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Search: “Nuclear EK”

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DomainAllCyberAIWindow24h3d7d30dAllIn the wildImportant onlyShow duplicates
CategoryAllRansomware 6Vulnerability 5Threat actor 4Malware 3Exploit / PoC 2Data breach 2Industry 1Research 1
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Locky Ransomware Installed Through Nuclear EK

Unit 42 reports Locky ransomware delivered through the Nuclear exploit kit using Flash exploits, adding a drive-by path to existing malspam distribution.

Unit 42 observed Locky ransomware being delivered by the Nuclear exploit kit in March 2016 via Flash exploits, following February reports of Neutrino EK distributing Locky. Infections follow a drive-by chain through a gate to the Nuclear EK, which either installs Locky directly or drops a downloader that retrieves it from another domain. Locky retains two distribution paths: malspam with malicious Office macros or JavaScript attachments and exploit kit traffic triggered by casual web browsing.

Palo Alto Unit 42 · 29d agoRansomware in the wild1

Afraidgate: Major Exploit Kit Campaign Swaps Locky Ransomware for CryptXXX

Unit 42 reports the Afraidgate campaign switched from Nuclear EK delivering Locky to Angler EK delivering CryptXXX via the Bedep downloader.

Unit 42 reported that the Afraidgate campaign, which uses gates registered through FreeDNS at afraid.org, switched in mid-April 2016 from Nuclear EK distributing Locky ransomware to Angler EK distributing CryptXXX. The Angler/Bedep/CryptXXX combination also spread from the pseudo-Darkleech campaign, with Bedep acting as a fileless, memory-resident downloader that also installs click-fraud malware. Recent Bedep updates detect virtual machines and alter behavior, complicating analyst investigation. Unit 42 published gate, EK, and post-infection indicators including gate IP 185.118.164.42 and associated domains.

Palo Alto Unit 42 · 29d agoThreat actor in the wild

Understanding Angler Exploit Kit

Unit 42 explains exploit kit fundamentals, describing how landing pages profile victims, deliver exploits, and install malware payloads on Windows hosts.

Unit 42 published a primer on exploit kit fundamentals, defining vulnerabilities, exploits, malware payloads, actors, and campaigns in EK-based attacks. It explains the infection chain: a landing page profiles the victim's Windows system for vulnerable applications such as Flash Player, Java, Silverlight, and Internet Explorer, then a matching exploit executes a downloader or final payload, often delivered encrypted with XOR or RC4. The post also describes the EK-as-a-Service business model, in which leading EKs are rented for a few thousand dollars per month while buyers supply campaign infrastructure.

Palo Alto Unit 42 · 29d agoResearch

Decline in Rig Exploit Kit

Rig exploit kit activity dropped roughly 75% after the pseudo-Darkleech and EITest campaigns stopped using EKs, reflecting an overall decline in exploit kit activity.

Rig EK activity fell sharply in 2017: the pseudo-Darkleech campaign disappeared at the end of March, cutting Rig traffic about 50%, and the EITest campaign switched to tech support scams in late April, cutting another 50% in May. Broader causes include a shrinking browser target base, no major EK zero-day in over a year, and community takedowns of domain shadowing infrastructure. Criminals are shifting to malspam, social engineering schemes like fake HoeflerText notifications, and tech support scams.

Palo Alto Unit 42 · 29d agoExploit / PoC in the wild1

Campaign Evolution: Darkleech to Pseudo

Unit 42 traces the pseudo-Darkleech campaign, which compromises websites to inject scripts redirecting visitors to exploit kits delivering ransomware.

Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 analyzed the evolution of the pseudo-Darkleech campaign, which injects malicious script into compromised Apache, IIS and WordPress sites to redirect visitors to exploit kits such as Angler and Neutrino. The original Darkleech Apache module infected thousands of servers starting in 2012 and delivered Blackhole EK until that kit disappeared after Paunch's 2013 arrest. From 2015 onward, pseudo-Darkleech delivered ransomware families like CryptoWall and TeslaCrypt, and by early 2016 its injected scripts added obfuscated numeric blocks with frequently changing separator characters. Unit 42 tracks these patterns to help defenders identify compromised websites.

Palo Alto Unit 42 · 29d agoThreat actor in the wild

Cybersecurity jobs available right now: September 8, 2026

Help Net Security's September 8 job roundup lists open cybersecurity roles at AudioCodes, Garmin, Scotiabank, GDIT, Subway and others across seven countries.

The listing includes a CISO role at AudioCodes in Israel, a Combat Systems Cyber Engineer at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, cloud security engineering at Garmin, and an IAM Architect at Scotiabank. Other openings span penetration testing for NATO exercises at Spektrum in Belgium, SOC analyst at Orro Group in Australia, threat hunting at GDIT, and security operations at Subway in the USA. Roles range from CISO and architect to SOC analyst and penetration tester.

Help Net Security · 8d agoIndustry