Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence - December 19–23

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence - December 19–23 - Featured Image

Weekly Threat Briefing • December 23, 2022

The Good

IT systems and the data stored within them are valuable assets for organizations. Keeping the exploitations and misuse of these assets in mind, national authorities have taken several significant steps to protect them. The NIST has set a timeline to phase out SHA-1 and replace it with the latest algorithms with an aim to secure data stored in devices. Meanwhile, the U.S. President has signed the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act to protect systems against quantum tech threats.

  • President Joe Biden signed the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity guidelines into law to motivate federal agencies to adopt technology protected from decryption by quantum computing. Called Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act, the bill will help organizations to protect systems against quantum tech threats.
  • Owing to the evolving security standards, NIST has set a timeline to remove the support for the SHA-1 algorithm from all hardware and software devices. The agency recommends switching to SHA-2 or SHA-3 for securing electronic information.
  • The French government has announced a vast training program to help hospitals and medical facilities protect themselves against cyberattacks. The development comes following repeated attacks against hospitals that see either hackers damaging their critical infrastructures or stealing patients’ sensitive data.

The Bad

Data breaches resulting in the compromise of huge amounts of sensitive data have raised security concerns among researchers. BetMGM confirmed that the personal data of its 1.5 million customers were affected due to unauthorized access. On the other hand, the restaurant CRM platform SevenRooms revealed that hackers stole 427GB of customer records and leaked a sample on a cybercrime forum. Ahead of the Christmas holidays, cybercriminals have also been found luring users with specially-crafted phishing emails to harvest their personal information.

  • A data breach at BetMGM, a sports betting firm, resulted in the compromise of names, contact details, dates of birth, social security numbers, and account identifiers of customers. The number of users affected in the incident remains unknown.
  • Cybercriminals behind the Raspberry Robin worm were linked to a cyberespionage campaign targeting telecommunications and government organizations across Europe, Oceania, and Latin America. The malware was propagated via infected USB drives.
  • FortiGuard researchers came across two holiday-themed phishing campaigns that led to the distribution of AgentTesla and a backdoor malware. Threat actors used specially-crafted emails to trick unsuspecting users into downloading the malware that exfiltrated information from their machines.
  • A phishing campaign impersonating the Chinese Ministry of Finance and other state institutions was used to steal credit card credentials and other sensitive information. Malicious QR codes that came embedded within the attached documents were used to redirect unsuspecting users to sites that prompted them to add their banking details.
  • Comcast Xfinity accounts were hacked through credential stuffing attacks that bypassed the 2FA protection. This enabled the attackers to use the compromised accounts and reset passwords for other sites, such as Coinbase and Gemini.
  • German industrial engineering and steel production giant Thyssenkrupp was again targeted by cybercriminals. However, the company’s IT security team detected the incident at an early stage, preventing the attackers from doing further damage.
  • Some parts of The Guardian’s IT infrastructure were affected in a ransomware attack this week. Reports suggest that the entire data center network is impacted by the attack. The incident occurred on December 20 and it is unclear if any sensitive data has been taken by the attackers.
  • Shoemaker Ecco left 50 indices exposed to the public internet, with over 60GB of data accessible since June 2021. The server misconfiguration could have impacted millions of users. The exposed data ranged from sales to system information. Anyone with access to the misconfigured server could have viewed, edited, copied, or deleted the data.
  • The FBI warned against threat actors using search engine ads to promote websites propagating ransomware or exfiltrating login credentials for crypto exchanges and financial institutions. These attacks are executed by purchasing advertisements that impersonate legitimate services or businesses.
  • The Play ransomware gang claimed responsibility for an attack on Germany-based H-Hotels by listing the company on its Tor site. The data stolen includes client documents, passports, IDs, and more.
  • Sensitive information of more than 100,000 students was left publicly exposed due to misconfigured AWS S3 buckets belonging to McGraw Hill. These unprotected buckets contained more than 22 TB of data and over 117 million files and were fixed on July 20.
  • Restaurant CRM platform SevenRooms confirmed suffering a data breach after a hacker claimed to have stolen 427GB of customer records and leaked a sample on a cybercrime forum. The leaked sample included a folder named after big restaurant chains, clients of SevenRooms, API keys, promo codes, payment reports, reservation lists, and more.
  • Popular authentication services and IAM solutions provider Okta suffered a breach impacting its private GitHub source code repositories. The company said attackers could not access the Okta service or its customers’ data.

