The Russian hacking group known as Gamaredon has been attributed to the continued exploitation of a WinRAR vulnerability to deliver multiple malware families aimed at data theft and propagation. Per Sekoia, the activity involves the weaponization of CVE-2025-8088, a path traversal flaw in WinRAR, to launch an HTML Application payload dubbed GammaPhish, which is then…
Tag: hacking
AI, Global Security News
Cheap AI has changed the economics of hacking
AI has reduced the cost of hacking, but has the cost of mounting a defense dropped at the same rate?
AI, APAC, Compliance, Cybersecurity, Data Breaches, Exploits, Global Security News, malware, privacy, Risk Management
AI Threats, Data Breaches, and Supply Chain Risks Define This Week of May 2026 in Cybersecurity
Major Threats & Vulnerabilities Data Breaches and Credential Exposures The hacking group ShinyHunters claims responsibility for stealing over 42 million customer records from Charter Communications. The alleged breach, conducted through social engineering and Microsoft Entra compromise, is under investigation. Organizations are urged to review MFA enforcement and monitor SaaS environments for suspicious activity. Read more…
Global Security News, Risk Management
Police arrest man following hack of Ajax football club
Dutch police have arrested a 35-year-old man suspected of hacking into the computer systems of Amsterdam football giant Ajax, after the personal data of hundreds of thousands of supporters was put at risk. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.
AI, Global Security News
Police arrest suspect in Ajax football club hack that exposed 300,000 fan records
The Dutch National Police arrested a man suspected of hacking into the computer systems of AFC Ajax, a football club from Amsterdam. “On the morning of Tuesday, May 26, detectives arrested a 35-year-old man from the municipality of Buren for computer intrusion at the Amsterdam football club Ajax. The man is suspected of intentionally and…
Global Security News
Dutch police arrests suspect linked to Ajax football club hack
The Dutch National Police arrested a 35-year-old man suspected of hacking the professional football club Ajax Amsterdam (AFC Ajax) earlier this year. […]
AI, Global Security News
MuddyWater Uses DLL Side-Loading in Espionage Campaign Targeting 9 Countries
The Iranian hacking group known as MuddyWater has been linked to a new campaign affecting at least nine organizations across nine countries on four continents in the first quarter of 2026. The activity targeted industrial and electronics manufacturing, education and public-sector bodies, financial services, and professional services, per the Threat Hunter Team from Symantec and…
AI, Cybersecurity, Global Security News, malware
Hackers Stealing Bank Accounts from iPhone and Android Users Using AI
As the AI universe expands, so have the cybercriminals that use AI for hacking. Recent reports are showing that bank attacks using AI has increased over 400%, with savvy criminals staying ahead of anti-fraud measures. Another report for 2025 has identified 1,243 financial brands as their main targets in 90 countries and 34 active malware…
Exploits, Global Security News
Hackers earn $1,298,250 for 47 zero-days at Pwn2Own Berlin 2026
The Pwn2Own Berlin 2026 hacking contest has concluded, with security researchers collecting $1,298,250 in rewards after exploiting 47 zero-day flaws. […]
Cybersecurity, Global Security News, Russia
Turla Turns Kazuar Backdoor Into Modular P2P Botnet for Persistent Access
The Russian state-sponsored hacking group known as Turla has transformed its custom backdoor Kazuar into a modular peer-to-peer (P2P) botnet that’s engineered for stealth and persistent access to compromised hosts. Turla, per the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), is assessed to be affiliated with Center 16 of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB)
AI, china, Global Security News
FamousSparrow Targeted Oil and Gas Industry via MS Exchange Server Exploit
Bitdefender Labs reveals how the China-linked FamousSparrow hacking group targeted an Azerbaijani energy firm using ProxyNotShell, Deed RAT,…
AI, Global Security News
Iranian hackers targeted major South Korean electronics maker
The Iran-linked hacking group MuddyWater (a.k.a. Seedworm, Static Kitten) launched a broad cyber-espionage campaign targeting at least nine high-profile organizations across multiple sectors and countries. […]
AI, Global Security News
After 17 years, Gavril Sandu extradited to U.S. for hacking scheme
Romanian citizen Gavril Sandu was extradited to the U.S. nearly 17 years after a hacking scheme. He was indicted in 2017 and arrested in 2026. Romanian national Gavril Sandu, 53, has been extradited to the United States for his role in a hacking scheme that took place 17 years ago. “On November 14, 2017, a…
Global Security News
MuddyWater Uses Microsoft Teams to Steal Credentials in False Flag Ransomware Attack
The Iranian state-sponsored hacking group known as MuddyWater (aka Mango Sandstorm, Seedworm, and Static Kitten) has been attributed to a ransomware attack in what has been described as a “false flag” operation. The attack, observed by Rapid7 in early 2026, has been found to leverage social engineering techniques via Microsoft Teams to initiate the infection…
AI, china, Global Security News
ScarCruft Hacks Gaming Platform to Deploy BirdCall Malware on Android and Windows
