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15 stories in the last 30d

Eleethub: A Cryptocurrency Mining Botnet with Rootkit for Self

Unit 42 uncovered Eleethub, a Perl-based Bitcoin mining botnet using a crafted rootkit and libprocesshider to evade detection, still under development with few infections.

Unit 42 discovered an under-development Perl Shellbot campaign that mines Bitcoin using xmrig and emech while evading detection via a rootkit that replaces the ps tool and the LD_PRELOAD-based libprocesshider.so library. Infected devices download a malicious shell script, connect to IRC-based C2 at eleethub.com and the UnderNet network, and can receive commands for UDP/TCP floods, port scans, and HTTP attacks. The botnet can affect Unix systems and Windows 10 hosts running a Linux subsystem, and its operators use the 'Los Zetas' branding, though they are unlikely to be the Mexican drug cartel. Researchers found only a few compromised 'zombies' before the campaign expanded.

Palo Alto Unit 42 · 28d agoMalware in the wild

Phishing Powers 80% of Attacks on US Companies: How SOCs Can Detect It Early

Phishing drives 80% of attacks on US companies; FBI recorded 158,436 BEC victims and over $20B in losses from 2013-2023.

A vendor-authored analysis claims phishing powers roughly 80% of attacks on US companies, citing FBI statistics of 158,436 business email compromise victims and more than $20 billion in reported losses between 2013 and 2023. It describes modern phishing using compromised infrastructure, redirect chains, dynamic pages, and adversary-in-the-middle techniques, including a recent campaign targeting tens of thousands of primarily US users. The piece promotes ANY.RUN Threat Intelligence Feeds and TI Reports, claiming 99% unique high-confidence IOCs, 21-minute faster MTTR, and 30% fewer Tier 2 escalations.

Cyber Security News · 8d agoPhishing & fraud

Russian network monitoring firm confirms cyberattack claimed by pro

Russian firm Microolap confirmed hackers hit non-critical systems, disputing pro-Ukraine group Black Spark's claims of access to core platform and customer data.

Russian network monitoring software developer Microolap confirmed hackers compromised several rarely used development systems, an outdated website, and an old Bitrix24 customer management system, but denied claims that attackers reached its EtherSensor platform or stole data from customers like Russian Railways, Goznak, and VTB Bank. The pro-Ukraine group Black Spark claimed a month-long intrusion with data extraction and deletion, publishing screenshots Microolap disputes. The company isolated affected systems and engaged an unnamed major Russian cybersecurity firm for investigation.

The Record · 26d agoData breach in the wild1

Muhstik Botnet Attacks Tomato Routers to Harvest New IoT Devices

Unit 42 found a Muhstik botnet variant brute-forcing Tomato router web authentication to harvest IoT devices for crypto mining and DDoS attacks.

Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 researchers in December 2019 identified a new Muhstik botnet variant scanning Tomato routers on TCP 8080 and brute-forcing default admin credentials, targeting roughly 4,600 exposed devices found via Shodan. The variant also scans WordPress and Webuzo installations and exploits the Oracle WebLogic deserialization flaw CVE-2019-2725 for unauthenticated remote code execution. Muhstik, active since March 2018, self-propagates like a worm and typically monetizes infections through cryptocurrency mining and DDoS attacks controlled via an IRC C2 channel.

Palo Alto Unit 42 · 28d agoMalware in the wildCVE-2019-2725

CareCam Pro IP Cameras

CISA advisory details hard-coded bootloader credential CVE-2026-85083 in ANJIA AJL33PC0801 CareCam Pro cameras, allowing physical-access firmware compromise.

CISA ICS advisory ICSA-26-251-01 describes CVE-2026-85083, a hard-coded credential (CWE-798) used for bootloader authentication in the ANJIA AJL33PC0801 CareCam Pro IP camera. An attacker with physical access could gain privileged bootloader access and modify firmware and configuration, potentially fully compromising the device. The flaw scores 6.8 on CVSS 3.1 (7.0 on CVSS 4.0), is not remotely exploitable, and no public exploitation has been reported. Affected firmware is linux_linux_202008261138_svn13796 with U-Boot 2010.06; the vendor is headquartered in China with worldwide deployments.

CISA Advisories · 8d agoAdvisoryCVE-2026-85083

Google’s New Search Redirects Make It Harder to Check Where Links Lead Before Clicking

Malwarebytes reports Google's new encoded google.com/goto?url= redirects break hover-preview link checking, weakening a common phishing defense.

Google now routes some search results through opaque google.com/goto?url= redirects using custom encoding, so browser link previews no longer reveal the true destination, only the claimed label above the result. Malwarebytes found the final destination is visible only in the redirect response's Location header, complicating hover-based safety checks as well as scraping, archiving, and audit tools. The change arrives amid malvertising, search-result poisoning, and fake installer campaigns like the recent Node.js infostealer lure. Google says it deploys measures against evolving abuse but did not explain the change.

Cyber Security News · 1d agoResearch

Hacked Voice Remote Becomes

Hackers compromised a voice-controlled remote control and repurposed it, highlighting security gaps in connected consumer devices.

Infosecurity Magazine's headline indicates a voice-controlled remote was hacked and turned to another purpose. The full article text was unavailable, so technical details, victim, and actor remain unconfirmed. The item underscores risks around consumer IoT and smart-home peripherals.

Infosecurity Magazine · 29d agoThreat actor in the wild

Scans Targeting Hospitality Applications, (Wed, Sep 16th)

Scans from a bulletproof-hosting IP target the abandoned PIAF-HMS hospitality application, which contains numerous unpatched SQL injection flaws.

