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Cybersecurity researchers have flagged a previously undocumented Linux backdoor dubbed Plague that has managed to evade detection for a year. "The implant is built as a malicious PAM (Pluggable Authentication Module), enabling attackers to silently bypass system authentication and gain persistent SSH access," Nextron Systems researcher Pierre-Henri Pezier said . Pluggable Authentication Modules refers to a suite of shared libraries used to manage user authentication to applications and services in Linux and UNIX-based systems. Given that PAM modules are loaded into privileged authentication processes, a rogue PAM can enable theft of user credentials, bypass authentication checks, and remain undetected by security tools. The cybersecurity company said it uncovered multiple Plague artifacts uploaded to VirusTotal since July 29, 2024, with none of them detected by antimalware engines as malicious. What's more, the presence of several samples signals active developme...

SonicWall SSL VPN devices have become the target of Akira ransomware attacks as part of a newfound surge in activity observed in late July 2025. "In the intrusions reviewed, multiple pre-ransomware intrusions were observed within a short period of time, each involving VPN access through SonicWall SSL VPNs," Arctic Wolf Labs researcher Julian Tuin said in a report. The cybersecurity company suggested that the attacks could be exploiting an as-yet-undetermined security flaw in the appliances, meaning a zero-day vulnerability, given that some of the incidents affected fully-patched SonicWall devices. However, the possibility of credential-based attacks for initial access hasn't been ruled out. The uptick in attacks involving SonicWall SSL VPNs was first registered on July 15, 2025, although Arctic Wolf said that it has observed similar malicious VPN logins as far back as October 2024 , suggesting sustained efforts to target the devices. "A short interval was obser...

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed a now-patched, high-severity security flaw in Cursor, a popular artificial intelligence (AI) code editor, that could result in remote code execution (RCE). The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-54135 (CVSS score: 8.6), has been addressed in version 1.3 released on July 29, 2025. It has been codenamed CurXecute by Aim Labs, which previously disclosed EchoLeak . "Cursor runs with developer‑level privileges, and when paired with an MCP server that fetches untrusted external data, that data can redirect the agent's control flow and exploit those privileges," the Aim Labs Team said in a report shared with The Hacker News. "By feeding poisoned data to the agent via MCP, an attacker can gain full remote code execution under the user privileges, and achieve any number of things, including opportunities for ransomware, data theft, AI manipulation and hallucinations, etc." In other words, the remote code execution can trigg...

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Cybersecurity researchers have detailed a new cluster of activity where threat actors are impersonating enterprises with fake Microsoft OAuth applications to facilitate credential harvesting as part of account takeover attacks. "The fake Microsoft 365 applications impersonate various companies, including RingCentral, SharePoint, Adobe, and Docusign," Proofpoint said in a Thursday report. The ongoing campaign, first detected in early 2025, is designed to use the OAuth applications as a gateway to obtain unauthorized access to users' Microsoft 365 accounts by means of phishing kits like Tycoon and ODx that are capable of conducting multi-factor authentication (MFA) phishing. The enterprise security company said it observed the approach being used in email campaigns with more than 50 impersonated applications. The attacks begin with phishing emails sent from compromised accounts and aim to trick recipients into clicking on URLs under the pretext of sharing requests ...

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...

Just as triathletes know that peak performance requires more than expensive gear, cybersecurity teams are discovering that AI success depends less on the tools they deploy and more on the data that powers them The junk food problem in cybersecurity Imagine a triathlete who spares no expense on equipment—carbon fiber bikes, hydrodynamic wetsuits, precision GPS watches—but fuels their training with processed snacks and energy drinks. Despite the premium gear, their performance will suffer because their foundation is fundamentally flawed. Triathletes see nutrition as the fourth discipline of their training that can have a significant impact on performance and can even determine race outcomes. Today's security operations centers (SOCs) face a similar issue. They're investing heavily in AI-powered detection systems, automated response platforms, and machine learning analytics—the equivalent of professional-grade triathlon equipment. But they're powering these sophistic...

