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Organizations in Taiwan and a U.S. non-governmental organization (NGO) based in China have been targeted by a Beijing-affiliated state-sponsored hacking group called Daggerfly using an upgraded set of malware tools. The campaign is a sign that the group "also engages in internal espionage," Symantec's Threat Hunter Team, part of Broadcom, said in a new report published today. "In the attack on this organization, the attackers exploited a vulnerability in an Apache HTTP server to deliver their MgBot malware." Daggerfly, also known by the names Bronze Highland and Evasive Panda, was previously observed using the MgBot modular malware framework in connection with an intelligence-gathering mission aimed at telecom service providers in Africa. It's known to be operational since 2012. "Daggerfly appears to be capable of responding to exposure by quickly updating its toolset to continue its espionage activities with minimal disruption," the compan...

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered what they say is the ninth Industrial Control Systems (ICS)-focused malware that has been used in a disruptive cyber attack targeting an energy company in the Ukrainian city of Lviv earlier this January. Industrial cybersecurity firm Dragos has dubbed the malware FrostyGoop , describing it as the first malware strain to directly use Modbus TCP communications to sabotage operational technology (OT) networks. It was discovered by the company in April 2024. "FrostyGoop is an ICS-specific malware written in Golang that can interact directly with Industrial Control Systems (ICS) using Modbus TCP over port 502," researchers Kyle O'Meara, Magpie (Mark) Graham, and Carolyn Ahlers said in a technical report shared with The Hacker News. It's believed that the malware, mainly designed to target Windows systems, has been used to target ENCO controllers with TCP port 502 exposed to the internet. It has not been tied to any previously...

The initial onboarding stage is a crucial step for both employees and employers. However, this process often involves the practice of sharing temporary first-day passwords, which can expose organizations to security risks. Traditionally, IT departments have been cornered into either sharing passwords in plain text via email or SMS, or arranging in-person meetings to verbally communicate these credentials. Both methods carry inherent risks, from man-in-the-middle attacks to the simple human error of password mismanagement. This vulnerability creates openings for hackers, who will aim to use weak or intercepted passwords to gain unauthorized access to corporate systems. In this post, we explore the pitfalls of traditional password distribution methods during employee onboarding and introduce a solution that enhances security without compromising the ease of access for new hires. It’s possible for organizations to safeguard their digital environments right from the start, ensuring a se...

Threat actors have been observed using swap files in compromised websites to conceal a persistent credit card skimmer and harvest payment information. The sneaky technique, observed by Sucuri on a Magento e-commerce site's checkout page, allowed the malware to survive multiple cleanup attempts, the company said. The skimmer is designed to capture all the data into the credit card form on the website and exfiltrate the details to an attacker-controlled domain named "amazon-analytic[.]com," which was registered in February 2024. "Note the use of the brand name; this tactic of leveraging popular products and services in domain names is often used by bad actors in an attempt to evade detection," security researcher Matt Morrow said . This is just one of many defense evasion methods employed by the threat actor, which also includes the use of swap files ("bootstrap.php-swapme") to load the malicious code while keeping the original file ("bootstra...

Meta has been given time till September 1, 2024, to respond to concerns raised by the European Commission over its "pay or consent" advertising model or risk-facing enforcement measures, including sanctions. The European Commission said the Consumer Protection Cooperation ( CPC ) Network has notified the social media giant that the model adopted for Facebook and Instagram might potentially violate consumer protection laws. It described the new practice as misleading and confusing, with authorities expressing worries that consumers might have been pressured into choosing quickly between either paying for a monthly subscription or consenting to their personal data being used for targeted advertising. This, the agency said, could have been motivated by fears that they "would instantly lose access to their accounts and their network of contacts." Meta, which introduced a subscription plan for European Union (E.U.) users in late 2023, has run into hot water over o...