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Five alleged leaders of Black Axe’s operations in South Africa extradited to US

US extradited five alleged Black Axe Cape Town leaders from South Africa to face romance-scam wire fraud and money laundering charges.

The Justice Department announced five alleged leaders of Black Axe's South African wing, all Nigerian nationals, were extradited to the US over romance and advance-fee scams run from at least 2011 until their 2021 arrests in South Africa. Prosecutors say the group used fake identities and threatened to expose victims' sensitive photos, with charges including wire fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft carrying up to 62 years. The extradition follows recent multi-country stings arresting dozens of Black Axe members, including 34 arrests in Spain.

CyberScoopupdated · 1d agofirst · 2d agoPolicy & legal 3 sources

Black Hat USA 2026 | The 'Breaking' News: The OpenAI–Hugging Face Incident

OpenAI engineers will reconstruct the OpenAI–Hugging Face incident at Black Hat USA 2026, covering attack paths, safeguards, and autonomous-system risks.

A Black Hat USA 2026 session by OpenAI security engineers and researchers will technically reconstruct the OpenAI–Hugging Face incident and its implications for AI security, cyber resilience, and alignment. The talk will address Black Hat Review Board topics including model safeguards, evaluation and containment practices, and defensive uses of AI. It will trace the attack path involving frontier models and discuss implications of increasingly autonomous systems for cybersecurity practitioners.

Dark Reading · 1d agoAI safety & security

Black Hat USA 2026: What the Hugging Face hack tells us about human responsibility

ESET's Black Hat USA 2026 talk argues the Hugging Face hack involving OpenAI models shows autonomous intrusions increase the need for human oversight.

ESET presented a Black Hat USA 2026 session examining the Hacking Face incident that involved OpenAI models. The talk contends that as hacking becomes more autonomous, human responsibility and oversight become more important, not less. The piece is commentary on AI security accountability rather than disclosure of new technical details.

ESET WeLiveSecurity · Aug 13, 2026AI safety & security

The Next Model Won’t Fix This: Three AppSec Imperatives From Black Hat USA 2026

Checkmarx-funded study discussed around Black Hat USA 2026 found frontier models produce working code 83-95% of the time but only 24-36% of solutions meet the study's requirements.

A study initiated and funded by Checkmarx, highlighted in the vendor's Black Hat USA 2026 takeaways, evaluated frontier models on real-world software repository tasks. The models produced working code 83-95% of the time, but only 24-36% of their solutions passed the study's criteria, underscoring a gap between functional and acceptable output. Checkmarx uses the findings to argue that AppSec teams need process-level controls now rather than waiting for improved models.

Checkmarx · Aug 17, 2026AI safety & security

Black Hat USA 2026: AI is racing ahead of cybersecurity controls

Black Hat USA 2026 commentary says AI adoption is racing ahead of cybersecurity controls, with accountability the key unresolved question.

ESET's commentary on Black Hat USA 2026 reports that AI dominated the conference agenda while cybersecurity controls lag behind AI adoption. The clearest takeaway, per the piece, concerns who is accountable when AI-driven systems fail rather than what AI can technically do. The item is opinion and conference coverage with no incident details.

ESET WeLiveSecurity · Aug 12, 2026Industry

Black Hat USA 2026: Will vulnerability discovery eventually decline in the AI era?

ESET's Black Hat USA 2026 coverage weighs whether AI-driven vulnerability discovery will decline and whether it will make future software safer.

ESET's WeLiveSecurity previews discussions from Black Hat USA 2026 about the current surge in AI-driven vulnerability discovery. The piece questions whether this surge will eventually decline and whether today's AI-assisted flaw finding will translate into safer software tomorrow. No specific vulnerability, incident, or product is described.

ESET WeLiveSecurity · Aug 13, 2026Industry

Black Axe Members Extradited to US Over Internet Fraud Claims

Five alleged Black Axe leaders were extradited from South Africa to the US over romance scam and money laundering charges.

Five Nigerian nationals who allegedly led Black Axe's Cape Town zone were extradited to the US on September 11 and appeared in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey on September 14. The superseding indictment alleges romance scams, advance-fee fraud, BEC, and money laundering via US bank accounts between 2011 and 2021, using social media, dating sites, and VoIP, with coercion via threats to distribute victims' intimate photos. Charges include wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy carrying up to 20 years each, plus aggravated identity theft for three defendants.

Infosecurity Magazine · 1d agoPolicy & legal

Suspected Black Axe gang leaders face cybercrime charges in the US

Five alleged Black Axe leaders extradited from South Africa to the US face wire fraud and money laundering charges over romance scams.

