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HBO Max Reddit account compromised to serve ClickFix attacks

Attackers hijacked HBO Max's verified Reddit account to run 108 ClickFix malvertising ads delivering infostealers, loaders, and crypto clippers to Windows and macOS users.

Attackers compromised the verified HBO Max Reddit account (u/hbomax) to push 108 malicious ads in a 48-hour malvertising blitz named PasteSwitch, analyzed by Hudson Rock and ADAMnetworks. The ClickFix lures directed victims to fake landing pages instructing them to paste commands into Terminal, delivering OS-targeted infostealers, malware loaders, and cryptocurrency clippers. Lures included 46 HBO Max ads, 36 fake OpenAI Codex ads, 15 fake macOS disk utilities, and 11 developer-tool ads. The AnimateClipper and ZigClipper payloads use Binance Smart Chain contracts as resilient C2 fallback, with 36 mainnet changes observed between March and July 2026; Reddit paused the ads three days after discovery and is investigating.

The Register · Securityupdated · 1d agofirst · 2d agoPhishing & fraud in the wild 7 sources

US charges 17 Iranian hackers over 31-terabyte academic data theft

US indicts 17 Iranian Mabna Institute hackers who stole 31TB of academic data from universities, companies, and agencies via spearphishing.

The US Department of Justice charged 17 alleged Mabna Institute members, adding eight defendants to the nine charged in 2018, for a 2013-2017 campaign largely conducted for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The group stole over 31TB of academic data and intellectual property from 144 US and 178 foreign universities, at least 42 US companies, and at least five federal and state agencies, compromising about 8,000 of 100,000 spearphished professor email accounts. US universities spent roughly $3.4 billion procuring the stolen data; one defendant also hacked HBO and sought about $6 million in bitcoin ransom. The State Department offers up to $10 million for information on five defendants, none of whom are in US custody.

Help Net Security · 28d agoPolicy & legal in the wild