Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence - April 03–07

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence - April 03–07 - Featured Image

Weekly Threat Briefing April 7, 2023

The Good

This week, law enforcement agencies made some significant advancements in combating the malicious activities of cybercriminals. One such action was taken against a massive pig butchering scam that swindled over $112 million in cryptocurrency. The operations of the infamous Genesis Market were also disrupted in a coordinated effort, saving millions of computers from being further used by attackers. These computers were compromised using DanaBot and other malware.

  • The U.S. DoJ seized six virtual currency accounts containing over $112 million in funds stolen in multiple pig-butchering finance scams. The criminals behind these scams approached victims via various dating platforms, messaging apps, or social media platforms. Once confidence was gained, the scammers introduced investment schemes and eventually stole funds from victims’ crypto wallets.
  • The infamous cybercrime forum Genesis Market was taken down in a coordinated operation that was carried out by law enforcement agencies from 17 countries. The marketplace was selling access to millions of computers that were compromised using DanaBot and other malware. The illegal forum also provided access to browser fingerprints, cookies, autofills, and other credentials.
  • The DOD launched a new website, www.hackthepentagon[.]mil, to enhance and support the Hack the Pentagon program that was launched in 2016. The website includes educational materials that can be used as a foundation step for launching a bug bounty program. The platform will also enable the engagement and recruitment of technical talents.

The Bad

While Genesis is no longer active, a new dark web market called Styx has emerged to fill the void, offering cybercriminals a wide range of illegal services for identity theft, DDoS attacks, and financial fraud. In the latest update on the recent 3CX supply chain attack, a small number of cryptocurrency firms were affected in the incident that was pulled off by North Korea’s Lazarus group. In separate news, a new ransomware group has demanded $4 million in ransom to prevent the leak of over 1.5TB of sensitive data it allegedly stole from a Taiwan PC hardware vendor.

  • Taiwanese PC parts maker MSI has five days' time to pay a hefty ransom of $4 million demanded by a newly-formed ransomware group called Money Message. If payment is not received, the threat actors have threatened to publish 1.5 TB of data stolen from the firm. To claim the attack, the group has posted screenshots of the hardware vendor’s CTMS and ERP databases containing software source code, private keys, and BIOS firmware.

  • YouTube warned users of a new phishing scam that tricked users into sharing their login credentials. Scammers impersonated the video-sharing platform to send out a phishing email that asked recipients to provide their details owing to the changes in YouTube rules and policies.

  • A hacker group that goes by the name of TACTICAL#OCTOPUS used tax-related themes to lure U.S. taxpayers into downloading a malicious zip file that installed malware onto their systems. The malware enabled hackers to gain access to victims’ systems and capture clipboard data and track keystrokes.

  • New updates on the 3CX supply chain attack reveal that a small number of cryptocurrency companies were also impacted by the attack conducted by the Lazarus threat group. A majority of the attack attempts have been registered in Australia, the U.S., and the U.K, with healthcare, pharma, IT, and finance emerging as the top targeted sectors.

  • Sensitive details of several banks, including QBANK, Defence Bank, Bloom Money, Admiral Money, MA Money, Reed, HSBC, and Westpac, were leaked due to a misconfiguration issue in a digital identification tool provided by OCR Labs. The leaked data included access credentials to AWS, application tokens, and various API keys.

  • A new dark web marketplace identified as Styx is gaining popularity among cybercriminals for providing access to a wide range of illegal services such as DDoS attacks, banking trojans, stolen IDs, and 2FA/MFA bypass solutions. These services can be used to launch identity theft, financial fraud, and malware attacks. The marketplace is also being used to sell the PII of victims based in the U.S., the U.K, Canada, and the Netherlands.

  • A massive WordPress infection campaign, that leverages well-known vulnerabilities in plugins and themes, was found to be active since 2017. The attackers could manage to stay under the radar by using different domain names that hosted sites for tech support scams, push notification scams, and fraudulent lottery wins. It is estimated that over one million WordPress websites have been infected by this campaign.

