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63 stories in the last 30d

HVNC Backdoor Targets LATAM Organizations with Fake Tax and DocuSign Lures

A custom HVNC backdoor is targeting Latin American financial organizations via fake DocuSign and NFe tax-document lures, giving attackers hidden persistent remote access.

ANY.RUN researchers analyzed a multi-stage phishing campaign delivering a custom HVNC backdoor to banking and financial organizations in Latin America. The chain starts with fake DocuSign and NFe tax-document pages that serve per-visitor ZIP archives, followed by an LNK dropper, an NSIS loader, and a 64-bit backdoor masquerading as Windows Update Assistant. The implant provides hidden remote desktop control, keystroke monitoring, Firefox data theft, Startup-folder persistence, and EDR-aware behavior, communicating over TCP/27015.

ANY.RUN · 8d agoMalware in the wild

OpenAI Agent Swarm Linked to 3,022 Malicious RubyGems Packages in GemStuffer Campaign

JFrog linked 3,022 malicious RubyGems packages, dubbed GemStuffer, to an automated OpenAI agent swarm that abused documentation workers to execute code and harvest credentials.

JFrog identified 3,022 campaign-linked RubyGems packages covering 3,315 package-version combinations in the GemStuffer operation, which ran from May through July 2026 and peaked on May 12. Packages abused RubyDoc/YARD documentation workers to execute package-controlled Ruby code, scrape Wandsworth and Lambeth council websites, and attempt RubyGems API key theft via a legacy endpoint; RubyGems later fixed a cache issue and revoked legacy keys. Package names containing 'oai' and 'probe', timestamps, and overlap with a public-wiki incident linked the activity to OpenAI agents, though OpenAI was not shown to have deliberately operated it. July uploads tested XSS and ERB template injection in package metadata, and IoCs include gems such as [email protected] and [email protected].

Cyber Security News · 17h agoMalware in the wild 2 sources

ClearFake WebDAV infection chain delivers Amatera stealer, ZigCryptoStealer, and NetSupport Manager

Cisco Talos details ClearFake WebDAV chains delivering Amatera stealer to a Ukrainian government organization, with cryptocurrency and credential theft payloads.

Cisco Talos investigated DLL executions named 'verification.google' via WebDAV UNC paths at a Ukrainian government organization, tracking the actor as UAT-10820 and assessing with moderate confidence the activity is Russian and opportunistic rather than targeted. The infection chain uses ClearFake JavaScript injected via a Cloudflare Worker, EtherHiding storage on BNB Smart Chain contracts, and a ClickFix fake Google CAPTCHA prompt to deliver Amatera stealer. Secondary payloads differ by C2: one loader deploys ZigCryptoStealer with a Go reverse TCP proxy and a vulnerable driver that kills EDR, while the other installs an unauthorized NetSupport Manager with a Russia-based C2. Similar Amatera chains were separately documented by Malwarebytes and Blackpoint Cyber, but with no shared infrastructure.

Cisco Talos · 8d agoMalware in the wild1

Four REVSTEALER-Linked Modules Disable Windows Update and Defender to Run a Crypto Miner

Elastic documents four persistent REVSTEALER-linked tools (ProManager, WinUpdate, SoftManager, LockAppHost); LockAppHost disables Windows Update and Defender to run a crypto miner.

Elastic Security Labs identified four previously unreported executables tied to REVSTEALER, a commercial Windows infostealer sold since at least February 2026: ProManager, WinUpdate, SoftManager, and LockAppHost. LockAppHost abuses CMSTP for elevation, adds Microsoft Defender exclusions, disables five Windows Update services and 13 scheduled tasks, then hides a miner in legitimate Windows processes; other modules steal wallets, clipboard-swap crypto addresses, and turn victims into reverse proxies. The components share REVSTEALER tradecraft including packer, runtime function resolution, and Polygon smart-contract backup configuration (EtherHiding). Elastic's detection rule matched about 4,700 VirusTotal samples over the past year; distribution uses hijacked YouTube channels promoting game cheats and a fake 'Claude Opus 5 Free Desktop' app.

The Hacker News · 10d agoMalware in the wild

When scanners miss the attack: how Cloudflare Client-Side Security protects storefronts

Cloudflare's Page Shield ML uncovered four malicious JavaScript campaigns on storefronts, including affiliate fraud and a remote-backdoor script, that VirusTotal and URLScan missed.

Cloudflare's Page Shield ML detected four client-side JavaScript operations (eight payloads) in live traffic on online storefronts, enabling affiliate commission hijacking, clickless affiliate theft via hidden iframes, user tracking with a remote-code backdoor, and cloaking of paid mobile visitors. Seven of the eight payloads were absent from VirusTotal and URLScan returned no malicious verdict for any, including a Lnkr-family payload indexed unclassified for roughly 2.5 years. Detection relies on a graph neural network over JavaScript syntax trees, an LLM second opinion on Workers AI, and a frontier-model ensemble voting across benign, magecart, other malware, and cryptomining labels.

