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Tag: actor

Sophos uncovers AI-powered malware lab built for EDR evasion

A threat actor used AI technologies to build a malware-testing framework for developing and refining endpoint detection and response (EDR) evasion techniques, according to Sophos. The investigation began after an anomalous endpoint in a customer environment triggered alerts tied to malicious payloads originating from a testing directory. The files pointed to a broader framework focused…

Attackers Use LLM Agent for Post-Exploitation After Marimo CVE-2026-39987 Exploit

An unknown threat actor has been observed using a large language model (LLM) agent to conduct post-compromise actions after obtaining initial access following the exploitation of a publicly-accessible Marimo network using a recently disclosed vulnerability. “The attacker compromised an internet-reachable Marimo notebook via CVE-2026-39987, extracted two cloud credentials from the compromised

New Russian-Linked GREYVIBE Targets Ukraine with AI-Powered Cyberattacks

A previously undocumented threat actor dubbed GREYVIBE has been attributed to ongoing and persistent attacks targeting Ukraine and Ukraine-related entities since at least August 2025. GREYVIBE, per WithSecure, is assessed to be a Russian-speaking group operating broadly in the Russian time zone, with the activities aligning with Kremlin state interests, specifically when it comes to

JINX-0164 Targets Cryptocurrency Firms with Fake Recruiter Lures and macOS Malware

A new campaign orchestrated by a previously undocumented threat actor has targeted cryptocurrency organizations with an aim to facilitate digital asset theft using recruitment-themed social engineering and bespoke macOS malware. “These campaigns leveraged sophisticated social engineering techniques, custom macOS malware, and deep targeting of CI/CD infrastructure,” Wiz researchers Shira Ayal,

Iranian Hackers Deploy MiniFast and MiniJunk V2 via Phishing and SEO Poisoning

The Iranian state-sponsored threat actor known as Nimbus Manticore (aka Screening Serpens and UNC1549) has been attributed to a fresh campaign using lures impersonating organizations in the aviation and software sectors across the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East following the joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign against the country in late February 2026. The activity, besides…

Ghostwriter Targets Ukraine Government Entities with Prometheus Phishing Malware

The Belarus-aligned threat actor known as Ghostwriter (aka UAC-0057 and UNC1151Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council) has been observed using lures related to Prometheus, a Ukrainian online learning platform, to target government organizations in the country. The activity, per the Computer Emergency Response Team of Ukraine (CERT-UA), involves sending phishing emails to government

Webworm Deploys EchoCreep and GraphWorm Backdoors Using Discord and MS Graph API

Cybersecurity researchers have flagged fresh activity from a China-aligned threat actor known as Webworm in 2025, deploying custom backdoors that employ Discord and Microsoft Graph API for command-and-control (C2 or C&C) communications. Webworm, first publicly documented by Broadcom-owned Symantec in September 2022, is assessed to be active since at least 2022, targeting government agencies

Attackers accessed, downloaded code from Grafana Labs’ GitHub

A threat actor has managed to access Grafana Labs’ GitHub environment and download the company’s codebase, the open-source observability and data visualization firm announced on Sunday. The breach is significant given Grafana Labs’ widespread use across enterprise engineering and DevOps teams worldwide. Grafana Labs is best known for its open-source dashboard and visualization platform, but…

Azerbaijani Energy Firm Hit by Repeated Microsoft Exchange Exploitation

A threat actor with affiliations to China has been linked to a “multi-wave intrusion” targeting an unnamed Azerbaijani oil and gas company between late December 2025 and late February 2026, marking an expansion of its targeting. The activity has been attributed by Bitdefender with moderate-to-high confidence to a hacking group known as FamousSparrow (aka UAT-9244),…

Mini Shai-Hulud Worm Compromises TanStack, Mistral AI, Guardrails AI & More Packages

