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

China's Stealthy Hackers Infiltrate U.S. and Guam Critical Infrastructure Undetected

A stealthy China-based group managed to establish a persistent foothold into critical infrastructure organizations in the U.S. and Guam without being detected, Microsoft and the "Five Eyes" nations said on Wednesday. The tech giant's threat intelligence team is tracking the activity, which includes post-compromise credential access and network system discovery, under the name Volt Typhoon. The

Iranian Agrius Hackers Targeting Israeli Organizations with Moneybird Ransomware

The Iranian threat actor known as Agrius is leveraging a new ransomware strain called Moneybird in its attacks targeting Israeli organizations. Agrius, also known as Pink Sandstorm (formerly Americium), has a track record of staging destructive data-wiping attacks aimed at Israel under the guise of ransomware infections. Microsoft has attributed the threat actor to Iran's Ministry of

GUAC 0.1 Beta: Google's Breakthrough Framework for Secure Software Supply Chains

Google on Wednesday announced the 0.1 Beta version of GUAC (short for Graph for Understanding Artifact Composition) for organizations to secure their software supply chains. To that end, the search giant is making available the open source framework as an API for developers to integrate their own tools and policy engines. GUAC aims to aggregate software security metadata from different sources

Iranian Tortoiseshell Hackers Targeting Israeli Logistics Industry

At least eight websites associated with shipping, logistics, and financial services companies in Israel were targeted as part of a watering hole attack. Tel Aviv-based cybersecurity company ClearSky attributed the attacks with low confidence to an Iranian threat actor tracked as Tortoiseshell, which is also called Crimson Sandstorm (previously Curium), Imperial Kitten, and TA456. "The infected

What to Look for When Selecting a Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Solution

If you're involved in securing the applications your organization develops, there is no question that Static Application Security Testing (SAST) solutions are an important part of a comprehensive application security strategy. SAST secures software, supports business more securely, cuts down on costs, reduces risk, and speeds time to development, delivery, and deployment of mission-critical

Data Stealing Malware Discovered in Popular Android Screen Recorder App

Google has removed a screen recording app named "iRecorder - Screen Recorder" from the Play Store after it was found to sneak in information stealing capabilities nearly a year after the app was published as an innocuous app. The app (APK package name "com.tsoft.app.iscreenrecorder"), which accrued over 50,000 installations, was first uploaded on September 19, 2021. The malicious functionality

Legion Malware Upgraded to Target SSH Servers and AWS Credentials

An updated version of the commodity malware called Legion comes with expanded features to compromise SSH servers and Amazon Web Services (AWS) credentials associated with DynamoDB and CloudWatch. "This recent update demonstrates a widening of scope, with new capabilities such the ability to compromise SSH servers and retrieve additional AWS-specific credentials from Laravel web applications,"

N. Korean Lazarus Group Targets Microsoft IIS Servers to Deploy Espionage Malware

The infamous Lazarus Group actor has been targeting vulnerable versions of Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) servers as an initial breach route to deploy malware on targeted systems. The findings come from the AhnLab Security Emergency response Center (ASEC), which detailed the advanced persistent threat's (APT) continued abuse of DLL side-loading techniques to run arbitrary payloads

Cyber Attacks Strike Ukraine's State Bodies in Espionage Operation

The Computer Emergency Response Team of Ukraine (CERT-UA) has warned of cyber attacks targeting state bodies in the country as part of an espionage campaign. The intrusion set, attributed to a threat actor tracked by the authority as UAC-0063 since 2021, leverages phishing lures to deploy a variety of malicious tools on infected systems. The origins of the hacking crew are presently unknown. In

GoldenJackal: New Threat Group Targeting Middle Eastern and South Asian Governments

Government and diplomatic entities in the Middle East and South Asia are the target of a new advanced persistent threat actor named GoldenJackal. Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, which has been keeping tabs on the group's activities since mid-2020, characterized the adversary as both capable and stealthy. The targeting scope of the campaign is focused on Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq,

North Korean Kimsuky Hackers Strike Again with Advanced Reconnaissance Malware

The North Korean advanced persistent threat (APT) group known as Kimsuky has been observed using a piece of custom malware called RandomQuery as part of a reconnaissance and information exfiltration operation. "Lately, Kimsuky has been consistently distributing custom malware as part of reconnaissance campaigns to enable subsequent attacks," SentinelOne researchers Aleksandar Milenkoski and Tom

