Discord: A Playground for Nation-State Hackers Targeting Critical Infrastructure

In what's the latest evolution of threat actors abusing legitimate infrastructure for nefarious ends, new findings show that nation-state hacking groups have entered the fray in leveraging the social platform for targeting critical infrastructure. Discord, in recent years, has become a lucrative target, acting as a fertile ground for hosting malware using its content delivery network (CDN) as

SpyNote: Beware of This Android Trojan that Records Audio and Phone Calls

The Android banking trojan known as SpyNote has been dissected to reveal its diverse information-gathering features. Typically spread via SMS phishing campaigns, attack chains involving the spyware trick potential victims into installing the app by clicking on the embedded link, according to F-Secure. Besides requesting invasive permissions to access call logs, camera, SMS messages, and external

New PEAPOD Cyberattack Campaign Targeting Women Political Leaders

European Union military personnel and political leaders working on gender equality initiatives have emerged as the target of a new campaign that delivers an updated version of RomCom RAT called PEAPOD. Cybersecurity firm Trend Micro attributed the attacks to a threat actor it tracks under the name Void Rabisu, which is also known as Storm-0978, Tropical Scorpius, and UNC2596, and is also

Researchers Unveil ToddyCat's New Set of Tools for Data Exfiltration

The advanced persistent threat (APT) actor known as ToddyCat has been linked to a new set of malicious tools that are designed for data exfiltration, offering a deeper insight into the hacking crew's tactics and capabilities. The findings come from Kaspersky, which first shed light on the adversary last year, linking it to attacks against high-profile entities in Europe and Asia for nearly three

Ransomware Attacks Double: Are Companies Prepared for 2024's Cyber Threats?

Ransomware attacks have only increased in sophistication and capabilities over the past year. From new evasion and anti-analysis techniques to stealthier variants coded in new languages, ransomware groups have adapted their tactics to effectively bypass common defense strategies.  Cyble, a renowned cyber threat intelligence company recognized for its research and findings, recently released its 

DarkGate Malware Spreading via Messaging Services Posing as PDF Files

A piece of malware known as DarkGate has been observed being spread via instant messaging platforms such as Skype and Microsoft Teams. In these attacks, the messaging apps are used to deliver a Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) loader script that masquerades as a PDF document, which, when opened, triggers the download and execution of an AutoIt script designed to launch the malware. "It's

FBI, CISA Warn of Rising AvosLocker Ransomware Attacks Against Critical Infrastructure

The AvosLocker ransomware gang has been linked to attacks against critical infrastructure sectors in the U.S., with some of them detected as recently as May 2023. That's according to a new joint cybersecurity advisory released by the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) detailing the ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation's

Microsoft Releases October 2023 Patches for 103 Flaws, Including 2 Active Exploits

Microsoft has released its Patch Tuesday updates for October 2023, addressing a total of 103 flaws in its software, two of which have come under active exploitation in the wild. Of the 103 flaws, 13 are rated Critical and 90 are rated Important in severity. This is apart from 18 security vulnerabilities addressed in its Chromium-based Edge browser since the second Tuesday of September. The two

Researchers Uncover Grayling APT's Ongoing Attack Campaign Across Industries

A previously undocumented threat actor of unknown provenance has been linked to a number of attacks targeting organizations in the manufacturing, IT, and biomedical sectors in Taiwan. The Symantec Threat Hunter Team, part of Broadcom, attributed the attacks to an advanced persistent threat (APT) it tracks under the name Grayling. Evidence shows that the campaign began in February 2023 and

PEACHPIT: Massive Ad Fraud Botnet Powered by Millions of Hacked Android and iOS

An ad fraud botnet dubbed PEACHPIT leveraged an army of hundreds of thousands of Android and iOS devices to generate illicit profits for the threat actors behind the scheme. The botnet is part of a larger China-based operation codenamed BADBOX, which also entails selling off-brand mobile and connected TV (CTV) devices on popular online retailers and resale sites that are backdoored with an 

