-Day Alert: Google Issues Patch for New Chrome Vulnerability - Update Now!

Google on Monday released security updates to patch a high-severity flaw in its Chrome web browser that it said is being actively exploited in the wild. Tracked as CVE-2023-3079, the vulnerability has been described as a type confusion bug in the V8 JavaScript engine. Clement Lecigne of Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG) has been credited with reporting the issue on June 1, 2023. "Type

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. "There it requests a share of profits from those engaging in malicious activities using its malware."

Chinese PostalFurious Gang Strikes UAE Users with Sneaky SMS Phishing Scheme

A Chinese-speaking phishing gang dubbed PostalFurious has been linked to a new SMS campaign that's targeting users in the U.A.E. by masquerading as postal services and toll operators, per Group-IB. The fraudulent scheme entails sending users bogus text messages asking them to pay a vehicle trip fee to avoid additional fines. The messages also contain a shortened URL to conceal the actual

Zyxel Firewalls Under Attack! Urgent Patching Required

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Monday placed two recently disclosed flaws in Zyxel firewalls to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation. The vulnerabilities, tracked as CVE-2023-33009 and CVE-2023-33010, are buffer overflow vulnerabilities that could enable an unauthenticated attacker to cause a

Microsoft: Lace Tempest Hackers Behind Active Exploitation of MOVEit Transfer App

Microsoft has officially linked the ongoing active exploitation of a critical flaw in the Progress Software MOVEit Transfer application to a threat actor it tracks as Lace Tempest. "Exploitation is often followed by deployment of a web shell with data exfiltration capabilities," the Microsoft Threat Intelligence team said in a series of tweets today. "CVE-2023-34362 allows attackers to

The Annual Report: 2024 Plans and Priorities for SaaS Security

Over 55% of security executives report that they have experienced a SaaS security incident in the past two years — ranging from data leaks and data breaches to SaaS ransomware and malicious apps (as seen in figures 1 and 2). Figure 1. How many organizations have experienced a SaaS security incident within the past two years The SaaS Security Survey Report: Plans and Priorities for 2024,

Magento, WooCommerce, WordPress, and Shopify Exploited in Web Skimmer Attack

Cybersecurity researchers have unearthed a new ongoing Magecart-style web skimmer campaign that's designed to steal personally identifiable information (PII) and credit card data from e-commerce websites. A noteworthy aspect that sets it apart from other Magecart campaigns is that the hijacked sites further serve as "makeshift" command-and-control (C2) servers, using the cover to facilitate the

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 carry out its malicious activities," the BlackBerry Research and Intelligence Team said in a report

Alarming Surge in TrueBot Activity Revealed with New Delivery Vectors

A surge in TrueBot activity was observed in May 2023, cybersecurity researchers disclosed. "TrueBot is a downloader trojan botnet that uses command and control servers to collect information on compromised systems and uses that compromised system as a launching point for further attacks," VMware's Fae Carlisle said. Active since at least 2017, TrueBot is linked to a group known as Silence that's

New Linux Ransomware Strain BlackSuit Shows Striking Similarities to Royal

An analysis of the Linux variant of a new ransomware strain called BlackSuit has covered significant similarities with another ransomware family called Royal. Trend Micro, which examined an x64 VMware ESXi version targeting Linux machines, said it identified an "extremely high degree of similarity" between Royal and BlackSuit. "In fact, they're nearly identical, with 98% similarities in

Cloud Security Tops Concerns for Cybersecurity Leaders: EC-Council's Certified CISO Hall of Fame Report 2023

A survey of global cybersecurity leaders through the 2023 Certified CISO Hall of Fame Report commissioned by the EC-Council identified 4 primary areas of grave concern: cloud security, data security, security governance, and lack of cybersecurity talent. EC-Council, the global leader in cybersecurity education and training, released its Certified Chief Information Security Officer Hall of Fame

FTC Slams Amazon with $30.8M Fine for Privacy Violations Involving Alexa and Ring

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has fined Amazon a cumulative $30.8 million over a series of privacy lapses regarding its Alexa assistant and Ring security cameras. This comprises a $25 million penalty for breaching children's privacy laws by retaining their Alexa voice recordings for indefinite time periods and preventing parents from exercising their deletion rights. "Amazon's history