  • The Medusa ransomware group added the Open University of Cyprus to its data leak site, giving the institute 14 days time to respond to its ransom demands. The hackers have asked for $100,000 in ransom to prevent the further leak of data that includes the PII of students, and the financial details of research contractors.

  • The U.K’s Criminal Records Office (ACRO) confirmed that its website was disrupted in a cybersecurity incident on January 17. The announcement comes after the applicants were unable to download their police certificates from the website.

  • An online marketplace Z2U was found exposing 600,000 customer support attachments due to an unprotected database. The attachments included images of individuals holding credit cards, passports, and other ID documents. Other exposed information were email addresses, passwords, and IBAN numbers of users.

New Threats

Moving on, cryptocurrency investors are at more risk of cyberattacks as threat actors added two new cryptocurrency-stealing malware to their arsenal. Named Rilide and CryptoClippy, the malware are distributed via SEO poisoning attacks and can withdraw digital assets from victims’ wallets without their knowledge. Several new ransomware families were also spotted this week, with Rorschach being detected as the fastest ransomware to encrypt files in just over four minutes.

  • Google’s TAG linked a North Korean threat cluster, named ARCHIPELAGO, with attacks targeting government and military personnel, think tanks, policymakers, academics, and researchers in South Korea and the U.S. The group’s tactics broadly overlap with Kimsuky APT.
  • A newly discovered CryptoClippy clipper malware was found targeting Portuguese cryptocurrency users. The attack leverages SEO poisoning techniques to entice users searching for ‘WhatsApp web’ to rogue domains hosting the malware. The malware monitors a victim’s clipboard to replace the actual wallet address with a wallet address controlled by threat actors.
  • A new malware strain named Rilide used Chromium-based browsers to steal cryptocurrency assets. The malware is disguised as a Google Drive extension and enables threat actors to carry out a broad spectrum of malicious activities such as taking screenshots and monitoring browsing history.
  • A new affiliate of the ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware, dubbed UNC4466, is exploiting vulnerabilities in the Veritas Backup Exec software to gain initial access to the targeted network. The threat group is active since October 2022 and uses Mimikatz, RCLONE, LAZAGNE, WINSW, and LIGOLO to compromise systems.
  • Researchers uncovered a new form of attack, dubbed Proxyjacking, that exploited the Log4Shell vulnerability to gain access to victims’ systems before selling the IP address to legitimate proxyware services. The attack is launched by installing an agent that turns the compromised accounts into proxy servers.
  • Arid Viper threat actor has been observed using new variants of Micropsia, ViperRAT, and FrozenCell to target Palestinian entities. The attacks were first observed in September 2022 and continued till February 2023.
  • Automotive security experts discovered a new CAN injection attack that results in car theft. Once the thieves gain direct access to a vehicle’s system bus via a smart headlamp wiring, they introduce bogus messages that cause the security system to unlock the vehicle and disable the engine immobilizer.

Related Threat Briefings

Aug 29, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, August 25–29, 2025

From cryptocurrency scams to software vulnerabilities, recent global efforts showcase robust responses to sophisticated cyber threats. Cryptocurrency firms, including Chainalysis, Binance, OKX, and Tether, froze $46.9 million in funds stolen through Southeast Asia-based "romance baiting" scams, targeting victims via fake investment schemes. Meanwhile, the CISA introduced the new ‘Software Acquisition Guide: Supplier Response Web Tool’ to empower organizations to integrate cybersecurity into their procurement processes, addressing software supply chain vulnerabilities. Posing as a golden ticket from the Bangladesh Education Board, SikkahBot is preying on students with fake scholarship lures. Active since July 2024, this Android malware grabs high-risk permissions to intercept SMS and steal financial data. A data theft campaign attributed to UNC6395 targeted Salesforce instances via compromised OAuth tokens linked to the Salesloft Drift app, exfiltrating sensitive credentials. Blind Eagle's shadow looms over Colombia, with five activity clusters unleashing RATs and phishing on government sectors from May 2024 to July 2025. Click Studios is sounding the alarm on a dangerous flaw in Passwordstate’s password manager. This authentication bypass lets attackers access the admin section via a crafted URL. Truesec uncovered a cybercrime campaign distributing a trojanized "AppSuite PDF Editor" via Google ads, installing "TamperedChef" malware that steals credentials and web cookies. The Sangoma FreePBX Security Team has warned about an actively exploited zero-day vulnerability in FreePBX servers with the Administrator Control Panel (ACP) exposed to the internet.

