ZeroHour

Search: “access control”

9 stories in the last 3d

ThreatsDay: Self-Rewriting Agents, 800+ Flaws Patched, Insider SIM Swaps and 22 More New Stories

Unit 42 exposed CL-CRI-1171, a pay-per-install operation spreading OfferLoader and Insomnia RAT via YouTube and SEO poisoning to corporate and government targets.

The ThreatsDay bulletin leads with Unit 42's disclosure of CL-CRI-1171, a pay-per-install marketplace using YouTube channels and SEO-poisoning funnels to push trojanized software and the OfferLoader loader, which delivered Docro Hijacker, ARKTunnel and the cross-platform Insomnia RAT between July 2025 and April 2026. Oasis Security reported that 230 of 243 unauthenticated LocalAI instances were exploitable, with root command execution confirmed on 23 servers, theft of 127 AWS credential records, and exfiltration from a Thai military workstation. The roundup also covers Irregular's research on agentic self-modification, an AEPD-notified breach executed with an AI agent, CISA's warning that ransomware gangs exploit VMware vCenter CVE-2026-59310, and Oracle's September 2026 CPU fixing over 800 flaws.

The Hacker News · 20h agoThreat actor in the wildCVE-2026-59310

BlackHatSect0r Uses DeepSeek-Powered AI Agent to Automate Attacks and Harvest 16,834 Credentials

SOCRadar linked the BlackHatSect0r crew to a DeepSeek-powered AI agent that automated scanning and harvested 16,834 credentials from exposed systems.

SOCRadar researchers found an exposed operation server with 4.9 GB across 9,299 files, including the DXSCAN scanning platform, phishing tools, extortion material and a vault holding 16,834 credentials such as AWS keys, GitHub tokens and Stripe keys. The French-speaking crew ran a Nous Research Hermes agent against a DeepSeek model with safety features removed, queuing 2,759,860 domains and reaching 726,989 hosts. Access came from misconfigurations like public cloud buckets and exposed .env files, not new vulnerabilities.

Cyber Security News · 1d agoThreat actor in the wild 4 sources1

North Korean IT Workers Use AI and Remote Desktop Tools to Fake Technical Interviews

Silent Push links a Discord recruitment scheme to North Korean IT workers using AI, remote desktop tools and on-camera proxies to pass technical interviews.

Silent Push assessed with moderate-to-high confidence that a representative known as Tec Guru, recruiting on-camera proxies via a Mouse Review Discord advertisement, is a North Korean IT worker. The scheme proposed a 65/35 revenue split with the hidden worker, live coaching through Google Meet, AI tools including ChatGPT to fill knowledge gaps, and remote access tools such as AnyDesk, TeamViewer, and Chrome Remote Desktop during coding exercises. Fraudulent hires can gain insider access enabling data theft, extortion, payroll fraud, and sanctions exposure; a July 31, 2026 multinational warning urged stronger identity checks and payment scrutiny.

Cyber Security Newsupdated · 1d agofirst · 1d agoThreat actor 2 sources1

Three Threat Groups Target Russian Enterprises With Backdoors, Ransomware, and Wipers

Kaspersky details NightEagle, Hacking Cat, and Toy Ghouls targeting Russian enterprises with Exchange backdoors, Gorilla RAT, and destructive Monkey ransomware.

Kaspersky reports three threat clusters targeting Russian enterprises: NightEagle (APT-Q-95), the pro-Ukrainian hacktivist group Hacking Cat, and Toy Ghouls. NightEagle uses compromised VPN credentials and the GhostContainer modular backdoor to fully compromise Microsoft Exchange servers, chaining CVE-2020-0688 exploitation, BlueKeep (CVE-2019-0708), Active Directory vulnerabilities, and DCSync to seize domain controllers. Hacking Cat exploits Exchange flaws including CVE-2021-26855 and CVE-2026-42897 to deliver the Gorilla RAT and multiple Monkey ransomware variants written in Rust, .NET, C++, and Golang targeting Windows, Linux, and VMware ESXi, with some variants acting as wipers that never store the encryption key.

The Hacker Newsupdated · 44m agofirst · 1d agoThreat actor in the wild 6 sourcesCVE-2020-0688CVE-2019-0708CVE-2021-26855+1 CVEs2

FamousSparrow Exploits Public-Facing Exchange Servers to Deploy SparroWocky Backdoor

ESET attributes a new SparroWocky backdoor to espionage group FamousSparrow, deployed via exploited internet-facing Exchange servers across Latin American governments.