New Botnet Malware 'Horabot' Targets Spanish-Speaking Users in Latin America

Spanish-speaking users in Latin America have been at the receiving end of a new botnet malware dubbed Horabot since at least November 2020. "Horabot enables the threat actor to control the victim's Outlook mailbox, exfiltrate contacts' email addresses, and send phishing emails with malicious HTML attachments to all addresses in the victim's mailbox," Cisco Talos researcher Chetan Raghuprasad 

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 you manage it?  Data security posture management (DSPM) became mainstream following the publication

Camaro Dragon Strikes with New TinyNote Backdoor for Intelligence Gathering

The Chinese nation-state group known as Camaro Dragon has been linked to yet another backdoor that's designed to meet its intelligence-gathering goals. Israeli cybersecurity firm Check Point, which dubbed the Go-based malware TinyNote, said it functions as a first-stage payload capable of "basic machine enumeration and command execution via PowerShell or Goroutines." What the malware lacks in

North Korea's Kimsuky Group Mimics Key Figures in Targeted Cyber Attacks

U.S. and South Korean intelligence agencies have issued a new alert warning of North Korean cyber actors' use of social engineering tactics to strike think tanks, academia, and news media sectors. The "sustained information gathering efforts" have been attributed to a state-sponsored cluster dubbed Kimsuky, which is also known by the names APT43, ARCHIPELAGO, Black Banshee, Emerald Sleet (

MOVEit Transfer Under Attack: Zero-Day Vulnerability Actively Being Exploited

A critical flaw in Progress Software's in MOVEit Transfer managed file transfer application has come under widespread exploitation in the wild to take over vulnerable systems. The shortcoming, which is assigned the CVE identifier CVE-2023-34362, relates to a severe SQL injection vulnerability that could lead to escalated privileges and potential unauthorized access to the environment. "An SQL

Evasive QBot Malware Leverages Short-lived Residential IPs for Dynamic Attacks

An analysis of the "evasive and tenacious" malware known as QBot has revealed that 25% of its command-and-control (C2) servers are merely active for a single day. What's more, 50% of the servers don't remain active for more than a week, indicating the use of an adaptable and dynamic C2 infrastructure, Lumen Black Lotus Labs said in a report shared with The Hacker News. "This botnet has adapted

New Zero-Click Hack Targets iOS Users with Stealthy Root-Privilege Malware

A previously unknown advanced persistent threat (APT) is targeting iOS devices as part of a sophisticated and long-running mobile campaign dubbed Operation Triangulation that began in 2019. "The targets are infected using zero-click exploits via the iMessage platform, and the malware runs with root privileges, gaining complete control over the device and user data," Kaspersky said. The Russian

Unmasking XE Group: Experts Reveal Identity of Suspected Cybercrime Kingpin

Cybersecurity researchers have unmasked the identity of one of the individuals who is believed to be associated with the e-crime actor known as XE Group. According to Menlo Security, which pieced together the information from different online sources, "Nguyen Huu Tai, who also goes by the names Joe Nguyen and Thanh Nguyen, has the strongest likelihood of being involved with the XE Group." XE

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 executed," ReversingLabs analyst Karlo Zanki said in a report shared with The Hacker News. The package

How Wazuh Improves IT Hygiene for Cyber Security Resilience

IT hygiene is a security best practice that ensures that digital assets in an organization's environment are secure and running properly. Good IT hygiene includes vulnerability management, security configuration assessments, maintaining asset and system inventories, and comprehensive visibility into the activities occurring in an environment. As technology advances and the tools used by

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 strengthen the group's efforts to evade detection," IBM Security X-Force said in a new analysis. The "

N. Korean ScarCruft Hackers Exploit LNK Files to Spread RokRAT

Cybersecurity researchers have offered a closer look at the RokRAT remote access trojan that's employed by the North Korean state-sponsored actor known as ScarCruft. "RokRAT is a sophisticated remote access trojan (RAT) that has been observed as a critical component within the attack chain, enabling the threat actors to gain unauthorized access, exfiltrate sensitive information, and potentially

Active Mirai Botnet Variant Exploiting Zyxel Devices for DDoS Attacks

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has added a recently patched critical security flaw in Zyxel gear to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, citing evidence of active exploitation. Tracked as CVE-2023-28771 (CVSS score: 9.8), the issue relates to a command injection flaw impacting different firewall models that could enable an unauthenticated attacker

