New macOS Backdoor Linked To Prominent Ransomware Groups

US Says China's Volt Typhoon Hackers Pre-Positioning For Cyberattacks Against Critical Infrastructure

Crypto Ransom Attack Payments Hit Record $1 Billion In 2023

Ivanti Vulnerability Exploited to Install 'DSLog' Backdoor on 670+ IT Infrastructures

Threat actors are leveraging a recently disclosed security flaw impacting Ivanti Connect Secure, Policy Secure, and ZTA gateways to deploy a backdoor codenamed DSLog on susceptible devices. That's according to findings from Orange Cyberdefense, which said it observed the exploitation of CVE-2024-21893 within hours of the public release of the proof-the-concept (PoC) code. CVE

U.S. DoJ Dismantles Warzone RAT Infrastructure, Arrests Key Operators

The U.S. Justice Department (DoJ) on Friday announced the seizure of online infrastructure that was used to sell a remote access trojan (RAT) called Warzone RAT. The domains – www.warzone[.]ws and three others – were "used to sell computer malware used by cybercriminals to secretly access and steal data from victims' computers," the DoJ said. Alongside the takedown, the

Alert: New Stealthy "RustDoor" Backdoor Targeting Apple macOS Devices

Apple macOS users are the target of a new Rust-based backdoor that has been operating under the radar since November 2023. The backdoor, codenamed RustDoor by Bitdefender, has been found to impersonate an update for Microsoft Visual Studio and target both Intel and Arm architectures. The exact initial access pathway used to propagate the implant is currently not known, although

Raspberry Robin Malware Upgrades with Discord Spread and New Exploits

The operators of Raspberry Robin are now using two new one-day exploits to achieve local privilege escalation, even as the malware continues to be refined and improved to make it stealthier than before. This means that "Raspberry Robin has access to an exploit seller or its authors develop the exploits themselves in a short period of time," Check Point said in a report this

MoqHao Android Malware Evolves with Auto-Execution Capability

Threat hunters have identified a new variant of Android malware called MoqHao that automatically executes on infected devices without requiring any user interaction. "Typical MoqHao requires users to install and launch the app to get their desired purpose, but this new variant requires no execution," McAfee Labs said in a report published this week. "While the app is

Stealthy Zardoor Backdoor Targets Saudi Islamic Charity Organization

An unnamed Islamic non-profit organization in Saudi Arabia has been targeted as part of a stealthy cyber espionage campaign designed to drop a previously undocumented backdoor called Zardoor. Cisco Talos, which discovered the activity in May 2023, said the campaign has likely persisted since at least March 2021, adding it has identified only one compromised target to date, although it's

HijackLoader Evolves: Researchers Decode the Latest Evasion Methods

The threat actors behind a loader malware called HijackLoader have added new techniques for defense evasion, as the malware continues to be increasingly used by other threat actors to deliver additional payloads and tooling. "The malware developer used a standard process hollowing technique coupled with an additional trigger that was activated by the parent process writing to a pipe,"

Google Starts Blocking Sideloading of Potentially Dangerous Android Apps in Singapore

Google has unveiled a new pilot program in Singapore that aims to prevent users from sideloading certain apps that abuse Android app permissions to read one-time passwords and gather sensitive data. "This enhanced fraud protection will analyze and automatically block the installation of apps that may use sensitive runtime permissions frequently abused for financial fraud when the user attempts

Kimsuky's New Golang Stealer 'Troll' and 'GoBear' Backdoor Target South Korea

The North Korea-linked nation-state actor known as Kimsuky is suspected of using a previously undocumented Golang-based information stealer called Troll Stealer. The malware steals "SSH, FileZilla, C drive files/directories, browsers, system information, [and] screen captures" from infected systems, South Korean cybersecurity company S2W said in a new technical report. Troll

After FBI Takedown, KV-Botnet Operators Shift Tactics in Attempt to Bounce Back

The threat actors behind the KV-botnet made "behavioral changes" to the malicious network as U.S. law enforcement began issuing commands to neutralize the activity. KV-botnet is the name given to a network of compromised small office and home office (SOHO) routers and firewall devices across the world, with one specific cluster acting as a covert data transfer system for other Chinese

Chinese Hackers Exploited FortiGate Flaw to Breach Dutch Military Network

Chinese state-backed hackers broke into a computer network that's used by the Dutch armed forces by targeting Fortinet FortiGate devices. "This [computer network] was used for unclassified research and development (R&D)," the Dutch Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) said in a statement. "Because this system was self-contained, it did not lead to any damage to the

Patchwork Using Romance Scam Lures to Infect Android Devices with VajraSpy Malware