TeamPCP, the threat actor behind the recent supply chain attack spree, has been linked to the compromise of the npm and PyPI packages from TanStack, UiPath, Mistral AI, OpenSearch, and Guardrails AI as part of a fresh Mini Shai-Hulud campaign. The affected npm packages have been modified to include an obfuscated JavaScript file (“router_init.js”) that’s designed…

cPanel CVE-2026-41940 Under Active Exploitation to Deploy Filemanager Backdoor

A threat actor named Mr_Rot13 has been attributed to the exploitation of a recently disclosed critical cPanel flaw to deploy a backdoor codenamed Filemanager on compromised environments. The attack exploits CVE-2026-41940, a vulnerability impacting cPanel and WebHost Manager (WHM) that could result in an authentication bypass and allow remote attackers to gain elevated control of…

Critical cPanel Vulnerability Weaponized to Target Government and MSP Networks

A previously unknown threat actor has been observed targeting government and military entities in Southeast Asia, alongside a smaller cluster of managed service providers (MSPs) and hosting providers in the Philippines, Laos, Canada, South Africa, and the U.S., by exploiting the recently disclosed vulnerability in cPanel. The activity, detected by Ctrl-Alt-Intel on May 2, 2026,…

More fake extensions linked to GlassWorm found in Open VSX code marketplace

The threat actor seeding the Open VSX code marketplace with fraudulent extensions that download the GlassWorm malware has uploaded 73 more impersonated links, as its attempt to infect software supply chains continues. Philipp Burckhardt, head of threat intelligence at Socket, which revealed the latest activity, called it a “significant escalation” in the gang’s activity, after…

ShinyHunters Claims Udemy Data Breach of 1.4M Users 

A notorious threat actor group has targeted Udemy, one of the world’s largest online learning platforms.  ShinyHunters claims it has stolen more than 1.4 million user records and is threatening to leak the data within days.  “Over 1.4M records containing PII and other internal corporate data have been compromised. Pay or Leak,” the threat actors…

Harvester Deploys Linux GoGra Backdoor in South Asia Using Microsoft Graph API

The threat actor known as Harvester has been attributed to a new Linux version of its GoGra backdoor deployed as part of attacks likely targeting entities in South Asia. “The malware uses the legitimate Microsoft Graph API and Outlook mailboxes as a covert command-and-control (C2) channel, allowing it to bypass traditional perimeter network defenses,” the…

Why the Axios attack proves AI is mandatory for supply chain security

Two weeks ago, a suspected North Korean threat actor slipped malicious code into a package within Axios, a widely used JavaScript library. The immediate concern was the blast radius: roughly 100 million weekly downloads spanning enterprises, startups, and government systems. But beyond the sheer scale, the attack’s speed was just as worrisome – a stark…

Cargo theft malware actor spent a month inside a decoy network before researchers pulled the plug

Proofpoint researchers executed a malicious payload from a threat actor known to target trucking and logistics companies in late February 2026, doing so inside a decoy environment. The environment stayed compromised for more than 30 days, long enough for researchers to watch the actor work through their tools, scripts, and decisions beyond the initial break-in.…

Bitter-Linked Hack-for-Hire Campaign Targets Journalists Across MENA Region

An apparent hack-for-hire campaign likely orchestrated by a threat actor with suspected ties to the Indian government targeted journalists, activists, and government officials across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), according to findings from Access Now, Lookout, and SMEX. Two of the targets included prominent Egyptian journalists and government critics, Mostafa

APT28 Deploys PRISMEX Malware in Campaign Targeting Ukraine and NATO Allies

The Russian threat actor known as APT28 (aka Forest Blizzard and Pawn Storm) has been linked to a fresh spear-phishing campaign targeting Ukraine and its allies to deploy a previously undocumented malware suite codenamed PRISMEX. “PRISMEX combines advanced steganography, component object model (COM) hijacking, and legitimate cloud service abuse for command-and-control,” Trend Micro

Forest Blizzard leverages router compromises to launch AiTM attacks, target Outlook sessions

Russian threat actor Forest Blizzard has been exploiting unsecured home and small-office internet equipment, such as routers, to redirect traffic through attacker-controlled DNS servers. The group has leveraged this DNS hijacking activity to support post-compromise adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) attacks on Transport Layer Security (TLS) connections, targeting Microsoft Outlook on the web domains, according to a Microsoft…

