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Threat actors are exploiting a novel attack technique in the wild that leverages specially crafted management saved console (MSC) files to gain full code execution using Microsoft Management Console ( MMC ) and evade security defenses. Elastic Security Labs has codenamed the approach GrimResource after identifying an artifact (" sccm-updater.msc ") that was uploaded to the VirusTotal malware scanning platform on June 6, 2024. "When a maliciously crafted console file is imported, a vulnerability in one of the MMC libraries can lead to running adversary code, including malware," the company said in a statement shared with The Hacker News. "Attackers can combine this technique with DotNetToJScript to gain arbitrary code execution, which can lead to unauthorized access, system takeover and more." The use of uncommon file types as a malware distribution vector is seen as an alternative attempt by adversaries to get around security guardrails erected ...

Browser security is becoming increasingly popular, as organizations understand the need to protect at the point of risk - the browser. Network and endpoint solutions are limited in their ability to protect from web-borne threats like phishing websites or malicious browser extensions. They also do not protect from internal data exfiltration, like employees pasting sensitive data to ChatGPT. As it turns out, browser security is also a cost-effective security solution, compared to other solutions that require much more budgets and heavy lifting. In a new report, "CISO Testimonials: 6 Real Life Stories of Cutting Costs with a Browser Security Platform" , six CISOs testify how browser security allowed them to reduce security team workloads and enhance efficiency and security, with a cost-effective browser security solution. CISO Testimonials Throughout the report, the CISOs reveal the tasks they had on their plate and how they solved them in an efficient manner. These are categorized...

A previously undocumented threat actor dubbed Boolka has been observed compromising websites with malicious scripts to deliver a modular trojan codenamed BMANAGER . "The threat actor behind this campaign has been carrying out opportunistic SQL injection attacks against websites in various countries since at least 2022," Group-IB researchers Rustam Mirkasymov and Martijn van den Berk said in a report published last week. "Over the last three years, the threat actors have been infecting vulnerable websites with malicious JavaScript scripts capable of intercepting any data entered on an infected website." Boolka gets its name from the JavaScript code inserted into the website that beacons out to a command-and-control server named "boolka[.]tk" every time an unsuspecting visitor lands on the infected site. The JavaScript is also designed to collect and exfiltrate user inputs and interactions in a Base64-encoded format, indicating the use of the malware...

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been freed in the U.K. and has departed the country after serving more than five years in a maximum security prison at Belmarsh for what was described by the U.S. government as the "largest compromises of classified information" in its history. Capping off a 14-year legal saga, Assange, 52, pleaded guilty to one criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified U.S. national defense documents. He is due to be sentenced to 62 months of time already served in the Pacific island of Saipan later this week. According to the Associated Press , the hearing is taking place there because of Assange's "opposition to traveling to the continental U.S. and the court's proximity to Australia." "This is the result of a global campaign that spanned grass-roots organizers, press freedom campaigners, legislators and leaders from across the political spectrum, all the way to the United Nations," WikiLeaks said in a...

Four Vietnamese nationals with ties to the FIN9 cybercrime group have been indicted in the U.S. for their involvement in a series of computer intrusions that caused over $71 million in losses to companies. The defendants, Ta Van Tai (aka Quynh Hoa and Bich Thuy), Nguyen Viet Quoc (aka Tien Nguyen), Nguyen Trang Xuyen, and Nguyen Van Truong (aka Chung Nguyen), have been accused of conducting phishing campaigns and supply chain compromises to orchestrate cyber attacks and steal millions of dollars. "From at least May 2018 through October 2021, the defendants hacked the computer networks of victim companies throughout the United States and used their access to steal or attempt to steal non-public information, employee benefits, and funds," the U.S. Department of Justice said in an unsealed indictment last week. According to court documents, the individuals – after successfully gaining initial access to target networks – stole gift card data, personally identifiable informat...

Multiple WordPress plugins have been backdoored to inject malicious code that makes it possible to create rogue administrator accounts with the aim of performing arbitrary actions. "The injected malware attempts to create a new administrative user account and then sends those details back to the attacker-controlled server," Wordfence security researcher Chloe Chamberland said in a Monday alert. "In addition, it appears the threat actor also injected malicious JavaScript into the footer of websites that appears to add SEO spam throughout the website." The admin accounts have the usernames "Options" and "PluginAuth," with the account information exfiltrated to the IP address 94.156.79[.]8. It's currently not known how the unknown attackers behind the campaign managed to compromise the plugins, but the earliest signs of the software supply chain attack date back to June 21, 2024. The plugins in question are no longer available for downlo...

Google has developed a new framework called Project Naptime that it says enables a large language model (LLM) to carry out vulnerability research with an aim to improve automated discovery approaches. "The Naptime architecture is centered around the interaction between an AI agent and a target codebase," Google Project Zero researchers Sergei Glazunov and Mark Brand said . "The agent is provided with a set of specialized tools designed to mimic the workflow of a human security researcher." The initiative is so named for the fact that it allows humans to "take regular naps" while it assists with vulnerability research and automating variant analysis. The approach, at its core, seeks to take advantage of advances in code comprehension and general reasoning ability of LLMs, thus allowing them to replicate human behavior when it comes to identifying and demonstrating security vulnerabilities. It encompasses several components such as a Code Browser tool...

Cybersecurity researchers have detailed a now-patched security flaw affecting the Ollama open-source artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure platform that could be exploited to achieve remote code execution. Tracked as CVE-2024-37032 , the vulnerability has been codenamed Probllama by cloud security firm Wiz. Following responsible disclosure on May 5, 2024, the issue was addressed in version 0.1.34 released on May 7, 2024. Ollama is a service for packaging, deploying, running large language models (LLMs) locally on Windows, Linux, and macOS devices. At its core, the issue relates to a case of insufficient input validation that results in a path traversal flaw an attacker could exploit to overwrite arbitrary files on the server and ultimately lead to remote code execution. The shortcoming requires the threat actor to send specially crafted HTTP requests to the Ollama API server for successful exploitation. It specifically takes advantage of the API endpoint "/api/pull...

Learn about critical threats that can impact your organization and the bad actors behind them from Cybersixgill's threat experts. Each story shines a light on underground activities, the threat actors involved, and why you should care, along with what you can do to mitigate risk.  Cybersecurity professionals are facing unprecedented challenges as they strive to manage increasing workloads amidst limited budgets, inadequate staffing, and growing attack surfaces. Research indicates that a majority of these professionals find their jobs more difficult than ever, and a significant number are contemplating leaving their current positions due to the stress and demands of the role. The value of cyber threat intelligence (CTI) in anticipating and mitigating potential attacks is widely recognized. However, security teams face several challenges in effectively utilizing CTI insights, which can turn a powerful cyber defense weapon into an additional burden that security professionals must ...