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Leaked Exploits are Legit and Belong to NSA: Cisco, Fortinet and Snowden Docs Confirm

Leaked Exploits are Legit and Belong to NSA: Cisco, Fortinet and Snowden Docs Confirm

Aug 20, 2016
Last week, a group calling itself " The Shadow Brokers " published what it said was a set of NSA "cyber weapons," including some working exploits for the Internet's most crucial network infrastructure, apparently stolen from the agency's Equation Group in 2013. Well, talking about the authenticity of those exploits, The Intercept published Friday a new set of documents from the Edward Snowden archive, which confirms that the files leaked by the Shadow Brokers contain authentic NSA software and hacking tools used to secretly infect computers worldwide. As I previously mentioned , the leaked documents revealed how the NSA was systematically spying on customers of big technology companies like Cisco, Fortinet, and Juniper for at least a decade. Hacking tools from The Shadow Brokers leak named ExtraBacon, EpicBanana, and JetPlow, contain exploits that can compromise Cisco firewall products including devices from the Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) li...
U.S. DoJ Indicts North Korean Hacker for Ransomware Attacks on Hospitals

U.S. DoJ Indicts North Korean Hacker for Ransomware Attacks on Hospitals

Jul 26, 2024 Cybercrime / Healthcare
The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) on Thursday unsealed an indictment against a North Korean military intelligence operative for allegedly carrying out ransomware attacks against healthcare facilities in the country and funneling the payments to orchestrate additional intrusions into defense, technology, and government entities across the world. " Rim Jong Hyok and his co-conspirators deployed ransomware to extort U.S. hospitals and health care companies, then laundered the proceeds to help fund North Korea's illicit activities," said Paul Abbate, deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). "These unacceptable and unlawful actions placed innocent lives at risk." Concurrent with the indictment, the U.S. Department of State announced a reward of up to $10 million for information that could lead to his whereabouts, or the identification of other individuals in connection with the malicious activity. Hyok, part of a hacking crew dubbed Andarie...
WikiLeaks Reveals 'AfterMidnight' & 'Assassin' CIA Windows Malware Frameworks

WikiLeaks Reveals 'AfterMidnight' & 'Assassin' CIA Windows Malware Frameworks

May 15, 2017
When the world was dealing with the threat of the self-spreading WannaCry ransomware , WikiLeaks released a new batch of CIA Vault 7 leaks , detailing two apparent CIA malware frameworks for the Microsoft Windows platform. Dubbed " AfterMidnight " and " Assassin ," both malware programs are designed to monitor and report back actions on the infected remote host computer running the Windows operating system and execute malicious actions specified by the CIA. Since March, WikiLeaks has published hundreds of thousands of documents and secret hacking tools that the group claims came from the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). This latest batch is the 8th release in the whistleblowing organization's 'Vault 7' series. 'AfterMidnight' Malware Framework According to a statement from WikiLeaks, 'AfterMidnight' allows its operators to dynamically load and execute malicious payload on a target system. The main controller of the ma...
cyber security

Secured Images 101

websiteWizDevOps / AppSec
Secure your container ecosystem with this easy-to-read digital poster that breaks down everything you need to know about container image security. Perfect for engineering, platform, DevOps, AppSec, and cloud security teams.
cyber security

When Zoom Phishes You: Unmasking a Novel TOAD Attack Hidden in Legitimate Infrastructure

websiteProphet SecurityArtificial Intelligence / SOC
Prophet AI uncovers a Telephone-Oriented Attack Delivery (TOAD) campaign weaponizing Zoom's own authentication infrastructure.
China-Linked Earth Alux Uses VARGEIT and COBEACON in Multi-Stage Cyber Intrusions

China-Linked Earth Alux Uses VARGEIT and COBEACON in Multi-Stage Cyber Intrusions

Apr 01, 2025 Malware / Cyber Espionage
Cybersecurity researchers have shed light on a new China-linked threat actor called Earth Alux that has targeted various key sectors such as government, technology, logistics, manufacturing, telecommunications, IT services, and retail in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Latin American (LATAM) regions. "The first sighting of its activity was in the second quarter of 2023; back then, it was predominantly observed in the APAC region," Trend Micro researchers Lenart Bermejo, Ted Lee, and Theo Chen said in a technical report published Monday. "Around the middle of 2024, it was also spotted in Latin America." The primary targets of the adversarial collective span countries such as Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Brazil. The infection chains begin with the exploitation of vulnerable services in internet-exposed web applications, using them to drop the Godzilla web shell for facilitating the deployment of additional payloads, including backdoors dubbed VA...
RCSAndroid — Advanced Android Hacking Tool Leaked Online