Security Patch for Two New Flaws in Curl Library Arriving on October 11

The maintainers of the Curl library have released an advisory warning of two security vulnerabilities that are expected to be addressed as part of an forthcoming update set for release on October 11, 2023. This includes a high-severity and a low-severity flaw tracked under the identifiers CVE-2023-38545 and CVE-2023-38546, respectively. Additional details about the issues and the exact version

Supermicro's BMC Firmware Found Vulnerable to Multiple Critical Vulnerabilities

Multiple security vulnerabilities have been disclosed in the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) firmware for Supermicro baseboard management controllers (BMCs) that could result in privilege escalation and execution of malicious code on affected systems. The seven flaws, tracked from CVE-2023-40284 through CVE-2023-40290, vary in severity from High to Critical, according to Binarly

QakBot Threat Actors Still in Action, Using Ransom Knight and Remcos RAT in Latest Attacks

Despite the disruption to its infrastructure, the threat actors behind the QakBot malware have been linked to an ongoing phishing campaign since early August 2023 that led to the delivery of Ransom Knight (aka Cyclops) ransomware and Remcos RAT. This indicates that “the law enforcement operation may not have impacted Qakbot operators’ spam delivery infrastructure but rather only their

Analysis and Config Extraction of Lu0Bot, a Node.js Malware with Considerable Capabilities

Nowadays, more malware developers are using unconventional programming languages to bypass advanced detection systems. The Node.js malware Lu0Bot is a testament to this trend. By targeting a platform-agnostic runtime environment common in modern web apps and employing multi-layer obfuscation, Lu0Bot is a serious threat to organizations and individuals. Although currently, the malware has low

Guyana Governmental Entity Hit by DinodasRAT in Cyber Espionage Attack

A governmental entity in Guyana has been targeted as part of a cyber espionage campaign dubbed Operation Jacana. The activity, which was detected by ESET in February 2023, entailed a spear-phishing attack that led to the deployment of a hitherto undocumented implant written in C++ called DinodasRAT. The Slovak cybersecurity firm said it could link the intrusion to a known threat actor or group,

Researchers Link DragonEgg Android Spyware to LightSpy iOS Surveillanceware

New findings have identified connections between an Android spyware called DragonEgg and another sophisticated modular iOS surveillanceware tool named LightSpy. DragonEgg, alongside WyrmSpy (aka AndroidControl), was first disclosed by Lookout in July 2023 as a strain of malware capable of gathering sensitive data from Android devices. It was attributed to the Chinese nation-state group APT41. On

Rogue npm Package Deploys Open-Source Rootkit in New Supply Chain Attack

A new deceptive package hidden within the npm package registry has been uncovered deploying an open-source rootkit called r77, marking the first time a rogue package has delivered rootkit functionality. The package in question is node-hide-console-windows, which mimics the legitimate npm package node-hide-console-window in what's an instance of a typosquatting campaign. It was downloaded 704

Over 3 Dozen Data-Stealing Malicious npm Packages Found Targeting Developers

Nearly three dozen counterfeit packages have been discovered in the npm package repository that are designed to exfiltrate sensitive data from developer systems, according to findings from Fortinet FortiGuard Labs. One set of packages – named @expue/webpack, @expue/core, @expue/vue3-renderer, @fixedwidthtable/fixedwidthtable, and @virtualsearchtable/virtualsearchtable – harbored an obfuscated

ShadowSyndicate: A New Cybercrime Group Linked to 7 Ransomware Families

Cybersecurity experts have shed light on a new cybercrime group known as ShadowSyndicate (formerly Infra Storm) that may have leveraged as many as seven different ransomware families over the past year. "ShadowSyndicate is a threat actor that works with various ransomware groups and affiliates of ransomware programs," Group-IB and Bridewell said in a new joint report. The actor, active since