Perry Osagiede, Franklyn Osagiede, Osariemen Clement, Collins Otughwor, and Musa Mudashiru were extradited to the US on September 11, 2026, accused of running advance-fee and romance scams from Cape Town between 2011 and 2021. Victims were deceived via dating sites, aliases, and VoIP numbers, and coerced with threats to publish sensitive photos. The case follows Operation Jackal IV, which arrested 58 people across 22 countries; Black Axe is estimated to have 30,000 registered members.

BleepingComputer · 1d agoPolicy & legal

Agentic AI Risks, CVE Program Concerns Permeate Black Hat USA 2026

Dark Reading's Black Hat USA 2026 reporter notebook highlights agentic AI risks, CVE program concerns, and AI's impact on vulnerability reporting.

Dark Reading's Reporters' Notebook video from Black Hat USA 2026 examines the themes that dominated the conference. Key topics include risks from agentic AI, concerns about the CVE program, and AI's effects on vulnerability reporting and security research. The piece is conference commentary rather than a technical disclosure.

Dark Reading · 20d agoIndustry

Black Hat State of Security Vendors

Black Hat 2026 vendor roundup shows AI and agents now dominate nearly every security category, while detection-only tools remain overabundant.

Andy Ellis's roundup of security vendors at Black Hat observes AI embedded across identity, SaaS, AppSec and data security, with roughly half of booths leading with AI or agents in their messaging. The market splits into tools that assess problems, stop adversaries and prevent problems, with assessment-only tools disproportionately plentiful.

Schneier on Security · 22d agoIndustry

10 Hacker Summer Camp Standouts at Black Hat and DEF CON

Huntress researchers recap standout talks, panels, and villages from this year's Black Hat and DEF CON conferences.

Huntress researchers and SOC analysts published a recap of highlights from Black Hat and DEF CON, covering panels, villages, and standout sessions from Hacker Summer Camp. The post is a community roundup rather than an incident, vulnerability, or research disclosure.

Huntress · Aug 14, 2026Industry

dealignai/GLM-5.3-CYBERSECURITY-FP8 — new model trending #13 on Hugging Face

dealignai releases GLM-5.3-CYBERSECURITY-FP8, a 753B MoE weight-modified variant cutting refusals on offensive-security prompts, trending #13.

dealignai released GLM-5.3-CYBERSECURITY-FP8 on Hugging Face, a cybersecurity-domain 'crack' of the 753B-parameter GLM-5.3 MoE model, currently trending #13. The release directly edits bf16 residual writers, keeps FP8 routed experts, and serves with stock vLLM on 8x H200 GPUs with 131k context. HarmBench-320 evaluations show 80-84% direct harm compliance and 89% cyber-offense compliance, while MMLU rose 1.07 points to 86.65%. Copyright-verbatim reproduction remains a known soft-refusal limitation, with an UNCENSORED sibling variant offered.

Hugging Face trending models · 17d agoModel release

Android car head units infected with proxy botnet malware through built-in software updaters

Kaspersky found malware delivered via car head unit updaters, attributed to the MoYu Group's BADBOX operation, recruiting devices into a proxy botnet.

Kaspersky discovered malware delivered through the built-in TWCore system updater in Android-based car head units running DoFun infotainment firmware, turning devices into ad-fraud tools and nodes in a proxy botnet. The three-stage infection chain (JarService dropper, loader, and final payload supporting nine commands) installs the zhima reverse-proxy module, which Nokia's Deepfield team independently found on TV set-top boxes. Kaspersky attributes the operation with high confidence to the MoYu Group, linked to the BADBOX supply-chain botnet first identified by HUMAN Security in 2023. DoFun closed the gap after Kaspersky's responsible disclosure.

Help Net Security · 24d agoMalware in the wild

Interpol's Jackal IV Disrupts West African Crime Infrastructure

Interpol's Operation Jackal IV disrupted crime-as-a-service infrastructure in West Africa used by networks such as Black Axe.

Interpol coordinated Operation Jackal IV, an international law enforcement action targeting cybercrime infrastructure in West Africa. The operation focused on disrupting crime-as-a-service networks, including infrastructure supporting groups like Black Axe. Dark Reading's threat intelligence desk reported on the disruption of the criminal networks' operational capability.

Dark Reading · 21d agoPolicy & legal

US, Britain to coordinate on scam center takedowns

The US and UK signed an MOU to jointly investigate Southeast Asian scam compounds behind fraud that stole over $12 billion from Americans last year.

The DOJ and UK's National Crime Agency and Crown Prosecutor signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday for parallel investigations and information sharing on scam centers, largely run by Chinese gangs using human trafficking victims in compounds across Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. The Scam Center Strike Force, with more than 150 personnel from the FBI, IRS, and US Postal Inspection Service, leads the effort; the FBI says cyber-enabled fraud accounted for almost 85% of reported losses, with over $12 billion stolen from Americans last year. An in-person disruption event with private industry partners is planned in London in early October. The initiative follows sanctions on Prince Group and a roughly $15 billion bitcoin seizure linked to its CEO Chen Zhi.

