Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence - October 31–04

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence - October 31–04 - Featured Image

Weekly Threat Briefing • November 4, 2022

The Good

In an effort to improve the cybersecurity capabilities of ICS, the U.S. Department of Energy has allocated a sum of $15 million to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). The amount will be used to improve the detection process and deploy cyber monitoring tools. In another development, the CISA along with the FBI and the MS-ISAC have issued a joint advisory containing recommended procedures to reduce the likelihood and impact of DDoS attacks.

  • The NCSC has started a new project in an effort to boost cybersecurity at the national level. As a part of the project, networked systems throughout the U.K will be scanned at regular intervals to detect vulnerabilities. The idea is to collect data to quantify risk exposure and respond to threats at the earliest.

  • The U.S. Department of Energy awarded a sum of $15 million to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) to help electric cooperatives expand their cybersecurity capabilities for ICS. The amount will be used to improve the detection process and deploy cyber monitoring tools.

  • The CISA, alongside the FBI and the MS-ISAC issued a joint advisory to inform organizations about DDoS attacks. It also includes recommendations to reduce the likelihood and impacts of such attacks.

The Bad

New threat actor groups were reported this week for stealthily launching cyberattacks across the globe. One of them is tracked as OPERA1ER that has been wreaking havoc worldwide for the past three years and has stolen more than $30 million from organizations in 15 different countries. The other group named Crimson Kingsnake has been linked with a new BEC attack targeting well-known international law firms. Researchers also reported a jump in the sale of stolen credentials and illegal access to organizations’ networks on the dark web.

  • File-sharing and file synchronization service Dropbox disclosed a phishing attack that enabled a threat actor to compromise the GitHub accounts of one of its employees. The attacker gained access to repositories that stored API keys and the personal information of some of its employees.
  • Ransomware payments had substantially increased in 2021 when compared to 2020, according to a report from Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) unit. A total of $1.2 billion was amassed by the ransomware gangs, with 75% of them located in Russia.
  • Researchers identified a flaw in PayPal's invoicing service that allows phishing gangs to send legitimate invoices for products/services that have not been purchased. This, in turn, tricks PayPal into acting on the scammers’ behalf and sending phishing emails to unsuspecting users.
  • According to a new report, access to around 576 corporate networks worldwide for a total cumulative price of $4 million is being sold on underground forums. Cybercriminals purchasing access to these networks can launch credential theft or ransomware attacks. The top targeted organizations include those in the manufacturing and professional services sectors.
  • A French-speaking cybercrime group tracked as OPERA1ER has been wreaking havoc worldwide for four years, between 2019 and 2021. It has been held responsible for 35 intrusions at different organizations across 15 countries, with most of the attacks targeting African banks. The group is suspected to have stolen more than $30 million.
  • Education tech giant Chegg is under fire for failing to report its 40 million users and employees about four data breaches that occurred in the past four years. As per the FTC, the compromised data include Social Security numbers, financial details, dates of birth, and medical information of individuals.
  • Valuable sets of stolen credentials that can be used for credential-stuffing attacks have been put on sale on underground forums. Each database can include millions of credentials and is sold at prices of up to $120,000. The primary reason for the boost in the sale of stolen credentials is due to many websites failing to comply with recommended security policies and storing passwords in plain text.
  • A cybercrime group named Crimson Kingsnake has emerged in a new BEC attack targeting well-known international law firms. The targeted firms include Allen & Overy, Deloitte, Dentons, Herbert Smith Freehills, and Lindsay Hart, among others. The threat actors impersonate lawyers sending invoices for overdue payment of services.
  • Deribit, a crypto derivatives platform, confirmed that a hacker stole $28 million from its hot wallets. As a safety measure, the firm temporarily halted the withdrawals and quarantined BTC, ETH, and USDC hot wallets.
  • An ElasticSearch database, belonging to Amazon, was found leaking 215 million records of pseudonymized viewing data. Dubbed Sauron, the database contained Prime Video viewing habits.

New Threats

In new threats surfaced this week, a destructive data wiper named Azov Ransomware was observed infecting computers that were previously compromised by SmokeLoader malware. The SocGholish malware was used in a cyberespionage attack to cripple U.S. news sites. The Emotet botnet has also been spotted in the wild spamming users' email addresses.

  • The China-based Cicada hacking group, aka APT10, was observed using a new version of LODEINFO backdoor malware to infect Japanese organizations. The malware was distributed by abusing security software. It uses the XOR algorithm as part of its evasion techniques. The targeted entities include media groups, diplomatic agencies, and think tanks in Japan.
  • Akamai researchers said that they tracked 299 unique phishing toolkits being used in the wild in the third quarter of 2022. Some of the top targeted organizations were Adobe and M&T Bank.
  • SocGholish (aka FakeUpdates) malware framework was used in a new campaign targeting U.S. news sites. The attack is attributed to the TA569 threat actor group which delivered the malicious payload to over 250 regional and national newspaper sites.
  • A new clipboard stealer called Clipper, capable of imitating cryptocurrency wallet addresses, is being sold at a price of $549 for a year. Researchers have spotted the use of the malware in the wild, with 55 attacks in a month. It is distributed via Smoke Loader and Raccon Stealer 2.0.
  • A new destructive data-wiping malware called Azov Ransomware has been found infecting computers worldwide. Evidence reveals that the malware is deployed on computers that were previously infected with Smoke Loader.
  • Malwarebytes Labs spotted a new set of malicious apps on the Google Play Store, infected with trojans. The four apps collectively amassed at least a million downloads. Tracked as Bluetooth Auto Connect; Driver: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB; Bluetooth App Sender; and Mobile transfer: smart switch, these apps were used to steal information from devices.
  • SentinelLabs researchers linked the Black Basta ransomware operations to the FIN7 cybercrime cartel. The connection is based on the analysis of custom tools, including EDR evasions tools, used by the groups.
  • A relatively new phishing toolkit, dubbed Robin Banks, was discovered in a new large-scale campaign that targeted victims to steal their Microsoft account credentials and financial information pertaining to Citibank.
  • Emotet botnet is back in a new phishing email campaign that uses malicious Excel and Word documents. When users open these documents and enable macros, Emotet is downloaded and gets loaded into memory.
  • Threat actors are using a new spyware, named SandStrike, against the Persian-speaking practitioners of the Bahá'í faith. The malware is propagated via a malicious VPN app for Android users.

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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

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Apr 25, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, April 21–25, 2025

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Apr 18, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, April 14–18, 2025

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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.

Apr 4, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, March 31–April 04, 2025

The EU is putting serious weight behind its digital ambitions. A €1.3 billion investment will fund cybersecurity and AI initiatives across the bloc from 2025 to 2027. Projects include the rollout of the EU Digital Identity Wallet, AI development hubs, and efforts to harden critical infrastructure. Canada’s privacy watchdog is giving organizations a way to think before they panic. A new online tool helps assess the risk of significant harm after a data breach, guiding users through questions about the sensitivity of exposed data and its potential misuse.

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 28, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, February 24–28, 2025

Stay ahead of cyber threats with the latest on the Vo1d botnet infecting Android TVs, GitVenom malware on GitHub, Redox Stealer, LCRYX ransomware, and a critical WordPress XSS vulnerability. Plus, insights on Lotus Blossom cyber espionage, PolarEdge malware targeting routers, Chrome extension hijacks, and PayPal phishing scams. Get the full security briefing now!

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.