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

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

From Watering Hole to Spyware: EvilBamboo Targets Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Taiwanese

Tibetan, Uyghur, and Taiwanese individuals and organizations are the targets of a persistent campaign orchestrated by a threat actor codenamed EvilBamboo to gather sensitive information. "The attacker has created fake Tibetan websites, along with social media profiles, likely used to deploy browser-based exploits against targeted users," Volexity security researchers Callum Roxan, Paul

New Report Uncovers 3 Distinct Clusters of China-Nexus Attacks on Southeast Asian Government

An unnamed Southeast Asian government has been targeted by multiple China-nexus threat actors as part of espionage campaigns targeting the region over extended periods of time. "While this activity occurred around the same time and in some instances even simultaneously on the same victims' machines, each cluster is characterized by distinct tools, modus operandi, and infrastructure," Palo Alto

Deadglyph: New Advanced Backdoor with Distinctive Malware Tactics

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a previously undocumented advanced backdoor dubbed Deadglyph employed by a threat actor known as Stealth Falcon as part of a cyber espionage campaign. "Deadglyph's architecture is unusual as it consists of cooperating components – one a native x64 binary, the other a .NET assembly," ESET said in a new report shared with The Hacker News. "This combination

New Apple Zero-Days Exploited to Target Egyptian ex-MP with Predator Spyware

The three zero-day flaws addressed by Apple on September 21, 2023, were leveraged as part of an iPhone exploit chain in an attempt to deliver a spyware strain called Predator targeting former Egyptian member of parliament Ahmed Eltantawy between May and September 2023. "The targeting took place after Eltantawy publicly stated his plans to run for President in the 2024 Egyptian elections," the

New Variant of Banking Trojan BBTok Targets Over 40 Latin American Banks

An active malware campaign targeting Latin America is dispensing a new variant of a banking trojan called BBTok, particularly users in Brazil and Mexico. "The BBTok banker has a dedicated functionality that replicates the interfaces of more than 40 Mexican and Brazilian banks, and tricks the victims into entering its 2FA code to their bank accounts or into entering their payment card number,"

Mysterious 'Sandman' Threat Actor Targets Telecom Providers Across Three Continents

A previously undocumented threat actor dubbed Sandman has been attributed to a set of cyber attacks targeting telecommunic koation providers in the Middle East, Western Europe, and the South Asian subcontinent. Notably, the intrusions leverage a just-in-time (JIT) compiler for the Lua programming language known as LuaJIT as a vehicle to deploy a novel implant called LuaDream. "The activities we

The Rise of the Malicious App

Security teams are familiar with threats emanating from third-party applications that employees add to improve their productivity. These apps are inherently designed to deliver functionality to users by connecting to a “hub” app, such as Salesforce, Google Workspace, or Microsoft 365. Security concerns center on the permission scopes that are granted to the third party apps, and the potential

China Accuses U.S. of Decade-Long Cyber Espionage Campaign Against Huawei Servers

China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) has accused the U.S. of breaking into Huawei's servers, stealing critical data, and implanting backdoors since 2009, amid mounting geopolitical tensions between the two countries. In a message posted on WeChat, the government authority said U.S. intelligence agencies have "done everything possible" to conduct surveillance, secret theft, and intrusions on

Cyber Group 'Gold Melody' Selling Compromised Access to Ransomware Attackers

A financially motivated threat actor has been outed as an initial access broker (IAB) that sells access to compromised organizations for other adversaries to conduct follow-on attacks such as ransomware. SecureWorks Counter Threat Unit (CTU) has dubbed the e-crime group Gold Melody, which is also known by the names Prophet Spider (CrowdStrike) and UNC961 (Mandiant). "This financially motivated

Ukrainian Hacker Suspected to be Behind "Free Download Manager" Malware Attack

The maintainers of Free Download Manager (FDM) have acknowledged a security incident dating back to 2020 that led to its website being used to distribute malicious Linux software. "It appears that a specific web page on our site was compromised by a Ukrainian hacker group, exploiting it to distribute malicious software," it said in an alert last week. "Only a small subset of users, specifically