RCSAndroid — Advanced Android Hacking Tool Leaked Online

Jul 24, 2015
As digging deeper and deeper into the huge Hacking Team data dump , security researchers are finding more and more source code, including an advanced Android Hacking Tool. Yes, this time researchers have found a source code to a new piece of weaponized android malware that had the capability to infect millions of Android devices even when users are running latest versions of the android mobile operating system. Trend Micro researchers found that the Italian spyware company was selling RCSAndroid (Remote Control System Android) , which they says, is one of the "most professionally developed and sophisticated" pieces of Android malware a.k.a Android hacking tool they have ever seen. RCSAndroid is a sophisticated, real-world surveillance and hacking tool that provides even unskilled hackers to deploy one of the world's more advanced surveillance suites for Google's mobile operating system Android. List of Creepy Features of Android Hacking Tool ...
Bad Rabbit Ransomware Uses Leaked 'EternalRomance' NSA Exploit to Spread

Bad Rabbit Ransomware Uses Leaked 'EternalRomance' NSA Exploit to Spread

Oct 27, 2017
A new widespread ransomware worm, known as " Bad Rabbit ," that hit over 200 major organisations, primarily in Russia and Ukraine this week leverages a stolen NSA exploit released by the Shadow Brokers this April to spread across victims' networks. Earlier it was reported that this week's crypto-ransomware outbreak did not use any National Security Agency-developed exploits, neither EternalRomance nor EternalBlue , but a recent report from Cisco's Talos Security Intelligence revealed that the Bad Rabbit ransomware did use EternalRomance exploit. NotPetya ransomware (also known as ExPetr and Nyetya) that infected tens of thousands of systems back in June also leveraged the EternalRomance exploit , along with another NSA's leaked Windows hacking exploit EternalBlue, which was used in the WannaCry ransomware outbreak. Bad Rabbit Uses EternalRomance SMB RCE Exploit Bad Rabbit does not use EternalBlue but does leverage EternalRomance RCE exploit to spread...
Russian Ransomware Gang Retool Custom Hacking Tools of Other APT Groups

Russian Ransomware Gang Retool Custom Hacking Tools of Other APT Groups

Mar 14, 2022
A Russian-speaking ransomware outfit likely targeted an unnamed entity in the gambling and gaming sector in Europe and Central America by repurposing custom tools developed by other APT groups like Iran's MuddyWater, new research has found. The unusual attack chain involved the abuse of stolen credentials to gain unauthorized access to the victim network, ultimately leading to the deployment of Cobalt Strike payloads on compromised assets,  said  Felipe Duarte and Ido Naor, researchers at Israeli incident response firm Security Joes, in a report published last week. Although the infection was contained at this stage, the researchers characterized the compromise as a case of a suspected ransomware attack. The intrusion is said to have taken place in February 2022, with the attackers making use of post-exploitation tools such as  ADFind , NetScan,  SoftPerfect , and  LaZagne . Also employed is an AccountRestore executable to brute-force administrator credenti...
Microsoft Uncovers Austrian Company Exploiting Windows and Adobe Zero-Day Exploits

Microsoft Uncovers Austrian Company Exploiting Windows and Adobe Zero-Day Exploits

Jul 28, 2022
A cyber mercenary that "ostensibly sells general security and information analysis services to commercial customers" used several Windows and Adobe zero-day exploits in limited and highly-targeted attacks against European and Central American entities. The company, which Microsoft describes as a private-sector offensive actor (PSOA), is an Austria-based outfit called  DSIRF  that's linked to the development and attempted sale of a piece of cyberweapon referred to as Subzero , which can be used to hack targets' phones, computers, and internet-connected devices. "Observed victims to date include law firms, banks, and strategic consultancies in countries such as Austria, the United Kingdom, and Panama," the tech giant's cybersecurity teams  said  in a Wednesday report. Microsoft is  tracking  the actor under the moniker KNOTWEED, continuing its trend of terming PSOAs using names given to trees and shrubs. The company previously designated the name  SO...
ToddyCat’s New Hacking Tools Steal Outlook Emails and Microsoft 365 Access Tokens

ToddyCat's New Hacking Tools Steal Outlook Emails and Microsoft 365 Access Tokens

Nov 25, 2025 Malware / Vulnerability
The threat actor known as ToddyCat has been observed adopting new methods to obtain access to corporate email data belonging to target companies, including using a custom tool dubbed TCSectorCopy. "This attack allows them to obtain tokens for the OAuth 2.0 authorization protocol using the user's browser, which can be used outside the perimeter of the compromised infrastructure to access corporate mail," Kaspersky said in a technical breakdown. ToddyCat, assessed to be active since 2020, has a track record of targeting various organizations in Europe and Asia with various tools, Samurai and TomBerBil to retain access and steal cookies and credentials from web browsers like Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. Earlier this April, the hacking group was attributed to the exploitation of a security flaw in ESET Command Line Scanner (CVE-2024-11859, CVSS score: 6.8) to deliver a previously undocumented malware codenamed TCESB.  Kaspersky said it detected in attacks that ...
Phantom Taurus: New China-Linked Hacker Group Hits Governments With Stealth Malware