The Rising Threat of Secrets Sprawl and the Need for Action

The most precious asset in today's information age is the secret safeguarded under lock and key. Regrettably, maintaining secrets has become increasingly challenging, as highlighted by the 2023 State of Secrets Sprawl report, the largest analysis of public GitHub activity.  The report shows a 67% year-over-year increase in the number of secrets found, with 10 million hard-coded secrets detected

New WinTapix.sys Malware Engages in Multi-Stage Attack Across Middle East

An unknown threat actor has been observed leveraging a malicious Windows kernel driver in attacks likely targeting the Middle East since at least May 2020. Fortinet Fortiguard Labs, which dubbed the artifact WINTAPIX (WinTapix.sys), attributed the malware with low confidence to an Iranian threat actor. "WinTapix.sys is essentially a loader," security researchers Geri Revay and Hossein Jazi said

China Bans U.S. Chip Giant Micron, Citing "Serious Cybersecurity Problems"

China has banned U.S. chip maker Micron from selling its products to Chinese companies working on key infrastructure projects, citing national security risks. The development comes nearly two months after the country's cybersecurity authority initiated a probe in late March 2023 to assess potential network security risks. "The purpose of this network security review of Micron's products is to

E.U. Regulators Hit Meta with Record $1.3 Billion Fine for Data Transfer Violations

Facebook's parent company Meta has been fined a record $1.3 billion by European Union data protection regulators for transferring the personal data of users in the region to the U.S. In a binding decision taken by the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), the social media giant has been ordered to bring its data transfers into compliance with the GDPR and delete unlawfully stored and processed

Indonesian Cybercriminals Exploit AWS for Profitable Crypto Mining Operations

A financially motivated threat actor of Indonesian origin has been observed leveraging Amazon Web Services (AWS) Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instances to carry out illicit crypto mining operations. Cloud security company's Permiso P0 Labs, which first detected the group in November 2021, has assigned it the moniker GUI-vil (pronounced Goo-ee-vil). "The group displays a preference for Graphical

Bad Magic's Extended Reign in Cyber Espionage Goes Back Over a Decade

New findings about a hacker group linked to cyber attacks targeting companies in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict area reveal that it may have been around for much longer than previously thought. The threat actor, tracked as Bad Magic (aka Red Stinger), has not only been linked to a fresh sophisticated campaign, but also to an activity cluster that first came to light in May 2016. "While the

Are Your APIs Leaking Sensitive Data?

It's no secret that data leaks have become a major concern for both citizens and institutions across the globe. They can cause serious damage to an organization's reputation, induce considerable financial losses, and even have serious legal repercussions. From the infamous Cambridge Analytica scandal to the Equifax data breach, there have been some pretty high-profile leaks resulting in massive

U.K. Fraudster Behind iSpoof Scam Receives 13-Year Jail Term for Cyber Crimes

A U.K. national responsible for his role as the administrator of the now-defunct iSpoof online phone number spoofing service has been sentenced to 13 years and 4 months in prison. Tejay Fletcher, 35, of Western Gateway, London, was awarded the sentence on May 18, 2023. He pleaded guilty last month to a number of cyber offenses, including facilitating fraud and possessing and transferring

KeePass Exploit Allows Attackers to Recover Master Passwords from Memory

A proof-of-concept (PoC) has been made available for a security flaw impacting the KeePass password manager that could be exploited to recover a victim's master password in cleartext under specific circumstances. The issue, tracked as CVE-2023-32784, impacts KeePass versions 2.x for Windows, Linux, and macOS, and is expected to be patched in version 2.54, which is likely to be released early

PyPI Repository Under Attack: User Sign-Ups and Package Uploads Temporarily Halted

The maintainers of Python Package Index (PyPI), the official third-party software repository for the Python programming language, have temporarily disabled the ability for users to sign up and upload new packages until further notice. "The volume of malicious users and malicious projects being created on the index in the past week has outpaced our ability to respond to it in a timely fashion,