The North Korea-aligned state-sponsored hacking group known as ScarCruft has compromised a video game platform in a supply chain espionage attack, trojanizing its components with a backdoor called BirdCallto likely target ethnic Koreans residing in China. While prior versions of the backdoor have primarily targeted Windows users only, the supply chain attack is assessed to…
Exploits, Global Security News
They don’t hack, they borrow: How fraudsters target credit unions
Fraudsters aren’t hacking credit unions, they are exploiting normal business processes. Flare reveals how structured loan fraud methods use stolen identities to pass verification and secure funds. […]
AI, Global Security News, Russia
Hackers arrested for stealing and reselling 600,000 Roblox accounts
Ukrainian police detained three suspects accused of hacking into Roblox accounts and reselling the data on Russian websites, with payments made in cryptocurrency. Police raid (Source: The Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine) “Prosecutors of the Lviv region, together with the cyber police and the Security Service of Ukraine, have stopped the activities of a group…
AI, Global Security News, Government & Policy
Chinese Silk Typhoon Hacker Extradited to U.S. Over COVID Research Cyberattacks
A Chinese national accused of being a member of the Silk Typhoon hacking group has been extradited to the U.S. from Italy. Xu Zewei, 34, was arrested in July 2025 by Italian authorities for his alleged links to the Chinese state-sponsored threat group and for orchestrating cyber attacks against American organizations and government agencies between…
AI, Global Security News
New BlackFile extortion group linked to surge of vishing attacks
A new financially motivated hacking group tracked as BlackFile has been linked to a wave of data theft and extortion attacks against retail and hospitality organizations since February 2026. […]
AI, china, Cybersecurity, Data Breaches, Exploits, Global Security News, Government & Policy, malware, Network Security
US, UK agencies warn hackers were hiding on Cisco firewalls long after patches were applied
A state-sponsored hacking group has implanted a custom backdoor on Cisco network security devices that can survive firmware updates and standard reboots, U.S. and British cybersecurity authorities disclosed Thursday, marking a significant escalation in a campaign that has targeted government and critical infrastructure networks since at least late 2025. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency…
AI, Exploits, Global Security News, malware
With AI’s help, North Korean hackers stumbled into a near-undetectable attack
For many years, state-sponsored hacking was defined by human expertise in finding security holes, writing malware and exploits, pulling off social engineering and phishing attacks, and much more. Since the advent of LLM-powered AI assistants and tools, less skilled attackers have been able to carry out attacks and compromises that might otherwise have been out…
AI, Global Security News
Scattered Spider hacker pleads guilty to stealing $8 million in cryptocurrency
A British national tied to the Scattered Spider cybercrime group pleaded guilty to hacking multiple companies via SMS phishing and stealing over $8 million in virtual currency from US victims. Tyler Robert Buchanan, 24, of Dundee, Scotland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. In November 2024, US authorities unsealed…
AI, Data Breaches, Global Security News, malware, Network Security
Scattered Spider member Tyler Buchanan pleads guilty to major crypto theft
Tyler Buchanan, linked to Scattered Spider, pleaded guilty in the US to hacking companies and stealing millions in cryptocurrency. Tyler Buchanan, a 24-year-old from Scotland linked to the Scattered Spider group, admitted in a US court that he hacked dozens of companies, committed fraud, and stole millions in cryptocurrency. Spanish police arrested the British national…
AI, Cybersecurity, Global Security News
Smashing Security podcast #463: This AI company leaked its own code. It’s also built something terrifying
A hacking group claims to have broken into the flood defence system protecting Venice’s Piazza San Marco – and is offering to sell access to whoever wants it. The asking price? A frankly insulting $600. Meanwhile, Anthropic accidentally leaked the source code for Claude Code via a basic packaging mistake. Oh, and by the way,…
AI, Global Security News
North Korea’s APT37 Uses Facebook Social Engineering to Deliver RokRAT Malware
The North Korean hacking group tracked as APT37 (aka ScarCruft) has been attributed to a fresh multi-stage, social engineering campaign in which threat actors approached targets on Facebook and added them as friends on the social media platform, turning the trust-building exercise into a delivery channel for a remote access trojan called RokRAT. “The threat actor used…
AI, Global Security News
Poisoned “Office 365” search results lead to stolen paychecks
A financially motivated hacking group is targeting Canadian employees with a sophisticated campaign designed to covertly redirect their salary payments into attacker-controlled bank accounts, Microsoft researchers discovered. SEO poisoning and malvertising + phishing + AiTM The group, which Microsoft tracks as Storm-2755, begins by poisoning search engine results and running malicious ads against generic queries…
Global Security News, Russia
Russian Forest Blizzard Hackers Hijack Home Routers for Global Spying
Microsoft Threat Intelligence reveals how Russian hacking group Forest Blizzard uses home routers for DNS hijacking and spying.