Aug 22, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, August 18–22, 2025

As cyber threats evolve, global takedown efforts are stepping up to safeguard digital ecosystems. INTERPOL’s Operation Serengeti arrested 1,209 cybercriminals across 18 African nations, recovering $97.4 million and dismantling over 11,000 malicious infrastructures. In another coordinated operation, U.S. authorities seized the Rapper Bot DDoS botnet, which had been active since 2021 and targeted 18,000 victims across 80 countries. The Python Package Index (PyPI) introduced defenses against domain resurrection attacks to prevent account hijacking and supply chain attacks. Berserk Bear hackers are wielding a seven-year-old Cisco flaw to infiltrate global critical infrastructure. Exploiting CVE-2018-0171, these FSB-linked attackers trigger device reloads and use custom SNMP tools. MuddyWater APT is targeting CFOs with spear-phishing, using Firebase-hosted phishing pages and custom CAPTCHAs. With a diplomat’s charm, malicious emails are smuggling XenoRAT into South Korea’s embassies via GitHub traps. Since March, this spearphishing spree has targeted European missions. Masquerading as an Australian electronics store, Cookie Spider’s malvertising campaign unleashed the AMOS malware on over 300 targets. Fraudsters posing as celebrity podcast reps are reeling in business owners with a bait. This podcast imposter scam lures victims into tech-check calls that grant remote access. A zero-day flaw has Apple racing to patch millions of devices with emergency iOS and iPadOS updates.

Aug 8, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, August 04–08, 2025

In the wake of recent cyberattacks, the US federal judiciary is locking down sensitive court documents with a fortified approach to cybersecurity. Courts nationwide are enforcing stricter access controls, monitored handling procedures, and a mandatory IT security “scorecard” for annual self-assessments to pinpoint vulnerabilities. DARPA is raising the stakes at DEF CON, pitting seven AI-powered cyber reasoning systems against each other to secure the open-source software underpinning critical infrastructure. These autonomous tools, designed to detect and patch vulnerabilities in code vital to water systems and financial institutions, analyzed 7.8 million lines in preliminary rounds, catching 59% of synthetic flaws and uncovering real ones. Akira ransomware is striking with surgical precision, exploiting a suspected zero-day flaw in SonicWall SSL VPN devices, even those fully patched. Since mid-July 2025, attackers have used Virtual Private Server logins to bypass MFA, hitting multiple targets in rapid succession. A stealthy Python-based PXA Stealer is sweeping across 62 countries, pilfering sensitive data from unsuspecting victims. This infostealer campaign has exfiltrated hundreds of thousands of passwords and more. Phishing emails disguised as court summons are delivering a malicious payload to Ukrainian government and defense sectors, courtesy of UAC-0099. A cunning Android RAT, PlayPraetor, is sweeping through six countries, already compromising over 11,000 devices with its deceptive tactics. It masquerades as legitimate apps via fake Google Play Store pages and Meta Ads. ClickTok is luring TikTok Shop users into a trap with a crafty blend of phishing and malware. This global campaign deploys over 10,000 fake TikTok websites and 5,000 malicious apps, impersonating TikTok’s e-commerce platforms to steal cryptocurrency wallet credentials. Ghost Calls, a new evasion tactic, is turning Zoom and Microsoft Teams into covert channels for malicious activity, slipping past traditional defenses with ease.