Meet 'Jack' from Romania! Mastermind Behind Golden Chickens Malware

The identity of the second threat actor behind the Golden Chickens malware has been uncovered courtesy of a "fatal" operational security blunder, cybersecurity firm eSentire said. The individual in question, who lives in Bucharest, Romania, has been given the codename Jack. He is one of the two criminals operating an account on the Russian-language Exploit.in forum under the name "badbullzvenom

Notorious Cyber Gang FIN7 Returns With Cl0p Ransomware in New Wave of Attacks

The notorious cybercrime group known as FIN7 has been observed deploying Cl0p (aka Clop) ransomware, marking the threat actor's first ransomware campaign since late 2021. Microsoft, which detected the activity in April 2023, is tracking the financially motivated actor under its new taxonomy Sangria Tempest. "In these recent attacks, Sangria Tempest uses the PowerShell script POWERTRASH to load

Warning: Samsung Devices Under Attack! New Security Flaw Exposed

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has warned of active exploitation of a medium-severity flaw affecting Samsung devices. The issue, tracked as CVE-2023-21492 (CVSS score: 4.4), impacts select Samsung devices running Android versions 11, 12, and 13. The South Korean electronics giant described the issue as an information disclosure flaw that could be exploited by a

Privacy Sandbox Initiative: Google to Phase Out Third-Party Cookies Starting 2024

Google has announced plans to officially flip the switch on its twice-delayed Privacy Sandbox initiatives as it slowly works its way to deprecate support for third-party cookies in Chrome browser. To that end, the search and advertising giant said it intends to phase out third-party cookies for 1% of Chrome users globally in the first quarter of 2024. "This will support developers in conducting

Dr. Active Directory vs. Mr. Exposed Attack Surface: Who'll Win This Fight?

Active Directory (AD) is among the oldest pieces of software still used in the production environment and can be found in most organizations today. This is despite the fact that its historical security gaps have never been amended. For example, because of its inability to apply any security measures beyond checking for a password and username match, AD (as well the resources it manages) is

Developer Alert: NPM Packages for Node.js Hiding Dangerous TurkoRat Malware

Two malicious packages discovered in the npm package repository have been found to conceal an open source information stealer malware called TurkoRat. The packages – named nodejs-encrypt-agent and nodejs-cookie-proxy-agent – were collectively downloaded approximately 1,200 times and were available for more than two months before they were identified and taken down. ReversingLabs, which broke

Searching for AI Tools? Watch Out for Rogue Sites Distributing RedLine Malware

Malicious Google Search ads for generative AI services like OpenAI ChatGPT and Midjourney are being used to direct users to sketchy websites as part of a BATLOADER campaign designed to deliver RedLine Stealer malware. "Both AI services are extremely popular but lack first-party standalone apps (i.e., users interface with ChatGPT via their web interface while Midjourney uses Discord)," eSentire

WebKit Under Attack: Apple Issues Emergency Patches for 3 New Zero-Day Vulnerabilities

Apple on Thursday rolled out security updates to iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, and the Safari web browser to address dozens of flaws, including three new zero-days that it said are being actively exploited in the wild. The three security shortcomings are listed below - CVE-2023-32409 - A WebKit flaw that could be exploited by a malicious actor to break out of the Web Content sandbox. It

This Cybercrime Syndicate Pre-Infected Over 8.9 Million Android Phones Worldwide

A cybercrime enterprise known as Lemon Group is leveraging millions of pre-infected Android smartphones worldwide to carry out their malicious operations, posing significant supply chain risks. "The infection turns these devices into mobile proxies, tools for stealing and selling SMS messages, social media and online messaging accounts and monetization via advertisements and click fraud,"

Zero Trust + Deception: Join This Webinar to Learn How to Outsmart Attackers!

Cybersecurity is constantly evolving, but complexity can give hostile actors an advantage. To stay ahead of current and future attacks, it's essential to simplify and reframe your defenses. Zscaler Deception is a state-of-the-art next-generation deception technology seamlessly integrated with the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange. It creates a hostile environment for attackers and enables you to track

How to Reduce Exposure on the Manufacturing Attack Surface

Digitalization initiatives are connecting once-isolated Operational Technology (OT) environments with their Information Technology (IT) counterparts. This digital transformation of the factory floor has accelerated the connection of machinery to digital systems and data. Computer systems for managing and monitoring digital systems and data have been added to the hardware and software used for