New Threats

A variety of info-stealing malware variants were spotted this week. One of the variants, RisePro, is gaining popularity on the illicit Russian forum on the dark web. The PyPI repository was also bombarded with a pool of new stealer variants that borrowed their source code from the W4SP stealer. In other news, researchers are observing active exploitation of the OWASSRF vulnerability that affects the Microsoft Exchange Server.

  • A new info-stealer named RisePro has garnered popularity on the illicit dark web forum called Russian Market. The malware is a clone of Vidar stealer and has been designed primarily to steal credentials and exfiltrate them in the form of logs.
  • The PyPI repository was the target of multiple attacks this week. In one incident, the malicious packages were embedded with ten stealer variants that borrowed base code from W4SP stealer. In another instance, a malicious package masquerading as SentinelOne SDK was uploaded to the repository to harvest sensitive data from developers.
  • A new Android malware, dubbed BrasDex, was spotted targeting Brazilian users in a new campaign. Developed by threat actors behind the Casbaneiro banking trojan, the malware possesses a complicated keylogging capability that abuses Android Accessibility Services and pilfers credentials from a set of Brazilian banking apps.
  • Researchers discovered a new exploit method that bypasses the URL rewrite mitigations provided for ProxyNotShell. Called OWASSRF, the vulnerability abuses CVE-2022-41080 and CVE-2022-41082 to achieve remote code execution through Outlook Web Access (OWA). As per the latest update, eight organizations have observed such exploitation attempts.
  • The capabilities of the Zerobot botnet have been expanded to target new devices, including firewalls, routers, and cameras. The new variant supports seven additional types of DDoS capabilities, including UDP_RAW, TCP_XMAS, ICMP_FLOOD, TCP_SYN, TCP_ACK, TCP_SYNACK, and TCP_CUSTOM attack methods.
  • The infamous Vice Society ransomware group has added a new ransomware, dubbed PolyVice, to its arsenal. The ransomware implements a robust encryption scheme using NTRUEncrypt and ChaCha20-Poly1305 algorithms.
  • The Fin7 hacking group has created an automated system called Checkmarks to breach corporate networks by exploiting unpatched Microsoft Exchange servers. The attack platform has already breached over 8000 companies, primarily in the U.S.
  • A new version of Godfather Android banking trojan was spotted in the wild. The malware masqueraded as MYT Music app on the Google Play Store to target users in the U.S., Spain, Turkey, Canada, Germany, and the U.K.
  • A new variant of IceID trojan was being distributed in a malvertising campaign that abused Google PPC ads. The variant is tracked as 'TrojanSpy.Win64.ICEDID.SMYXCLGZ' and includes multiple evasion functionalities to bypass security checks.

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Jun 13, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, June 09–13, 2025

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Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, June 02–06, 2025

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Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, May 26–30, 2025

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Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, May 19–23, 2025

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Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, May 12–16, 2025

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May 9, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, May 05–09, 2025

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May 2, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, April 28–May 02, 2025

The FBI just dropped a massive breadcrumb trail. Details of 42,000 phishing domains tied to the LabHost platform have been released to help defenders investigate potential breaches. The service enabled the theft of 500,000 credit cards and over a million credentials. The takedown of JokerOTP has exposed just how far phishing has evolved. The tool was used in more than 28,000 attacks across 13 countries, tricking victims into handing over 2FA codes by mimicking trusted brands. The operation cost victims £7.5 million and has now led to serious criminal charges, thanks to a joint effort involving Europol and Dutch authorities. Malware’s now hitching a ride on Go modules. Socket has uncovered three malicious packages hiding disk-wiping payloads, designed to cause irreversible data loss, especially on Linux systems. These modules take advantage of Go’s decentralized ecosystem. In the shadows of the cybersecurity landscape, MintsLoader emerges as a formidable adversary, orchestrating a multi-faceted infection strategy that deploys the notorious GhostWeaver RAT. Some PyPI packages are doing more than importing functions. Researchers uncovered seven malicious Python packages under the “Coffin” naming scheme, using Gmail’s SMTP service as a stealthy C2 channel. Ransomware groups aren’t always the ones breaking the door open. Researchers have uncovered ToyMaker, an initial access broker selling network entry to ransomware groups. Using a custom malware strain called LAGTOY, ToyMaker establishes reverse shells and executes commands on compromised systems. New vulnerabilities in Apple’s AirPlay protocol, collectively dubbed AirBorne, expose billions of devices to remote code execution without user interaction. Sharp and TX stealers are back, donning a new cloak - named Hannibal Stealer. It is going after credentials from browsers, crypto wallets, FTP clients, and VPN apps. It even captures Discord tokens and Steam sessions.