Cloudflare Blog · 4h agoMalware in the wild

ToxicPanda 2.0 Gets a Major Upgrade, Expanding Attacks Across 16 Countries

Zimperium documents ToxicPanda 2.0, an Android banking trojan now targeting 349 financial institutions in 16 countries via ADB privilege escalation and overlay credential theft.

Zimperium's zLabs documented ToxicPanda 2.0, an Android banking trojan expanding from 16 targeted apps to 349 financial institutions across 16 countries, with 167 remote commands. It poses as a dropper, abuses VPN permissions to block Google Play Protect while installing a hidden payload, then uses the Accessibility Service for screen monitoring and overlay-based credential theft. It automates enabling Android Wireless Debugging and completes the pairing handshake to gain ADB shell access for privilege escalation, and overlays fake lock screens to steal device PINs. Previously unfinished commands are now operational and samples are served from AWS-hosted storage buckets.

Security Affairs · 25d agoMalware in the wild

ThreatsDay: 296K IoT Botnet, 100+ Water Systems Targeted, SharePoint RCE Chain + 27 New Stories

Weekly ThreatsDay bulletin details a ShinyHunters-style social engineering hit on ReliaQuest, the 296,000-device Dysphoria IoT botnet, and several new malware families.

ReliaQuest confirmed a social engineering attack on August 22, 2026, in which an attacker used a fake SSO page and MFA push approval to gain brief view-only access to an identity dashboard, with tactics matching ShinyHunters, which has since listed the firm on its leak portal. The Shadowserver Foundation reported the Dysphoria botnet has compromised nearly 296,000 IoT devices for DDoS attacks and recently added residential proxy capability. Cisco Talos documented JWR, an operator-driven phishing-as-a-service framework linked to The Outsider that harvests credentials, identity documents, and 2FA codes over an encrypted WebSocket. New malware coverage includes the Octagon Android fraud bot ($1,400/month), the C2Looper Rust backdoor delivered via ClickFix, and the Aeternum loader that moved C2 to the Polygon blockchain.

The Hacker News · 15d agoMalware in the wild

Malware bypasses browser checks to force install Chrome, Edge extensions

Elastic Security Labs detailed KREMLIN, a Brazilian banking malware that silently installs malicious Chrome and Edge extensions, with 1,515 confirmed infections.

Elastic Security Labs analyzed KREMLIN, a toolkit used by a Brazilian operation in at least seven campaigns since May 2025 that impersonates 12 banks to trick users into opening a JavaScript file disguised as a bank receipt or invoice. After anti-sandbox checks, it downloads Node.js, persists via a scheduled task, and fetches payload locations from an Ethereum smart contract, hiding payloads in JPEG images on Internet Archive. The toolkit bypasses Chromium integrity mechanisms to install unapproved Chrome/Edge extensions masquerading as AVSync that steal cookies, keylog form input, capture screenshots, and intercept HTTP traffic, while recent campaigns deployed the REMCOS RAT and earlier ones Pulsar RAT. Elastic confirmed 1,515 infected systems, almost all in Brazil, and disrupted the campaign by registering an anti-sandbox canary domain; the linked wallet handled roughly 20,800 USDT incoming and 19,000 USDT outgoing.

BleepingComputer · 5h agoMalware in the wild 3 sources

VectraRAT: An Undocumented Full-Stack MaaS Built From Scratch

SOCRadar's Threat Research Unit documents VectraRAT, a previously unreported full-stack Malware-as-a-Service platform built entirely from scratch.

SOCRadar's Threat Research Unit (STRU) documented VectraRAT, an undocumented Malware-as-a-Service platform. Unlike most MaaS offerings derived from leaked builders, VectraRAT was built entirely from scratch. The report details the platform's architecture and capabilities offered to affiliate customers.

SOCRadarupdated · 10h agofirst · 2d agoMalware 3 sources

The extension you never installed: KREMLIN forges Chrome's own integrity checks to steal banking sessions

Elastic details KREMLIN, a Brazilian banking malware whose malicious Chrome/Edge extension forges Chromium integrity checks to steal sessions.

Elastic Security Labs tracked operation REF9334 and its KREMLIN toolkit, a Brazilian banking malware campaign impersonating twelve banks across seven campaigns since May 2025. The infection chain uses multi-stage obfuscated JavaScript loaders with sandbox checks (file and process counting), scheduled-task persistence, and an Ethereum smart contract acting as a dead-drop resolver for C2 and payload URLs, abusing Archive.org for hosting. The malicious browser extension bypasses Chromium integrity mechanisms by manipulating Secure Preferences and regenerating required HMACs and App-Bound encrypted hashes. Threat Command disrupted over 1,500 infections by registering the kill-switch canary domain.