Escalating China-Taiwan Tensions Fuel Alarming Surge in Cyber Attacks

The rising geopolitical tensions between China and Taiwan in recent months have sparked a noticeable uptick in cyber attacks on the East Asian island country. "From malicious emails and URLs to malware, the strain between China's claim of Taiwan as part of its territory and Taiwan's maintained independence has evolved into a worrying surge in attacks," the Trellix Advanced Research Center said 

8220 Gang Exploiting Oracle WebLogic Flaw to Hijack Servers and Mine Cryptocurrency

The notorious cryptojacking group tracked as 8220 Gang has been spotted weaponizing a six-year-old security flaw in Oracle WebLogic servers to ensnare vulnerable instances into a botnet and distribute cryptocurrency mining malware. The flaw in question is CVE-2017-3506 (CVSS score: 7.4), which, when successfully exploited, could allow an unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary commands

Darknet Carding Kingpin Pleads Guilty: Sold Financial Info of Tens of Thousands

A U.S. national has pleaded guilty in a Missouri court to operating a darknet carding site and selling financial information belonging to tens of thousands of victims in the country. Michael D. Mihalo, aka Dale Michael Mihalo Jr. and ggmccloud1, has been accused of setting up a carding site called Skynet Market that specialized in the trafficking of credit and debit card data. Mihalo and his

Apple Thwarts $2 Billion in App Store Fraud, Rejects 1.7 Million App Submissions

Apple has announced that it prevented over $2 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions and rejected roughly 1.7 million app submissions for privacy and security violations in 2022. The computing giant said it terminated 428,000 developer accounts for potential fraudulent activity, blocked 105,000 fake developer account creations, and deactivated 282 million bogus customer accounts. It

Critical Flaws in Cisco Small Business Switches Could Allow Remote Attacks

Cisco has released updates to address a set of nine security flaws in its Small Business Series Switches that could be exploited by an unauthenticated, remote attacker to run arbitrary code or cause a denial-of-service (DoS) condition. "These vulnerabilities are due to improper validation of requests that are sent to the web interface," Cisco said, crediting an unnamed external researcher for

OilAlpha: Emerging Houthi-linked Cyber Threat Targets Arabian Android Users

A hacking group dubbed OilAlpha with suspected ties to Yemen's Houthi movement has been linked to a cyber espionage campaign targeting development, humanitarian, media, and non-governmental organizations in the Arabian peninsula. "OilAlpha used encrypted chat messengers like WhatsApp to launch social engineering attacks against its targets," cybersecurity company Recorded Future said in a

Identifying a Patch Management Solution: Overview of Key Criteria

Software is rarely a one-and-done proposition. In fact, any application available today will likely need to be updated – or patched – to fix bugs, address vulnerabilities, and update key features at multiple points in the future. With the typical enterprise relying on a multitude of applications, servers, and end-point devices in their day-to-day operations, the acquisition of a robust patch

Threat Group UNC3944 Abusing Azure Serial Console for Total VM Takeover

A financially motivated cyber actor has been observed abusing Microsoft Azure Serial Console on virtual machines (VMs) to install third-party remote management tools within compromised environments. Google-owned Mandiant attributed the activity to a threat group it tracks under the name UNC3944, which is also known as Roasted 0ktapus and Scattered Spider. "This method of attack was unique in

Serious Unpatched Vulnerability Uncovered in Popular Belkin Wemo Smart Plugs

The second generation version of Belkin's Wemo Mini Smart Plug has been found to contain a buffer overflow vulnerability that could be weaponized by a threat actor to inject arbitrary commands remotely. The issue, assigned the identifier CVE-2023-27217, was discovered and reported to Belkin on January 9, 2023, by Israeli IoT security company Sternum, which reverse-engineered the device and

State-Sponsored Sidewinder Hacker Group's Covert Attack Infrastructure Uncovered

Cybersecurity researchers have unearthed previously undocumented attack infrastructure used by the prolific state-sponsored group SideWinder to strike entities located in Pakistan and China. This comprises a network of 55 domains and IP addresses used by the threat actor, cybersecurity companies Group-IB and Bridewell said in a joint report shared with The Hacker News. "The identified phishing

U.S. Offers $10 Million Bounty for Capture of Notorious Russian Ransomware Operator