Apr 25, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, April 21–25, 2025

AI security finally has a global playbook. ETSI has released TS 104 223, a first-of-its-kind technical specification outlining how to secure AI systems across their entire lifecycle - from design to decommissioning. MITRE’s latest update is catching up with the cloud. ATT&CK v17 expands the framework to include ESXi and adds more than 140 defensive analytics. Platform-specific data collection advice, improved mitigation mapping, and deeper coverage of mobile threats like SIM swaps round out the upgrade. An APT group with deep roots in Southeast Asia is quietly siphoning data through everyday cloud platforms. Earth Kurma has been active since late 2020, targeting government and telecom entities across the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia. Signal and WhatsApp are the new frontline for cloud compromise. Russian actors are running OAuth phishing campaigns against Microsoft 365 users tied to Ukraine and human rights work. A forged email that passes every security check - that’s the new phishing trick. Attackers are using DKIM replay tactics to forward legitimate Google security alerts to unsuspecting victims. It starts with a fake sales order and ends with FormBook silently stealing your data. A recent phishing campaign has been abusing a long-patched Microsoft flaw to deliver a fileless variant of the malware. Docker containers aren’t always what they seem. A new threat named TenoBot is targeting systems running outdated Teneo Web3 node software, deploying malicious containers to hijack environments. A stealthy new RAT is slipping through Ivanti Connect Secure devices in Japan. Dubbed DslogdRAT, the malware exploits a zero-day flaw to execute commands via web shell and quietly exfiltrate data using encoded C2 traffic.

Apr 18, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, April 14–18, 2025

The U.S. is drawing a hard line on data outflows. The DOJ’s new Data Security Program aims to block foreign adversaries, specifically nations like China and Russia, from acquiring sensitive American data through commercial channels. SSL certificates are about to expire a lot faster. In a move to tighten digital trust, the CA/Browser Forum has approved a gradual reduction in certificate lifespans - from the current 398 days to just 47 by 2029. One email, three stages, and no files to catch. Agent Tesla is being deployed through spam campaigns that use archive attachments with embedded JavaScript. They look like browser helpers, but they act like spyware. A set of 57 Chrome extensions have been found snooping on users. XorDDoS is now compromising Docker servers and deploying new features tied to a “VIP” variant. Most of the recent activity is hitting U.S. infrastructure. UNC5174 is keeping a low profile, but its targets aren’t. Active since late 2024, the Chinese state-linked group has been compromising Linux systems using a malicious bash script that drops SNOWLIGHT malware and a fileless VShell RAT. A wine-tasting invite with a side of malware. APT29, the Russian state-aligned group, is targeting European diplomatic networks with phishing lures disguised as event announcements.

Apr 11, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, April 07–11, 2025

The U.K. government rolled out a Cyber Governance Code of Practice aimed at directors and board members, not just CISOs. Backed by the NCSC and other national bodies, the code includes practical actions, modular training, and a board-level toolkit. Startups building the future of cyber defense are getting serious backing. The British Business Bank has committed most of a £50 million fund to Osney Capital, which will invest in early-stage cybersecurity companies across the U.K. A torrent download might be doing more than delivering cracked software. A campaign has been distributing ViperSoftX to Korean users, likely run by Arabic-speaking threat actors. Invasive spyware campaigns are zeroing in on high-risk communities. MOONSHINE and BADBAZAAR are being deployed through trojanized mobile apps to surveil Uyghur, Tibetan, and Taiwanese individuals, as well as civil society groups. Search for QuickBooks during tax season, and you might land on a trap. Threat actors are placing deceptive Google Ads that link to phishing pages almost identical to the real QuickBooks login portal. It starts with a PDF search and ends with malware on your machine. A new campaign is using fake CAPTCHAs and Cloudflare Turnstile to lure users into downloading LegionLoader. Seed phrases aren’t supposed to come from strangers. The PoisonSeed campaign is targeting crypto holders and enterprise users by compromising bulk email services. Victims are lured with fake wallet setup instructions that embed attacker-controlled recovery phrases - giving threat actors full access once the wallets are used. A Chinese-linked threat group, ToddyCat, has been exploiting a security vulnerability in ESET's software to deliver a new malware, TCESB, in Asia.