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Cybersecurity researchers are drawing attention to a new campaign that's using legitimate generative artificial intelligence (AI)-powered website building tools like DeepSite AI and BlackBox AI to create replica phishing pages mimicking Brazilian government agencies as part of a financially motivated campaign. The activity involves the creation of lookalike sites imitating Brazil's State Department of Traffic and Ministry of Education, which then trick unsuspecting users into making unwarranted payments through the country's PIX payment system, Zscaler ThreatLabz said. These fraudulent sites are artificially boosted using search engine optimization (SEO) poisoning techniques to enhance their visibility, thereby increasing the likelihood of success of the attack. "Source code analysis reveals signatures of generative AI tools, such as overly explanatory comments meant to guide developers, non-functional elements that would typically work on an authentic website, and...

A fresh set of 60 malicious packages has been uncovered targeting the RubyGems ecosystem by posing as seemingly innocuous automation tools for social media, blogging, or messaging services to steal credentials from unsuspecting users and likely resell them on dark web forums like Russian Market. The activity is assessed to be active since at least March 2023, according to the software supply chain security company Socket. Cumulatively, the gems have been downloaded more than 275,000 times. That said, it bears noting that the figure may not accurately represent the actual number of compromised systems, as not every download results in execution, and it's possible several of these gems have been downloaded to a single machine. "Since at least March 2023, a threat actor using the aliases zon, nowon, kwonsoonje, and soonje has published 60 malicious gems posing as automation tools for Instagram, Twitter/X, TikTok, WordPress, Telegram, Kakao, and Naver," security researche...

A newly discovered campaign dubbed GreedyBear has leveraged over 150 malicious extensions to the Firefox marketplace that are designed to impersonate popular cryptocurrency wallets and steal more than $1 million in digital assets. The published browser add-ons masquerade as MetaMask, TronLink, Exodus, and Rabby Wallet, among others, Koi Security researcher Tuval Admoni said. What makes the activity notable is the threat actor's use of a technique that the cybersecurity company called Extension Hollowing to bypass safeguards put in place by Mozilla and exploit user trust. It's worth noting that some aspects of the campaign were first documented by security researcher Lukasz Olejnik last week. "Rather than trying to sneak malicious extensions past initial reviews, they build legitimate-seeming extension portfolios first, then weaponize them later when nobody's watching," Admoni said in a report published Thursday. To achieve this, the attackers first create ...

Cybersecurity researchers have lifted the veil on a widespread malicious campaign that's targeting TikTok Shop users globally with an aim to steal credentials and distribute trojanized apps. "Threat actors are exploiting the official in-app e-commerce platform through a dual attack strategy that combines phishing and malware to target users," CTM360 said . "The core tactic involves a deceptive replica of TikTok Shop that tricks users into thinking theyʼre interacting with a legitimate affiliate or the real platform." The scam campaign has been codenamed FraudOnTok  by the Bahrain-based cybersecurity company, calling out the threat actor's multi-pronged distribution strategy that involves Meta ads and artificial intelligence (AI)-generated TikTok videos that mimic influencers or official brand ambassadors. Central to the effort is the use of lookalike domains that resemble legitimate TikTok URLs. Over 15,000 such impersonated websites have been identified...

Cybersecurity researchers are calling attention to a new wave of campaigns distributing a Python-based information stealer called PXA Stealer. The malicious activity has been assessed to be the work of Vietnamese-speaking cybercriminals who monetize the stolen data through a subscription-based underground ecosystem that automates the resale and reuse via Telegram APIs, according to a joint report published by Beazley Security and SentinelOne and shared with The Hacker News. "This discovery showcases a leap in tradecraft, incorporating more nuanced anti-analysis techniques, non-malicious decoy content, and a hardened command-and-control pipeline that frustrates triage and attempts to delay detection," security researchers Jim Walter, Alex Delamotte, Francisco Donoso, Sam Mayers, Tell Hause, and Bobby Venal said . The campaigns have infected over 4,000 unique IP addresses spanning 62 countries, including South Korea, the United States, the Netherlands, Hungary, and Austria...

Malware isn't just trying to hide anymore—it's trying to belong. We're seeing code that talks like us, logs like us, even documents itself like a helpful teammate. Some threats now look more like developer tools than exploits. Others borrow trust from open-source platforms, or quietly build themselves out of AI-written snippets. It's not just about being malicious—it's about being believable. In this week's cybersecurity recap, we explore how today's threats are becoming more social, more automated, and far too sophisticated for yesterday's instincts to catch. ⚡ Threat of the Week Secret Blizzard Conduct ISP-Level AitM Attacks to Deploy ApolloShadow — Russian cyberspies are abusing local internet service providers' networks to target foreign embassies in Moscow and likely collect intelligence from diplomats' devices. The activity has been attributed to the Russian advanced persistent threat (APT) known as Secret Blizzard (aka Turla). It likely involves using an adversary-...