A Russian national has been charged and indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) for launching ransomware attacks against "thousands of victims" in the country and across the world. Mikhail Pavlovich Matveev (aka Wazawaka, m1x, Boriselcin, and Uhodiransomwar), the 30-year-old individual in question, is alleged to be a "central figure" in the development and deployment of LockBit, Babuk,

China's Mustang Panda Hackers Exploit TP-Link Routers for Persistent Attacks

The Chinese nation-state actor known as Mustang Panda has been linked to a new set of sophisticated and targeted attacks aimed at European foreign affairs entities since January 2023. An analysis of these intrusions, per Check Point researchers Itay Cohen and Radoslaw Madej, has revealed a custom firmware implant designed explicitly for TP-Link routers. "The implant features several malicious

Inside Qilin Ransomware: Affiliates Take Home 85% of Ransom Payouts

Ransomware affiliates associated with the Qilin ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) scheme earn anywhere between 80% to 85% of each ransom payment, according to new findings from Group-IB. The cybersecurity firm said it was able to infiltrate the group in March 2023, uncovering details about the affiliates' payment structure and the inner workings of the RaaS program following a private conversation

Cyolo Product Overview: Secure Remote Access to All Environments

Operational technology (OT) cybersecurity is a challenging but critical aspect of protecting organizations' essential systems and resources. Cybercriminals no longer break into systems, but instead log in – making access security more complex and also more important to manage and control than ever before. In an effort to solve the access-related challenges facing OT and critical infrastructure

CopperStealer Malware Crew Resurfaces with New Rootkit and Phishing Kit Modules

The threat actors behind the CopperStealer malware resurfaced with two new campaigns in March and April 2023 that are designed to deliver two novel payloads dubbed CopperStealth and CopperPhish. Trend Micro is tracking the financially motivated group under the name Water Orthrus. The adversary is also assessed to be behind another campaign known as Scranos, which was detailed by Bitdefender in

Hackers Using Golang Variant of Cobalt Strike to Target Apple macOS Systems

A Golang implementation of Cobalt Strike called Geacon is likely to garner the attention of threat actors looking to target Apple macOS systems. That's according to findings from SentinelOne, which observed an increase in the number of Geacon payloads appearing on VirusTotal in recent months. "While some of these are likely red-team operations, others bear the characteristics of genuine

Industrial Cellular Routers at Risk: 11 New Vulnerabilities Expose OT Networks

Several security vulnerabilities have been disclosed in cloud management platforms associated with three industrial cellular router vendors that could expose operational technology (OT) networks to external attacks. The findings were presented by Israeli industrial cybersecurity firm OTORIO at the Black Hat Asia 2023 conference last week. "Industrial cellular routers and gateways are essential

New Ransomware Gang RA Group Hits U.S. and South Korean Organizations

A new ransomware group known as RA Group has become the latest threat actor to leverage the leaked Babuk ransomware source code to spawn its own locker variant. The cybercriminal gang, which is said to have been operating since at least April 22, 2023, is rapidly expanding its operations, according to cybersecurity firm Cisco Talos. "To date, the group has compromised three organizations in the

Why High Tech Companies Struggle with SaaS Security

It's easy to think high-tech companies have a security advantage over other older, more mature industries. Most are unburdened by 40 years of legacy systems and software. They draw some of the world’s youngest, brightest digital natives to their ranks, all of whom consider cybersecurity issues their entire lives. Perhaps it is due to their familiarity with technology that causes them to overlook

Researchers Uncover Powerful Backdoor and Custom Implant in Year-Long Cyber Campaign

Government, aviation, education, and telecom sectors located in South and Southeast Asia have come under the radar of a new hacking group as part of a highly-targeted campaign that commenced in mid-2022 and continued into the first quarter of 2023. Symantec, by Broadcom Software, is tracking the activity under its insect-themed moniker Lancefly, with the attacks making use of a "powerful"

New 'MichaelKors' Ransomware-as-a-Service Targeting Linux and VMware ESXi Systems

A new ransomware-as-service (RaaS) operation called MichaelKors has become the latest file-encrypting malware to target Linux and VMware ESXi systems as of April 2023. The development points to cybercriminal actors increasingly setting their eyes on the ESXi, cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said in a report shared with The Hacker News. "This trend is especially noteworthy given the fact that ESXi