Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, November 11 - 15, 2019

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, November 11 - 15, 2019 - Featured Image

Weekly Threat Briefing November 15, 2019

The Good

Another week has almost come to an end, and it was quite a busy one in cyberspace. Let’s review the cybersecurity highlights of this week, starting with the positive developments. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service plans to launch a cyber safety campaign called ‘National Tax Security Awareness Week 2019’ that coincides with the year’s busiest online shopping period. The U.S. Air Force plans to launch a cybersecurity program called ‘Infrastructure Asset Pre-Assessment program’ to rate the cybersecurity of commercial satellite communication companies. Meanwhile, MITRE has launched a tech foundation called ‘Engenuity’ that will focus on cyber defense research and development.

  • The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is planning to launch a cyber safety campaign that coincides with the year’s busiest online shopping period. Named ‘National Tax Security Awareness Week 2019’, the campaign is set to run from December 2 through December 6. YouTube videos that educate shoppers are said to form an important part of the campaign.

  • The U.S. Air Force is planning to launch a cybersecurity program called ‘Infrastructure Asset Pre-Assessment program’ for satellite communication companies to streamline pre-assessment procedures for contractors. According to this program, satellite communication providers must undergo assessments to ensure that they meet the National Institute of Standards and Technology regulations.

  • MITRE has launched a foundation called Engenuity that will focus on collaborative research and development for cyber defense. It will boost MITRE’s ATT&CK knowledge base and invest in areas including encryption solutions. The foundation’s first initiative, Center for Threat-Informed Defense, brings together participants from several security teams to boost cyber defense.

  • The state of Massachusetts announced a new cybersecurity initiative to help its municipalities improve their cyber resilience. This program will be managed by MassCyberCenter and is backed by $300,000 in funding. Statewide workshops will be conducted to equip municipalities with tools to develop or review their cyber incident response plans.

  • GitHub has launched ‘Security Lab’, a new community program that brings together researchers from several organizations to find and fix bugs in popular open-source projects. Founding members of this program include security researchers from several organizations including Microsoft, Google, and Intel. The founding members have reportedly discovered, reported, helped patch more than 100 bugs.

  • The Global Cyber Security Center has developed a new tool called ‘CERTrating’ to evaluate the maturity level of Computer and Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) and services provided to their constituencies. This tool is based on the capability maturity model designed by ENISA (European Union Agency for Cybersecurity) for CERTs. The tool is said to be made available in a short period of time.

The Bad

Several cyberattacks and breaches were reported this week. Two DDoS attacks within a span of 24 hours hit the U.K. Labour Party. Around 93,000 patient files belonging to three facilities managed by Sunshine Behavioral Health were exposed by an unsecured database. Meanwhile, hosting provider SmartASP suffered a ransomware attack that encrypted all customer data.

  • The U.K. Labour Party was hit by two cyberattacks in 24 hours. Both of the attacks are said to be distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks and the party said that no data breach occurred. It is not clear if the same hackers were behind both attacks.

  • A misconfigured AWS S3 storage bucket exposed around 93,000 files with patient information of three drug and alcohol addiction facilities managed by California-based Sunshine Behavioral Health. The exposed data includes names, physical and email addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers, CVV codes, payment card numbers, and health insurance information. The database has been made private now.

  • SmarterASP, a major hosting provider, was hit by a ransomware attack. Apart from encrypting customer data, the attack also caused downtime for the company’s website. The company said that it was working with security experts to decrypt the data.

  • Action sports firm Boardriders suffered a ransomware attack that impacted its subsidiaries QuikSilver and Billabong. The attack caused Boardriders to shut down its computing systems across the world. The firm said it was working to restore normal operations.

  • Delta Dental of Arizona disclosed a data incident that involved unauthorized access to an employee’s email account. The access is believed to be gained after a successful phishing campaign. The potentially compromised information includes names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, addresses, and dental insurance information, among others.

  • Vermont-based retailer Orvis exposed hundreds of internal credentials of online services and security products on Pastebin. The company said that most of the credentials had expired and that they were investigating the incident. The credentials were reportedly exposed for several weeks last month.

  • Internet security software firm ZoneAlarm, owned by Check Point Technologies, suffered a data breach that impacted its forum discussion users. The hackers exploited a vBulletin security flaw to gain unauthorized access. The potentially compromised information includes names, email addresses, dates of birth, and hashed passwords.

  • Mexican state oil firm Pemex fell victim to a ransomware attack that impacted its computer servers. The company said that oil production and storage were not affected. Hackers have demanded about $5 million in bitcoin as ransom.

