The Hacker News | #1 Trusted Source for Cybersecurity News

While phishing and ransomware dominate headlines, another critical risk quietly persists across most enterprises: exposed Git repositories leaking sensitive data. A risk that silently creates shadow access into core systems Git is the backbone of modern software development, hosting millions of repositories and serving thousands of organizations worldwide. Yet, amid the daily hustle of shipping code, developers may inadvertently leave behind API keys, tokens, or passwords in configuration files and code files, effectively handing attackers the keys to the kingdom. This isn't just about poor hygiene; it's a systemic and growing supply chain risk. As cyber threats become more sophisticated, so do compliance requirements. Security frameworks like NIS2, SOC2, and ISO 27001 now demand proof that software delivery pipelines are hardened and third-party risk is controlled. The message is clear: securing your Git repositories is no longer optional, it's essential. Below, we look at the ris...

Threat actors behind the Interlock ransomware group have unleashed a new PHP variant of its bespoke remote access trojan (RAT) as part of a widespread campaign using a variant of ClickFix called FileFix. "Since May 2025, activity related to the Interlock RAT has been observed in connection with the LandUpdate808 (aka KongTuke) web-inject threat clusters," The DFIR Report said in a technical analysis published today in collaboration with Proofpoint. "The campaign begins with compromised websites injected with a single-line script hidden in the page's HTML, often unbeknownst to site owners or visitors." The JavaScript code acts as a traffic distribution system (TDS), using IP filtering techniques to redirect users to fake CAPTCHA verification pages that leverage ClickFix to entice them into running a PowerShell script that leads to the deployment of NodeSnake (aka Interlock RAT). The use of NodeSnake by Interlock was previously documented by Quorum Cyber...

In cybersecurity, precision matters—and there's little room for error. A small mistake, missed setting, or quiet misconfiguration can quickly lead to much bigger problems. The signs we're seeing this week highlight deeper issues behind what might look like routine incidents: outdated tools, slow response to risks, and the ongoing gap between compliance and real security. For anyone responsible for protecting systems, the key isn't just reacting to alerts—it's recognizing the larger patterns and hidden weak spots they reveal. Here's a breakdown of what's unfolding across the cybersecurity world this week. ⚡ Threat of the Week NCA Arrests for Alleged Scattered Spider Members — The U.K. National Crime Agency (NCA) announced that four people have been arrested in connection with cyber attacks targeting major retailers Marks & Spencer, Co-op, and Harrods. The arrested individuals include two men aged 19, a third aged 17, and a 20-year-old woman. They were apprehended in the West...

India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has announced that it has taken steps to dismantle what it said was a transnational cybercrime syndicate that carried out "sophisticated" tech support scams targeting citizens of Australia and the United Kingdom. The fraudulent scheme is estimated to have led to losses worth more than £390,000 ($525,000) in the United Kingdom alone. The law enforcement effort, which was carried out on July 7, 2025, as part of Operation Chakra V , involved searches at three locations in Noida, one of which was a fully functional fraudulent call center operating from the Noida Special Economic Zone. Evidence gathered by the CBI revealed that the call center, named FirstIdea, made use of advanced calling infrastructure and malicious scripts to facilitate cross-border anonymity and victim targeting at scale. A total of two arrests have been made, including a key operative partner of FirstIdea. "The operation was meticulously timed with ...

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a new hacking technique that exploits weaknesses in the eSIM technology used in modern smartphones, exposing users to severe risks. The issues impact the Kigen eUICC card. According to the Irish company's website, more than two billion SIMs in IoT devices have been enabled as of December 2020. The findings come from Security Explorations, a research lab of AG Security Research company. Kigen awarded the company a $30,000 bounty for their report. An eSIM, or embedded SIM, is a digital SIM card that's embedded directly into a device as software installed onto an Embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card (eUICC) chip. eSIMs allow users to activate a cellular plan from a carrier without the need for a physical SIM card. eUICC software offers the ability to change operator profiles, remote provisioning, and management of SIM profiles. "The eUICC card makes it possible to install the so-called eSIM profiles into the target chi...

A newly released report by cybersecurity firm CTM360 reveals a large-scale scam operation utilizing fake news websites—known as Baiting News Sites (BNS)—to deceive users into online investment fraud across 50 countries. These BNS pages are made to look like real news outlets: CNN, BBC, CNBC, or regional media. They publish fake stories that feature public figures, central banks, or financial brands, all claiming to back new ways to earn passive income. The goal? Build trust quickly and steer readers toward professional-looking scam platforms like Trap10, Solara Vynex, or Eclipse Earn. Scammers use sponsored ads on Google, Meta, and blog networks to push traffic to these sites. Ads often carry clickbait headlines—"You won't believe what a prominent public figure just revealed"—paired with official photos or national flags to make them feel legit. Clicking the ad directs users to a fake article, which then redirects them to a fraudulent trading platform. Many of these scams follow a...

NVIDIA is urging customers to enable System-level Error Correction Codes (ECC) as a defense against a variant of a RowHammer attack demonstrated against its graphics processing units (GPUs). "Risk of successful exploitation from RowHammer attacks varies based on DRAM device, platform, design specification, and system settings," the GPU maker said in an advisory released this week. Dubbed GPUHammer , the attacks mark the first-ever RowHammer exploit demonstrated against NVIDIA's GPUs (e.g., NVIDIA A6000 GPU with GDDR6 Memory), causing malicious GPU users to tamper with other users' data by triggering bit flips in GPU memory. The most concerning consequence of this behavior, University of Toronto researchers found, is the degradation of an artificial intelligence (AI) model's accuracy from 80% to less than 1%. RowHammer is to modern DRAMs just like how Spectre and Meltdown are to contemporary CPUs. While both are hardware-level security vulnerabilities, Row...