The threat actor known as Patchwork likely used romance scam lures to trap victims in Pakistan and India, and infect their Android devices with a remote access trojan called VajraSpy. Slovak cybersecurity firm ESET said it uncovered 12 espionage apps, six of which were available for download from the official Google Play Store and were collectively downloaded more than 1,400 times between

Pegasus Spyware Targeted iPhones of Journalists and Activists in Jordan

The iPhones belonging to nearly three dozen journalists, activists, human rights lawyers, and civil society members in Jordan have been targeted with NSO Group's Pegasus spyware, according to joint findings from Access Now and the Citizen Lab. Nine of the 35 individuals have been publicly confirmed as targeted, out of whom six had their devices compromised with the mercenary

New Mispadu Banking Trojan Exploiting Windows SmartScreen Flaw

The threat actors behind the Mispadu banking Trojan have become the latest to exploit a now-patched Windows SmartScreen security bypass flaw to compromise users in Mexico. The attacks entail a new variant of the malware that was first observed in 2019, Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 said in a report published last week. Propagated via phishing mails, Mispadu is a Delphi-based information stealer

U.S. Sanctions 6 Iranian Officials for Critical Infrastructure Cyber Attacks

The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against six officials associated with the Iranian intelligence agency for attacking critical infrastructure entities in the U.S. and other countries. The officials include Hamid Reza Lashgarian, Mahdi Lashgarian, Hamid Homayunfal, Milad Mansuri, Mohammad Bagher Shirinkar, and Reza Mohammad Amin

DirtyMoe Malware Infects 2,000+ Ukrainian Computers for DDoS and Cryptojacking

The Computer Emergency Response Team of Ukraine (CERT-UA) has warned that more than 2,000 computers in the country have been infected by a strain of malware called DirtyMoe. The agency attributed the campaign to a threat actor it calls UAC-0027. DirtyMoe, active since at least 2016, is capable of carrying out cryptojacking and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. In March

Cloudzy Elevates Cybersecurity: Integrating Insights from Recorded Future to Revolutionize Cloud Security

Cloudzy, a prominent cloud infrastructure provider, proudly announces a significant enhancement in its cybersecurity landscape. This breakthrough has been achieved through a recent consultation with Recorded Future, a leader in providing real-time threat intelligence and cybersecurity analytics. This initiative, coupled with an overhaul of Cloudzy's cybersecurity strategies, represents a major

INTERPOL Arrests 31 in Global Operation, Identifies 1,900+ Ransomware-Linked IPs

An INTERPOL-led collaborative operation targeting phishing, banking malware, and ransomware attacks has led to the identification of 1,300 suspicious IP addresses and URLs. The law enforcement effort, codenamed Synergia, took place between September and November 2023 in an attempt to blunt the "growth, escalation and professionalization of transnational cybercrime." Involving 60 law

U.S. Feds Shut Down China-Linked "KV-Botnet" Targeting SOHO Routers

The U.S. government on Wednesday said it took steps to neutralize a botnet comprising hundreds of U.S.-based small office and home office (SOHO) routers hijacked by a China-linked state-sponsored threat actor called Volt Typhoon and blunt the impact posed by the hacking campaign. The existence of the botnet, dubbed KV-botnet, was first disclosed by the Black Lotus Labs team at

HeadCrab 2.0 Goes Fileless, Targeting Redis Servers for Crypto Mining

Cybersecurity researchers have detailed an updated version of the malware HeadCrab that's known to target Redis database servers across the world since early September 2021. The development, which comes exactly a year after the malware was first publicly disclosed by Aqua, is a sign that the financially-motivated threat actor behind the campaign is actively adapting and

Warning: New Malware Emerges in Attacks Exploiting Ivanti VPN Vulnerabilities

Google-owned Mandiant said it identified new malware employed by a China-nexus espionage threat actor known as UNC5221 and other threat groups during post-exploitation activity targeting Ivanti Connect Secure VPN and Policy Secure devices. This includes custom web shells such as BUSHWALK, CHAINLINE, FRAMESTING, and a variant of LIGHTWIRE. "CHAINLINE is a Python web shell backdoor that is

Telegram Marketplaces Fuel Phishing Attacks with Easy-to-Use Kits and Malware

Cybersecurity researchers are calling attention to the "democratization" of the phishing ecosystem owing to the emergence of Telegram as an epicenter for cybercrime, enabling threat actors to mount a mass attack for as little as $230. "This messaging app has transformed into a bustling hub where seasoned cybercriminals and newcomers alike exchange illicit tools and insights creating a dark and

