ESXiArgs | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

More than 500 hosts have been newly compromised en masse by the ESXiArgs ransomware strain, most of which are located in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the U.K., and Ukraine. The  findings  come from attack surface management firm Censys, which  discovered  "two hosts with strikingly similar ransom notes dating back to mid-October 2022, just after ESXi versions 6.5 and 6.7 reached end of life." The first set of infections dates back to October 12, 2022, much earlier than when the campaign  began to gain traction  at the start of February 2023. Then on January 31, 2023, the ransom notes on the two hosts are said to have been updated with a revised version that matches the ones used in the current wave. Some of the crucial differences between the two ransom notes include the use of an onion URL instead of a Tox chat ID, a Proton Mail address at the bottom of the note, and a lower ransom demand (1.05 Bitcoin vs. 2.09 Bitcoin). "Each variant of the ran...

After the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released a decryptor for affected victims to recover from  ESXiArgs ransomware attacks , the threat actors have bounced back with an updated version that encrypts more data. The emergence of the new variant was reported by a system administrator on an online forum, where another participant stated that files larger than 128MB will have 50% of their data encrypted, making the recovery process more challenging. Another notable change is the removal of the Bitcoin address from the ransom note, with the attackers now urging victims to contact them on Tox to obtain the wallet information. The threat actors "realized that researchers were tracking their payments, and they may have even known before they released the ransomware that the encryption process in the original variant was relatively easy to circumvent," Censys  said  in a write-up. "In other words: they are watching." Statistics shared...

As cloud security evolves in 2025 and beyond, organizations must adapt to both new and evolving realities, including the increasing reliance on cloud infrastructure for AI-driven workflows and the vast quantities of data being migrated to the cloud. But there are other developments that could impact your organizations and drive the need for an even more robust security strategy. Let's take a look… #1: Increased Threat Landscape Encourages Market Consolidation Cyberattacks targeting cloud environments are becoming more sophisticated, emphasizing the need for security solutions that go beyond detection. Organizations will need proactive defense mechanisms to prevent risks from reaching production. Because of this need, the market will favor vendors offering comprehensive, end-to-end security platforms that streamline risk mitigation and enhance operational efficiency. #2: Cloud Security Unifies with SOC Priorities Security operations centers (SOC) and cloud security functions are c...