Urgent WordPress Update Fixes Critical Flaw in Jetpack Plugin on Million of Sites

WordPress has issued an automatic update to address a critical flaw in the Jetpack plugin that’s installed on over five million sites. The vulnerability, which was unearthed during an internal security audit, resides in an API present in the plugin since version 2.0, which was released in November 2012. “This vulnerability could be used by authors on a site to manipulate any files in the

Cybercriminals Targeting Apache NiFi Instances for Cryptocurrency Mining

A financially motivated threat actor is actively scouring the internet for unprotected Apache NiFi instances to covertly install a cryptocurrency miner and facilitate lateral movement. The findings come from the SANS Internet Storm Center (ISC), which detected a spike in HTTP requests for “/nifi” on May 19, 2023. “Persistence is achieved via timed processors or entries to cron,” said Dr.

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. Gigabyte has since acknowledged and addressed the issue. "Most Gigabyte firmware includes a Windows

Beware of Ghost Sites: Silent Threat Lurking in Your Salesforce Communities

Improperly deactivated and abandoned Salesforce Sites and Communities (aka Experience Cloud) could pose severe risks to organizations, leading to unauthorized access to sensitive data. Data security firm Varonis dubbed the abandoned, unprotected, and unmonitored resources “ghost sites.” “When these Communities are no longer needed, though, they are often set aside but not deactivated,” Varonis

Microsoft Details Critical Apple macOS Vulnerability Allowing SIP Protection Bypass

Microsoft has shared details of a now-patched flaw in Apple macOS that could be abused by threat actors with root access to bypass security enforcements and perform arbitrary actions on affected devices. Specifically, the flaw – dubbed Migraine and tracked as CVE-2023-32369 – could be abused to get around a key security measure called System Integrity Protection (SIP), or “rootless,” which

6 Steps to Effectively Threat Hunting: Safeguard Critical Assets and Fight Cybercrime

Finding threat actors before they find you is key to beefing up your cyber defenses. How to do that efficiently and effectively is no small task – but with a small investment of time, you can master threat hunting and save your organization millions of dollars. Consider this staggering statistic. Cybersecurity Ventures estimates that cybercrime will take a $10.5 trillion toll on the global

Dark Pink APT Group Leverages TelePowerBot and KamiKakaBot in Sophisticated Attacks

The threat actor known as Dark Pink has been linked to five new attacks aimed at various entities in Belgium, Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam between February 2022 and April 2023. This includes educational institutions, government agencies, military bodies, and non-profit organizations, indicating the adversarial crew’s continued focus on high-value targets. Dark Pink, also called

RomCom RAT Using Deceptive Web of Rogue Software Sites for Covert Attacks

The threat actors behind RomCom RAT are leveraging a network of fake websites advertising rogue versions of popular software at least since July 2022 to infiltrate targets. Cybersecurity firm Trend Micro is tracking the activity cluster under the name Void Rabisu, which is also known as Tropical Scorpius (Unit 42) and UNC2596 (Mandiant). "These lure sites are most likely only meant for a small

Alert: Hackers Exploit Barracuda Email Security Gateway 0-Day Flaw for 7 Months

Enterprise security firm Barracuda on Tuesday disclosed that a recently patched zero-day flaw in its Email Security Gateway (ESG) appliances had been abused by threat actors since October 2022 to backdoor the devices. The latest findings show that the critical vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2023-2868 (CVSS score: N/A), has been actively exploited for at least seven months prior to its discovery.

Hackers Win $105,000 for Reporting Critical Security Flaws in Sonos One Speakers

Multiple security flaws uncovered in Sonos One wireless speakers could be potentially exploited to achieve information disclosure and remote code execution, the Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) said in a report published last week. The vulnerabilities were demonstrated by three different teams from Qrious Secure, STAR Labs, and DEVCORE at the Pwn2Own hacking contest held in Toronto late last year,

CAPTCHA-Breaking Services with Human Solvers Helping Cybercriminals Defeat Security

Cybersecurity researchers are warning about CAPTCHA-breaking services that are being offered for sale to bypass systems designed to distinguish legitimate users from bot traffic. "Because cybercriminals are keen on breaking CAPTCHAs accurately, several services that are primarily geared toward this market demand have been created," Trend Micro said in a report published last week. "These

Implementing Risk-Based Vulnerability Discovery and Remediation

In this day and age, vulnerabilities in software and systems pose a considerable danger to businesses, which is why it is essential to have an efficient vulnerability management program in place. To stay one step ahead of possible breaches and reduce the damage they may cause, it is crucial to automate the process of finding and fixing vulnerabilities depending on the level of danger they pose.