Hackers Exploiting Ivanti VPN Flaws to Deploy KrustyLoader Malware

A pair of recently disclosed zero-day flaws in Ivanti Connect Secure (ICS) virtual private network (VPN) devices have been exploited to deliver a Rust-based payload called KrustyLoader that's used to drop the open-source Sliver adversary simulation tool. The security vulnerabilities, tracked as CVE-2023-46805 (CVSS score: 8.2) and CVE-2024-21887 (CVSS score: 9.1), could be abused

Brazilian Feds Dismantle Grandoreiro Banking Trojan, Arresting Top Operatives

A Brazilian law enforcement operation has led to the arrest of several Brazilian operators in charge of the Grandoreiro malware. The Federal Police of Brazil said it served five temporary arrest warrants and 13 search and seizure warrants in the states of São Paulo, Santa Catarina, Pará, Goiás, and Mato Grosso. Slovak cybersecurity firm ESET, which provided additional

China-Linked Hackers Target Myanmar's Top Ministries with Backdoor Blitz

The China-based threat actor known as Mustang Panda is suspected to have targeted Myanmar's Ministry of Defence and Foreign Affairs as part of twin campaigns designed to deploy backdoors and remote access trojans. The findings come from CSIRT-CTI, which said the activities took place in November 2023 and January 2024 after artifacts in connection with the attacks were uploaded to the

New ZLoader Malware Variant Surfaces with 64-bit Windows Compatibility

Threat hunters have identified a new campaign that delivers the ZLoader malware, resurfacing nearly two years after the botnet's infrastructure was dismantled in April 2022. A new variant of the malware is said to have been in development since September 2023, Zscaler ThreatLabz said in an analysis published this month. "The new version of ZLoader made significant changes to the loader

Riding the AI Waves: The Rise of Artificial Intelligence to Combat Cyber Threats

In nearly every segment of our lives, AI (artificial intelligence) now makes a significant impact: It can deliver better healthcare diagnoses and treatments; detect and reduce the risk of financial fraud; improve inventory management; and serve up the right recommendation for a streaming movie on Friday night. However, one can also make a strong case that some of AI’s most significant impacts

Albabat, Kasseika, Kuiper: New Ransomware Gangs Rise with Rust and Golang

Cybersecurity researchers have detected in the wild yet another variant of the Phobos ransomware family known as Faust. Fortinet FortiGuard Labs, which detailed the latest iteration of the ransomware, said it's being propagated by means of an infection that delivers a Microsoft Excel document (.XLAM) containing a VBA script. "The attackers utilized the Gitea service to store several files

Malicious PyPI Packages Slip WhiteSnake InfoStealer Malware onto Windows Machines

Cybersecurity researchers have identified malicious packages on the open-source Python Package Index (PyPI) repository that deliver an information stealing malware called WhiteSnake Stealer on Windows systems. The malware-laced packages are named nigpal, figflix, telerer, seGMM, fbdebug, sGMM, myGens, NewGends, and TestLibs111. They have been uploaded by a threat actor named "WS." "These

AllaKore RAT Malware Targeting Mexican Firms with Financial Fraud Tricks

Mexican financial institutions are under the radar of a new spear-phishing campaign that delivers a modified version of an open-source remote access trojan called AllaKore RAT. The BlackBerry Research and Intelligence Team attributed the activity to an unknown Latin America-based financially motivated threat actor. The campaign has been active since at least 2021. "Lures use Mexican Social

Malicious Ads on Google Target Chinese Users with Fake Messaging Apps

Chinese-speaking users have been targeted by malicious Google ads for restricted messaging apps like Telegram as part of an ongoing malvertising campaign. "The threat actor is abusing Google advertiser accounts to create malicious ads and pointing them to pages where unsuspecting users will download Remote Administration Trojan (RATs) instead," Malwarebytes' Jérôme Segura said in a

Russian TrickBot Mastermind Gets 5-Year Prison Sentence for Cybercrime Spree

40-year-old Russian national Vladimir Dunaev has been sentenced to five years and four months in prison for his role in creating and distributing the TrickBot malware, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) said. The development comes nearly two months after Dunaev pleaded guilty to committing computer fraud and identity theft and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. "

SystemBC Malware's C2 Server Analysis Exposes Payload Delivery Tricks

Cybersecurity researchers have shed light on the command-and-control (C2) server workings of a known malware family called SystemBC. "SystemBC can be purchased on underground marketplaces and is supplied in an archive containing the implant, a command-and-control (C2) server, and a web administration portal written in PHP," Kroll said in an analysis published last week. The risk

