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A now-patched security flaw in the Microsoft Edge web browser could have been abused to install arbitrary extensions on users' systems and carry out malicious actions.  "This flaw could have allowed an attacker to exploit a private API, initially intended for marketing purposes, to covertly install additional browser extensions with broad permissions without the user's knowledge," Guardio Labs security researcher Oleg Zaytsev  said  in a new report shared with The Hacker News. Tracked as  CVE-2024-21388  (CVSS score: 6.5), it was addressed by Microsoft in Edge stable version 121.0.2277.83 released on January 25, 2024, following responsible disclosure in November 2023. The Windows maker credited both Zaytsev and Jun Kokatsu for reporting the issue. "An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the privileges needed to install an extension," Microsoft said in an advisory for the flaw, adding it "could lead to a browser sandbo...

As SaaS applications dominate the business landscape, organizations need optimized network speed and robust security measures. Many of them have been turning to SASE, a product category that offers cloud-based network protection while enhancing network infrastructure performance. However, a new report: "Better Together: SASE and Enterprise Browser Extension for the SaaS-First Enterprise" ( Download here ), challenges SASE's ability to deliver comprehensive security against web-borne cyber threats on its own. From phishing attacks to malicious extensions and account takeovers, traditional network traffic analysis and security falls short. The report sheds light on these limitations and introduces the role of secure browser extensions as an essential component in a comprehensive security strategy. SASE Advantages and Limitations SASE takes on a dual role in addressing both infrastructure and security. However, while SASE offers clear advantages in security, it may not e...

Cybersecurity researchers are warning that threat actors are actively exploiting a "disputed" and unpatched vulnerability in an open-source artificial intelligence (AI) platform called Anyscale Ray to hijack computing power for illicit cryptocurrency mining. "This vulnerability allows attackers to take over the companies' computing power and leak sensitive data," Oligo Security researchers Avi Lumelsky, Guy Kaplan, and Gal Elbaz  said  in a Tuesday disclosure. "This flaw has been under active exploitation for the last seven months, affecting sectors like education, cryptocurrency, biopharma, and more." The campaign, ongoing since September 2023, has been codenamed  ShadowRay  by the Israeli application security firm. It also marks the first time AI workloads have been targeted in the wild through shortcomings underpinning the AI infrastructure. Ray is an  open-source, fully-managed compute framework  that allows organizations to build, train, and ...

A new phishing campaign has been observed leveraging a novel loader malware to deliver an information stealer and keylogger called  Agent Tesla . Trustwave SpiderLabs said it identified a phishing email bearing this attack chain on March 8, 2024. The message masquerades as a bank payment notification, urging the user to open an archive file attachment. The archive ("Bank Handlowy w Warszawie - dowód wpłaty_pdf.tar.gz") conceals a malicious loader that activates the procedure to deploy Agent Tesla on the compromised host. "This loader then used obfuscation to evade detection and leveraged polymorphic behavior with complex decryption methods," security researcher Bernard Bautista  said  in a Tuesday analysis. "The loader also exhibited the capability to bypass antivirus defenses and retrieved its payload using specific URLs and user agents leveraging proxies to further obfuscate traffic." The tactic of embedding malware within seemingly benign files is...

Two China-linked advanced persistent threat (APT) groups have been observed targeting entities and member countries affiliated with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as part of a cyber espionage campaign over the past three months. This includes the threat actor known as  Mustang Panda , which has been recently linked to  cyber attacks against Myanmar  as well as other Asian countries with a variant of the PlugX (aka Korplug) backdoor dubbed  DOPLUGS . Mustang Panda, also called Camaro Dragon, Earth Preta, and Stately Taurus, is believed to have targeted entities in Myanmar, the Philippines, Japan and Singapore, targeting them with phishing emails designed to deliver two malware packages. "Threat actors created malware for these packages on March 4-5, 2024, coinciding with the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit (March 4-6, 2024)," Palo Alto Networks Unit 42  said  in a report shared with The Hacker News. One of the malware package is a ZIP...

Threat hunters have identified a suspicious package in the  NuGet package manager  that's likely designed to target developers working with tools made by a Chinese firm that specializes in industrial- and digital equipment manufacturing. The package in question is  SqzrFramework480 , which ReversingLabs said was first published on January 24, 2024. It has been  downloaded  2,999 times as of writing. The software supply chain security firm said it did not find any other package that exhibited similar behavior. It, however, theorized the campaign could likely be used for orchestrating industrial espionage on systems equipped with cameras, machine vision, and robotic arms. The indication that SqzrFramework480 is seemingly tied to a Chinese firm named Bozhon Precision Industry Technology Co., Ltd. comes from the use of a version of the company's logo for the package's icon. It was uploaded by a Nuget user account called " zhaoyushun1999 ." Present within the...

The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) on Monday unsealed indictments against seven Chinese nationals for their involvement in a hacking group that targeted U.S. and foreign critics, journalists, businesses, and political officials for about 14 years. The defendants include Ni Gaobin (倪高彬), Weng Ming (翁明), Cheng Feng (程锋), Peng Yaowen (彭耀文), Sun Xiaohui (孙小辉), Xiong Wang (熊旺), and Zhao Guangzong (赵光宗).  The suspected cyber spies have been charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a state-sponsored threat group tracked as  APT31 , which is also known as Altaire,  Bronze Vinewood , Judgement Panda, and Violet Typhoon (formerly Zirconium). The hacking collective has been  active since at least 2010 . Specifically, their responsibilities entail testing and exploiting the malware used to conduct the intrusions, managing the attack infrastructure, and conducting surveillance of specific U.S. entities, fed...