Critical Security Flaws Exposed in Nagios XI Network Monitoring Software

Multiple security flaws have been disclosed in the Nagios XI network monitoring software that could result in privilege escalation and information disclosure. The four security vulnerabilities, tracked from CVE-2023-40931 through CVE-2023-40934, impact Nagios XI versions 5.11.1 and lower. Following responsible disclosure on August 4, 2023, They have been patched as of September 11, 2023, with

Sophisticated Phishing Campaign Targeting Chinese Users with ValleyRAT and Gh0st RAT

Chinese-language speakers have been increasingly targeted as part of multiple email phishing campaigns that aim to distribute various malware families such as Sainbox RAT, Purple Fox, and a new trojan called ValleyRAT. "Campaigns include Chinese-language lures and malware typically associated with Chinese cybercrime activity," enterprise security firm Proofpoint said in a report shared with The

Operation Rusty Flag: Azerbaijan Targeted in New Rust-Based Malware Campaign

Targets located in Azerbaijan have been singled out as part of a new campaign that's designed to deploy Rust-based malware on compromised systems. Cybersecurity firm Deep Instinct is tracking the operation under the name Operation Rusty Flag. It has not been associated with any known threat actor or group. "The operation has at least two different initial access vectors," security researchers

Inside the Code of a New XWorm 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 functionality and solidified its staying power.  The analyst team at ANY.RUN came across the newest

Earth Lusca's New SprySOCKS Linux Backdoor Targets Government Entities

The China-linked threat actor known as Earth Lusca has been observed targeting government entities using a never-before-seen Linux backdoor called SprySOCKS. Earth Lusca was first documented by Trend Micro in January 2022, detailing the adversary's attacks against public and private sector entities across Asia, Australia, Europe, North America. Active since 2021, the group has relied on

Transparent Tribe Uses Fake YouTube Android Apps to Spread CapraRAT Malware

The suspected Pakistan-linked threat actor known as Transparent Tribe is using malicious Android apps mimicking YouTube to distribute the CapraRAT mobile remote access trojan (RAT), demonstrating the continued evolution of the activity. "CapraRAT is a highly invasive tool that gives the attacker control over much of the data on the Android devices that it infects," SentinelOne security

Hook: New Android Banking Trojan That Expands on ERMAC's Legacy

A new analysis of the Android banking trojan known as Hook has revealed that it's based on its predecessor called ERMAC. "The ERMAC source code was used as a base for Hook," NCC Group security researchers Joshua Kamp and Alberto Segura said in a technical analysis published last week. "All commands (30 in total) that the malware operator can send to a device infected with ERMAC malware, also

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

Software development company Retool has disclosed that the accounts of 27 of its cloud customers were compromised following a targeted and SMS-based social engineering attack. The San Francisco-based firm blamed a Google Account cloud synchronization feature recently introduced in April 2023 for making the breach worse, calling it a "dark pattern." "The fact that Google Authenticator syncs to

DDoS 2.0: IoT Sparks New DDoS Alert

The Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming efficiency in various sectors like healthcare and logistics but has also introduced new security risks, particularly IoT-driven DDoS attacks. This article explores how these attacks work, why they’re uniquely problematic, and how to mitigate them. What Is IoT? IoT (Internet of Things) refers to online, interconnected devices that collect and exchange

NodeStealer Malware Now Targets Facebook Business Accounts on Multiple Browsers

An ongoing campaign is targeting Facebook Business accounts with bogus messages to harvest victims' credentials using a variant of the Python-based NodeStealer and potentially take over their accounts for follow-on malicious activities.  "The attacks are reaching victims mainly in Southern Europe and North America across different segments, led by the manufacturing services and technology

Cybercriminals Combine Phishing and EV Certificates to Deliver Ransomware Payloads

