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Venezuela

0 mentions in 7 days · 7 in 30 days · 7 total · first seen Aug 27, 2026 · last 7d ago

Timeline7 articles

CIA’s Michael Ellis says cyber intelligence is changing how the agency operates

CIA deputy director says cyber operations built the intelligence picture enabling US forces to capture Nicolás Maduro in Operation Absolute Resolve.

CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis said at the Billington Cybersecurity Conference that cyber operations built the intelligence picture that let US special operations forces locate and apprehend Nicolás Maduro within four minutes of landing during Operation Absolute Resolve. He cited the elevation of the Center for Cyber Intelligence to a full mission center as key to aligning resources around the cyber mission. The agency also created a Directorate of Mission Systems and cut its technology acquisition cycle from two to three years to a six-month target, completing more than 400 purchases within that period. Ellis said AI brings unprecedented speed and scale to cyber operations and analysis.

CyberScoopSep 8, 19:49 UTC · 7d agoPolicy & legal 2 sources

CIA official touts agency’s Cyber Mission Center in capture of Venezuela’s Maduro

CIA deputy director credits the Cyber Mission Center's cyber operations for the intelligence picture behind Nicolás Maduro's capture.

CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis said at the Billington Cybersecurity Summit that cyber operations built the 'flawless intelligence picture' enabling US special forces to locate Nicolás Maduro in his Caracas bunker and apprehend him within four minutes of landing during January's Operation Absolute Resolve. Director John Ratcliffe elevated the Center for Cyber Intelligence to a standalone mission center, which Ellis said smooths reporting chains and aligns resources. Ellis also said AI will 'permeate' every aspect of intelligence work, with human-in-the-loop safeguards and multi-vendor approaches to avoid model lock-in. The US has unsealed narcoterrorism charges against Maduro and his wife, who are seeking dismissal under immunity claims.

The RecordSep 8, 19:46 UTC · 7d agoPolicy & legal 2 sources

Breeze Comet Executes Hundreds of Fraudulent Transactions via Brazilian Payment Systems

Google/Mandiant profile Breeze Comet, a Brazil-based e-crime group executing fraudulent Pix and STR payment transactions at banks, retailers, and fintechs.

Google Threat Intelligence Group and Mandiant describe Breeze Comet (formerly UNC5669), a financially motivated threat actor active since September 2023 targeting Brazilian financial services, retail, and e-commerce. The group gains access via password spraying, vishing impersonating IT support to install RMM tools like AnyDesk, WhatsApp social engineering, and exploitation of vulnerable JBoss AS servers for web shell deployment. It uses compromised government websites as C2, deploys the Rust-based COBALTSPIN tunneler and multiple custom backdoors (LIGHTPAINT, MILDFROST, KICKPLATE, BOATBEAM), then clears logs after executing hundreds of fraudulent transactions through Pix, STR, and Boleto payment systems. At least one heist yielded tens of thousands of dollars, with infrastructure suggesting expansion toward Latin America and Africa.

The Hacker NewsSep 8, 11:22 UTC · 7d agoThreat actor in the wild

Five Venezuelan Nationals Plead Guilty in Kansas ATM Jackpotting Attempt

Five Venezuelan nationals pleaded guilty to failed ATM jackpotting attempts in Kansas as the FBI reports 700+ US incidents in 2025.

The five defendants traveled from Indiana to Kansas in December 2025 and tried to install malware on ATMs in Wamego and Manhattan, planning to remotely trigger the machines to dispense cash. Both attempts failed — one triggered an alarm — and the men were arrested days later after surveillance captured the thefts. All five pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank larceny; one has received a nine-month prison sentence. The FBI counted more than 700 jackpotting incidents in 2025 with over $20 million in losses, part of 1,900 incidents since 2020.

Security AffairsSep 1, 13:50 UTC · 14d agoPhishing & fraud

Five plead guilty in latest federal ATM jackpotting case

Five Venezuelan nationals pleaded guilty to ATM jackpotting conspiracy tied to Ploutus malware, as FBI tallies $58 million in losses since 2021.

Five Venezuelan nationals pleaded guilty in Kansas federal court to conspiracy to commit bank larceny for attempted ATM jackpotting attacks in Wamego and Manhattan in December 2025; Luis Velasquez-Artigas was sentenced to nine months. The FBI says jackpotting has caused over $58 million in losses since 2021, with more than 1,900 incidents tracked since 2020 and over 700 in 2025. Separately, Juan Manuel Gouveia-Aguilera was sentenced to eight years and ordered to pay restitution for using Ploutus malware to steal more than $3.5 million from hundreds of ATMs. Prosecutors link the schemes to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and say at least 119 people have been charged.

The RecordAug 31, 20:41 UTC · 15d agoPolicy & legal

Dark Caracal Deploys New Go Malware With Ethereum-Based C2 Fallback

Dark Caracal targeted a Venezuelan communications organization with new Go-based GoCaracal malware and an updated Bandook backdoor using Ethereum smart-contract C2 fallback.

Arctic Wolf Labs linked a June 2026 intrusion against a communications organization in Venezuela to Dark Caracal, an espionage group associated with Lebanon's General Directorate of General Security (GDGS). The group deployed a previously undocumented Go-based framework called GoCaracal in lightweight and extended builds alongside a Delphi-loaded Bandook backdoor, with delivery via phishing emails carrying weaponized SVG attachments through URL shorteners. The extended build uses a custom Solidity contract, BulletproofC2, on Ethereum to retrieve replacement C2 addresses without redeploying malware, and Arctic Wolf traced 249 related samples from January to July 2026 showing a modular evolution arc.

Security AffairsAug 27, 20:31 UTC · 19d agoThreat actor in the wild

GoCaracal Malware Uses Ethereum Smart Contract to Fetch Replacement C2 Address

Arctic Wolf links new Go-based GoCaracal malware with Ethereum smart-contract C2 fallback to Dark Caracal, targeting a Venezuelan communications organization.

Arctic Wolf assessed with medium confidence that a June 2026 intrusion at an unnamed Venezuelan communications organization used GoCaracal, a previously undocumented Go-based malware framework linked to Dark Caracal. The lightweight profile provides encrypted C2, interactive shell access, and shellcode injection; the extended profile adds browser data theft, keylogging, WebRTC remote desktop, and SOCKS5 proxying. When the primary C2 server is unreachable, the malware queries an Ethereum smart contract via eth_getStorageAt at public JSON-RPC endpoints to fetch a replacement C2 address. Bandook was deployed in parallel, and Arctic Wolf published a YARA rule and indicators of compromise.

The Hacker NewsAug 27, 09:34 UTC · 20d agoMalware in the wild1

Appears with

organization CIA 2 malware Bandook 2 product GoCaracal 2 victim Nicolás Maduro 2 malware GoCaracal 2 threat actor Dark Caracal 2 organization Google 2 product Bandook 2 threat actor SHADOW-AETHER-064 1 malware COBALTSPIN 1 threat actor Plump Spider 1 threat actor CIA Cyber Mission Center 1 malware KICKPLATE 1 malware LIGHTPAINT 1 malware BOATBEAM 1 threat actor UNC5669 1

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