60
Clop-Linked Windchill Web Shell Decrypts Credentials and Maps Engineering Data
ReliaQuest details a bespoke JSP web shell that Clop deploys on hacked PTC Windchill and FlexPLM servers after exploiting CVE-2026-12569.
ReliaQuest analyzed a custom Java web shell planted on vulnerable PTC Windchill and FlexPLM servers following exploitation of CVE-2026-12569 (CVSS 9.3). The implant decrypts Windchill keystore credentials including the LDAP manager password, enumerates the file vault for engineering data, and loads attacker-supplied Java classes in memory for post-exploitation. Commands let operators read and delete files, exfiltrate results, and deliver follow-on payloads such as ransomware. Ransom-ISAC, eCrime.ch and Defused previously attributed the campaign to the Clop data-theft extortion group.
76
60
60
Threat actors continue to exploit Log4j flaws, Microsoft Warns
60
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.
82
Impersonating IT support: how threat actors turn a remote session into enterprise-wide access
Microsoft details Teams IT-support impersonation campaigns deploying Node.js implants, AD reconnaissance, and WinRM lateral movement toward domain controllers.
Microsoft Threat Intelligence describes a human-operated campaign where attackers impersonate IT/helpdesk staff via Microsoft Teams external collaboration, talk users into granting remote sessions, and use RMM tools for interactive access. During the session they run PowerShell to silently install a malicious MSI that stages a portable Node.js runtime and obfuscated JavaScript implant for C2, executing follow-on payloads via rundll32. Operators then perform host and Active Directory reconnaissance, capture desktop screenshots, and pivot via WinRM on port 5985 to domain controllers and certificate authorities. The hands-on-keyboard chain, which can precede data theft and ransomware, blends into normal operations by relying on Teams, Quick Assist, msiexec, and Node.js; Microsoft shares hunting and mitigation guidance.
82
⚡ Weekly Recap: AI-Powered PLC Attacks, GitLab Attacks, Stripe Key Leaks and More
US agencies warn of AI-assisted attacks on exposed Siemens PLCs; the week also saw GitLab CVE-2026-19478 exploited and trojanized npm packages found.
The weekly recap leads with a US government warning that threat actors use AI-generated scripts and Censys/ZoomEye scanning to attack internet-exposed Siemens S7 PLCs in water, energy and manufacturing, calling it an active threat. Other stories include active exploitation of GitLab CVE-2026-19478 (CVSS 9.4, unauthenticated project rewriting), 14 trojanized npm packages delivering the RedC2 4.0 Linux backdoor, and the Zombie Card attack that revives expired Visa cards for contactless payment fraud. It also covers suspected Russian clusters UNC6293, UNC7005 and UNC5976 phishing campaigns, a faster Cloudflare Workers Spectre JWT leak, and a bespoke Cl0p JSP web shell deployed after exploiting PTC Windchill flaws.
65
Cavern C2 Uses DNS and Google Apps Script to Blend Into Legitimate Traffic
Kaspersky details Iranian Cavern Manticore's expanded C2 framework using DNS and Google Apps Script, plus APT42's TAMECAT spyware in nuclear-sector phishing.
Kaspersky reported new components in the Cavern (Cav3rn) C2 framework, used by Iranian MOIS-affiliated Cavern Manticore (with overlaps to MuddyWater and OilRig's Lyceum) against Israeli entities, monitored since December 2025. The new GoogleService.dll module performs DNS A-record queries to choose between direct HTTPS and a Google Apps Script relay per transaction, with the DNS infrastructure able to rotate the Google deployment ID; Kaspersky also found an inter-component broker (rnp.dll) and linked the framework's plugin-based pivot to late April 2026. Separately, Group-IB and Kaspersky detailed HOLLOWGRAPH, a .NET NativeAOT DLL first seen in the wild June 7, 2026, that uses Microsoft 365 calendar events via the Graph API as two-way dead drops dated May 13, 2050, with DNS tunneling refreshing Entra ID credentials. DarkAtlas also reported APT42's TAMECAT modular surveillance framework delivered via LNK masquerading as PDFs in spear-phishing targeting the nuclear energy sector in April-May 2026, with the group using generative AI to accelerate operations.
58
Suspected China-Nexus Actor Exploits VMware vCenter Flaw, Deploys Babuk
QUIRSO attributes exploitation of VMware vCenter CVE-2026-59310 to a suspected China-nexus actor that hit 361 IPs in 47 countries, deploying backdoors and Babuk.
German incident response firm QUIRSOS assessed with moderate confidence that a suspected China-nexus actor, likely operating in UTC+08:00 hours, exploited VMware vCenter flaw CVE-2026-59310 (CVSS 9.8 directory traversal) beginning five days after Broadcom's July 29 patch. The campaign compromised 361 unique victim IPs across 47 countries, most in Germany, the US, Turkey, Iran, and France. The actor abused cron jobs, a XOR-obfuscated 'linuxFile' WebSocket backdoor with systemd/cron persistence, a JSP web shell, SSH authorized-keys manipulation, and a reverse SSH tool, with one Babuk deployment reported. A separate vCenter 'vcenter_admin' account creation consistent with CVE-2026-59309 exploitation was also observed from August 1.
78
DDoS attacks hit record scale as 1 Tbps+ campaigns become more common
Cloudflare's H1 2026 report shows record DDoS scale, with more 1 Tbps+ attacks, multi-vector campaigns, and hacktivist surges against governments.
Cloudflare's H1 2026 DDoS Threat Report documents record-scale attacks, with a significant increase in campaigns exceeding 1 Tbps and April 2026 peaking at 6.46 trillion requests and 165 PB. Most network-layer attacks stayed small and short — 96.62% under 500 Mbps and 90.60% under 10 minutes — but multi-vector campaigns combining HTTP floods with DNS and CLDAP amplification grew. Operation Epic Fury drove 149 hacktivist DDoS claims against 110 organizations in 16 countries, hitting the government sector hardest, and Brazil overtook the US as the leading attack source country.
48
57
60
60
45
57
45
45
60
45