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a serious security issue that allows leaked Laravel APP_KEYs to be weaponized to gain remote code execution capabilities on hundreds of applications. "Laravel's APP_KEY, essential for encrypting sensitive data, is often leaked publicly (e.g., on GitHub)," GitGuardian said . "If attackers get access to this key, they can exploit a deserialization flaw to execute arbitrary code on the server – putting data and infrastructure at risk." The company, in collaboration with Synacktiv, said it was able to extract more than 260,000 APP_KEYs from GitHub from 2018 to May 30, 2025, identifying over 600 vulnerable Laravel applications in the process. GitGuardian said it observed over 10,000 unique APP_KEYs across GitHub, of which 400 APP_KEYs were validated as functional. APP_KEY is a random 32-byte encryption key that's generated during the installation of Laravel. Stored in the .env file of the application, it's used ...

Fortinet has released fixes for a critical security flaw impacting FortiWeb that could enable an unauthenticated attacker to run arbitrary database commands on susceptible instances. Tracked as CVE-2025-25257, the vulnerability carries a CVSS score of 9.6 out of a maximum of 10.0. "An improper neutralization of special elements used in an SQL command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability [CWE-89] in FortiWeb may allow an unauthenticated attacker to execute unauthorized SQL code or commands via crafted HTTP or HTTPs requests," Fortinet said in an advisory released this week. The shortcoming impacts the following versions - FortiWeb 7.6.0 through 7.6.3 (Upgrade to 7.6.4 or above) FortiWeb 7.4.0 through 7.4.7 (Upgrade to 7.4.8 or above) FortiWeb 7.2.0 through 7.2.10 (Upgrade to 7.2.11 or above) FortiWeb 7.0.0 through 7.0.10 (Upgrade to 7.0.11 or above) Kentaro Kawane from GMO Cybersecurity, who was recently credited with reporting a set of critical flaws in Cisco ...

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a set of four security flaws in OpenSynergy's BlueSDK Bluetooth stack that, if successfully exploited, could allow remote code execution on millions of transport vehicles from different vendors. The vulnerabilities, dubbed PerfektBlue , can be fashioned together as an exploit chain to run arbitrary code on cars from at least three major automakers, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Skoda, according to PCA Cyber Security (formerly PCAutomotive). Outside of these three, a fourth unnamed original equipment manufacturer (OEM) has been confirmed to be affected as well. "PerfektBlue exploitation attack is a set of critical memory corruption and logical vulnerabilities found in OpenSynergy BlueSDK Bluetooth stack that can be chained together to obtain Remote Code Execution (RCE)," the cybersecurity company said . While infotainment systems are often seen as isolated from critical vehicle controls, in practice, this separation depends he...

The 2025 Data Risk Report : Enterprises face potentially serious data loss risks from AI-fueled tools. Adopting a unified, AI-driven approach to data security can help. As businesses increasingly rely on cloud-driven platforms and AI-powered tools to accelerate digital transformation, the stakes for safeguarding sensitive enterprise data have reached unprecedented levels. The Zscaler ThreatLabz 2025 Data Risk Report reveals how evolving technology landscapes are amplifying vulnerabilities, highlighting the critical need for a proactive and unified approach to data protection. Drawing on insights from more than 1.2 billion blocked transactions recorded by the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange between February and December 2024, this year's report paints a clear picture of the data security challenges that enterprises face. From the rise of data leakage through generative AI tools to the undiminished risks stemming from email, SaaS applications, and file-sharing services, the findings are b...

A recently disclosed maximum-severity security flaw impacting the Wing FTP Server has come under active exploitation in the wild, according to Huntress. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-47812 (CVSS score: 10.0), is a case of improper handling of null ('\0') bytes in the server's web interface, which allows for remote code execution. It has been addressed in version 7.4.4. "The user and admin web interfaces mishandle '\0' bytes, ultimately allowing injection of arbitrary Lua code into user session files," according to an advisory for the flaw on CVE.org. "This can be used to execute arbitrary system commands with the privileges of the FTP service (root or SYSTEM by default)." What makes it even more concerning is that the flaw can be exploited via anonymous FTP accounts. A comprehensive breakdown of the vulnerability entered the public domain towards the end of June 2025, courtesy of RCE Security researcher Julien Ahrens. Cybersecuri...

An Iranian-backed ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) named Pay2Key has resurfaced in the wake of the Israel-Iran-U.S. conflict last month, offering bigger payouts to cybercriminals who launch attacks against Israel and the U.S. The financially motivated scheme, now operating under the moniker Pay2Key.I2P, is assessed to be linked to a hacking group tracked as Fox Kitten (aka Lemon Sandstorm). "Linked to the notorious Fox Kitten APT group and closely tied to the well-known Mimic ransomware, [...] Pay2Key.I2P appears to partner with or incorporate Mimic's capabilities," Morphisec security researcher Ilia Kulmin said . "Officially, the group offers an 80% profit share (up from 70%) to affiliates supporting Iran or participating in attacks against the enemies of Iran, signaling their ideological commitment." Last year, the U.S. government revealed the advanced persistent threat's (APT) modus operandi of carrying out ransomware attacks by covertly partnering wi...