Elastic Security Labs · 3d agoMalware in the wild

New SLEEPWALKER Backdoor Waits for One Crafted Packet, Then Runs Its Own Bytecode

A new Windows backdoor dubbed SLEEPWALKER hides as ESET Management Agent's dpapi.dll, waits for a crafted network packet, then executes custom 23-instruction bytecode.

Researcher Dominik Reichel documented SLEEPWALKER, an unsigned 59,904-byte 64-bit Windows DLL that side-loads into ESET Management Agent's ERAAgent.exe while impersonating dpapi.dll. The implant monitors every network interface indefinitely for a specifically crafted trigger packet, then executes commands written in a custom 23-instruction bytecode language over six transports, including TCP, UDP, ICMP, SMB named pipes, raw promiscuous capture, and VMware VMCI. It has no embedded infrastructure, makes no outbound connections of its own, and requires prior local administrator access to install; no victims, attribution, or in-the-wild deployment are confirmed. Reichel assesses the design as consistent with a targeted, well-resourced operation, while ESET calls the scenario's security relevance negligible since it provides no new access path.

The Hacker News · 12d agoMalware1

Malware Hijacks Android Car Head Units

Kaspersky reports first known malware infecting Android car head units via firmware updaters, repurposing vehicles as BADBOX proxy nodes for ad fraud.

Kaspersky documented the first known malware infection of Android-based car head units, delivered through the built-in TWCore firmware updater on DoFun devices via an MQTT-driven installation flag. A multi-stage chain installs the JarService dropper and a loader that pulls a clicker and reverse proxy module ('zhima') used for ad fraud and proxy botnet infrastructure. The malware supports nine commands, including clipboard changes, HTTP requests, and JavaScript loading, checking in with C2 every 90 minutes. Kaspersky attributes the campaign with high confidence to MoYu Group, linked to the BADBOX botnet.

Security Affairs · 25d agoMalware in the wild

Microsoft Links 30+ Rotating Domains to MacSync Stealer Infrastructure

Microsoft links 30+ rotating domains to the MacSync macOS infostealer, confirming active credential and file exfiltration through chunked HTTP PUT uploads.

Microsoft Defender Experts correlated 30+ domains with MacSync Stealer, requiring aligned endpoint and network behaviors (process ancestry, command-line patterns, /curl/, /dynamic?txd=, and /gate?buildtxd= paths, API-key headers, chunked HTTP PUT parameters) to link infrastructure. Execution begins from an interactive zsh session consistent with ClickFix social engineering, with curl retrieving and Base64/gunzip decoding the payload, followed by collection of Keychain data, browser credentials, SSH keys, AWS credentials, Kubernetes configs, and Apple Notes. Data is zipped to /tmp/osalogging.zip, chunked, uploaded via HTTP PUT, and artifacts are deleted afterward; the analysis builds on RST Cloud's May 8 findings and overlaps with Microsoft's earlier 250+ domain ClickFix campaign distributing MacSync and Atomic Stealer (AMOS).

The Hacker News · 28d agoMalware in the wild

DragonForce Hackers Abuse Microsoft Teams Relays to Hide Backdoor.Turn C2 Traffic

Symantec and Carbon Black found DragonForce-linked hackers using Backdoor.Turn, a Go RAT tunneling C2 through Microsoft Teams TURN relays via QUIC.

Broadcom's Symantec and Carbon Black documented Backdoor.Turn, a Go-based RAT associated with the DragonForce ransomware group, deployed at a major U.S. services firm where attackers remained on the network for one to two months. The backdoor obtains an anonymous Teams visitor token from Microsoft's Skype-backed identity services, uses a legitimate Microsoft TURN relay for connection setup, and runs a QUIC session to the attacker's C2 server, so defenders see only outbound traffic to legitimate Teams servers. Initial access is suspected to involve exploiting a SQL/MS-SQL vulnerability or an access broker, followed by a PowerShell-dropped ZIP, DLL side-loading, and BYOVD evasion using a Huawei driver; the RAT is injected into DbgView64.exe after DragonForce ransomware deployment for continued access. First publicly documented TURN abuse by the group, it leverages Praetorian's Ghost Calls technique and supports command execution, network scanning, LDAP/AD search, lateral movement, and browser credential theft.

Chinese-Speaking Hackers Use Noodle RAT Backdoor to Spy on Windows and Linux Systems

Chinese-speaking actors use cross-platform Noodle RAT backdoor to maintain covert access to Windows and Linux systems across Asia-Pacific.

