UAT-10608: Inside a large-scale automated credential harvesting operation targeting web applications
Passkey-themed social engineering leads to identity and cloud compromise
Microsoft tracks ongoing cloud intrusions where passkey-themed helpdesk lures enable AiTM credential theft, MFA persistence, and SharePoint data theft.
Microsoft Security Research is tracking active cloud-based intrusions, observed since May 2026, that begin with helpdesk impersonation calls and SMS lures urging urgent passkey, MFA, or SSO updates. The lures lead to adversary-in-the-middle phishing or device-code authentication flows that capture credentials and session tokens or grant actor access, after which the actors add authentication methods, conduct Microsoft Graph reconnaissance, and download SharePoint and OneDrive content via REST APIs. Phishing domains embed victim organization names as subdomains (e.g., contoso.add-passkey[.]com), are often registered with Nicenic, and go operational within hours. Microsoft advises revoking sessions and removing unauthorized authentication methods for confirmed compromises.
GTIG AI Threat Tracker: From Prompting to Autonomy – The Evolution of Adversarial AI
GTIG's Q2 2026 tracker shows adversaries adopting agentic AI workflows, including credential harvesting in under six hours and supply chain attacks by UNC6780.
Google Threat Intelligence Group's Q2 2026 report documents adversaries moving from basic prompting to agentic AI workflows and automation, including a cloud compromise followed by agent-enabled mass credential harvesting executed in under six hours. It tracks financially motivated actor UNC6780 (TeamPCP) conducting large-scale open source supply chain compromises across PyPI, npm, and Docker Hub since March 2026, deploying credential stealers. The report also highlights growing targeting of proprietary AI models, source code, prompts, and API credentials, plus LLMJacking practices where adversaries steal developer credentials or hijack cloud infrastructure to run unauthorized AI workloads.
Attackers plant remote access tools on compromised PaperCut servers
Attackers chained two PaperCut NG/MF zero-days for unauthenticated access, installing SimpleHelp and AnyDesk remote access tools on compromised servers.
An ongoing campaign exploits chained zero-days CVE-2026-81578 (improper access control) and CVE-2026-82078 (unsafe dynamic class loading) in internet-facing PaperCut NG and MF Application Servers, enabling authentication bypass and arbitrary Java bytecode execution. Post-compromise activity includes user and domain enumeration, payload download from sendit.sh, and silent installation of SimpleHelp and AnyDesk for redundant remote access; Defused observed CVE-2026-81578/CVE-2026-82078 exploit activity in honeypots since August 29, including data theft via Derby database dumps. Emergency patches were released August 28 and August 30, but 47% of roughly 2,500 PaperCut installs tracked by Huntress run v23 or older, for which no patch is available.
China's 'Fire Ant' campaign used compromised Cisco routers as platform for more attacks
Sygnia links the China-nexus Fire Ant campaign to UNC3886, showing hackers weaponized compromised Cisco IOS XR routers for espionage and wider intrusions.
Sygnia's Fire Ant report details Chinese hackers compromising Cisco IOS XR routers, TACACS+ authentication servers and management infrastructure to capture traffic, harvest credentials and stage attacks on high-value and critical infrastructure networks. The group, which overlaps with Mandiant's UNC3886, developed custom router malware for persistence, hid logs, deleted files and tampered with firewall rules, and remained active in 2026 after Sygnia's 2025 disclosure. The activity aligns with prior Chinese campaigns against Cisco devices, including Volt Typhoon and Salt Typhoon operations.