Sneaky DogeRAT Trojan Poses as Popular Apps, Targets Indian Android Users

A new open source remote access trojan (RAT) called DogeRAT targets Android users primarily located in India as part of a sophisticated malware campaign. The malware is distributed via social media and messaging platforms under the guise of legitimate applications like Opera Mini, OpenAI ChatGPT, and Premium versions of YouTube, Netflix, and Instagram. "Once installed on a victim's device, the

New BrutePrint Attack Lets Attackers Unlock Smartphones with Fingerprint Brute-Force

Researchers have discovered an inexpensive attack technique that could be leveraged to brute-force fingerprints on smartphones to bypass user authentication and seize control of the devices. The approach, dubbed BrutePrint, bypasses limits put in place to counter failed biometric authentication attempts by weaponizing two zero-day vulnerabilities in the smartphone fingerprint authentication (SFA

AceCryptor: Cybercriminals' Powerful Weapon, Detected in 240K+ Attacks

A crypter (alternatively spelled cryptor) malware dubbed AceCryptor has been used to pack numerous strains of malware since 2016. Slovak cybersecurity firm ESET said it identified over 240,000 detections of the crypter in its telemetry in 2021 and 2022. This amounts to more than 10,000 hits per month. Some of the prominent malware families contained within AceCryptor are SmokeLoader, RedLine

3 Challenges in Building a Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) Program and How to Beat Them

If you're a cybersecurity professional, you're likely familiar with the sea of acronyms our industry is obsessed with. From CNAPP, to CWPP, to CIEM and all of the myriad others, there seems to be a new initialism born each day. In this article, we'll look at another trending acronym – CTEM, which stands for Continuous Threat Exposure Management – and the often-surprising challenges that come

New GobRAT Remote Access Trojan Targeting Linux Routers in Japan

Linux routers in Japan are the target of a new Golang remote access trojan (RAT) called GobRAT. "Initially, the attacker targets a router whose WEBUI is open to the public, executes scripts possibly by using vulnerabilities, and finally infects the GobRAT," the JPCERT Coordination Center (JPCERT/CC) said in a report published today. The compromise of an internet-exposed router is followed by the

Don't Click That ZIP File! Phishers Weaponizing .ZIP Domains to Trick Victims

A new phishing technique called "file archiver in the browser" can be leveraged to "emulate" a file archiver software in a web browser when a victim visits a .ZIP domain. "With this phishing attack, you simulate a file archiver software (e.g., WinRAR) in the browser and use a .zip domain to make it appear more legitimate," security researcher mr.d0x disclosed last week. Threat actors, in a

PyPI Implements Mandatory Two-Factor Authentication for Project Owners

The Python Package Index (PyPI) announced last week that every account that maintains a project on the official third-party software repository will be required to turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) by the end of the year. "Between now and the end of the year, PyPI will begin gating access to certain site functionality based on 2FA usage," PyPI administrator Donald Stufft said. "In addition

New Stealthy Bandit Stealer Targeting Web Browsers and Cryptocurrency Wallets

A new stealthy information stealer malware called Bandit Stealer has caught the attention of cybersecurity researchers for its ability to target numerous web browsers and cryptocurrency wallets.  "It has the potential to expand to other platforms as Bandit Stealer was developed using the Go programming language, possibly allowing cross-platform compatibility," Trend Micro said in a Friday report

Critical OAuth Vulnerability in Expo Framework Allows Account Hijacking

A critical security vulnerability has been disclosed in the Open Authorization (OAuth) implementation of the application development framework Expo.io. The shortcoming, assigned the CVE identifier CVE-2023-28131, has a severity rating of 9.6 on the CVSS scoring system. API security firm Salt Labs said the issue rendered services using the framework susceptible to credential leakage, which could