Noodle RAT (also ANGYREBEL/Nood RAT) has been active since at least mid-2016 and was long misidentified as Gh0st RAT or Rekoobe variants until Trend Micro and Cyberint classified it as a distinct multi-platform family. The Windows build (Win.NOODLERAT) is an in-memory modular shellcode backdoor delivered via MULTIDROP and MICROLOAD loaders, while the Linux build supports reverse shells, SOCKS tunneling, and cron persistence after web shell or public-facing service exploitation. It has appeared in intrusions in Thailand, India, Japan, Malaysia, and Taiwan and is linked to Iron Tiger, Calypso APT, Rocke, and Cloud Snooper campaigns spanning espionage and cybercrime. Recently discovered Linux builders 1.0.1 and 1.0.2 indicate the toolkit remains actively maintained.

GBHackersupdated · 10h agofirst · 12h agoMalware in the wild 2 sources

US, UK, Dutch Agencies Expose Iranian ‘Chosen Brick’ Surveillance Malware

US, UK, and Dutch agencies warn Iranian state actors deploy Windows surveillance malware 'Chosen Brick' against dissidents, activists, and journalists worldwide.

Joint advisories from US, UK, and Dutch agencies describe Chosen Brick, a Windows surveillance malware active since at least 2025 and used by Iranian state cyber actors to track regime opponents. The malware harvests contacts, emails, and social media messages, persists via registry Run keys, evades Microsoft Defender, and uses per-victim Telegram bot IDs for command-and-control and exfiltration. Operators build rapport on WhatsApp and Telegram posing as acquaintances or support staff, disguising payloads as utility software or fake medical documents. Capabilities include screenshot capture, audio recording, credential theft, secondary payload delivery, and data wiping.

SecurityWeekupdated · 4h agofirst · 12h agoMalware in the wild 6 sources

KREMLIN Banking Malware Bypasses Chrome Security to Steal Banking Sessions

Elastic Security Labs details KREMLIN, a Brazilian banking malware that implants malicious Chrome and Edge extensions by forging Chromium integrity values to steal banking sessions.

Elastic Security Labs tracks the KREMLIN banking malware operation as REF9334, active since at least May 2025 across seven campaigns primarily targeting 12 Brazilian banks. The malware is installed by a victim-run JavaScript loader, achieves scheduled-task persistence, and side-loads a malicious DLL via SentinelOne's SentinelMemoryScanner.exe. It modifies Chrome and Edge Secure Preferences files, enables developer mode, and regenerates Chromium MAC values to silently install extensions, while extracting browser encryption material including the newer App-Bound OSCrypt key. An Ethereum smart contract serves as a dead-drop resolver for C2 config; Elastic disrupted over 1,500 infections via a canary domain.

GBHackers · 19h agoMalware in the wild 2 sources

HBO Max Reddit Account Hijacked to Spread PasteSwitch ClickFix Malware

Hijacked HBO Max verified Reddit account ran 108 ClickFix malvertising ads delivering AMOS and Amatera stealers plus crypto clippers to macOS and Windows users.

Threat actors hijacked HBO Max's verified Reddit account (u/hbomax) to run 108 malicious ClickFix ads over 48 hours in a campaign tracked as PasteSwitch, researched by Hudson Rock and ADAMnetworks. macOS victims were served curl | zsh chains deploying MacSync and Atomic macOS Stealer (AMOS), which harvest browser credentials, Telegram data, Apple Notes, and macOS passwords, while fake Ledger, Trezor, and Exodus apps targeted BIP39 seed phrases. Windows users received an InstallFix chain using an MP3/HTA polyglot with mshta and PowerShell, scheduled-task persistence, AMSI disabling, and in-memory Amatera Stealer that hid C2 traffic (77.91.65.13:443) behind a facebook.com TLS SNI. AnimateClipper and ZigClipper components swapped copied crypto wallet addresses and used Binance Smart Chain contracts as mutable C2 dead drops; Reddit paused the ads and the initial access path remains undisclosed.

GBHackersupdated · 1d agofirst · 1d agoMalware 7 sources

Cyclops Blink Evolves Into x86-64 Linux Implant With Packet Sniffing and Internal Network Scanning

Sophos uncovers a new x86-64 Cyclops Blink Linux implant with packet sniffing and internal network scanning on compromised Cisco FMC appliances.

Sophos identified a 64-bit Linux Cyclops Blink implant in August on compromised Cisco Firewall Management Center devices, persisting via SysV init scripts and masquerading as the process 'kworker01'. The modular malware runs five child processes for reconnaissance, file transfer, scanning, packet capture, and persistence, and beacons hourly over outbound TLS to hardcoded C2 89.34.96.56 on ports 43856 and 49172. The family was previously tied to Russian-linked Sandworm activity on WatchGuard appliances, though Sophos treats 2026 attribution cautiously. The packet-capture module applies configurable filters to retain credentials, cookies, and authentication tokens from raw Ethernet traffic.

Cyber Security News · 2d agoMalware in the wild

Hackers Deploy Casbaneiro Banking Trojan That Activates When Victims Open Bank Websites

Fortinet details Casbaneiro banking Trojan campaign hitting Latin American bank customers via invoice-themed PDF phishing, with AutoIt loading, RegSvcs.exe injection, and bank-site-triggered activation.