The threat actor linked to the exploitation of the recently disclosed security flaws in Microsoft SharePoint Server is using a bespoke command-and-control (C2) framework called AK47 C2 (also spelled ak47c2) in its operations. The framework includes at least two different types of clients, HTTP-based and Domain Name System ( DNS )-based, which have been dubbed AK47HTTP and AK47DNS, respectively, by Check Point Research. The activity has been attributed to Storm-2603 , which, according to Microsoft, is a suspected China-based threat actor that has leveraged the SharePoint flaws – CVE-2025-49706 and CVE-2025-49704 (aka ToolShell) – to deploy Warlock (aka X2anylock) ransomware. A previously unreported threat cluster, evidence gathered following an analysis of VirusTotal artifacts shows that the group may have been active since at least March 2025, deploying ransomware families like LockBit Black and Warlock together – something that's not observed commonly among established e-c...

The Russian nation-state threat actor known as Secret Blizzard has been observed orchestrating a new cyber espionage campaign targeting foreign embassies located in Moscow by means of an adversary-in-the-middle ( AitM ) attack at the Internet Service Provider (ISP) level and delivering a custom malware dubbed ApolloShadow. "ApolloShadow has the capability to install a trusted root certificate to trick devices into trusting malicious actor-controlled sites, enabling Secret Blizzard to maintain persistence on diplomatic devices, likely for intelligence collection," the Microsoft Threat Intelligence team said in a report shared with The Hacker News. The activity is assessed to be ongoing since at least 2024, with the campaign posing a security risk to diplomatic personnel relying on local ISPs or telecommunications services in Russia. Secret Blizzard (formerly Krypton), affiliated with the Russian Federal Security Service, is also tracked by the broader cybersecurity commu...

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed details of a new phishing campaign that conceals malicious payloads by abusing link wrapping services from Proofpoint and Intermedia to bypass defenses. "Link wrapping is designed by vendors like Proofpoint to protect users by routing all clicked URLs through a scanning service, allowing them to block known malicious destinations at the moment of click," the Cloudflare Email Security team said . "While this is effective against known threats, attacks can still succeed if the wrapped link hasn't been flagged by the scanner at click time." The activity, observed over the last two months, once again illustrates how threat actors find different ways to leverage legitimate features and trusted tools to their advantage and perform malicious actions, in this case, redirecting victims to Microsoft 365 phishing pages. It's noteworthy that the abuse of link wrapping involves the attackers gaining unauthorized access to em...

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). ...

Cyber threats and attacks like ransomware continue to increase in volume and complexity with the endpoint typically being the most sought after and valued target. With the rapid expansion and adoption of AI, it is more critical than ever to ensure the endpoint is adequately secured by a platform capable of not just keeping pace, but staying ahead of an ever-evolving threat landscape. SentinelOne's steadfast commitment to delivering AI-powered cybersecurity enables global customers and partners to achieve resiliency and reduce risk with real-time, autonomous protection across the entire enterprise — all from a single agent and console with a robust, rigorously tested platform that keeps the customer in control. Cybersecurity today isn't just about detection—it's about operational continuity under pressure. For example, endpoint solutions must account for encrypted traffic inspection, policy enforcement during identity compromise, and fast containment across distributed environments. ...

The financially motivated threat actor known as UNC2891 has been observed targeting Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) infrastructure using a 4G-equipped Raspberry Pi as part of a covert attack. The cyber-physical attack involved the adversary leveraging their physical access to install the Raspberry Pi device and have it connected directly to the same network switch as the ATM, effectively placing it within the target bank's network, Group-IB said. It's currently not known how this access was obtained. "The Raspberry Pi was equipped with a 4G modem, allowing remote access over mobile data," security researcher Nam Le Phuong said in a Wednesday report. "Using the TINYSHELL backdoor, the attacker established an outbound command-and-control (C2) channel via a Dynamic DNS domain. This setup enabled continuous external access to the ATM network, completely bypassing perimeter firewalls and traditional network defenses." UNC2891 was first documented by Googl...

Security Operations Centers (SOCs) are stretched to their limits. Log volumes are surging, threat landscapes are growing more complex, and security teams are chronically understaffed. Analysts face a daily battle with alert noise, fragmented tools, and incomplete data visibility. At the same time, more vendors are phasing out their on-premises SIEM solutions, encouraging migration to SaaS models. But this transition often amplifies the inherent flaws of traditional SIEM architectures. T he Log Deluge Meets Architectural Limits SIEMs are built to process log data—and the more, the better, or so the theory goes. In modern infrastructures, however, log-centric models are becoming a bottleneck. Cloud systems, OT networks, and dynamic workloads generate exponentially more telemetry, often redundant, unstructured, or in unreadable formats. SaaS-based SIEMs in particular face financial and technical constraints: pricing models based on events per second (EPS) or flows-per-minute (FPM) ca...