Cybersecurity researchers have flagged a malicious npm package that was generated using artificial intelligence (AI) and concealed a cryptocurrency wallet drainer. The package, @kodane/patch-manager, claims to offer "advanced license validation and registry optimization utilities for high-performance Node.js applications." It was uploaded to npm by a user named "Kodane" on July 28, 2025. The package is no longer available for download from the registry, but not before it attracted over 1,500 downloads. Software supply chain security company Safety, which discovered the library, said the malicious features are advertised directly in the source code, calling it an "enhanced stealth wallet drainer." Specifically, the behavior is triggered as part of a postinstall script that drops its payload within hidden directories across Windows, Linux, and macOS systems, and then proceeds to connect to a command-and-control (C2) server at "sweeper-monitor-produ...

The North Korea-linked threat actor known as UNC4899 has been attributed to attacks targeting two different organizations by approaching their employees via LinkedIn and Telegram. "Under the guise of freelance opportunities for software development work, UNC4899 leveraged social engineering techniques to successfully convince the targeted employees to execute malicious Docker containers in their respective workstations," Google's cloud division said [PDF] in its Cloud Threat Horizons Report for H2 2025. UNC4899 overlaps with activity tracked under the monikers Jade Sleet, PUKCHONG, Slow Pisces, and TraderTraitor. Active since at least 2020, the state-sponsored actor is known for its targeting of cryptocurrency and blockchain industries. Notably, the hacking group has been implicated in significant cryptocurrency heists , including that of Axie Infinity in March 2022 ($625 million), DMM Bitcoin in May 2024 ($308 million), and Bybit in February 2025 ($1.4 billion). ...

Cybersecurity researchers are calling attention to an ongoing campaign that distributes fake cryptocurrency trading apps to deploy a compiled V8 JavaScript (JSC) malware called JSCEAL that can capture data such as credentials and wallets. The activity leverages thousands of malicious advertisements posted on Facebook in an attempt to redirect unsuspecting victims to counterfeit sites that instruct them to install the bogus apps, according to Check Point. These ads are shared either via stolen accounts or newly created ones. "The actors separate the installer's functionality into different components and most notably move some functionality to the JavaScript files inside the infected websites," the company said in an analysis. "A modular, multi-layered infection flow enables the attackers to adapt new tactics and payloads at every stage of the operation." It's worth noting that some aspects of the activity were previously documented by Microsoft in April 2...

A newly emerged ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) gang called Chaos is likely made up of former members of the BlackSuit crew , as the latter's dark web infrastructure has been the subject of a law enforcement seizure. Chaos, which sprang forth in February 2025, is the latest entrant in the ransomware landscape to conduct big-game hunting and double extortion attacks. "Chaos RaaS actors initiated low-effort spam flooding, escalating to voice-based social engineering for access, followed by RMM tool abuse for persistent connection and legitimate file-sharing software for data exfiltration," Cisco Talos researchers Anna Bennett, James Nutland, and Chetan Raghuprasad said . "The ransomware utilizes multi-threaded rapid selective encryption, anti-analysis techniques, and targets both local and network resources, maximizing impact while hindering detection and recovery." It's important to note here that the ransomware group is unrelated to the Chaos ransomware ...

Some risks don't breach the perimeter—they arrive through signed software, clean resumes, or sanctioned vendors still hiding in plain sight. This week, the clearest threats weren't the loudest—they were the most legitimate-looking. In an environment where identity, trust, and tooling are all interlinked, the strongest attack path is often the one that looks like it belongs. Security teams are now challenged to defend systems not just from intrusions—but from trust itself being turned into a weapon. ⚡ Threat of the Week Microsoft SharePoint Attacks Traced to China — The fallout from an attack spree targeting defects in on-premises Microsoft SharePoint servers continues to spread a week after the discovery of the zero-day exploits, with more than 400 organizations globally compromised. The attacks have been attributed to two known Chinese hacking groups tracked as Linen Typhoon (aka APT27), Violet Typhoon (aka APT31), and a suspected China-based threat actor codenamed Storm-2603 t...

The threat actor behind the exploitation of vulnerable Craft Content Management System (CMS) instances has shifted its tactics to target Magento CMS and misconfigured Docker instances. The activity has been attributed to a threat actor tracked as Mimo (aka Hezb), which has a long history of leveraging N-day security flaws in various web applications to deploy cryptocurrency miners. "Although Mimo's primary motivation remains financial, through cryptocurrency mining and bandwidth monetization, the sophistication of their recent operations suggests potential preparation for more lucrative criminal activities," Datadog Security Labs said in a report published this week. Mimo's exploitation of CVE-2025-32432, a critical security flaw in Craft CMS, for cryptojacking and proxyjacking was documented by Sekoia in May 2025. Newly observed attack chains associated with the threat actor involve the abuse of undetermined PHP-FPM vulnerabilities in Magento e-commerce inst...