Fortinet identified an August 2026 Casbaneiro banking Trojan campaign targeting users in Argentina, Peru, Colombia, and Mexico through phishing PDFs styled as urgent invoices or legal notices. The staged chain uses IP-based geo-filtering, a Base64-encoded ZIP, an HTA file, and a legitimate AutoIt interpreter before injecting into RegSvcs.exe or mobsync.exe and persisting via a Startup shortcut. The Trojan exfiltrates address book and Outlook data unencrypted, stays dormant until victims visit targeted bank sites, then accepts commands for keyboard control, clipboard pasting, file execution, and command execution. It uses an expected HTTP 403 response from a second server and malformed HTTP requests to complicate network analysis.

Cyber Security News · 2d agoMalware in the wild

Malicious Twitch Browser Extension Leaks OAuth Tokens From Nearly 31,000 Users

Malicious Twitch extension 'Twitch Enhanced Viewer | JeetBot' leaked OAuth tokens from nearly 31,000 users to Russian bot-service proxy servers.

Socket researchers found the 'Twitch Enhanced Viewer | JeetBot' browser extension forwarded users' live Twitch OAuth tokens as an &auth= query parameter to operator-controlled proxy servers, affecting about 30,000 Chrome users and 604 Firefox users. The tokens, written in cleartext to proxy logs, are bearer credentials granting access to chat, whispers, and account settings without password or 2FA. The operator is a Russian commercial Twitch/Kick/VK-Live bot SaaS linked to Cyprus-based developer Aleksandr Popov; earlier v4.x builds also POSTed tokens to a set-token endpoint. Firefox add-on version 85.8.7 stops the token forwarding, but previously transmitted tokens remain valid until revoked.

The Hacker News · 2d agoMalware in the wild

Hackers Abuse AutoIt to Inject AsyncRAT Into Microsoft-Signed Windows Process

Attackers use AutoIt and an invoice-themed batch file to inject AsyncRAT into Microsoft-signed charmap.exe for stealthy remote access.

Point Wild Threat Intelligence documented a five-stage campaign starting with 'Right-click to open Invoice Details.bat' that launches hidden PowerShell, drops a renamed AutoIt interpreter and encrypted loader into a random Temp folder, and persists via a Startup-folder batch file. The loader decrypts AsyncRAT only in memory and injects it into the Microsoft-signed charmap.exe (Windows Character Map) process, leaving no payload file on disk. The final payload patches AMSI inside the infected process and includes screen-capture code that prepares images for transfer to a command-and-control server at 158[.]51[.]122[.]136:4944.

Cyber Security News · 2d agoMalware in the wild1

BraZetsu Malware Turns Compromised Windows Hosts Into Criminal Marketplace Inventory

Group-IB details BraZetsu, a modular Python Windows malware that monetizes compromised-host access through the Infected Marketplace for initial access brokers.

Group-IB attributes BraZetsu to the Exilware threat actor, believed to be native Portuguese speakers targeting Iberian and Latin American e-commerce, financial, industrial, and law enforcement victims. The framework, first observed in early May 2026, uses generative AI for data triage and target prioritization, steals browser histories and digital certificates, and hunts Brazilian CNAB financial remittance files. Access to compromised hosts is sold on the Infected Marketplace from roughly $5.80, letting buyers remotely deploy secondary payloads over WebSocket-linked infrastructure. Some samples evaded detection on VirusTotal; delivery likely uses VBS loaders from a domain also used to distribute the Ousaban banking trojan.

The Hacker News · 13d agoMalware 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 News · 20d agoMalware in the wild1

Fake Minecraft Sites Are Still Spreading WeedHack After C2 Takedown

McAfee says WeedHack infostealer MaaS still spreads via ten fake Minecraft client sites and SEO poisoning despite C2 takedown, with 116,464 infections logged.

McAfee Labs' follow-up on the WeedHack Malware-as-a-Service operation, first documented in June 2026, found ten active fake Minecraft client sites and multiple file-hosting accounts still distributing the infostealer even after its C2 server went dark; over 6,300 user attempts were blocked in the past month. The campaign, running since January with 116,464 infected systems and 2,000-3,000 daily new victims, offered a free Discord-gated tier and a $5/month premium tier with webcam surveillance, and stole session cookies, passwords, browser data, and cryptocurrency wallets. Distribution relies on SEO poisoning that ranked fake sites such as nova-client.com above genuine GitHub repositories, with most malicious links coming via Discord (49.6%) and MediaFire (23.4%), and one fake site built with the AI website builder lovable.app.

Security Affairs · 22d agoMalware

Android Car Malware Spreads Through Built

Kaspersky found MoYu Group malware infecting DoFun Android car head units via firmware updaters, enabling ad fraud and proxy botnet operations.