AI, Global Security News
Popular LiteLLM PyPI package compromised in TeamPCP supply chain attack
The TeamPCP hacking group continues its supply-chain rampage, now compromising the massively popular “LiteLLM” Python package on PyPI and claiming to have stolen data from hundreds of thousands of devices during the attack. […]
Global Security News
Handala Group Tied to Iranian Hack‑and‑Leak Operations, FBI Reveals
The FBI has warned that Iranian hacking group Handala has been targeting opponents of the regime since 2023
Global Security News
TeamPCP deploys Iran-targeted wiper in Kubernetes attacks
The TeamPCP hacking group is targeting Kubernetes clusters with a malicious script that wipes all machines when it detects systems configured for Iran. […]
AI, Exploits, Global Security News
DarkSword: Researchers uncover another iOS exploit kit
A powerful iPhone hacking toolkit dubbed “DarkSword” has been used since November 2025 to compromise devices by exploiting zero-day iOS vulnerabilities, Google researchers have shared. iOS vulnerabilities exploited by DarkSword Two weeks ago, Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) and iVerify disclosed the existence of Coruna, a spy-grade iOS exploit kit that has been used in…
AI, china, Cybersecurity, Exploits, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Network Security, Politics, Russia
Stryker attack highlights nebulous nature of Iranian cyber activity amid joint U.S.-Israel conflict
A cyberattack that an Iranian hacking group said it carried out against medical device manufacturer Stryker might mark Tehran’s first significant cyber action since the start of the joint U.S.-Israel conflict. But even that may have been a happy accident for Iranian hackers in what has been a low buzz of activity during that timeframe,…
AI, Global Security News
War spreads into cyberspace after Iran-linked hackers hit medtech giant Stryker
An Iran-linked hacking group has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on U.S. medical device giant Stryker, marking a potential escalation of cyber activity tied to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Stryker confirmed in a Form 8-K filing with the SEC that a cyberattack caused a global disruption to its Microsoft systems. The Wall…
AI, Global Security News, malware, Russia
APT28 Uses BEARDSHELL and COVENANT Malware to Spy on Ukrainian Military
The Russian state-sponsored hacking group tracked as APT28 has been observed using a pair of implants dubbed BEARDSHELL and COVENANT to facilitate long‑term surveillance of Ukrainian military personnel. The two malware families have been put to use since April 2024, ESET said in a new report shared with The Hacker News. APT28, also tracked as…
AI, Global Security News
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…
AI, Global Security News
Iran’s Cyber-Kinetic War Doctrine Takes Shape
Iran has been hacking IP cameras to plan missile strikes against its enemies, and mounting other attacks on physical assets, showing how cyber and kinetic warfare are fast becoming one in the same.
AI, Global Security News, Network Security
Iran-linked APT targets US critical sectors with new backdoors
An Iran-linked hacking group has been active inside the networks of several US organizations since early February, raising concerns that the activity could precede broader cyber operations connected to escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. New backdoors used by Seedworm Symantec and Carbon Black researchers have attributed the activity to Seedworm (aka MuddyWater), an…
AI, Exploits, Global Security News
‘Send Us More’: Anthropic’s Claude Sniffs Out Bevy of Bugs
New AI-powered tools are increasingly adept at spotting flaws. Hacking experts worry they will be good at exploiting them, too.
