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Here's the biggest news of the week—Microsoft has reportedly acquired GitHub for $7.5 billion. For those unaware, GitHub is a popular code repository hosting service that allows developers to host their projects, documentation, and code in the cloud using the popular Git source management system, invented in 2005 by Linux founder Linus Torvalds. GitHub is used by many developers and big tech companies including Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, and IBM to store their corporate code and privately collaborate on software, but Microsoft is one of the top contributors to the web-hosting service. Microsoft has uploaded several of its most important projects, including PowerShell , the .NET framework, and the Microsoft Edge JavaScript engine , to the website under open source licenses. Microsoft also partnered with Canonical to bring Ubuntu to Windows 10 . Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports that GitHub opted to sell to Microsoft in part because it was impr...

Security researchers have unearthed a serious security flaw in all supported versions of Windows that could let hackers steal users' credentials from computers, tablets or servers running any version of Windows operating system, including the as-yet-released Windows 10. This vulnerability in Windows was first discovered 20 Years ago : The critical bug, dubbed " Redirect to SMB ," is a variant of a vulnerability found in Windows by researcher Aaron Spangler nearly 18 years ago that caused Windows to expose a user's Windows username and password automatically. However, according to researchers at security firm Cylance who discovered the flaw, this weakness in Windows was never patched by Microsoft, as Microsoft says that this flaw is not worth focusing on, and, therefore... ...This results in a new hack that targets the SMB file sharing protocol . But, What is SMB? SMB, or Server Message Block, is a protocol that allows users to share files o...

Last year, the popular system cleanup software CCleaner suffered a massive supply-chain malware attack of all times, wherein hackers compromised the company's servers for more than a month and replaced the original version of the software with the malicious one. The malware attack infected over 2.3 million users who downloaded or updated their CCleaner app between August and September last year from the official website with the backdoored version of the software. Now, it turns out that the hackers managed to infiltrate the company's network almost five months before they first replaced the official CCleaner build with the backdoored version, revealed Avast executive VP and CTO Ondrej Vlcek at the RSA security conference in San Francisco on Tuesday. 6-Months Timeline of CCleaner Supply Chain Attack Vlcek shared a brief timeline of the last year's incident that came out to be the worst nightmare for the company, detailing how and when unknown hackers breached Pi...

Threat actors affiliated with the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) have targeted unpatched JetBrains TeamCity servers in widespread attacks since September 2023. The activity has been tied to a nation-state group known as  APT29 , which is also tracked as BlueBravo, Cloaked Ursa, Cozy Bear, Midnight Blizzard (formerly Nobelium), and The Dukes. It's notable for the supply chain attack  targeting SolarWinds  and its customers in 2020. "The SVR has, however, been observed using the initial access gleaned by exploiting the TeamCity CVE to escalate its privileges, move laterally, deploy additional backdoors, and take other steps to ensure persistent and long-term access to the compromised network environments," cybersecurity agencies from Poland, the U.K., and the U.S.  said . The vulnerability in question is  CVE-2023-42793  (CVSS score: 9.8), a critical security flaw that could be weaponized by unauthenticated attackers to achieve remote code exe...

Microsoft has announced plans to improve the security of Entra ID authentication by blocking unauthorized script injection attacks starting a year from now. The update to its Content Security Policy (CSP) aims to enhance the Entra ID sign-in experience at "login.microsoftonline[.]com" by only letting scripts from trusted Microsoft domains run. "This update strengthens security and adds an extra layer of protection by allowing only scripts from trusted Microsoft domains to run during authentication, blocking unauthorized or injected code from executing during the sign-in experience," the Windows maker said . Specifically, it only allows script downloads from Microsoft trusted CDN domains and inline script execution from a Microsoft trusted source. The updated policy is limited to browser-based sign-in experiences for URLs beginning with login.microsoftonline.com. Microsoft Entra External ID will not be affected. The change, which has been described as a proacti...

A Microsoft Windows policy loophole has been observed being exploited primarily by native Chinese-speaking threat actors to forge signatures on kernel-mode drivers. "Actors are leveraging multiple open-source tools that alter the signing date of kernel mode drivers to load malicious and unverified drivers signed with expired certificates," Cisco Talos said in an  exhaustive two-part report  shared with The Hacker News. "This is a major threat, as access to the kernel provides complete access to a system, and therefore total compromise." Following responsible disclosure, Microsoft  said  it has taken steps to block all certificates to mitigate the threat. It further stated that its investigation found "the activity was limited to the abuse of several developer program accounts and that no Microsoft account compromise has been identified." The tech giant, besides suspending developer program accounts involved in the incident, emphasized that the threat a...

A cyberespionage actor known as Tick has been attributed with high confidence to a compromise of an East Asian data-loss prevention (DLP) company that caters to government and military entities. "The attackers compromised the DLP company's internal update servers to deliver malware inside the software developer's network, and trojanized installers of legitimate tools used by the company, which eventually resulted in the execution of malware on the computers of the company's customers," ESET researcher Facundo Muñoz  said . Tick , also known as Bronze Butler, REDBALDKNIGHT , Stalker Panda, and Stalker Taurus, is a suspected China-aligned collective that has primarily gone after government, manufacturing, and biotechnology firms in Japan. It's said to be active  since at least 2006 . Other lesser-known targets include Russian, Singaporean, and Chinese enterprises. Attack chains orchestrated by the group have typically leveraged spear-phishing emails and  str...