Aug 1, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, July 28–August 01, 2025

Picture this: a tool so fast it dissects malware at lightning speed, giving your team the edge in a digital arms race. Meet Thorium, the CISA’s latest open-source gem. This platform automates cyberattack investigations, processing over 1,700 jobs per second and ingesting 10 million files per hour per permission group. Meanwhile, as AI reshapes the battlefield, OWASP is arming professionals with fresh guidance to secure agentic AI applications driven by LLMs. It’s a playbook for locking down user authentication with OAuth 2.0, encrypting sensitive data, and bolstering supply chain security. Cybercriminals are donning digital disguises, impersonating trusted enterprises with fake Microsoft OAuth applications to steal credentials and bypass multi-factor authentication. Hackers exploited a critical SAP NetWeaver flaw to deploy the Auto-Color Linux malware. This malware, equipped with a rootkit and adaptive evasion tactics, adjusts its behavior based on user privileges. Operation CargoTalon, tied to threat cluster UNG0901, targeted organizations with EAGLET malware hidden in fake invoice files, quietly siphoning off sensitive data to a C2 server. A newly discovered cyberattack technique, dubbed Man in the Prompt, is turning browser extensions into unwitting accomplices in data theft from generative AI tools. DoubleTrouble is targeting users through Discord-hosted APKs, disguising itself as a legitimate app to slip past defenses. A stealthy Android banking trojan, RedHook, is targeting Vietnamese users through phishing sites mimicking trusted agencies. Spread via a malicious APK on an exposed AWS S3 bucket, it exploits accessibility services to steal credentials and banking details, with over 500 infections tied to Chinese-speaking actors.

Jul 25, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, July 21–25, 2025

The BlackSuit ransomware crew just lost its home turf. As part of Operation Checkmate, international law enforcement has seized the group’s dark web extortion and negotiation sites. New York is taking aim at cyber threats to its water systems. A newly proposed set of regulations outlines mandatory IT and OT cybersecurity measures for water and wastewater infrastructure, aligning with federal guidelines and introducing funding to support modernization across the state. Not every scam needs sophistication, sometimes all it takes is a lonely heart and a convincing profile picture. SarangTrap, a massive mobile spyware campaign, is luring victims on Android and iOS through fake dating apps. Storm-2603 is slipping through SharePoint’s cracks and locking the doors behind it. The suspected China-based threat group is exploiting two SharePoint vulnerabilities to deploy Warlock ransomware. A trusted source turned treacherous. Hackers launched a supply chain attack on Arch Linux by slipping malware into three AUR packages. These packages silently deployed a RAT that gave attackers persistent control over infected machines. A browser tweak here, a fake mod there, and suddenly your crypto wallet spills its secrets. In a new campaign, the Scavenger trojan exploits DLL Search Order Hijacking to infiltrate password managers and wallets. A new RaaS group called Chaos is conducting high-impact ransomware campaigns through a number of tactics, using remote management tools for long-term access. Mimo is getting stealthier and greedier. The financially motivated group has moved from targeting Craft CMS to Magento, exploiting PHP-FPM vulnerabilities to deploy malware via fileless techniques.

Jul 18, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, July 14–18, 2025

A keyboard army just lost its command center. Europol’s Operation Eastwood has crippled the pro-Russian hacktivist group NoName057(16). The international effort, involving law enforcement from 12 nations, led to two arrests and the takedown of over 100 servers linked to the group’s “DDoSia” project. Britain wants bug-hunters on its side. The NCSC has launched the Vulnerability Research Initiative, a new program inviting external researchers to help uncover security flaws in widely used hardware and software. Cisco Talos uncovered a MaaS campaign targeting Ukraine, where attackers used Amadey malware and GitHub repositories to stage payloads. The setup mimics tactics from a SmokeLoader phishing operation. Over 600 malicious domains are distributing fake Telegram APKs to unsuspecting users. Most are hosted in China and exploit the Janus vulnerability in Android. Users who trusted GravityForms’ official site got more than they expected. A supply chain attack injected backdoors into plugin files distributed via the official site and Composer. The H2Miner botnet has resurfaced with updated scripts that mine Monero, kill rival malware, and deploy multiple malware. Bundled with it is Lcrypt0rx, a likely AI-generated ransomware that exhibits sloppy logic, malformed syntax, and weak encryption using XOR. A new Konfety variant uses the same package name as a legitimate app but hides the real payload in a lookalike version distributed through third-party stores. One sandbox escape makes five. Google patched a high-severity Chrome flaw that lets attackers break out of the browser’s sandbox using crafted HTML and unvalidated GPU commands.