The Windows banking trojan known as Coyote has become the first known malware strain to exploit the Windows accessibility framework called UI Automation (UIA) to harvest sensitive information. "The new Coyote variant is targeting Brazilian users, and uses UIA to extract credentials linked to 75 banking institutes' web addresses and cryptocurrency exchanges," Akamai security researcher Tomer Peled said in an analysis. Coyote, first revealed by Kaspersky in 2024, is known for targeting Brazilian users. It comes with capabilities to log keystrokes, capture screenshots, and serve overlays on top of login pages associated with financial enterprises. Part of the Microsoft .NET Framework, UIA is a legitimate feature offered by Microsoft to allow screen readers and other assistive technology products to programmatically access user interface (UI) elements on a desktop.  That UIA can be a potential pathway for abuse, including data theft, was previously demonstrated as a...

The financially motivated threat actor known as EncryptHub (aka LARVA-208 and Water Gamayun) has been attributed to a new campaign that's targeting Web3 developers to infect them with information stealer malware. "LARVA-208 has evolved its tactics, using fake AI platforms (e.g., Norlax AI, mimicking Teampilot) to lure victims with job offers or portfolio review requests," Swiss cybersecurity company PRODAFT said in a statement shared with The Hacker News. While the group has a history of deploying ransomware, the latest findings demonstrate an evolution of its tactics and a diversification of its monetization methods by using stealer malware to harvest data from cryptocurrency wallets. EncryptHub's focus on Web3 developers isn't random—these individuals often manage crypto wallets, access to smart contract repositories, or sensitive test environments. Many operate as freelancers or work across multiple decentralized projects, making them harder to protect wit...

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a new campaign that exploits a known security flaw impacting Apache HTTP Server to deliver a cryptocurrency miner called Linuxsys . The vulnerability in question is CVE-2021-41773 (CVSS score: 7.5), a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Apache HTTP Server version 2.4.49 that could result in remote code execution. "The attacker leverages compromised legitimate websites to distribute malware, enabling stealthy delivery and evasion of detection," VulnCheck's Jacob Baines said in a report shared with The Hacker News. The infection sequence, observed earlier this month and originating from an Indonesian IP address 103.193.177[.]152 , is designed to drop a next-stage payload from "repositorylinux[.]org" using curl or wget. The payload is a shell script that's responsible for downloading the Linuxsys cryptocurrency miner from five different legitimate websites, suggesting that the threat actors behind the ...

The North Korean threat actors linked to the Contagious Interview campaign have been observed publishing another set of 67 malicious packages to the npm registry, underscoring ongoing attempts to poison the open-source ecosystem via software supply chain attacks. The packages, per Socket, have attracted more than 17,000 downloads, and incorporate a previously undocumented version of a malware loader codenamed XORIndex . The activity is an expansion of an attack wave spotted last month that involved the distribution of 35 npm packages that deployed another loader referred to as HexEval. "The Contagious Interview operation continues to follow a whack-a-mole dynamic, where defenders detect and report malicious packages, and North Korean threat actors quickly respond by uploading new variants using the same, similar, or slightly evolved playbooks," Socket researcher Kirill Boychenko said . Contagious Interview is the name assigned to a long-running campaign that seeks to en...

Cryptocurrency users are the target of an ongoing social engineering campaign that employs fake startup companies to trick users into downloading malware that can drain digital assets from both Windows and macOS systems. "These malicious operations impersonate AI, gaming, and Web3 firms using spoofed social media accounts and project documentation hosted on legitimate platforms like Notion and GitHub," Darktrace researcher Tara Gould said in a report shared with The Hacker News. The elaborate social media scam has been for sometime now, with a previous iteration in December 2024 leveraging bogus videoconferencing platforms to dupe victims into joining a meeting under the pretext of discussing an investment opportunity after approaching them on messaging apps like Telegram. Users who ended up downloading the purported meeting software were stealthily infected by stealer malware such as Realst. The campaign was codenamed Meeten by Cado Security (which was acquired by Dark...

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Tuesday sanctioned a member of a North Korean hacking group called Andariel for their role in the infamous remote information technology (IT) worker scheme. The Treasury said Song Kum Hyok, a 38-year-old North Korean national with an address in the Chinese province of Jilin, enabled the fraudulent operation by using foreign-hired IT workers to seek remote employment with U.S. companies and planning to split income with them. Between 2022 and 2023, Song is alleged to have used the identities of U.S. people, including their names, addresses, and Social Security numbers, to craft aliases for the hired workers, who then used these personas to pose as U.S. nationals looking for remote jobs in the country. The development comes days after the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) announced sweeping actions targeting the North Korean information technology (IT) worker scheme, leading to the arrest of one indi...