  • Connecticut-based Starling Physicians announced that it fell victim to a data breach involving a cyber-phishing attack on February 8, 2019. The compromised patient information includes names, dates of birth, addresses, Social Security numbers, passport numbers, medical information, and billing information or health insurance.

  • Utah-based InfoTrax Systems was reportedly breached 20 times between May 2014 and March 2016. But the company detected the breach only when its servers ran out of storage capacity because of a data archive file the hacker created. The FTC released a proposed settlement that calls for several security measures.

New Threats

This week witnessed the emergence of multiple vulnerabilities and malware strains. ZombieLoad v2, a new version of the side-channel attack impacting Intel processors was reported. A new phishing campaign involving fake sexual harassment complaints was spotted delivering the TrickBot Trojan. In other news, the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) has warned businesses and netizens against a new wave of Emotet and BlueKeep attacks.

  • A new version of the ZombieLoad side-channel attack impacting Intel processors was reported. Tracked as CVE-2019-11135, the ZombieLoad v2 exploits the Transactional Synchronization Extensions (TSX) Asynchronous Abort operation in Intel processors. Intel has rolled out patches and vendors have started issuing guidance for customers.
  • The infamous TrickBot Trojan was spotted in a new spear-phishing campaign. The campaign sends fake sexual harassment complaints that appear to be from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The threat actors are said to be using names, company names, job titles, and phone numbers of victims in the email to make it appear legitimate.
  • The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) has warned businesses and netizens of Emotet and BlueKeep attacks. Tracked as CVE-2019-0708, BlueKeep vulnerability affects older Windows OS versions including Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows XP, Server 2003 and Server 2008 said the ACSC advisory.
  • Researchers have reported an increase in Wordpress infections involving the WP-VCD backdoor malware. This malware is known for enabling black hat SEO and malvertising activities. It is said to be distributed through malicious plugins or themes or downloads from unofficial third-party sites.
  • The Sodinokibi ransomware is being distributed by a new malvertising campaign being used on low-quality web games and blogs. The campaign redirects victims to a RIG Exploit Kit that installs the malware. Internet Explorer users in Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, and other Asian countries are targeted by this campaign.
  • A Facebook bug that allows the application to access the user’s iPhone camera when the user is accessing the News Feed has been reported. This bug, that affects the latest iOS app version, was confirmed by Facebook. The social media giant said that it would submit patches to Apple.
  • A new ransomware strain dubbed AnteFrigus that targets only the drives that are associated with removable devices and mapped network drives has been identified. This ransomware strangely does not encrypt any files on the C: drive, and researchers speculate that this may be a bug and not the intended behavior. It is distributed by malvertising campaigns that redirect users to the RIG exploit kit.
  • A code execution vulnerability that affects all editions of the McAfee software has been disclosed by researchers. Known as CVE-2019-3648, this vulnerability bypasses McAfee’s self-defense mechanisms. To exploit this flaw, an attacker required administrative privileges.
  • Critical security bugs were patched by Adobe this week. These bugs reportedly allowed remote code execution, privilege escalation, and unauthorized access to systems running unpatched versions of Bridge CC, Animator CC, Illustrator, and Media Encoder versions.
  • A new ransomware strain dubbed PureLocker has been detected. This malware is written in PureBasic and linked to a Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS) provider that has been used by Cobalt Gang and FIN6 threat groups. The malware is believed to have evaded detection for months using several methods and features.
  • A new JavaScript payment card-skimmer named Pipka has been found to have infected at least 16 e-commerce websites so far. This malware has been observed to evade detection by removing itself from the HTML code of a compromised website after successful execution. Security experts say that this malware can steal cardholder numbers, payment card account numbers, expiration dates, CVV numbers, and other sensitive data.

