Malware

Pierluigi Paganini March 01, 2021
Gootkit delivery platform Gootloader used to deliver additional payloads

The Javascript-based infection framework for the Gootkit RAT was enhanced to deliver a wider variety of malware, including ransomware. Experts from Sophos documented the evolution of the “Gootloader,” the framework used for delivering the Gootkit RAT banking Trojan. The framework was improved to deploy a wider range of malware, including ransomware payloads. “In recent years, almost […]

Pierluigi Paganini February 27, 2021
Hotarus Corp gang hacked Ecuador’s Ministry of Finance and Banco Pichincha

‘Hotarus Corp’ Ransomware operators hacked Ecuador’s largest private bank, Banco Pichincha, and the country’s Ministry of Finance. ​A cybercrime group called ‘Hotarus Corp’ has breached the Ecuador’s largest private bank, Banco Pichincha, and the local Ministry of Finance (the Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas de Ecuador). The group claims to have also stolen data from […]

Pierluigi Paganini February 26, 2021
New Ryuk ransomware implements self-spreading capabilities

French experts spotted a new Ryuk ransomware variant that implements self-spreading capabilities to infect other devices on victims’ local networks. Experts from French national cyber-security agency ANSSI have spotted a new Ryuk ransomware variant that implements worm-like capabilities that allow within local networks. “On top of its usual functions, this version holds a new attribute […]

Pierluigi Paganini February 26, 2021
Microsoft releases open-source CodeQL queries to assess Solorigate compromise

Microsoft announced the release of open-source CodeQL queries that it experts used during its investigation into the SolarWinds supply-chain attack Microsoft has announced the availability of open-source CodeQL queries that the IT giant used during its investigation into the SolarWinds attack. In early 2021, the US agencies FBI, CISA, ODNI, and the NSA released a joint […]

Pierluigi Paganini February 26, 2021
Dutch Research Council (NWO) confirms DoppelPaymer ransomware attack

Dutch Research Council (NWO) confirmed that the recent cyberattack that forced it to take its servers offline was caused by the DoppelPaymer ransomware gang. On February 14, Dutch Research Council (NWO) was hit by a cyber attack that compromised its network and impacted its operations. In response to the incident, the Dutch Research Council (NWO) […]

Pierluigi Paganini February 26, 2021
China-linked TA413 group target Tibetan organizations

The Chinese hacking group, tracked as TA413, used a malicious Firefox add-on in a cyberespionage campaign aimed at Tibetans. China-linked cyberespionage group TA413 targeted Tibetan organizations across the world using a malicious Firefox add-on, dubbed FriarFox, that allowed them to steal Gmail and Firefox browser data and deliver malware on infected systems. “We attribute this […]

Pierluigi Paganini February 25, 2021
North Korea-linked Lazarus APT targets defense industry with ThreatNeedle backdoor

North Korea-linked Lazarus APT group has targeted the defense industry with the custom-backdoor dubbed ThreatNeedle since 2020. North Korea-linked Lazarus APT group has targeted the defense industry with the backdoor dubbed ThreatNeedle since early 2020. The state-sponsored hackers targeted organizations from more than a dozen countries. The experts discovered the custom backdoor while investigating an […]

Pierluigi Paganini February 24, 2021
A Cryptomining botnet abuses Bitcoin blockchain transactions as C2 backup mechanism

Crooks are exploiting BTC blockchain transactions to hide backup command-and-control (C2) server addresses for a cryptomining botnet. Security experts from Akamai have spotted a new botnet used for illicit cryptocurrency mining activities that are abusing Bitcoin (BTC) transactions to implement a backup mechanism for C2.  This technique allows botnet operators to make their infrastructure resilient […]

Pierluigi Paganini February 24, 2021
APT32 state hackers target human rights defenders with spyware

Vietnam-linked APT32 group targeted Vietnamese human rights defenders (HRDs) between February 2018 and November 2020. Vietnam-linked APT32 (aka Ocean Lotus) group has conducted a cyberespionage campaign targeting Vietnamese human rights defenders (HRDs) and a nonprofit (NPO) human rights organization from Vietnam between February 2018 and November 2020. The threat actors used by spyware to take […]

Pierluigi Paganini February 24, 2021
Airplane manufacturer Bombardier has disclosed a security breach, data leaked online

Hackers posted data stolen from manufacturer of business jets Bombardier on Clop ransomware leak site following alleged FTA hack. Hackers exploited vulnerabilities in Accellion FTA file-sharing legacy servers to steal data from the airplane maker Bombardier and leak data on the site operated by the Clop ransomware gang. The wave of attacks exploiting multiple zero-day […]