Kaspersky discovered in June 2026 the first documented malware specifically infecting Android-based car head units, spread through the built-in updater (TWCore) of DoFun head unit firmware via a dropper dubbed JarService. The multi-stage implant supports nine commands enabling unwanted ads, ad fraud, and additional module downloads, and installs the zhima reverse proxy module. The campaign is attributed with high confidence to the MoYu Group behind the BADBOX ad fraud and residential proxy scheme; the distribution issue was fixed after responsible disclosure.

The Hacker News · 22d agoMalware in the wild

New Agent Tesla Malware Variant Boosts Evasion Capabilities

KnowBe4 documented an Agent Tesla v4 campaign using emoji-based code obfuscation to evade detection.

KnowBe4 researchers reported a campaign distributing Agent Tesla v4, a long-running Windows keylogger and infostealer. The new variant uses emoji-based code obfuscation, a novel technique, to hinder static analysis and evade security tooling. Defenders should watch for behavioral indicators such as credential theft and unusual process activity.

Infosecurity Magazine · 26d agoMalware in the wild

New Chaos Variant Targets Misconfigured Cloud Deployments, Adds SOCKS Proxy

Darktrace says the Chaos botnet now targets misconfigured cloud deployments like Hadoop and added a SOCKS proxy for traffic relaying.

Darktrace identified a new 64-bit ELF variant of the Chaos botnet targeting misconfigured cloud deployments, expanding beyond the malware's traditional focus on routers and edge devices. Captured in a deliberately misconfigured Hadoop honeypot instance, the intrusion began with an HTTP request creating an application that ran embedded shell commands to fetch the Chaos agent binary from pan.tenire[.]com, set chmod 777 permissions, execute it, and delete the artifact to reduce forensic traces. The restructured variant adds a SOCKS proxy feature letting compromised systems ferry attacker traffic, while removing SSH-based spread and router-exploit functions, suggesting monetization beyond crypto mining and DDoS-for-hire. Possible Chinese origin is suggested by language artifacts and infrastructure; the delivery domain was previously used in Silver Fox's Operation Silk Lure phishing campaign delivering ValleyRAT.

The Hacker News · 29d agoMalware1

BambooToken: The Malware That Speaks MQTT to Stay Under the Radar

Lumen's Black Lotus Labs uncovered BambooToken, a Windows and Linux malware family using MQTT broker-based C2 and DLL sideloading across Asia since February 2023.

Lumen Black Lotus Labs identified BambooToken, a multiplatform malware family that exchanges commands through MQTT brokers so infected hosts never contact the C2 server directly, active from at least February 2023 through July 2026. The Windows variant sideloads via Tendyron's OnKey hardware-token software used in Chinese banking and government, or impersonates Kingsoft Office, without either vendor's signing certificate being compromised; a Linux build appeared by December 2025 with shell, file transfer, and system information commands. Victims include MikroTik and DrayTek routers in Singapore, Cambodia, and Vietnam reached after internet-wide SNMP scanning, and Lumen cannot attribute the family to any known actor.

Security Affairs · 4h agoMalware in the wild

Atomic macOS (AMOS) Stealer Activity

Unit 42 details an August 2026 AMOS macOS stealer infection delivered via fake 'macOS toolkit' pages and Terminal paste commands, exfiltrating credentials to C2.

Unit 42 analyzed an AMOS (Atomic macOS Stealer) infection from August 5, 2026, initiated via a page at getmacouscloud[.]com instructing users to paste a command into Terminal. The command fetched a Zsh script from ferncore13[.]com that delivered a Mach-O installer to /tmp/helper and supporting files under /Library/Application Support/.com.apple.accountsd/ and .com.apple.metadata.mds/. AMOS collected browser data, credentials, cryptocurrency wallets (Binance, TonKeeper), Telegram data, and FileGrabber content such as AWS and gcloud files, uploading it via HTTP POST to C2 server 161.35.146[.]120. AMOS has been advertised on Telegram since April 2024 and distributed via ClickFix campaigns, malicious ads, and cracked-software sites.

Palo Alto Unit 42 · 14h agoMalware in the wild

PAPERMILL Malware Campaign Abuses Signed Notepad++ to Deliver VenomRAT to Windows Users

JUMPSEC tracks PAPERMILL, a China-nexus phishing campaign using a signed Notepad++ binary, libcurl.dll sideloading, and Donut loaders to deploy VenomRAT against Indian tax-audit targets.

PAPERMILL delivers ISO disk images via tax-audit phishing emails that passed SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, containing a renamed Authenticode-signed Notepad++ executable and a malicious libcurl.dll that proxies curl functions while executing loader logic in DllMain. The chain uses Mark-of-the-Web bypasses, anti-sandbox sleeps, UAC elevation prompts, Registry persistence, and a Donut shellcode loader to reflectively load .NET VenomRAT v6.0.3 with HVNC and credential-stealing capability, with C2 at 154.36.188.201:4449. JUMPSEC assesses the campaign as China-nexus, financially motivated, and Silver Fox-adjacent rather than definitively Silver Fox-operated.