Forest Blizzard leverages router compromises to launch AiTM attacks, target Outlook sessions

Russian threat actor Forest Blizzard has been exploiting unsecured home and small-office internet equipment, such as routers, to redirect traffic through attacker-controlled DNS servers. The group has leveraged this DNS hijacking activity to support post-compromise adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) attacks on Transport Layer Security (TLS) connections, targeting Microsoft Outlook on the web domains, according to a Microsoft…

Russian State-Linked APT28 Exploits SOHO Routers in Global DNS Hijacking Campaign

The Russia-linked threat actor known as APT28 (aka Forest Blizzard) has been linked to a new campaign that has compromised insecure MikroTik and TP-Link routers and modified their settings to turn them into malicious infrastructure under their control as part of a cyber espionage campaign since at least May 2025. The large-scale exploitation campaign has been codenamed 

Fast-moving Storm-1175 uses new exploits to breach networks and drop Medusa

China-based actor Storm-1175 runs fast ransomware attacks, exploiting new flaws to breach systems and quickly deploy Medusa ransomware. China-based actor Storm-1175 carries out fast, financially driven ransomware attacks by exploiting newly disclosed vulnerabilities before organizations patch them. The group targets exposed systems and quickly moves from initial access to data theft and Medusa ransomware deployment,…

China-Linked Storm-1175 Exploits Zero-Days to Rapidly Deploy Medusa Ransomware

A China-based threat actor known for deploying Medusa ransomware has been linked to the weaponization of a combination of zero-day and N-day vulnerabilities to orchestrate “high-velocity” attacks and break into susceptible internet-facing systems. “The threat actor’s high operational tempo and proficiency in identifying exposed perimeter assets have proven successful, with recent

Iran-Linked Password-Spraying Campaign Targets 300+ Israeli Microsoft 365 Organizations

An Iran-nexus threat actor is suspected to be behind a password-spraying campaign targeting Microsoft 365 environments in Israel and the U.A.E. amid ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The activity, assessed to be ongoing, was carried out in three distinct attack waves that took place on March 3, March 13, and March 23, 2026, per Check Point. “The campaign is…

China-Linked TA416 Targets European Governments with PlugX and OAuth-Based Phishing

A China-aligned threat actor has set its sights on European government and diplomatic organizations since mid-2025, following a two-year period of minimal targeting in the region. The campaign has been attributed to TA416, a cluster of activity that overlaps with DarkPeony, RedDelta, Red Lich, SmugX, UNC6384, and Vertigo Panda. “This TA416 activity included multiple

China-Linked Red Menshen Uses Stealthy BPFDoor Implants to Spy via Telecom Networks

A long-term and ongoing campaign attributed to a China-nexus threat actor has embedded itself in telecom networks to conduct espionage against government networks. The strategic positioning activity, which involves implanting and maintaining stealthy access mechanisms within critical environments, has been attributed to Red Menshen, a threat cluster that’s also tracked as Earth Bluecrow,

TeamPCP Backdoors LiteLLM Versions 1.82.7–1.82.8 Likely via Trivy CI/CD Compromise

TeamPCP, the threat actor behind the recent compromises of Trivy and KICS, has now compromised a popular Python package named litellm, pushing two malicious versions containing a credential harvester, a Kubernetes lateral movement toolkit, and a persistent backdoor. Multiple security vendors, including Endor Labs and JFrog, revealed that litellm versions 1.82.7 and 1.82.8 were published…

Threat Actors Mass-Scan Salesforce Experience Cloud via Modified AuraInspector Tool

Salesforce has warned of an increase in threat actor activity that’s aimed at exploiting misconfigurations in publicly accessible Experience Cloud sites by making use of a customized version of an open-source tool called AuraInspector. The activity, per the company, involves the exploitation of customers’ overly permissive Experience Cloud guest user configurations to obtain access to…

Hacker abusing .arpa domain to evade phishing detection, says Infoblox

A threat actor has found a new way to evade phishing detection defenses: Manipulate the .arpa top-level domain (TLD) and IPv6-to-IPv4 tunneling to host phishing content on domains that shouldn’t resolve to an IP address.  For the uninitiated, the .arpa domain is an Address and Routing Parameter Area domain meant to be used exclusively for internet infrastructure…