Related Threat Briefings

May 9, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, May 05–09, 2025

Another blow to DDoS-for-hire networks. Europol has shut down six services used to launch global cyberattacks, arresting suspects in Poland and seizing domains in the U.S. The UN has launched a new framework to help policymakers make sense of cyber intrusions. Called UNIDIR Intrusion Path, it complements models like MITRE ATT&CK but simplifies the technical details. It breaks down attacker activity into three layers, making it easier to evaluate threats in a policy context. Old routers are becoming cybercrime goldmines. The FBI has warned that end-of-life routers are being hijacked with malware like TheMoon and sold on proxy networks such as 5Socks and Anyproxy. These compromised devices are used for crypto theft, cybercrime-as-a-service, and even espionage. Crypto users on Discord are the latest targets of a phishing campaign tied to Inferno Drainer. Attackers were found impersonating the Collab.Land bot to trick users into signing malicious transactions. The Play ransomware group has joined the list of actors exploiting CVE-2025-29824. This Windows zero-day in the CLFS driver enables privilege escalation via a race condition during file operations. Linked to the Balloonfly group, the attacks targeted a U.S. organization and included deployment of the Grixba infostealer. COLDRIVER’s latest malware, LOSTKEYS, is now in play. The Russian state-backed group is deploying this tool to steal files and system data from advisors, journalists, NGOs, and individuals linked to Ukraine. Agenda’s playbook just got upgraded. The ransomware group has added two new tools: SmokeLoader and a stealthy .NET-based loader called NETXLOADER. The latter leverages techniques like JIT hooking and AES decryption to deploy ransomware. Corporate HR teams are the latest target in a spear-phishing spree by Venom Spider. Disguised as job applications, these emails deliver More_eggs backdoor, now upgraded with advanced features.

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 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.

Mar 28, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, March 24–28, 2025

The U.K’s NCSC is putting domain abuse in its crosshairs. New guidance targets registrars with a push to curb malicious domain registrations and hijacks. The recommendations focus on tightening security at registration, offering enhanced protections to customers, and more. Europe is getting serious about the quantum future. ETSI has rolled out a new quantum-safe encryption standard featuring Covercrypt, a novel key encapsulation scheme with built-in access controls. By tying decryption permissions to user attributes, Covercrypt delivers speed and post-quantum security. Medusa isn’t just encrypting files, it’s dismantling defenses first. The RaaS has been leveraging a malicious driver called ABYSSWORKER in BYOVD attacks to disable endpoint protections. FamousSparrow has returned with new tools and a familiar agenda. The Chinese APT group was behind a July 2024 attack targeting a U.S. trade group and a Mexican research institute, deploying a web shell on an IIS server to drop SparrowDoor and ShadowPad. A supply chain attack snuck through npm by modifying what developers thought they could trust. Threat actors used two packages to inject malware into the widely used ethers library. Lucid isn’t just phishing - it’s engineering trust through your inbox. This advanced PhaaS platform weaponizes the built-in features of iMessage and RCS to create hyper-realistic scams. Known for years of corporate espionage, RedCurl has shifted gears with a new ransomware called QWCrypt. The malware was found in a North American network, targeting hypervisors for maximum disruption. PlayBoy Locker is offering ransomware with a user manual and tech support. The newly investigated RaaS platform operates on an affiliate model and comes packed with features. Targeting Windows, NAS, and ESXi systems, it moves laterally using LDAP scans and abuses Restart Manager DLLs to shut down active processes before encryption.

Mar 21, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, March 17–21, 2025

The race to outpace quantum threats is officially on. The NCSC has issued guidance to help organizations transition to post-quantum cryptography by 2035, with a focus on NIST-approved algorithms and planned support for critical sectors. A nationwide fraud crackdown ends with hundreds behind bars. Operation Henhouse led to 422 arrests and the seizure of millions in assets, as U.K. police target the country’s most widespread and costly crime - fraud. A threat actor briefly exposed their entire playbook. Researchers found a public server hosting tools tied to a campaign targeting South Korea, including a Rust-compiled payload delivering Cobalt Strike Cat and a list of over 1,000 potential targets. Phishing messages on Signal are leading to full system compromise. CERT-UA warns of DarkCrystal RAT attacks targeting Ukraine’s defense sector, using fake contacts and malicious files to trick victims into executing spyware. Ransomware slipped into VSCode under the radar. Two malicious extensions were discovered on the VSCode Marketplace, bypassing checks to deliver test-stage ransomware demanding ShibaCoin for decryption. Fake ads are being weaponized to steal Google credentials. A campaign targeting Semrush users is redirecting victims to spoofed login pages, where attackers harvest Google account logins through a fake “Log in with Google” prompt. A fake browser update could cost you more than a few clicks. A new ClearFake campaign is using fake reCAPTCHA and Turnstile pages to deliver malware like Lumma and Vidar Stealer, with payloads fetched through Binance’s Smart Chain. Hackers are quietly poisoning AI-generated code. A new supply chain attack targets AI editors like Copilot and Cursor, exploiting rules files to inject malicious prompts that trick the tools into writing compromised code.

