Cyware Weekly Cyber Threat Intelligence October 22 - 26, 2018

Cyware Weekly Cyber Threat Intelligence October 22 - 26, 2018 - Featured Image

Weekly Threat Briefing • October 26, 2018

The Good

It’s Friday, good people and that means its once again time for our weekly roundup of the biggest and most interesting stories that emerged from cyberspace. Let’s begin by taking a look at all the innovative and positive strides taken by private and government entities in securing cyberspace for all. The European Union is gearing up to create new regulations that would impose economic sanctions on cybercriminals. The US Cyber Command is dogging the heels of Russian online trolls attempting to distribute disinformation campaigns and warning them that they are being watched. The Royal Navy’s biggest warship is currently docked in New York to fight cybercrime.

  • The European Union is gearing up to create new regulations that would impose economic sanctions on cybercriminals. In the face of increasingly sophisticated cyberespionage and cybercriminals campaigns, EU leaders are now mulling imposing sanctions on hackers to stem the flow of destructive cyberattacks.

  • The US Cyber Command is dogging the heels of Russian online trolls attempting to distribute disinformation campaigns and warning them that they are being watched. The operation is aimed at deterring more sophisticated Russian cyberattacks targeting US infrastructure.

  • The Royal Navy’s biggest warship, the HMS Queen Elizabeth, which is currently docked at New York, boasts of extensive and sophisticated cyber offensive and defensive capabilities. The aircraft carrier was built to deal with modern cyberthreats and may also be an invaluable resource in open waters across the globe.

  • The Pentagon recently expanded its “Hack the Pentagon” bug bounty program, allowing hackers to find vulnerabilities with hardware and physical systems within the Pentagon. Now even the most critical internal systems at Pentagon will be tested for vulnerabilities by ethical hackers.

The Bad

Several severe data breaches and leaks came to light through the week. The HealthCare.gov’s sign-up system was hit by hackers who stole the data of around 75,000. Switzerland-based cryptocurrency exchange Trade.io was hacked and $7.5 million worth of cryptocurrencies was stolen. Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific was hit by a massive data breach that compromised 9.4 million passengers’ data.

  • The HealthCare.gov’s sign-up system was hit by hackers who stole the data of around 75,000. The hackers gained access to the HealthCare.gov’s sign-up system, called the Federally Facilitated Exchange (FFE), which is used by the HealthCare insurance agents and brokers to enroll users into Obamacare plans.
  • Switzerland-based cryptocurrency exchange Trade.io was hacked and $7.5 million worth of cryptocurrencies was stolen. The stolen funds were stored in a cold storage wallet. The cryptocurrency exchange discovered the breach after it observed a large number of cryptocurrencies being transferred from one of the accounts associated with its cold storage wallets.
  • Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific was hit by a massive data breach that compromised 9.4 million passengers’ data. Passengers' personal details including names, nationality, dates of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, passport numbers, identity card numbers, frequent flyer membership numbers, custom service remarks, and travel history might have been stolen by hackers.
  • Washington-based Internet service provider Pocket iNet publicly exposed 73GB of data. This includes AWS secret keys, passwords and corporate information that were at least six months old. The data leak was caused by a misconfigured Amazon S3 storage bucket that had no password.

New Threats

The past week saw numerous new malware, vulnerabilities and threat actors emerge. A new Android malware dubbed TimpDoor was recently discovered and has already infected around 5,000 victims in the US. The Ramnit banking malware was found distributed via a new malware downloader called sLoad. A security vulnerability was discovered that impacts nearly all Linux and BSD distros.

  • A new Android malware dubbed TimpDoor was recently discovered and has already infected around 5,000 victims in the US. The Android malware has been active since March and could turn infected Android devices into mobile backdoors, which, in turn, could be leveraged by attackers to infiltrate home and corporate networks.
  • The Ramnit banking malware was found distributed via a new malware downloader called sLoad. The new campaign has been targeting financial institutions across Italy, Canada and the UK. The malware comes packed with sophisticated reconnaissance capabilities and has also been distributing other malware variants like Gootkit, Ursniff and more.
  • A security vulnerability was discovered that impacts nearly all Linux and BSD distros. This flaw could allow an attacker with limited privileges to elevate privileges and gain root system access, either using a terminal or SSH session.
  • A recently discovered malware downloader called Godzilla Loader is up for sale on the dark web for $500. The malware downloader comes with a built-in UAC bypass feature, which can allow attackers to specify any executable and run it on the infected system with administrative privileges.

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Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, August 25–29, 2025

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Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, August 11–15, 2025

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Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, August 04–08, 2025

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Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, July 21–25, 2025

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Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, July 14–18, 2025

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Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, July 07–11, 2025

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Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, June 30–July 04, 2025

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Jun 27, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, June 23–27, 2025

A Common Good Cyber Fund was launched to support non-profits delivering critical cybersecurity services for public benefit. The fund is backed by the U.K and Canada, with G7 leaders endorsing similar initiatives. A phishing email is all it takes to breach critical infrastructure. The OneClik APT campaign is targeting energy and oil sectors using Microsoft ClickOnce to deliver a .NET loader and Golang backdoor. A handful of outdated routers is all it takes to build a persistent espionage network. The LapDogs campaign is targeting SOHO devices with a custom backdoor called ShortLeash, giving attackers root access and control over compromised systems. A familiar package name could be hiding far more than useful code. North Korean actors behind the Contagious Interview campaign have published 35 malicious npm packages, including keyloggers and multi-stage malware. A fake Windows update might just be the start of something worse. The EvilConwi campaign is abusing ConnectWise ScreenConnect to deliver signed malware through tampered installers. Encrypted messaging apps aren’t immune to state-backed malware delivery. APT28 is targeting Ukrainian government entities via Signal, sharing macro-laced documents that deploy a backdoor named Covenant. Some WordPress plugins are doing a lot more than extending site functionality. Researchers uncovered a long-running malware campaign that uses rogue plugins to skim credit card data, steal credentials, and manage backend systems on infected sites.

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Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, June 16–20, 2025

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Jun 13, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, June 09–13, 2025

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