Jul 4, 2025

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

It looked like a crypto investment until €460 million vanished. Operation BORRELLI dismantled a global fraud ring that scammed over 5,000 victims, with arrests in Madrid and the Canary Islands. A fake workforce was quietly funding a real regime. The DoJ disrupted a North Korean scheme where remote IT workers used stolen identities to get jobs at over 100 U.S. companies. The operation funneled $5 million to the DPRK, exposed military tech, and led to raids across 16 states. Sometimes, the app that looks harmless is just the decoy. Recent investigations uncovered massive Android fraud schemes, including IconAds and Kaleidoscope, which used icon hiding, fake apps, and third-party distribution to flood ad networks with billions of fake requests. Two different names - same tactics, same tools, same playbook. Researchers have found striking overlaps between TA829 and the lesser-known UNK_GreenSec, both of which use phishing lures and REM Proxy services through compromised MikroTik routers. It starts with what looks like an official message from the Colombian government. Behind it is a phishing campaign delivering DCRAT, a modular remote access tool designed for theft and system control. Botnet operators are now turning broken routers into system wreckers. RondoDox is a new Linux-based botnet exploiting CVE-2024-3721 and CVE-2024-12856 to gain remote access to TBK DVRs and Four-Faith routers. That Zoom update request on Telegram? It could be a trap. North Korean actors are deploying NimDoor malware to infiltrate Web3 and crypto platforms using social engineering via Telegram. Google has patched CVE-2025-6554, a critical zero-day in Chrome’s V8 engine that was exploited in the wild to execute arbitrary code.

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.

Jun 20, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, June 16–20, 2025

As cybercriminals weave intricate webs in the digital underworld, global defenders are cutting through the chaos. Six nations toppled Archetyp Market, a darknet drug bazaar with €250 million ($288 million) in Monero deals, nabbing its admin and vendors while seizing €7.8 million ($9 million) in assets. The U.K unveiled a Cyber Growth Action Plan, injecting £16m ($21.2m) to fortify its £13.2bn ($17.5bn) cybersecurity industry after attacks bled retailers like M&S. Stateside, the U.S. reclaimed $225 million in crypto from investment scams, marking the Secret Service’s biggest digital heist bust yet. Cloud services are being quietly turned into covert attack channels. The Serpentine#Cloud campaign is abusing Cloudflare Tunnels and Python to deploy fileless malware via invoice-themed phishing lures. A popular WordPress plugin is exposing sites to full takeover. It affects the AI Engine plugin, impacting over 100,000 websites and opening the door to site-wide compromise. An official-looking email from the tax department may be anything but. Silver Fox APT is targeting Taiwanese users with phishing emails posing as the National Taxation Bureau, delivering malware like Winos 4.0, HoldingHands RAT, and Gh0stCringe. A new Android trojan is turning devices into data-harvesting tools under attackers’ full control. Attributed to the LARVA-398 group, AntiDot has infected thousands of devices through phishing and malicious ads. A fake job offer could now come bundled with custom-built spyware. PylangGhost is targeting crypto professionals in India. Delivered through spoofed job sites, the malware includes registry tampering, remote control, and data exfiltration modules aimed at compromising Windows systems. One compromised travel site is now a launchpad for infostealer infections. A new ClickFix variant, LightPerlGirl, is using fake Cloudflare CAPTCHA prompts and clipboard hijacking to deliver the Lumma infostealer.