Nation-state actors associated with Russia, North Korea, Iran, and China are experimenting with artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) to complement their ongoing cyber attack operations.
The findings come from a report published by Microsoft in collaboration with OpenAI, both of which said they disrupted efforts made by five state-affiliated actors that used its
Cybersecurity researchers have found that it's possible for threat actors to exploit a well-known utility called command-not-found to recommend their own rogue packages and compromise systems running Ubuntu operating system.
"While 'command-not-found' serves as a convenient tool for suggesting installations for uninstalled commands, it can be inadvertently manipulated by attackers through the
The infamous malware loader and initial access broker known as Bumblebee has resurfaced after a four-month absence as part of a new phishing campaign observed in February 2024.
Enterprise security firm Proofpoint said the activity targets organizations in the U.S. with voicemail-themed lures containing links to OneDrive URLs.
"The URLs led to a Word file with names such as "
A newly disclosed security flaw in the Microsoft Defender SmartScreen has been exploited as a zero-day by an advanced persistent threat actor called Water Hydra (aka DarkCasino) targeting financial market traders.
Trend Micro, which began tracking the campaign in late December 2023, said it entails the exploitation of CVE-2024-21412, a security bypass vulnerability related to Internet
The Glupteba botnet has been found to incorporate a previously undocumented Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) bootkit feature, adding another layer of sophistication and stealth to the malware.
"This bootkit can intervene and control the [operating system] boot process, enabling Glupteba to hide itself and create a stealthy persistence that can be extremely difficult to
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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, 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
"
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
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
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
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
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
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,
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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