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An unknown Chinese-threat actor has been observed running a campaign targeting Apple iOS devices by leveraging a publicly leaked version of the DarkSword exploit kit. Attack surface management platform Censys said it identified the threat actor running more than 100 web properties, most of which are fake Amazon Web Services (AWS) sign-in pages on a domain that also hosts the exploit toolkit. "The hosting concentrates in Hong Kong but reaches into Japan, the United States, and Europe," Censys researcher Aidan Holland said in an analysis published on July 31, 2026. DarkSword, discovered and detailed earlier this year by Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG), iVerify, and Lookout, refers to a full-chain exploit kit that is believed to have been used by commercial surveillance vendors and suspected state-sponsored actors in disparate campaigns targeting Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Malaysia, and Ukraine since at least November 2025. The kit, which specifically targets iOS ...

Attackers modified a JavaScript file served by advertising technology company Adform , turning it into a browser-side tool that rewrites cryptocurrency wallet addresses. Adform detected the incident on July 27, 2026, removed the malicious code, notified affected clients, and reported it to authorities. Anyone who visited a site carrying the affected script on July 27 and copied a Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Tron address may have pasted a different address inserted by the malicious code instead. Adform is telling people to clear their browser cache because the altered file may remain cached after the fix, and to check any wallet address before sending funds. Adform says the code was not designed to install software or establish persistence and operated only while an affected page remained open. The captured sample also rewrites addresses entered directly into form fields, so clipboard copying was not the only path to replacement. The public timeline is unresolved. Adform's noti...

A fake browser update served over hijacked hotel Wi-Fi has been used to deliver CornFlake , a remote access trojan (RAT) that can capture webcam images, microphone audio, and keystrokes, Microsoft said in its latest report. Researchers track the operation as CaptiveCrunch and attribute it to Storm-2945 . It assesses Storm-2945 to be an operational sub-cluster of Midnight Blizzard , also known as APT29 and Cozy Bear. The U.S. and U.K. governments attribute the broader actor to Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). On the compromised networks ReliaQuest investigated, the captive portal gateway also served as the DNS resolver assigned to connected devices. Administrative control of that gateway let the attackers forge Domain Name System (DNS) answers and redirect the resulting traffic. They could then redirect a laptop's automatic connectivity check to a fake browser or operating system update. Some pages use ClickFix instructions that tell victims to open a termina...

A Chinese-speaking threat actor is suspected to be behind a fresh wave of cyber attacks targeting government organizations mainly located in Central Asia, including Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and the Syrian Arab Republic, since January 2025. These targeted organizations operate across several sectors, such as healthcare, research, government offices, ministries of foreign affairs, logistics, law-enforcement agencies, urban planning and facilities management, and public educational establishments, per Kaspersky. The activity has not been linked to any known adversary or group. The attacks are characterized by the use of two new obfuscated backdoors the Russian cybersecurity company is tracking as OctLurk and SilkLurk , as well as a specialized utility codenamed LurkProxy to proxy network traffic. "OctLurk and SilkLurk can download and inject additional plugins to perform further malicious actions, including launching command shells, perf...

Cybersecurity researchers have shed light on a previously undocumented Go-based loader framework called HollowFrame and a Rust-based malware family tracked as Matryoshka . According to Blackpoint Cyber, the intrusion sequence begins with a spear-phishing message containing a link to an encrypted archive, which holds a Windows Shortcut (LNK). Executing the file triggers a multi-stage chain that involves privilege escalation, weakening Microsoft Defender protections, and downloading additional payloads. While HollowFrame is launched via a DLL side-loading pair comprising the legitimate Python binary ("python.exe") and a rogue DLL ("python311.dll"), Matryoshka comes in two variants, one which supports HTTP-based communication and command execution, and another that uses GitHub for command-and-control (C2), including beaconing, tasking, reconnaissance, file transfer, and secondary payload delivery. "Together, HollowFrame and Matryoshka gave the actor a pers...