The threat actors behind RedLine and Vidar information stealers have been observed pivoting to ransomware through phishing campaigns that spread initial payloads signed with Extended Validation (EV) code signing certificates. "This suggests that the threat actors are streamlining operations by making their techniques multipurpose," Trend Micro researchers said in a new analysis published this

Free Download Manager Site Compromised to Distribute Linux Malware to Users for 3+ Years

A download manager site served Linux users malware that stealthily stole passwords and other sensitive information for more than three years as part of a supply chain attack. The modus operandi entailed establishing a reverse shell to an actor-controlled server and installing a Bash stealer on the compromised system. The campaign, which took place between 2020 and 2022, is no longer active. "

N-Able's Take Control Agent Vulnerability Exposes Windows Systems to Privilege Escalation

A high-severity security flaw has been disclosed in N-Able's Take Control Agent that could be exploited by a local unprivileged attacker to gain SYSTEM privileges. Tracked as CVE-2023-27470 (CVSS score: 8.8), the issue relates to a Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) race condition vulnerability, which, when successfully exploited, could be leveraged to delete arbitrary files on a Windows

Russian Journalist's iPhone Compromised by NSO Group's Zero-Click Spyware

The iPhone belonging to Galina Timchenko, a prominent Russian journalist and critic of the government, was compromised with NSO Group's Pegasus spyware, a new collaborative investigation from Access Now and the Citizen Lab has revealed. The infiltration is said to have happened on or around February 10, 2023. Timchenko is the executive editor and owner of Meduza, an independent news publication

Rust-Written 3AM Ransomware: A Sneak Peek into a New Malware Family

A new ransomware family called 3AM has emerged in the wild after it was detected in a single incident in which an unidentified affiliate deployed the strain following an unsuccessful attempt to deliver LockBit (attributed to Bitwise Spider or Syrphid) in the target network. "3AM is written in Rust and appears to be a completely new malware family," the Symantec Threat Hunter Team, part of

How Cyberattacks Are Transforming Warfare

There is a new battlefield. It is global and challenging to defend. What began with a high-profile incident back in 2007, when Estonia was hit by hackers targeting its government and commercial sector, has evolved into cyber warfare that is being waged constantly worldwide. Today, cyberattacks have become the norm, transforming how we think about war and international conflict as a whole.  From

Microsoft Warns of New Phishing Campaign Targeting Corporations via Teams Messages

Microsoft is warning of a new phishing campaign undertaken by an initial access broker that involves using Teams messages as lures to infiltrate corporate networks. The tech giant's Threat Intelligence team is tracking the cluster under the name Storm-0324, which is also known by the monikers TA543 and Sagrid. "Beginning in July 2023, Storm-0324 was observed distributing payloads using an

Critical GitHub Vulnerability Exposes 4,000+ Repositories to Repojacking Attack

A new vulnerability disclosed in GitHub could have exposed thousands of repositories at risk of repojacking attacks, new findings show. The flaw "could allow an attacker to exploit a race condition within GitHub's repository creation and username renaming operations," Checkmarx security researcher Elad Rapoport said in a technical report shared with The Hacker News. "Successful exploitation of

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 attachment, presenting a deliberately blurred image and a counterfeit reCAPTCHA to lure the recipient into

Beware: MetaStealer Malware Targets Apple macOS in Recent Attacks

A new information stealer malware called MetaStealer has set its sights on Apple macOS, making the latest in a growing list of stealer families focused on the operating system after MacStealer, Pureland, Atomic Stealer, and Realst. "Threat actors are proactively targeting macOS businesses by posing as fake clients in order to socially engineer victims into launching malicious payloads,"

Cybercriminals Using PowerShell to Steal NTLMv2 Hashes from Compromised Windows

A new cyber attack campaign is leveraging the PowerShell script associated with a legitimate red teaming tool to plunder NTLMv2 hashes from compromised Windows systems primarily located in Australia, Poland, and Belgium. The activity has been codenamed Steal-It by Zscaler ThreatLabz. "In this campaign, the threat actors steal and exfiltrate NTLMv2 hashes using customized versions of Nishang's 

