ZeroHour

Search: “WhatsApp Web”

5 stories in the last 7d

Iranian spies hit Windows machines with Chosen Brick data-stealing malware

FBI, UK NCSC, and Dutch AIVD warn Iranian intelligence uses Chosen Brick spyware against dissidents, stealing contacts, emails, and messaging data.

A joint advisory from the FBI, UK NCSC, and Dutch AIVD says Iranian state cyber actors have used the Chosen Brick Windows malware since at least 2025 to surveil dissidents, activists, and journalists. Attacks begin with heavily researched WhatsApp and Telegram messages impersonating trusted contacts, tricking victims into opening fake installers resembling Pictory, RunwayML, Norton Antivirus, Telegram, Adobe Flash Player, and KeePass. The malware persists via the HKCU Run registry key, adds Microsoft Defender exclusions, uses victim-specific Telegram bots for C2, captures screen and audio, steals emails and Telegram/WhatsApp data, and can wipe systems.

The Register · Security · 1d agoThreat actor in the wild1

Iranian cyber targeting of dissidents, activists and journalists

UK NCSC, FBI, and Dutch AIVD expose CHOSEN BRICK spyware used by Iranian state actors against dissidents, activists, and journalists worldwide.

A joint advisory from the UK NCSC, FBI, and Dutch AIVD details CHOSEN BRICK, a Windows spyware family used by Iranian state cyber actors since at least 2025 against dissidents, activists, and journalists in the UK, US, and Netherlands. Actors build rapport on WhatsApp and Telegram impersonating known contacts or platform support, then deliver disguised payloads resembling apps such as Telegram, Norton, RunwayML, or fake MRI results. The malware persists via HKCU Run registry keys, adds Microsoft Defender exclusions, and uses a unique Telegram bot C2 per victim. Capabilities include screen capture, microphone recording, process enumeration, email and messaging data theft, file deletion, and system wiping; victim data has appeared on pro-Iranian leak sites.

NCSC UK · 1d agoThreat actor in the wild2

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 · 4h agofirst · 1d agoThreat actor in the wild 7 sources

Revolut gave customer IDs and financial data to a government impostor

Revolut handed customer IDs, selfies, and financial records to criminals using a legitimate government agency email domain.

Revolut acknowledged disclosing sensitive customer records after accepting fraudulent information requests sent from an email address on a legitimate government agency domain, describing it as an external impersonation scam rather than a system intrusion. The London-based fintech, which serves more than 80 million customers globally, says customer funds were not affected and only a 'very limited' number of customers were impacted. Disclosed data includes identity and contact information, copies of passports and driver's licenses, verification selfies, account statements, and transaction histories. Revolut blocked the sending address and notified the relevant agency, law enforcement, data protection authorities, and financial regulators.

Malwarebytes Labs · 3d agoData breach

Claude Used to Automate Exploitation and Data Theft Across Multiple Victims

Anthropic's 154-page report details Generative Threat Groups, including APT29-linked GTG-20006 and ShinyHunters affiliates, using Claude for reconnaissance, exploitation, and data theft.

Anthropic reports that between December 2025 and August 2026 state-sponsored hackers, criminals, spyware vendors, and propaganda operators used its Claude models for cyber attacks, weapons design, propaganda, and mass surveillance. Notable clusters include GTG-50014, a ShinyHunters affiliate that scanned 1.8 million Android APKs for secrets via 10 AWS EC2 workers, GTG-10007, a Chinese-speaking group targeting roughly 50 organizations, and GTG-50029, a lone French-speaking actor exploiting a previously undocumented WordPress re-installation race condition. The report describes multi-agent frameworks autonomously executing reconnaissance, exploitation, and exfiltration against multiple victims, and influence operations that were disrupted before building authentic audiences.

The Hacker Newsupdated · 5d agofirst · 5d agoThreat actor in the wild 16 sources1