Mar 14, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, March 10–14, 2025

A Russian hosting provider is feeling the heat from global sanctions. Australia, the U.K., and the U.S. have sanctioned Zservers, a bulletproof hosting provider linked to ransomware and fraud, freezing its assets and restricting operations. Switzerland is tightening its grip on cyber incident reporting. Starting April 1, critical infrastructure operatorsmust report cyberattacks to the NCSC within 24 hours, reinforcing national cybersecurity defenses. Cybercriminals are upgrading their toolkit for long-term access. Ragnar Loader is being leveraged by ransomware groups like FIN7, FIN8, and Ragnar Locker, evolving into a stealthier and more modular malware for persistent system compromise. Chinese hackers are slipping past defenses in Juniper routers. The UNC3886 threat group is backdooring older Juniper MX routers, bypassing security protections and embedding custom TinyShell malware to maintain access. North Korean hackers are adding ransomware to their arsenal. Moonstone Sleet (Storm-1789) is deploying Qilin ransomware, using fake companies and trojanized tools to infiltrate targets through LinkedIn and freelance platforms. A botnet is turning home routers into attack platforms. The Ballista botnet is exploiting an unpatched TP-Link Archer router flaw (CVE-2023-1389) to spread stealthily, using Tor domains and remote command execution to launch DDoS attacks worldwide. Copy, paste, and lose your crypto. MassJacker hijacks clipboard transactions, swapping wallet addresses with attacker-controlled ones, stealing funds from victims who unknowingly send money to the wrong destination. A fake CAPTCHA is all it takes to get root access. The OBSCURE#BAT campaign is using social engineering tactics to install the r77 rootkit, bypassing defenses and targeting English-speaking users with stealthy, persistent malware.

Mar 7, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, March 03–07, 2025

The code caves of GitHub just got a cleanup crew courtesy of Microsoft. A sprawling malvertising campaign that snagged nearly a million devices worldwide has been knocked down a peg. Cheap Android gadgets are getting a breather from a relentless digital pest. The BadBox 2.0 botnet, a souped-up sequel backed by multiple threat crews, saw 24 shady apps booted from Google Play and half a million infected devices cut off from their puppet masters, thanks to some crafty sinkholing and Google’s cleanup sweep. A sneaky gatecrasher has turned WordPress into a redirect rollercoaster. A malicious JavaScript injection lurking in a theme file has snagged at least 31 sites, pulling visitors through a two-step detour to shady third-party domains. Japan’s digital defenses are under siege from a shadowy crew with a taste for chaos. Since January, unknown threat actors have been prying open organizations in tech, telecom, entertainment, and more, exploiting CVE-2024-4577 in PHP-CGI on Windows. Crooks posing as the Electronic Frontier Foundation are targeting Albion Online players with phishing emails and fake PDFs, claiming account trouble. It’s a ruse to drop Stealc malware and Pyramid C2. A fresh face in the cybercrime underworld is juggling a bag of nasty surprises. EncryptHub is hitting users of QQ Talk, WeChat, Google Meet, and more with trojanized apps and slick multi-stage attacks. The Eleven11bot botnet, loosely tied to Iran, has taken over 86,000 IoT devices to slam telecoms and gaming servers with relentless DDoS barrages. Social media’s sunny side has a dark shadow creeping across the Middle East and North Africa. Since September 2024, Desert Dexter has been slinging a tweaked AsyncRAT via legit file-sharing sites and Telegram. For detailed Cyber Threat Intel, click ‘Read More’.

Feb 21, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, February 17–21, 2025

Google is stepping up its defenses against the quantum threat. The company is rolling out quantum-resistant digital signatures in Cloud KMS, following NIST’s post-quantum cryptography standards. Supply chain attacks just got harder to pull off. Apiiro has released two open-source tools to detect malicious code in software projects. With high detection rates across PyPI and npm packages, these tools add a crucial layer of security for developers. China’s Salt Typhoon is making itself at home in global telecom networks. The group has been caught using JumbledPath, a custom-built spying tool, to infiltrate ISPs in the U.S., Italy, South Africa, and Thailand. ShadowPad malware is once again causing havoc in Europe. Trend Micro flagged 21 targeted companies across 15 countries, with manufacturing firms bearing the brunt. A RAT is hiding in plain sight. SectopRAT has been spotted disguised as a fake Google Docs Chrome extension. It steals browser data, targets VPNs and cryptocurrency wallets, and injects malicious scripts into web pages. Darcula Suite is taking PhaaS to the next level. The upcoming update, currently in beta, will let users generate their own phishing kits by cloning real websites and customizing attack elements. A new payment card skimming campaign is turning Stripe’s old API into a weapon. Hackers are injecting malicious scripts into checkout pages, validating stolen card details through Stripe before exfiltration. LummaC2 is spreading through cracked software downloads again. ASEC found it disguised as a pirated Total Commander installer, hiding behind Google Collab Drive and Reddit links.