New HijackLoader Modular Malware Loader Making Waves in the Cybercrime World

A new malware loader called HijackLoader is gaining traction among the cybercriminal community to deliver various payloads such as DanaBot, SystemBC, and RedLine Stealer. "Even though HijackLoader does not contain advanced features, it is capable of using a variety of modules for code injection and execution since it uses a modular architecture, a feature that most loaders do not have," Zscaler

Millions Infected by Spyware Hidden in Fake Telegram Apps on Google Play

Spyware masquerading as modified versions of Telegram have been spotted in the Google Play Store that’s designed to harvest sensitive information from compromised Android devices. According to Kaspersky security researcher Igor Golovin, the apps come with nefarious features to capture and exfiltrate names, user IDs, contacts, phone numbers, and chat messages to an actor-controlled server. The

Cybercriminals Weaponizing Legitimate Advanced Installer Tool in Crypto-Mining Attacks

A legitimate Windows tool used for creating software packages called Advanced Installer is being abused by threat actors to drop cryptocurrency-mining malware on infected machines since at least November 2021. "The attacker uses Advanced Installer to package other legitimate software installers, such as Adobe Illustrator, Autodesk 3ds Max, and SketchUp Pro, with malicious scripts and uses

U.K. and U.S. Sanction 11 Russia-based TrickBot Cybercrime Gang Members

The U.K. and U.S. governments on Thursday sanctioned 11 individuals who are alleged to be part of the notorious Russia-based TrickBot cybercrime gang. “Russia has long been a safe haven for cybercriminals, including the TrickBot group,” the U.S. Treasury Department said, adding it has “ties to Russian intelligence services and has targeted the U.S. Government and U.S. companies, including

Protecting Your Microsoft IIS Servers Against Malware Attacks

Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) is a web server software package designed for Windows Server. Organizations commonly use Microsoft IIS servers to host websites, files, and other content on the web. Threat actors increasingly target these Internet-facing resources as low-hanging fruit for finding and exploiting vulnerabilities that facilitate access to IT environments.  Recently, a

Apple Rushes to Patch Zero-Day Flaws Exploited for Pegasus Spyware on iPhones

Apple on Thursday released emergency security updates for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS to address two zero-day flaws that have been exploited in the wild to deliver NSO Group's Pegasus mercenary spyware. The issues are described as below - CVE-2023-41061 - A validation issue in Wallet that could result in arbitrary code execution when handling a maliciously crafted attachment. CVE-2023-41064

Mac Users Beware: Malvertising Campaign Spreads Atomic Stealer macOS Malware

A new malvertising campaign has been observed distributing an updated version of a macOS stealer malware called Atomic Stealer (or AMOS), indicating that it’s being actively maintained by its author. An off-the-shelf Golang malware available for $1,000 per month, Atomic Stealer first came to light in April 2023. Shortly after that, new variants with an expanded set of information-gathering

Mirai Botnet Variant 'Pandora' Hijacks Android TVs for Cyberattacks

A Mirai botnet variant called Pandora has been observed infiltrating inexpensive Android-based TV sets and TV boxes and using them as part of a botnet to perform distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Doctor Web said the compromises are likely to occur either during malicious firmware updates or when applications for viewing pirated video content are installed. "It is likely that this

Zero-Day Alert: Latest Android Patch Update Includes Fix for Newly Actively Exploited Flaw

Google has rolled out monthly security patches for Android to address a number of flaws, including a zero-day bug that it said may have been exploited in the wild. Tracked as CVE-2023-35674, the high-severity vulnerability is described as a case of privilege escalation impacting the Android Framework. “There are indications that CVE-2023-35674 may be under limited, targeted exploitation,” the