LODEINFO Fileless Malware Evolves with Anti-Analysis and Remote Code Tricks

Cybersecurity researchers have uncovered an updated version of a backdoor called LODEINFO that's distributed via spear-phishing attacks. The findings come from Japanese company ITOCHU Cyber & Intelligence, which said the malware "has been updated with new features, as well as changes to the anti-analysis (analysis avoidance) techniques." LODEINFO (versions 0.6.6 and 0.6.7

China-backed Hackers Hijack Software Updates to Implant "NSPX30" Spyware

A previously undocumented China-aligned threat actor has been linked to a set of adversary-in-the-middle (AitM) attacks that hijack update requests from legitimate software to deliver a sophisticated implant named NSPX30. Slovak cybersecurity firm ESET is tracking the advanced persistent threat (APT) group under the name Blackwood. It's said to be active since at least 2018. The NSPX30

New CherryLoader Malware Mimics CherryTree to Deploy PrivEsc Exploits

A new Go-based malware loader called CherryLoader has been discovered by threat hunters in the wild to deliver additional payloads onto compromised hosts for follow-on exploitation. Arctic Wolf Labs, which discovered the new attack tool in two recent intrusions, said the loader's icon and name masquerades as the legitimate CherryTree note-taking application to dupe potential victims

Kasseika Ransomware Using BYOVD Trick to Disarm 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 "threat actors to terminate antivirus processes and services for the deployment of ransomware," Trend

VexTrio: The Uber of Cybercrime - Brokering Malware for 60+ Affiliates

The threat actors behind ClearFake, SocGholish, and dozens of other e-crime outfits have established partnerships with another entity known as VexTrio as part of a massive "criminal affiliate program," new findings from Infoblox reveal. The latest development demonstrates the "breadth of their activities and depth of their connections within the cybercrime industry," the company said,

"Activator" Alert: MacOS Malware Hides in Cracked Apps, Targeting Crypto Wallets

Cracked software have been observed infecting Apple macOS users with a previously undocumented stealer malware capable of harvesting system information and cryptocurrency wallet data. Kaspersky, which identified the artifacts in the wild, said they are designed to target machines running macOS Ventura 13.6 and later, indicating the malware's ability to infect Macs on both Intel and

North Korean Hackers Weaponize Research Lures to Deliver RokRAT Backdoor

Media organizations and high-profile experts in North Korean affairs have been at the receiving end of a new campaign orchestrated by a threat actor known as ScarCruft in December 2023. "ScarCruft has been experimenting with new infection chains, including the use of a technical threat research report as a decoy, likely targeting consumers of threat intelligence like cybersecurity

NS-STEALER Uses Discord Bots to Exfiltrate Your Secrets from Popular Browsers

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a new Java-based "sophisticated" information stealer that uses a Discord bot to exfiltrate sensitive data from compromised hosts. The malware, named NS-STEALER, is propagated via ZIP archives masquerading as cracked software, Trellix security researcher Gurumoorthi Ramanathan said in an analysis published last week. The ZIP file contains

Apache ActiveMQ Flaw Exploited in New Godzilla Web Shell Attacks

Cybersecurity researchers are warning of a "notable increase" in threat actor activity actively exploiting a now-patched flaw in Apache ActiveMQ to deliver the Godzilla web shell on compromised hosts. "The web shells are concealed within an unknown binary format and are designed to evade security and signature-based scanners," Trustwave said. "Notably, despite the binary's unknown file

Invoice Phishing Alert: TA866 Deploys WasabiSeed & Screenshotter Malware

The threat actor tracked as TA866 has resurfaced after a nine-month hiatus with a new large-volume phishing campaign to deliver known malware families such as WasabiSeed and Screenshotter. The campaign, observed earlier this month and blocked by Proofpoint on January 11, 2024, involved sending thousands of invoice-themed emails targeting North America bearing decoy PDF files. "The PDFs

Experts Warn of macOS Backdoor Hidden in Pirated Versions of Popular Software

Pirated applications targeting Apple macOS users have been observed containing a backdoor capable of granting attackers remote control to infected machines. "These applications are being hosted on Chinese pirating websites in order to gain victims," Jamf Threat Labs researchers Ferdous Saljooki and Jaron Bradley said. "Once detonated, the malware will download and execute multiple payloads

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 a "few strange binaries," according to software supply chain security firm Phylum, including a single

New Docker Malware Steals CPU for Crypto & Drives Fake Website Traffic

Vulnerable Docker services are being targeted by a novel campaign in which the threat actors are deploying XMRig cryptocurrency miner as well as the 9Hits Viewer software as part of a multi-pronged monetization strategy. "This is the first documented case of malware deploying the 9Hits application as a payload," cloud security firm Cado said, adding the development is a sign that adversaries are