AI, Global Security News
Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters seeks women for vishing attacks
The Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters (SLH) hacking collective has launched a recruitment push aimed specifically at women, offering cash payments for participating in voice-phishing (vishing) attacks. A few days ago, threat intelligence firm Dataminr detected posts on a public Telegram channel advertising roles for female callers willing to conduct social-engineering phone operations. SLH’s recruitment ad (Source:…
Exploits, Global Security News, Russia
US sanctions Russian broker for buying stolen zero-day exploits
The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned a Russian exploit broker who bought stolen hacking tools from a former executive of a U.S. defense contractor. […]
Global Security News, Government & Policy, Network Security
Romanian Hacker Extradited to US Admits Hacking Oregon State Network
Catalin Dragomir admits to hacking an Oregon government office and selling network access. Read more on the $250k fraud case and his 2026 sentencing.
AI, Global Security News, malware
MuddyWater Targets MENA Organizations with GhostFetch, CHAR, and HTTP_VIP
The Iranian hacking group known as MuddyWater (aka Earth Vetala, Mango Sandstorm, and MUDDYCOAST) has targeted several organizations and individuals mainly located across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region as part of a new campaign codenamed Operation Olalampo. The activity, first observed on January 26, 2026, has resulted in the deployment of new…
Global Security News
Nigerian man gets eight years in prison for hacking tax firms
A Nigerian national was sentenced to eight years in prison for hacking multiple tax preparation firms in Massachusetts and filing fraudulent tax returns seeking over $8.1 million in refunds. […]
Global Security News
Dutch police arrest man for “hacking” after accidentally sending him confidential files
Police in The Netherlands say they have arrested a 40-year-old man on suspicion of hacking… after police officers accidentally sent him a link granting him access to their own confidential documents Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.
Exploits, Global Security News
Chinese hackers exploiting Dell zero-day flaw since mid-2024
A suspected Chinese state-backed hacking group has been quietly exploiting a critical Dell security flaw in zero-day attacks that started in mid-2024. […]
AI, APT, china, Cybersecurity, Global Security News, Government & Policy, malware, Russia, Technology
Google finds state-sponsored hackers use AI at ‘all stages’ of attack cycle
A new report from Google found evidence that state-sponsored hacking groups have leveraged AI tool Gemini at nearly every stage of the cyber attack cycle. The research underscores how AI tools have matured in their cyber offensive capabilities, even as it doesn’t reveal novel or paradigm shifting uses of the technology. John Hultquist, chief analyst…
Global Security News
Why Audio Hacking is the Modern Office’s Biggest Security Gap
Executive Summary The Threat: “Audio Hacking” (or Aural Espionage) bypasses digital firewalls by targeting spoken data in open-plan offices. The Vector: High-sensitivity microphones on laptops and unsecured “breakout zones” leak sensitive C-suite strategy. The Fix: Treating acoustic isolation as a “Physical VPN” using ISO 23351-1 rated office pod as barriers. Best For: CISOs, IT Directors,…
Global Security News
Why Audio Hacking is the Modern Office’s Biggest Security Gap
GUEST OPINION: The Threat: “Audio Hacking” (or Aural Espionage) bypasses digital firewalls by targeting spoken data in open-plan offices. The Vector: High-sensitivity microphones on laptops and unsecured “breakout zones” leak sensitive C-suite strategy. The Fix: Treating acoustic isolation as a “Physical VPN” using ISO 23351-1 rated office pod as barriers. Best For: CISOs, IT Directors,…
Don't miss, Europe, Global Security News, Hot stuff, News
State-backed phishing attacks targeting military officials and journalists on Signal
German security authorities are warning that a likely state-backed hacking group is engaged in attempts at phishing senior political figures, military officials, diplomats, and investigative journalists across Germany and Europe via Signal. The authorities also noted that while these attacks are likely perpetrated by a state-controlled cyber actor, there’s nothing stopping non-state actors and financially…
Global Security News, Security
Man pleads guilty to hacking nearly 600 women’s Snapchat accounts
An Illinois man pleaded guilty to hacking nearly 600 women’s Snapchat accounts to steal nude photos that he kept, sold, or traded online, including accounts he compromised at the request of a former university track coach who was later convicted of sextortion. […]
AI, china, Compliance, Cybersecurity, Data Breaches, Exploits, Global Security News, malware, privacy, Risk Management, Russia
The hack that messed with time, and rogue ransomware negotiators
Time itself comes under attack as a state-backed hacking gang spends two years tunnelling toward a nation’s master clock — with chaos potentially only a tick away. Plus when ransomware negotiators turn to the dark side, what could possibly go wrong? All this and more is discussed in episode 442 of the “Smashing Security” podcast…