SANS ISC observed requests for /PIAF-HMS/ using the unusual user-agent Farez-Sorter/1.0, along with paths like /admin/, /ucp/, /hms/, and /hotel/, starting September 15 from the single source IP 94.102.49.125 (IP Volume, AS202425, a bulletproof hoster). PIAF-HMS, a PBX in a Flash Hospitality Management System, was last updated 10 years ago and a SQL injection vulnerability was reported recently; the code shows many injection flaws and lacks authentication and access control. The handler notes hotels are soft targets for personal data theft and guest MitM attacks, and asks for community insight on the campaign.

SANS Internet Storm Center · 14h agoExploit / PoC

When Agents Look Like Beacons: NIDS Evasion by Model Context Protocol Traffic

Research shows Model Context Protocol agent traffic structurally resembles C2 beaconing and evades Suricata signatures and RITA behavioral scoring in testbeds.

An arXiv study demonstrates that Model Context Protocol (MCP) JSON-RPC traffic over Streamable HTTP mimics the polling patterns of C2 frameworks like Cobalt Strike and is not flagged as anomalous by standard enterprise defenses. In a Docker testbed with eleven traffic profiles across three TLS conditions, Suricata with the Emerging Threats Open ruleset produced near-zero alerts and RITA assigned a consistent 0.0 beacon score, regardless of jitter or TLS inspection. The authors propose an agent-native network indication standard using Agent-Native ALPN and out-of-band headers.

arXiv cs.CR · 15h agoResearch1

Forgery of C2PA on a Pixel 10

Researcher forged a Google Pixel 10 C2PA content credential with genuine signatures, showing root-level attackers can fake photo provenance.

A Hacker Factor blog post demonstrates an AI-generated 'unicorn glitter milk' news photo carrying a valid, cryptographically signed C2PA manifest traceable to Google's Pixel camera certificate chain, passing validation in Adobe Inspect and the CAI Verify tool with a verified timestamp. The author, working with UMBC's PASAWG working group, reported to Google and C2PA in November 2025 that root access on a Pixel device could sign arbitrary images as camera captures; after 90 days without resolution, details were published. The finding undermines C2PA Assurance Level 2 claims made for Pixel 10 Content Credentials.

Lobsters · security · 19h agoResearch

USN-8761-1: Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities

Ubuntu patches multiple Linux kernel (Azure) flaws across ARM64, Bluetooth, Netfilter, NTFS3, SMB and other subsystems.

Ubuntu security notice USN-8761-1 corrects several security issues in the Linux kernel for Azure, spanning ARM32, ARM64, and PowerPC architectures plus subsystems including Bluetooth, Netfilter, EFI core, GPU drivers, InfiniBand, SCSI, NTFS3, and SMB. An attacker could possibly use these flaws to compromise the system.

Ubuntu Security Notices · 1d agoAdvisory 2 sources

USN-8760-1: Linux kernel (NVIDIA) vulnerabilities

Canonical issues USN-8760-1 patching multiple Linux kernel (NVIDIA) vulnerabilities across numerous subsystems and CPU architectures.

Canonical published USN-8760-1 to correct several Linux kernel (NVIDIA) vulnerabilities that an attacker could possibly use to compromise the system. The update fixes flaws spanning UAPI, the kernel build system, ARM32, ARM64, RISC-V, S390, and x86 architectures. Patched subsystems also include the block layer, cryptographic API, Compute Acceleration Framework, Intel NPU driver, ACPI and Bluetooth drivers, and the hardware random number generator core.

Ubuntu Security Notices · 1d agoAdvisory

US Customs supervisor busted for stealing hardware from Homeland Security PCs

FBI arrested CBP supervisor Terry Liu for swapping CPUs, RAM and drives in 46 DHS computers and trading stolen parts via Newegg.

The FBI arrested and charged CBP supervisor Terry "Jiajia" Liu of Calais, Maine, with theft of government property after hidden cameras captured hardware swaps on midnight shifts. Investigators found 39 processors replaced, six memory modules swapped, and eight hard drives changed across 46 DHS computers at three Maine border facilities, with original Intel 14th-gen Raptor Lake Refresh chips downgraded to older, sometimes Pentium-class parts. Liu traded in the stolen Core i7 chips 16 times via Newegg's trade-in program over 14 months for roughly $200-210 each. Restoring the stolen hardware is estimated at $20,460, with full replacement around $105,800.

From Infostealer Log to Marketplace Listing: A Technical Walkthrough of the Credential Theft Pipeline

Cyble walkthrough maps how infostealer logs move from endpoint infection through aggregation and enrichment to dark web credential marketplace sales.

Cyble breaks the credential theft pipeline into stages: infostealer execution harvesting browser credential stores, cookies, session tokens, crypto wallets, and FTP configurations; aggregation of stealer logs via C2 panels into bundled archives; parsing and enrichment against previously leaked datasets; and final listing on dark web marketplaces. Enrichment adds employer and role context that raises prices and enables credential stuffing across reused passwords. The report advises SOC teams to monitor stealer logs and marketplace chatter early rather than waiting for breach alerts.

Cyble · 6d agoMalware1

U.S. Bank says breach claims related to fourth

LockBit claimed data theft from U.S. Bancorp, but the bank attributes it to a fourth-party breach at a contractor's third party, with no impact on its own systems.

LockBit added U.S. Bancorp to its leak site and threatened to release stolen data within two weeks, but the bank investigated and attributed the claims to a fourth-party incident outside its environment. U.S. Bancorp stated there is no evidence its systems, networks, or data repositories were compromised and reported the matter to law enforcement. The bank is the seventh largest in the United States, and LockBit provided no samples to substantiate the claim. The gang, previously subject to a 2024 law enforcement takedown, earned $252.4 million in ransoms through 353 attacks from 2022 to 2024 according to the U.S. Treasury.

The Record · 26d agoRansomware