Phantom Taurus: New China-Linked Hacker Group Hits Governments With Stealth Malware

Sep 30, 2025 Cyber Espionage / Malware
Government and telecommunications organizations across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia have emerged as the target of a previously undocumented China-aligned nation-state actor dubbed Phantom Taurus over the past two-and-a-half years. "Phantom Taurus' main focus areas include ministries of foreign affairs, embassies, geopolitical events, and military operations," Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 researcher Lior Rochberger said . "The group's primary objective is espionage. Its attacks demonstrate stealth, persistence, and an ability to quickly adapt their tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs)." It's worth pointing out that the hacking group was first detailed by the cybersecurity company back in June 2023 under the moniker CL-STA-0043 . Then last May, the threat cluster was graduated to a temporary group, TGR-STA-0043 , following revelations about its sustained cyber espionage efforts aimed at governmental entities since at least late 2022 as part of...
PlushDaemon APT Targets South Korean VPN Provider in Supply Chain Attack

PlushDaemon APT Targets South Korean VPN Provider in Supply Chain Attack

Jan 22, 2025 Supply Chain Attack / Malware
A previously undocumented China-aligned advanced persistent threat (APT) group named PlushDaemon has been linked to a supply chain attack targeting a South Korean virtual private network (VPN) provider in 2023, according to new findings from ESET. "The attackers replaced the legitimate installer with one that also deployed the group's signature implant that we have named SlowStepper – a feature-rich backdoor with a toolkit of more than 30 components," ESET researcher Facundo Muñoz said in a technical report shared with The Hacker News. PlushDaemon is assessed to be a China-nexus group that has been operational since at least 2019, targeting individuals and entities in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, the United States, and New Zealand. Central to its operations is a bespoke backdoor called SlowStepper, which is described as a large toolkit consisting of around 30 modules, programmed in C++, Python, and Go. Another crucial aspect of its attacks is the hijackin...
⚡ Weekly Recap: Fortinet Exploit, Chrome 0-Day, BadIIS Malware, Record DDoS, SaaS Breach & More

⚡ Weekly Recap: Fortinet Exploit, Chrome 0-Day, BadIIS Malware, Record DDoS, SaaS Breach & More

Nov 24, 2025 Cybersecurity / Hacking News
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...
Hackers Are Distributing Backdoored 'Cobian RAT' Hacking tool For Free

Hackers Are Distributing Backdoored 'Cobian RAT' Hacking tool For Free

Sep 06, 2017
Nothing is free in this world. If you are searching for free ready-made hacking tools on the Internet, then beware—most freely available tools, claiming to be the swiss army knife for hackers, are nothing but a hoax. Last year, we reported about one such Facebook hacking tool that actually had the capability to hack a Facebook account, but yours and not the one you desire to hack. Now, a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) builder kit that was recently spotted on multiple underground hacking forums for free found containing a backdoored module that aims to provide the kit's authors access to all of the victim's data. Dubbed Cobian RAT , the malware has been in circulation since February of this year and has some similarities with the njRAT and H-Worm family of malware, which has been around since at least 2013. According to ThreatLabZ researchers from Zscaler, who discovered the backdoored nature of the malware kit, the "free malware builder" is likely capable of...
China-Linked Hackers Launch Targeted Espionage Campaign on African IT Infrastructure

China-Linked Hackers Launch Targeted Espionage Campaign on African IT Infrastructure

Jul 21, 2025 Browser Security / Malware
The China-linked cyber espionage group tracked as APT41 has been attributed to a new campaign targeting government IT services in the African region. "The attackers used hardcoded names of internal services, IP addresses, and proxy servers embedded within their malware," Kaspersky researchers Denis Kulik and Daniil Pogorelov said . "One of the C2s [command-and-control servers] was a captive SharePoint server within the victim's infrastructure." APT41 is the moniker assigned to a prolific Chinese nation-state hacking group that's known for targeting organizations spanning multiple sectors, including telecom and energy providers, educational institutions, healthcare organizations and IT energy companies in more than three dozen countries. What makes the campaign noteworthy is its focus on Africa, which, as the Russian cybersecurity vendor noted, "had experienced the least activity" from this specific threat actor. That said, the findings line u...
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