Iranian Hackers Masquerade as Journalists to Spy on Israel-Hamas War Experts

High-profile individuals working on Middle Eastern affairs at universities and research organizations in Belgium, France, Gaza, Israel, the U.K., and the U.S. have been targeted by an Iranian cyber espionage group called Mint Sandstorm since November 2023. The threat actor "used bespoke phishing lures in an attempt to socially engineer targets into downloading malicious files," the

Feds Warn of AndroxGh0st Botnet Targeting AWS, Azure, and Office 365 Credentials

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warned that threat actors deploying the AndroxGh0st malware are creating a botnet for "victim identification and exploitation in target networks." A Python-based malware, AndroxGh0st was first documented by Lacework in December 2022, with the malware

Remcos RAT Spreading Through Adult Games in New Attack Wave

The remote access trojan (RAT) known as Remcos RAT has been found being propagated via webhards by disguising it as adult-themed games in South Korea. WebHard, short for web hard drive, is a popular online file storage system used to upload, download, and share files in the country. While webhards have been used in the past to deliver njRAT, UDP RAT, and DDoS botnet malware, the

Hackers Weaponize Windows Flaw to Deploy Crypto-Siphoning Phemedrone Stealer

Threat actors have been observed leveraging a now-patched security flaw in Microsoft Windows to deploy an open-source information stealer called Phemedrone Stealer. “Phemedrone targets web browsers and data from cryptocurrency wallets and messaging apps such as Telegram, Steam, and Discord,” Trend Micro researchers Peter Girnus, Aliakbar Zahravi, and Simon Zuckerbraun said. “It also

Balada Injector Infects Over 7,100 WordPress Sites Using Plugin Vulnerability

Thousands of WordPress sites using a vulnerable version of the Popup Builder plugin have been compromised with a malware called Balada Injector. First documented by Doctor Web in January 2023, the campaign takes place in a series of periodic attack waves, weaponizing security flaws WordPress plugins to inject backdoor designed to redirect visitors of infected sites to bogus tech

29-Year-Old Ukrainian Cryptojacking Kingpin Arrested for Exploiting Cloud Services

A 29-year-old Ukrainian national has been arrested in connection with running a “sophisticated cryptojacking scheme,” netting them over $2 million (€1.8 million) in illicit profits. The person, described as the “mastermind” behind the operation, was apprehended in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, on January 9 by the National Police of Ukraine with support from Europol and an unnamed cloud service provider

Nation-State Actors Weaponize Ivanti VPN Zero-Days, Deploying 5 Malware Families

As many as five different malware families were deployed by suspected nation-state actors as part of post-exploitation activities leveraging two zero-day vulnerabilities in Ivanti Connect Secure (ICS) VPN appliances since early December 2023. "These families allow the threat actors to circumvent authentication and provide backdoor access to these devices," Mandiant said in an

Medusa Ransomware on the Rise: From Data Leaks to Multi-Extortion

The threat actors associated with the Medusa ransomware have ramped up their activities following the debut of a dedicated data leak site on the dark web in February 2023 to publish sensitive data of victims who are unwilling to agree to their demands. “As part of their multi-extortion strategy, this group will provide victims with multiple options when their data is posted on their

Cryptominers Targeting Misconfigured Apache Hadoop and Flink with Rootkit in New Attacks

Cybersecurity researchers have identified a new attack that exploits misconfigurations in Apache Hadoop and Flink to deploy cryptocurrency miners within targeted environments. "This attack is particularly intriguing due to the attacker's use of packers and rootkits to conceal the malware," Aqua security researchers Nitzan Yaakov and Assaf Morag said in an analysis published earlier

New Python-based FBot Hacking Toolkit Aims at Cloud and SaaS Platforms

A new Python-based hacking tool called FBot has been uncovered targeting web servers, cloud services, content management systems (CMS), and SaaS platforms such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft 365, PayPal, Sendgrid, and Twilio. “Key features include credential harvesting for spamming attacks, AWS account hijacking tools, and functions to enable attacks against PayPal and various

Atomic Stealer Gets an Upgrade - Targeting Mac Users with Encrypted Payload

Cybersecurity researchers have identified an updated version of a macOS information stealer called Atomic (or AMOS), indicating that the threat actors behind the malware are actively enhancing its capabilities. "It looks like Atomic Stealer was updated around mid to late December 2023, where its developers introduced payload encryption in an effort to bypass detection rules,"