Severe Flaw in Google Cloud's Cloud SQL Service Exposed Confidential Data

A new security flaw has been disclosed in the Google Cloud Platform's (GCP) Cloud SQL service that could be potentially exploited to obtain access to confidential data. "The vulnerability could have enabled a malicious actor to escalate from a basic Cloud SQL user to a full-fledged sysadmin on a container, gaining access to internal GCP data like secrets, sensitive files, passwords, in addition

Predator Android Spyware: Researchers Uncover New Data Theft Capabilities

Security researchers have detailed the inner workings of the commercial Android spyware called Predator, which is marketed by the Israeli company Intellexa (previously Cytrox). Predator was first documented by Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG) in May 2022 as part of attacks leveraging five different zero-day flaws in the Chrome web browser and Android. The spyware, which is delivered by means

5 Must-Know Facts about 5G Network Security and Its Cloud Benefits

5G is a game changer for mobile connectivity, including mobile connectivity to the cloud. The technology provides high speed and low latency when connecting smartphones and IoT devices to cloud infrastructure. 5G networks are a critical part of all infrastructure layers between the end user and the end service; these networks transmit sensitive data that can be vital for governments and

New COSMICENERGY Malware Exploits ICS Protocol to Sabotage Power Grids

A new strain of malicious software that's engineered to penetrate and disrupt critical systems in industrial environments has been unearthed. Google-owned threat intelligence firm Mandiant dubbed the malware COSMICENERGY, adding it was uploaded to the VirusTotal public malware scanning utility in December 2021 by a submitter in Russia. There is no evidence that it has been put to use in the wild

Barracuda Warns of Zero-Day Exploited to Breach Email Security Gateway Appliances

Email protection and network security services provider Barracuda is warning users about a zero-day flaw that it said has been exploited to breach the company's Email Security Gateway (ESG) appliances. The zero-day is being tracked as CVE-2023-2868 and has been described as a remote code injection vulnerability affecting versions 5.1.3.001 through 9.2.0.006. The California-headquartered firm 

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 researcher Allen West said in a new technical analysis shared with The Hacker News. Targets include

Zyxel Issues Critical Security Patches for Firewall and VPN Products

Zyxel has released software updates to address two critical security flaws affecting select firewall and VPN products that could be abused by remote attackers to achieve code execution. Both the flaws – CVE-2023-33009 and CVE-2023-33010 – are buffer overflow vulnerabilities and are rated 9.8 out of 10 on the CVSS scoring system. A brief description of the two issues is below - CVE-2023-33009 -

Cynet Protects Hospital From Lethal Infection

A hospital with 2,000 employees in the E.U. deployed Cynet protections across its environment. The hospital was in the process of upgrading several expensive imaging systems that were still supported by Windows XP and Windows 7 machines. Cynet protections were in place on most of the Windows XP and Windows 7 machines during the upgrade process, ensuring that legacy operating systems would not

New PowerExchange Backdoor Used in Iranian Cyber Attack on UAE Government

An unnamed government entity associated with the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) was targeted by a likely Iranian threat actor to breach the victim's Microsoft Exchange Server with a "simple yet effective" backdoor dubbed PowerExchange. According to a new report from Fortinet FortiGuard Labs, the intrusion relied on email phishing as an initial access pathway, leading to the execution of a .NET

Alert: Brazilian Hackers Targeting Users of Over 30 Portuguese Banks

A Brazilian threat actor is targeting more than 30 Portuguese financial institutions with information-stealing malware as part of a long-running campaign that commenced in 2021. "The attackers can steal credentials and exfiltrate users' data and personal information, which can be leveraged for malicious activities beyond financial gain," SentinelOne researchers Aleksandar Milenkoski and Tom

Webinar with Guest Forrester: Browser Security New Approaches

In today's digital landscape, browser security has become an increasingly pressing issue, making it essential for organizations to be aware of the latest threats to browser security. That's why the Browser Security platform LayerX is hosting a webinar featuring guest speaker Paddy Harrington, a senior analyst at Forrester and the lead author of Forrester's browser security report "Securing The

Buhti Ransomware Gang Switches Tactics, Utilizes Leaked LockBit and Babuk Code

The threat actors behind the nascent Buhti ransomware have eschewed their custom payload in favor of leaked LockBit and Babuk ransomware families to strike Windows and Linux systems. "While the group doesn't develop its own ransomware, it does utilize what appears to be one custom-developed tool, an information stealer designed to search for and archive specified file types," Symantec said in a