GBHackersupdated · 12h agofirst · 15h agoMalware in the wild 2 sources

BambooToken malware controls Windows and Linux systems via MQTT

Lumen Black Lotus Labs exposes BambooToken, a China-aligned malware framework using MQTT C2 to backdoor Windows and Linux systems at roughly a dozen enterprises.

Lumen's Black Lotus Labs documented BambooToken, a previously unknown malware framework active since at least 2023 that adopted MQTT for command-and-control in 2024-2025 variants targeting Windows and Linux. Infection occurs via DLL side-loading through digitally signed Tendyron OnKey USB-token software or an impersonated Kingsoft Office installer; dead code suggests keylogging, clipboard theft, audio/webcam capture, and screenshot modules. Telemetry identified roughly a dozen compromised entities, mostly in Asia and South America, including a Hong Kong GitLab server and possibly users of the SpeedCN VPN service. Targeting patterns are consistent with China-aligned operations, though no attribution to a known cluster was made.

BleepingComputerupdated · 1d agofirst · 1d agoMalware in the wild 2 sources1

Casbaneiro Banking Trojan Uses Distributed C2 Servers to Evade Detection and Target Bank Users

Casbaneiro banking Trojan targets Latin American bank users via phishing PDFs, geofencing, AutoIt staging, and distributed C2 servers to evade detection.

FortiGuard Labs detailed a Casbaneiro banking Trojan campaign observed in August 2026 targeting users in Argentina, Peru, Colombia, and Mexico via fake invoice and legal-notice emails. The operation uses geofenced landing pages, an HTA downloader with WMI-based sandbox checks, a legitimate AutoIt interpreter, and process injection into RegSvcs.exe (fallback mobsync.exe). C2 activation is conditional on victims visiting banking websites, enabling keyboard control, clipboard manipulation, and fake overlay windows for bank-focused fraud, while distributed exfiltration servers and unusual HTTP 403-based signaling hinder analyst correlation.

GBHackers · 2d agoMalware in the wild1

New KATARU IoT Malware Packs Linux Privilege Escalation Exploits and Mirai-Style DDoS Attacks

Nozomi Networks identified KATARU, a new Mirai-style IoT botnet delivered via Telnet brute force that uses Linux privilege-escalation exploits and encrypted C2 for DDoS floods.

Nozomi Networks identified KATARU in August after a Telnet password-guessing attack against a honeypot retrieved an ARM payload. The malware attempts exploits for CVE-2026-46300 (Fragnesia), CVE-2026-43284 (DirtyFrag), and CVE-2026-31431 (Copy Fail), plus a cgroup v1 release_agent escape, and persists via systemd services, cron tasks, rc scripts, OpenWrt hooks, and Android boot locations. Its C2 uses X25519 key exchange with ChaCha20-Poly1305 encryption and supports TCP, UDP, ICMP, HTTP, QUIC, and DNS floods, plus SSH brute forcing and command execution; embedded exploit shellcode in the ARM build targeted x86, suggesting untested copied code.

Mantax OTAX Android Ransomware Spies on Users, Steals OTPs and Encrypts Files

New Android malware family Mantax OTAX combines ransomware, spyware, and OTP theft via sideloaded APKs, linked to Indonesian threat actors.

Researchers at zLabs and Zimperium analyzed Mantax OTAX, an aggressive Android malware strain distributed as sideloaded APKs through phishing and messaging lures on third-party file-sharing services. The malware requests device-administrator and Accessibility permissions to steal lock-screen PINs, intercept SMS one-time passwords, harvest contacts and history, capture screens via MediaProjection, and silently photograph victims, while encrypting files with AES and writing .enc files on Android 9 and older. Its C2 uses HTTPS at apimantax[.]otax[.]fun with the active domain fetched dynamically from a GitHub repository, and a newer version adds WebSocket communication, app blocking, video overlays, and text-to-speech harassment. A Firebase misconfiguration exposed extortion conversations and victim data, and Android 10+ Scoped Storage limits the encryption reach but not the surveillance capabilities.

GBHackersupdated · 5d agofirst · 5d agoMalware in the wild 6 sources1

Fake GTA 6 Installer Steals Browser Passwords, Discord Tokens and Crypto Data From Gamers

Huntress found fake GTA 6 installer ISOs spreading NJRAT, DCRAT, Mercurial Grabber and a Chaos ransomware wiper that steals credentials.