UNC4899 Breached Crypto Firm After Developer AirDropped Trojanized File to Work Device

The North Korean threat actor known as UNC4899 is suspected to be behind a sophisticated cloud compromise campaign targeting a cryptocurrency organization in 2025 to steal millions of dollars in cryptocurrency. The activity has been attributed with moderate confidence to the state-sponsored adversary, which is also tracked under the cryptonyms Jade Sleet, PUKCHONG, Slow Pisces,…

Transparent Tribe Uses AI to Mass-Produce Malware Implants in Campaign Targeting India

The Pakistan-aligned threat actor known as Transparent Tribe has become the latest hacking group to embrace artificial intelligence (AI)-powered coding tools to strike targets with various implants. The activity is designed to produce a “high-volume, mediocre mass of implants” that are developed using lesser-known programming languages like Nim, Zig, and Crystal and rely on trusted…

China-Linked Hackers Use TernDoor, PeerTime, BruteEntry in South American Telecom Attacks

A China-linked advanced persistent threat (APT) actor has been targeting critical telecommunications infrastructure in South America since 2024, targeting Windows and Linux systems and edge devices with three different implants. The activity is being tracked by Cisco Talos under the moniker UAT-9244, describing it as closely associated with another cluster known as FamousSparrow. It’s worth

Dust Specter Targets Iraqi Officials with New SPLITDROP and GHOSTFORM Malware

A suspected Iran-nexus threat actor has been attributed to a campaign targeting government officials in Iraq by impersonating the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deliver a set of never-before-seen malware. Zscaler ThreatLabz, which observed the activity in January 2026, is tracking the cluster under the name Dust Specter. The attacks, which manifest in the…

Open-Source CyberStrikeAI Deployed in AI-Driven FortiGate Attacks Across 55 Countries

The threat actor behind the recently disclosed artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted campaign targeting Fortinet FortiGate appliances leveraged an open-source, AI-native security testing platform called CyberStrikeAI to execute the attacks. The new findings come from Team Cymru, which detected its use following an analysis of the IP address (“212.11.64[.]250”) that was used by the suspected

BYOVD Turns Trusted Drivers Against Windows Security

A growing number of great actor groups are quietly abusing legitimate Windows drivers to turn endpoint defenses against themselves.  Known as Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD), the technique allows attackers to load a digitally signed but flawed driver and exploit it to gain full kernel-level access.  Attackers “… load a legitimate, digitally signed, but…

ScarCruft Uses Zoho WorkDrive and USB Malware to Breach Air-Gapped Networks

The North Korean threat actor known as ScarCruft has been attributed to a fresh set of tools, including a backdoor that uses Zoho WorkDrive for command-and-control (C2) communications to fetch more payloads and an implant that uses removable media to relay commands and breach air-gapped networks. The campaign, codenamed Ruby Jumper by Zscaler ThreatLabz, involves…

Threat actor leveraged Cisco SD-WAN zero-day since 2023 (CVE-2026-20127)

A “highly sophisticated” cyber threat actor has been exploiting a zero-day authentication bypass vulnerability (CVE-2026-20127) in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller (formerly vSmart), Cisco has announced today. The vulnerability was reported by Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre, who said that once the vulnerability was exploited, “the malicious actors add[ed] a rogue peer, and eventually…

UAC-0050 Targets European Financial Institution With Spoofed Domain and RMS Malware

A Russia-aligned threat actor has been observed targeting a European financial institution as part of a social engineering attack to likely facilitate intelligence gathering or financial theft, signaling a possible expansion of the threat actor’s targeting beyond Ukraine and into entities supporting the war-torn nation. The activity, which targeted an unnamed entity involved in regional

APT28 Targeted European Entities Using Webhook-Based Macro Malware

The Russia-linked state-sponsored threat actor tracked as APT28 has been attributed to a new campaign targeting specific entities in Western and Central Europe. The activity, per S2 Grupo’s LAB52 threat intelligence team, was active between September 2025 and January 2026. It has been codenamed Operation MacroMaze. “The campaign relies on basic tooling and the exploitation…