A never-before-seen North Korean threat actor codenamed Moonstone Sleet has been attributed as behind cyber attacks targeting individuals and organizations in the software and information technology, education, and defense industrial base sectors with ransomware and bespoke malware previously associated with the infamous Lazarus Group. "Moonstone Sleet is observed to set up fake companies and job opportunities to engage with potential targets, employ trojanized versions of legitimate tools, create a malicious game, and deliver a new custom ransomware," the Microsoft Threat Intelligence team said in a new analysis. It also characterized the threat actor as using a combination of tried-and-true techniques used by other North Korean threat actors and unique attack methodologies to meet its strategic objectives. The adversary, hitherto tracked by Redmond under the emerging cluster moniker Storm-1789, is assessed to be a state-aligned group that originally exhibited strong t...

This week, a 23-year-old Serbian activist found themselves at the crossroads of digital danger when a sneaky zero-day exploit turned their Android device into a target. Meanwhile, Microsoft pulled back the curtain on a scheme where cybercriminals used AI tools for harmful pranks, and a massive trove of live secrets was discovered, reminding us that even the tools we rely on can hide risky surprises. We've sifted through a storm of cyber threats—from phishing scams to malware attacks—and broken down what it means for you in clear, everyday language. Get ready to dive into the details, understand the risks, and learn how to protect yourself in an increasingly unpredictable online world. ⚡ Threat of the Week Serbian Youth Activist Targeted by Android 0-Day Exploit Chain — A 23-year-old Serbian youth activist had their Android phone targeted by a zero-day exploit chain developed by Cellebrite to unlock the device and likely deploy an Android spyware called NoviSpy. The flaws combined ...

Microsoft has detailed the evolving capabilities of toll fraud malware apps on Android, pointing out its "complex multi-step attack flow" and an improved mechanism to evade security analysis. Toll fraud belongs to a category of billing fraud wherein malicious mobile applications come with hidden subscription fees, roping in unsuspecting users to premium content without their knowledge or consent. It's also different from other  fleeceware threats  in that the malicious functions are only carried out when a compromised device is connected to one of its target network operators. "It also, by default, uses cellular connection for its activities and forces devices to connect to the mobile network even if a Wi-Fi connection is available," Dimitrios Valsamaras and Sang Shin Jung of the Microsoft 365 Defender Research Team  said  in an exhaustive analysis. "Once the connection to a target network is confirmed, it stealthily initiates a fraudulent subscription...

This week saw a lot of new cyber trouble. Hackers hit Fortinet and Chrome with new 0-day bugs. They also broke into supply chains and SaaS tools. Many hid inside trusted apps, browser alerts, and software updates. Big firms like Microsoft, Salesforce, and Google had to react fast — stopping DDoS attacks, blocking bad links, and fixing live flaws. Reports also showed how fast fake news, AI risks, and attacks on developers are growing. Here's what mattered most in security this week. ⚡ Threat of the Week Fortinet Warns of Another Silently Patched and Actively Exploited FortiWeb Flaw — Fortinet has warned that a new security flaw in FortiWeb has been exploited in the wild. The medium-severity vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-58034, carries a CVSS score of 6.7 out of a maximum of 10.0. It has been addressed in version 8.0.2. "An Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection') vulnerability [CWE-78] in FortiWeb may allow an a...

What happens when cybercriminals no longer need deep skills to breach your defenses? Today's attackers are armed with powerful tools that do the heavy lifting — from AI-powered phishing kits to large botnets ready to strike. And they're not just after big corporations. Anyone can be a target when fake identities, hijacked infrastructure, and insider tricks are used to slip past security unnoticed. This week's threats are a reminder: waiting to react is no longer an option. Every delay gives attackers more ground. ⚡ Threat of the Week Critical SAP NetWeaver Flaw Exploited as 0-Day — A critical security flaw in SAP NetWeaver (CVE-2025-31324, CVSS score: 10.0) has been exploited by unknown threat actors to upload JSP web shells with the goal of facilitating unauthorized file uploads and code execution. The attacks have also been observed using the Brute Ratel C4 post-exploitation framework, as well as a well-known technique called Heaven's Gate to bypass endpoint protections. ...

״Defenders think in lists, attackers think in graphs," said John Lambert from Microsoft, distilling the fundamental difference in mindset between those who defend IT systems and those who try to compromise them. The traditional approach for defenders is to list security gaps directly related to their assets in the network and eliminate as many as possible, starting with the most critical. Adversaries, in contrast, start with the end goal in mind and focus on charting the path toward a breach. They will generally look for the weakest link in the security chain to break in and progress the attack from there all the way to the crown jewels. Security teams must embrace the attacker's perspective to ensure their organization's cybersecurity defenses are adequate. Drawing an analogy to a daily life example, the standard way to defend our house from intrusion is to ensure all the doors are locked. But to validate that your house is protected requires ...