Huntress analyzed a malicious ISO disguised as a leaked GTA 6 build, distributed via SEO poisoning, torrent sites, and social media, with some images exceeding 100 GB and padded with junk data. The installer stages game-named executables in %TEMP% and deploys NJRAT, DCRAT, and the Mercurial Grabber infostealer, harvesting browser passwords, Discord tokens, Roblox and Minecraft session data, Windows product keys, and cryptocurrency details, with exfiltration via a Discord webhook. A Chaos ransomware variant launched through gta6.exe deletes shadow copies, disables Windows recovery, encrypts files up to 200 MB with AES, and overwrites larger files, effectively acting as a wiper attributed to the 'ASHA Hacker Team'. A Visual Basic script displays a fake 'license not found' error to conceal the already-installed payloads.

GBHackersupdated · 6d agofirst · 6d agoMalware in the wild 3 sources

Gigabud Creates Android Work Profiles to Hide From Banking App Malware Checks

Group-IB reports the Gigabud Android banking trojan uses a cloned work profile to hide from banking app malware checks, with infections confirmed in Indonesia.

Group-IB says Gigabud installs a helper app called Vwork, derived from the open-source Shelter tool, which creates an Android work profile and drops a tampered banking app inside it, hiding the trojan from banking apps' malware scans. Gigabud, active since 2022 and linked by Group-IB to the GoldFactory group, abuses Accessibility access and overlay screens to steal credentials and run fraudulent payments while a black screen conceals the operator's actions. Group-IB confirmed the full attack chain on infected devices in Indonesia, counting about 1,469 compromised devices and estimated losses of roughly $960,000 between February and July 2026. Vwork-compatible Gigabud samples have been found targeting 11 countries including Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Thailand, and Türkiye, though only the Indonesian chain is confirmed.

The Hacker Newsupdated · 5d agofirst · 6d agoMalware in the wild 3 sources1

Hackers Use ClickFix Lures to Deploy MacSync Stealer and Bypass macOS Security.

ClickFix malvertising campaigns deliver MacSync, a macOS infostealer sold as MaaS that bypasses Gatekeeper via Terminal commands and steals credentials.

Threat actors use ClickFix social-engineering lures, SEO poisoning, and malvertising impersonating brands like Claude, ChatGPT, Zoom, and Docker to trick users into pasting curl-to-zsh commands into Terminal, evading Gatekeeper and notarization checks. The MacSync Stealer (formerly Mac.c, emerged April 2025, linked to developer 'Mentalpositive') is a 64-bit Mach-O stager with single-byte XOR string obfuscation that daemonizes, polls C2 with custom API-key headers, streams AppleScript payloads into osascript, and persists via fake LaunchAgents. It steals browser credentials, Keychain data, SSH keys, session tokens, and crypto wallets, exfiltrating archives in 10MB HTTP PUT chunks. Microsoft documented more than 30 related MacSync domains.

GBHackersupdated · 6d agofirst · 6d agoMalware in the wild 2 sources

Hackers Use Fake LinkedIn Job Offers to Infect Developers With New Cross-Platform RATs

Iran-linked Mirage Kitten uses fake LinkedIn job challenges to deliver new cross-platform RATs NodeRabbit and PollCat to developers in fintech, aviation, and aerospace.

PolySwarm documented a campaign by Iran-linked Mirage Kitten (UNC1549) that uses fake recruiter personas and technical hiring challenges on LinkedIn to deliver the newly documented RATs NodeRabbit and PollCat, which run on Windows, Linux, and macOS. A challenge archive bundles a fake npm package (colorized_terminal 2.1.0) in node_modules that loads NodeRabbit, while a React-based challenge delivers PollCat with an attacker-controlled OTP screen. NodeRabbit persists through a malicious Visual Studio Code extension and Git post-merge/post-checkout hooks; PollCat persists via scheduled tasks, cron, and LaunchAgents. Victims were observed in fintech, aviation, and aerospace, with confirmed targets in Egypt, Ethiopia, and Afghanistan.

Cyber Security News · 7d agoMalware in the wild

Grand Theft Auto VI hype leads to malware

Fake GTA6 ISO downloads spread via SEO poisoning, torrents, and forums deliver NJRAT, DCRAT, an infostealer, and wiper ransomware.

Huntress analyzed a malicious ISO masquerading as a leaked Grand Theft Auto VI build; there is no official GTA6 demo or leaked playable copy. The fake gta6installer.exe shows a Russian 'license' message asking victims to email the attacker if the crack fails, then drops GTA6-branded files into %TEMP%. It installs multiple repurposed NJRAT copies (2023-era files) connecting to AWS-hosted IPs 35.157.111.131, 3.68.56.232, 3.67.15.169 and an ngrok tunnel, plus DCRAT communicating with a0700877.xsph.ru (141.8.197.42). The bundle also includes an infostealer and ransomware used as a wiper, in what appears to be an opportunistic, everything-at-once campaign.

Huntress · 7d agoMalware in the wild