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Spoiler Alert: Organizations with 10,000 SaaS users that use M365 and Google Workspace average over 4,371 additional connected apps. SaaS-to-SaaS (third-party) app installations are growing  nonstop  at organizations around the world. When an employee needs an additional app to increase their efficiency or productivity, they rarely think twice before installing. Most employees don’t even realize that this SaaS-to-SaaS connectivity, which requires scopes like the ability to read, update, create, and delete content, increases their organization’s attack surface in a significant way. Third-party app connections typically take place outside the view of the security team, are not vetted to understand the level of risk they pose. Adaptive Shield’s latest report,  Uncovering the Risks & Realities of Third-Party Connected Apps , dives into the data on this topic. It reviews the average number of SaaS-to-SaaS apps organizations have, and the level of risk they present. Her...

A new ChromeLoader malware campaign has been observed being distributed via virtual hard disk (VHD) files, marking a deviation from the ISO optical disc image format. "These VHD files are being distributed with filenames that make them appear like either hacks or cracks for Nintendo and Steam games," AhnLab Security Emergency response Center (ASEC)  said  in a report last week. ChromeLoader  (aka Choziosi Loader or ChromeBack) originally surfaced in January 2022 as a browser-hijacking credential stealer but has since evolved into a more potent,  multifaceted   threat  capable of stealing sensitive data, deploying ransomware, and even dropping  decompression bombs . The primary goal of the malware is to  compromise  web browsers like Google Chrome, and modify the browser settings to intercept and direct traffic to dubious advertising websites. What's more, ChromeLoader has emerged as a conduit to  carry out click fraud  by lever...

Government entities in Asia-Pacific and North America are being targeted by an unknown threat actor with an off-the-shelf malware downloader known as PureCrypter to deliver an array of information stealers and ransomware. "The PureCrypter campaign uses the domain of a compromised non-profit organization as a command-and-control (C2) to deliver a secondary payload," Menlo Security researcher Abhay Yadav  said . The different types of malware propagated using PureCrypter include  RedLine Stealer ,  Agent Tesla ,  Eternity ,  Blackmoon  (aka  KRBanker ), and  Philadelphia  ransomware. First documented in June 2022, PureCrypter is  advertised  for sale by its author for $59 for one-month access (or $245 for a one-off lifetime purchase) and is capable of distributing a multitude of malware. In December 2022, PureCoder – the developer behind the program –  expanded  the slate of offerings to include a logger and informat...

The  PlugX  remote access trojan has been observed masquerading as an open source Windows debugger tool called x64dbg in an attempt to circumvent security protections and gain control of a target system. "This file is a legitimate open-source debugger tool for Windows that is generally used to examine kernel-mode and user-mode code, crash dumps, or CPU registers," Trend Micro researchers Buddy Tancio, Jed Valderama, and Catherine Loveria  said  in a report published last week. PlugX, also known as  Korplug , is a post-exploitation  modular implant , which, among other things, is known for its multiple functionalities such as data exfiltration and its ability to use the compromised machine for nefarious purposes. Although first documented a decade ago in 2012, early samples of the malware date as far as February 2008, according to a  Trend Micro report  at the time. Over the years, PlugX has been used by threat actors with a Chinese nexus as w...

The Dutch police announced the arrest of three individuals in connection with a "large-scale" criminal operation involving data theft, extortion, and money laundering. The suspects include two 21-year-old men from Zandvoort and Rotterdam and an 18-year-old man without a permanent residence. The arrests were made on January 23, 2023. It's estimated that the hackers stole personal data belonging to tens of millions of individuals. This comprised names, addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, bank account numbers, credit cards, passwords, license plates, social security numbers, and passport details. The Politie said its cybercrime team started the investigation nearly two years ago, in March 2021, after a large Dutch company suffered a security breach. The name of the company was not disclosed but some of the firms that were hit by a cyber attack around that time included  RDC ,  Shell , and  Ticketcounter , the last of which was also a victim of an extortion att...