AI-Assisted Threat Actor Compromises 600+ FortiGate Devices in 55 Countries

A Russian-speaking, financially motivated threat actor has been observed taking advantage of commercial generative artificial intelligence (AI) services to compromise over 600 FortiGate devices located in 55 countries. That’s according to new findings from Amazon Threat Intelligence, which said it observed the activity between January 11 and February 18, 2026. “No exploitation of FortiGate

New threat actor UAT-9921 deploys VoidLink against enterprise sectors

A new threat actor, UAT-9921, uses the modular VoidLink framework to target technology and financial organizations, Cisco Talos reports. Cisco Talos spotted a previously unknown threat actor, tracked as UAT-9921, using a new modular attack framework called VoidLink. The group targets organizations in the technology and financial services sectors. The flexible design of VoidLink suggests…

Google Ties Suspected Russian Actor to CANFAIL Malware Attacks on Ukrainian Orgs

A previously undocumented threat actor has been attributed to attacks targeting Ukrainian organizations with malware known as CANFAIL. Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) described the hack group as possibly affiliated with Russian intelligence services. The threat actor is assessed to have targeted defense, military, government, and energy organizations within the Ukrainian regional and

Hackers turn bossware against the bosses

A threat actor is abusing an employee monitoring application and a remote monitoring and management platform in an attempt to deploy ransomware and steal cryptocurrency. According to researchers at Huntress, the unknown threat actor is leveraging NetworkLookout’s Net Monitor for Employees Professional – which, despite its name, includes remote access tools – and SimpleHelp, a…

Hackers turn bossware against the bosses

A threat actor is abusing an employee monitoring application and a remote monitoring and management platform in an attempt to deploy ransomware and steal cryptocurrency. According to researchers at Huntress, the unknown threat actor is leveraging NetworkLookout’s Net Monitor for Employees Professional – which, despite its name, includes remote access tools – and SimpleHelp, a…

Google Reports State-Backed Hackers Using Gemini AI for Recon and Attack Support

Google on Thursday said it observed the North Korea-linked threat actor known as UNC2970 using its generative artificial intelligence (AI) model Gemini to conduct reconnaissance on its targets, as various hacking groups continue to weaponize the tool for accelerating various phases of the cyber attack life cycle, enabling information operations, and even conducting model extraction…

North Korean actors blend ClickFix with new macOS backdoors in Crypto campaign

A financially motivated threat actor tracked as UNC1609 is using a ClickFix-style social engineering campaign to deploy multiple macOS malware families against crypto-focused organizations. According to new research from Google Cloud’s Mandiant, the activity recently targeted an employee at a company operating in the cryptocurrency and decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. The researchers said that the…

North Korea-Linked UNC1069 Uses AI Lures to Attack Cryptocurrency Organizations

The North Korea-linked threat actor known as UNC1069 has been observed targeting the cryptocurrency sector to steal sensitive data from Windows and macOS systems with the ultimate goal of facilitating financial theft. “The intrusion relied on a social engineering scheme involving a compromised Telegram account, a fake Zoom meeting, a ClickFix infection vector, and reported…

Bloody Wolf Targets Uzbekistan, Russia Using NetSupport RAT in Spear-Phishing Campaign

The threat actor known as Bloody Wolf has been linked to a campaign targeting Uzbekistan and Russia to infect systems with a remote access trojan known as NetSupport RAT. Cybersecurity vendor Kaspersky is tracking the activity under the moniker Stan Ghouls. The threat actor is known to be active since at least 2023, orchestrating spear-phishing…

TeamPCP and the Rise of Cloud-Native Cybercrime

Flare researchers have identified a threat actor known as TeamPCP behind a large-scale campaign targeting cloud-native infrastructure by abusing exposed orchestration and management interfaces.  First observed in late 2025, the activity reflects a broader shift away from endpoint-focused attacks toward systematic exploitation of cloud control planes. “The campaign reflects a dark mirror of legitimate markets.…