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Iranian Hackers Use Telegram-Controlled Malware to Spy on Dissidents and Journalists

FBI, NCSC, and AIVD detail Iran MOIS spyware CHOSEN BRICK/HEAVYGRAM, Telegram-controlled Windows malware spying on dissidents since 2023.

A September 15 joint advisory from the FBI, UK NCSC, and Dutch AIVD attributes the Windows spyware HEAVYGRAM (NCSC name CHOSEN BRICK) to Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security, with the campaign dating to autumn 2023 and targeting dissidents, journalists, and activists in the UK, US, Netherlands, and worldwide. Delivered via messages impersonating known contacts or tech support, the malware assigns each victim a dedicated Telegram bot for command-and-control and exfiltration, and can take screenshots, record microphone audio, steal Telegram/WhatsApp data, saved passwords, and emails, download more malware, and wipe the computer. Persistence uses a registry Run key (SMQDService or winappx) plus Microsoft Defender exclusions, with stolen data exiting via Telegram and cloud storage services like Vultr and Storj. The US Justice Department seized four pro-Iranian leak sites in March that had published stolen victim data.

The Hacker News · 1d agoMalware in the wild1

Hackers Disguise CHOSEN BRICK Malware as AI Apps, Antivirus Software and MRI Results

NCSC, FBI, and AIVD warn Iranian state-linked actors deliver CHOSEN BRICK Windows spyware via fake AI apps, antivirus installers, and MRI-result lures.

A joint advisory from the UK NCSC, FBI, and Dutch AIVD details CHOSEN BRICK (FBI tracking name: HEAVYGRAM), Iranian state-linked Windows spyware targeting dissidents, activists, and journalists worldwide since at least 2025. Lures impersonate Pictory, RunwayML, Norton Antivirus, Telegram, Adobe Flash Player, and KeePass, and operators pivot conversations from corporate to personal devices to bypass enterprise controls. The spyware persists via Registry Run keys, adds Microsoft Defender exclusions, uses per-victim Telegram bots for command-and-control, and exfiltrates screenshots, audio, email, and chat data via Telegram and cloud services, with some victim data appearing on pro-Iranian leak sites.

GBHackersupdated · 10h agofirst · 23h agoMalware in the wild 6 sources

Authorities Turn Sality's P2P Network Against Itself, Cutting Off New Malware Payloads

US and European authorities with CrowdStrike dismantled the two-decade-old Sality P2P botnet using peer-list manipulation, blocking payload delivery to infected hosts.

The US Department of Justice announced a coordinated takedown of the Sality peer-to-peer botnet, executed August 31, 2026 by authorities from the US, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania with CrowdStrike and the Shadowserver Foundation. Sality, active since 2003, infects Windows executables and delivers payloads including the EggJagger crypto clipper, which stole at least $150,000, and was used for DDoS campaigns. The operation abused the botnet's peer-list maintenance cycle to insert sinkhole nodes and isolate both super peers and NAT-hidden infections, cutting off URL and payload distribution to more than 15,000 infected machines across two P2P networks.

The Hacker News · 14d agoMalware

Free streaming boxes may be routing criminal traffic through your home

Researchers found SuperBox streaming boxes and the CyberFlix TV app enroll home connections into the Popanet residential proxy network, routing criminal traffic.

Researchers found that SuperBox devices and the CyberFlix TV app, distributed through SuperBox's custom app store, contain Popanet proxy functionality that registers the device with servers controlled by the proxy operator, enrolling household connections into residential proxy networks. The reported configuration weakens Android safeguards with exposed ADB access, root-level privileges without authentication, and removal of app-install protections. Plume's research warns these proxy networks can also function as malware-delivery platforms, and the FBI notes foreign entities use residential proxies to conceal activity such as credential stuffing and account abuse. Malwarebytes advises disconnecting and replacing affected SuperBox/CyberFlix devices rather than factory-resetting them.

Malwarebytes Labs · 12d agoMalware in the wild

Dogged Russia-based botnet dismantled after 23-year run

Law enforcement, CrowdStrike and Shadowserver dismantled the 23-year-old Sality P2P botnet that infected more than 11 million devices.

Sality, a Russia-based peer-to-peer botnet active for 23 years and infecting over 11 million devices, was dismantled by law enforcement working with CrowdStrike and the Shadowserver Foundation. CrowdStrike poisoned the botnet's peer list so infected machines permanently disappeared from the operator's view, while domains were seized in a coordinated effort involving the FBI, Justice Department, Europol and authorities from Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. The financially motivated operation enabled cryptocurrency theft, DDoS attacks and other cyberattacks, and Europol said the effort dates back to 2017; the operators were not named.

CyberScoop · 14d agoMalware

Cops, CrowdStrike disrupt Sality botnet by poisoning the network and diverting into sinkholes

Law enforcement and CrowdStrike disrupted the 23-year-old Sality P2P botnet, isolating 15,000+ infected machines and seizing linked domains.

International law enforcement, working with CrowdStrike and the Shadowserver Foundation, executed a peer-to-peer sinkhole operation against Sality, a botnet active since 2003 that delivered malware to more than 15,000 machines worldwide. Sality's primary payload for eight years was EggJagger, a clipboard hijacker that swaps copied bitcoin and ethereum wallet addresses with attacker-controlled ones, yielding at least $150,000 in stolen cryptocurrency. The US Justice Department, FBI, and DoD Office of Inspector General's Defense Criminal Investigative Service seized Sality-linked domains, with parallel action in Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania. The Shadowserver Foundation is coordinating with ISPs and CSIRTs to identify infections and notify victims.

The Register · Security · 15d agoMalware in the wild

Hackers infecting Android car systems to build proxy botnet

Kaspersky reports MoYu Group-linked malware infecting DoFun Android car head units, enrolling them in a BadBox-linked proxy botnet for ad fraud and traffic routing.

Kaspersky discovered malware on Android-based head units made by Chinese automotive supplier DoFun, the first documented case of a car head unit being infected through an attack purpose-built for such devices. Attackers abused TWCore, a legitimate DoFun system application that handles updates and can install new apps, to silently push a malicious app called JarService that displays ads, generates fraudulent ad clicks and downloads additional malware. One malware module turns infected head units into reverse proxies so other users' internet traffic can be routed through the car's connection. Kaspersky attributes the campaign with high confidence to MoYu Group, linked to the BadBox operation, which previously infected over 70,000 Android devices and resurfaced as BadBox 2.0 after German authorities disrupted the original botnet in December 2024.

The Record · 23d agoMalware in the wild