ESET's Welivesecurity team reports FamousSparrow gained initial access by exploiting publicly reachable Microsoft Exchange servers, with roughly 90 percent of targets since mid-2025 in Latin America, including governments in Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela. The group's new modular C-language backdoor SparroWocky replaces SparrowDoor and uses a three-part loader: a legitimate executable, a malicious DLL side-loaded in memory, and an encrypted payload. It persists via Windows services or Registry Run keys, supports screenshots, file operations, TCP proxying, Beacon Object Files, TLS/RC4-encrypted C2, and anti-forensics such as call-stack spoofing. IOCs including loader SHA-1 hashes and C2 IP addresses were published.

Cyber Security Newsupdated · 18h agofirst · 1d agoThreat actor in the wild 9 sources

SilkParasite-Linked Malware Infrastructure Traced Back Four Years Across Central Asia

Hunt.io links SpiceRAT C2 servers to China-nexus SilkParasite espionage targeting Central Asian governments, with related infrastructure active since 2022.

Hunt.io and researcher Guy Yasur traced a cluster of SpiceRAT command-and-control servers active from late 2025 to August 2026 to infrastructure linked to the China-nexus SilkParasite espionage operation. Shared parent domains, a certificate resembling an Uzbek railway entity, and a cloned RTX Corporation homepage appearing on 13 servers connect SpiceRAT systems to NodeEdgeRAT and NomadRAT infrastructure. Passive DNS records show related subdomains as early as mid-2022, suggesting the infrastructure has existed for at least four years. Hostnames impersonate government, energy and telecom targets across Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

Cyber Security Newsupdated · 23h agofirst · 1d agoThreat actor in the wild 3 sources1

APT36 Uses USB-Spreading Malware to Reach Air-Gapped Government Networks

Zscaler attributes the RapidRust campaign by Pakistan-linked APT36 to USB-propagating Rust malware targeting air-gapped government networks in India and Afghanistan.

Zscaler identified in August 2026 a campaign tracked as RapidRust in which APT36 uses infected removable drives to reach air-gapped government environments in India and Afghanistan. RUSTYMOVE, a Rust USB-spreading utility, copies a fake-PDF shortcut and the RUSTYSHADE backdoor to removable media; RUSTYSHADE uses attacker-controlled private GitHub repositories for C2, running shell commands, capturing screenshots and webcam images, while PSNATCH and BASHNATCH steal files. Operators enumerated users, shares, and remote administrative shares to expand beyond initial victims, with payloads staged on lookalike domains mimicking Indian media outlets and Backblaze B2 storage.

Cyber Security News · 1d agoThreat actor in the wild 3 sources1

Hackers Are Hiding Espionage Infrastructure Inside Ordinary-Looking Casino Websites

Infoblox links China-aligned APT PeckBirdy C2 infrastructure hidden in casino and adult websites targeting Asian government, finance, IT, and education sectors.

Infoblox researchers report that China-aligned APT groups have used casino and adult websites as cover for PeckBirdy, a JavaScript command-and-control framework active since 2023. The sites embed C2 servers, register service workers for persistence, and serve fake browser-update prompts delivering backdoors capable of running commands, stealing credentials, and providing remote access. Targeted sectors across Asia include education, IT, banking, financial services, and government. Just over 3% of Infoblox enterprise customers resolved at least one PeckBirdy C2 domain, with detection coverage on VirusTotal ranging from 13 detections to none.

Cyber Security Newsupdated · 24m agofirst · 2d agoThreat actor 3 sources

NCSC and Allies Warn of Iranian Spyware Campaign

NCSC, FBI and AIVD warn Iranian-backed actors deliver Chosen Brick spyware to regime critics via social engineering; stolen data has surfaced on pro-Iranian leak sites.

NCSC, the FBI and the Netherlands' AIVD published a joint advisory warning that a Tehran-backed campaign, active since at least 2025, targets dissidents, activists and journalists with Chosen Brick spyware. The malware persists via Windows registry keys, adds Microsoft Defender exclusions, uses Telegram for C2, and captures screens, audio, emails and Telegram or WhatsApp messages. Stolen data has surfaced on pro-Iranian leak sites in some cases, raising risks to victims' personal safety.

Infosecurity Magazineupdated · 1d agofirst · 2d agoThreat actor in the wild 10 sources