The Record · 12d agoPolicy & legal

Post-DEF CON Phishing Uses Malicious Google Doc to Deliver Malware

Huntress uncovered post-DEF CON phishing via X direct messages using a malicious Google Doc to deliver AMOS and NetSupport RAT malware.

Huntress uncovered a phishing campaign targeting attendees after Black Hat and DEF CON. Attackers used X direct messages pointing to a malicious Google Doc as the delivery vehicle. Payloads include AMOS, a macOS infostealer, and the NetSupport RAT, among other malware.

Huntress · 28d agoPhishing & fraud

DavidAU/Qwen3.8-27B-TURBO-Fable-Cold-Fusion-735-882-Heretic-Uncensored-NEO-CODER-MAX-MTP-GGUF — new model trending #8 on Hugging Face

A new Qwen3.8-27B GGUF fine-tune claims ARC-C 735 at 8-bit with thinking tokens cut 2x-10x versus the base model.

Independent creator DavidAU released a GGUF fine-tune of Qwen3.8-27B built with Unsloth, claiming ARC-C of 735 at 8-bit and 719 at 4-bit, trending #8 on Hugging Face. The 'TURBO' variant cuts thinking tokens by one half to as much as one tenth while retaining output quality and detail. The repo ships both regular and MTP quants and claims gains over the base model across seven benchmarks, using 'Cold Fusion (GAIN + Unsloth)' and 'Fable Fusion 711' training methods.

Hugging Face trending models · 15d agoModel release

Interpol targets Black Axe’s illicit financial web in latest international sting

Interpol's Operation Jackal IV made 58 arrests across four continents, disrupting Black Axe money-laundering, BEC, and sextortion networks and seizing millions.

Interpol-coordinated Operation Jackal IV produced 58 arrests and identified 263 suspects across Africa, Europe and South America, targeting Black Axe and other West African organized crime financial networks. Romanian authorities dismantled a call-center investment scam valued at roughly 143 million euros, while South African police made 39 arrests, seized $2.67 million and blocked 257 bank accounts tied to romance and investment scams targeting retirees. Argentine investigators identified 196 people in a Crime-as-a-Service network supplying website domains and laundering support, and Interpol noted the groups' growing focus on sextortion of victims as young as 14.

CyberScoop · 22d agoThreat actor

Brand Impersonation Takedown: From Whack-a-Mole to Managed Response

Mandiant-tracked group UNC3753 impersonated US professional services firms' brands in 2026; Cyble urges managed takedowns over manual abuse reports.

Cyble describes how Google Mandiant-tracked group UNC3753 targeted US professional services firms between January and May 2026 using brand impersonation, spoofed domains, and fake executive profiles. Manual takedowns fail because phishing pages damage brands within hours while removal takes days. A managed takedown program with continuous monitoring and pre-authorized removal cuts the exposure window from days to hours.

Cyble · Aug 17, 2026Phishing & fraud in the wild

New Chaos Variant Targets Misconfigured Cloud Deployments, Adds SOCKS Proxy

Darktrace says the Chaos botnet now targets misconfigured cloud deployments like Hadoop and added a SOCKS proxy for traffic relaying.

Darktrace identified a new 64-bit ELF variant of the Chaos botnet targeting misconfigured cloud deployments, expanding beyond the malware's traditional focus on routers and edge devices. Captured in a deliberately misconfigured Hadoop honeypot instance, the intrusion began with an HTTP request creating an application that ran embedded shell commands to fetch the Chaos agent binary from pan.tenire[.]com, set chmod 777 permissions, execute it, and delete the artifact to reduce forensic traces. The restructured variant adds a SOCKS proxy feature letting compromised systems ferry attacker traffic, while removing SSH-based spread and router-exploit functions, suggesting monetization beyond crypto mining and DDoS-for-hire. Possible Chinese origin is suggested by language artifacts and infrastructure; the delivery domain was previously used in Silver Fox's Operation Silk Lure phishing campaign delivering ValleyRAT.

The Hacker News · 29d agoMalware1

Malware Hijacks Android Car Head Units

Kaspersky reports first known malware infecting Android car head units via firmware updaters, repurposing vehicles as BADBOX proxy nodes for ad fraud.

Kaspersky documented the first known malware infection of Android-based car head units, delivered through the built-in TWCore firmware updater on DoFun devices via an MQTT-driven installation flag. A multi-stage chain installs the JarService dropper and a loader that pulls a clicker and reverse proxy module ('zhima') used for ad fraud and proxy botnet infrastructure. The malware supports nine commands, including clipboard changes, HTTP requests, and JavaScript loading, checking in with C2 every 90 minutes. Kaspersky attributes the campaign with high confidence to MoYu Group, linked to the BADBOX botnet.

Security Affairs · 25d agoMalware in the wild