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An updated version of a malware loader codenamed  IceXLoader  is suspected of having compromised thousands of personal and enterprise Windows machines across the world. IceXLoader is a commodity malware that's sold for $118 on underground forums for a lifetime license. It's chiefly employed to download and execute additional malware on breached hosts. This past June, Fortinet FortiGuard Labs said it  uncovered  a version of the trojan written in the Nim programming language with the goal of evading analysis and detection. "While the version discovered in June (v3.0) looked like a work-in-progress, we recently observed a newer v3.3.3 loader which looks to be fully functionable and includes a multi-stage delivery chain," Natalie Zargarov, cybersecurity researcher at Minerva Labs,  said  in a report published Tuesday. IceXLoader is traditionally distributed through phishing campaigns, with emails containing ZIP archives functioning as a trigger to deploy...

VMware has patched five security flaws affecting its  Workspace ONE Assist  solution, some of which could be exploited to bypass authentication and obtain elevated permissions. Topping the list are three critical vulnerabilities tracked as CVE-2022-31685, CVE-2022-31686, and CVE-2022-31687. All the shortcomings are rated 9.8 on the CVSS vulnerability scoring system. CVE-2022-31685 is an authentication bypass flaw that could be abused by an attacker with network access to VMware Workspace ONE Assist to obtain administrative access without the need to authenticate to the application. CVE-2022-31686 has been described by the virtualization services provider as a "broken authentication method" vulnerability, and CVE-2022-31687 as a "Broken Access Control" flaw. "A malicious actor with network access may be able to obtain administrative access without the need to authenticate to the application," VMware  said  in an advisory for CVE-2022-31686 and CVE-202...

Microsoft's latest round of monthly security updates has been released with fixes for  68 vulnerabilities  spanning its software portfolio, including patches for six actively exploited zero-days. 12 of the issues are rated Critical, two are rated High, and 55 are rated Important in severity. This also includes the weaknesses that were closed out by  OpenSSL  the previous week. Also separately  addressed  in Microsoft Edge at the start of the month is an actively exploited flaw in Chromium-based browsers ( CVE-2022-3723 ) that was plugged by Google as part of an out-of-band update late last month. "The big news is that  two older zero-day CVEs  affecting Exchange Server, made public at the end of September, have finally been fixed," Greg Wiseman, product manager at Rapid7, said in a statement shared with The Hacker News. "Customers are advised to update their  Exchange Server systems  immediately, regardless of whether any previousl...

The Amadey malware is being used to deploy  LockBit 3.0 ransomware  on compromised systems, researchers have warned. "Amadey bot, the malware that is used to install LockBit, is being distributed through two methods: one using a malicious Word document file, and the other using an executable that takes the disguise of the Word file icon," AhnLab Security Emergency Response Center (ASEC)  said  in a new report published today. Amadey, first discovered in 2018, is a "criminal-to-criminal (C2C) botnet infostealer project," as  described  by the BlackBerry Research and Intelligence Team, and is offered for purchase on the criminal underground for as much as $600. While its primary function is to harvest sensitive information from the infected hosts, it further doubles up as a channel to deliver next-stage artifacts. Earlier this July, it was  spread using SmokeLoader , a malware with not-so-different features like itself. Just last month, ASEC also...

Cryptocurrency users are being targeted with a new clipper malware strain dubbed  Laplas  by means of another malware known as SmokeLoader. SmokeLoader, which is delivered by means of weaponized documents sent through spear-phishing emails, further acts as a conduit for other  commodity trojans  like  SystemBC  and  Raccoon Stealer 2.0 , according to an  analysis  from Cyble. Observed in the wild since circa 2013,  SmokeLoader  functions as a generic loader capable of distributing additional payloads onto compromised systems, such as information-stealing malware and other implants. In July 2022, it was found to deploy a backdoor called  Amadey . Cyble said it discovered over 180 samples of the Laplas since October 24, 2022, suggesting a wide deployment. Clippers, also called ClipBankers, fall under a category of malware that Microsoft calls  cryware , which are designed to steal crypto by keeping close tabs on a vic...

The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) on Monday said it seized 50,676 Bitcoin in November 2021 that was stolen in the 2012 hack of the now-defunct Silk Road dark web marketplace. The bitcoin, which was obtained in 2012 and valued at $3.36 billion when it was discovered last year, is now worth $1.04 billion. Additionally recovered were $661,900 in cash, 25 Casascius coins with an approximate value of 174 Bitcoin, and gold- and silver-colored bars. It's also one of the largest cryptocurrency seizures to date, followed by the confiscation of $3.6 billion worth of bitcoin  earlier this February  tied to the 2016 breach of the Bitfinex crypto exchange. The Justice Department said it conducted the seizure on November 9, 2021, pursuant to a search warrant issued to James Zhong's house located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It also said the keys to the tokens were found in an underground floor safe and on a "single-board computer that was submerged under blankets in a popcorn t...

The news surrounding the slowing economy has many wondering how much of an impact it will have on their businesses – and lives. And there's good reason to start preparing.  A recent survey by McKinsey & Company found that 85% of small and midsize businesses plan to increase their security spending heading into 2023, while Gartner recently projected that 2022 IT spending will only grow by 3%, down from a 10% growth rate the year before. We're already seeing businesses making cuts and freezing budgets. And smaller organizations that already have limited budgets are more vulnerable than ever. While we are still dealing with the unknown, one thing  is  clear: even as the economy slows down, security threats don't. But there's hope.  A  new eBook  illuminates how one solution can not only help increase security operations efficiency but also provide economic safeguards for security teams that are already strapped for cash.  What is the solution? C...