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Abyssos: Technical Analysis of a New Modular RAT
Zscaler ThreatLabz analyzes Abyssos, a new modular C++ RAT offering credential theft, file exfiltration, and VNC-based remote access.
Zscaler ThreatLabz identified a new malware family tracked as Abyssos in late June 2026. Abyssos is a modular remote administration tool (RAT) written in C++ that supports credential theft, file exfiltration, and remote access via VNC. The malware is under active development, with multiple version numbers and obfuscation passes designed to evade security products. The analysis covers its core features, configuration, obfuscation, and network communication protocol.
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ThreatsDay: 296K IoT Botnet, 100+ Water Systems Targeted, SharePoint RCE Chain + 27 New Stories
Weekly ThreatsDay bulletin details a ShinyHunters-style social engineering hit on ReliaQuest, the 296,000-device Dysphoria IoT botnet, and several new malware families.
ReliaQuest confirmed a social engineering attack on August 22, 2026, in which an attacker used a fake SSO page and MFA push approval to gain brief view-only access to an identity dashboard, with tactics matching ShinyHunters, which has since listed the firm on its leak portal. The Shadowserver Foundation reported the Dysphoria botnet has compromised nearly 296,000 IoT devices for DDoS attacks and recently added residential proxy capability. Cisco Talos documented JWR, an operator-driven phishing-as-a-service framework linked to The Outsider that harvests credentials, identity documents, and 2FA codes over an encrypted WebSocket. New malware coverage includes the Octagon Android fraud bot ($1,400/month), the C2Looper Rust backdoor delivered via ClickFix, and the Aeternum loader that moved C2 to the Polygon blockchain.
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Russian man indicted for spreading malware to 80,000 freelancers
US prosecutors indicted a Russian national for infecting roughly 80,000 freelancers with TVRAT and DarkVNC malware via fake freelance-platform accounts.
Searzhudin Tamirlanovich Aktulaev, 40, was indicted in California for conspiracy, transmission of malicious code, and aggravated identity theft; he was arrested in Cyprus in May 2025 and extradited in August 2026. From June 2016 to November 2017, about 255 fake accounts on a Northern California freelance platform messaged roughly 80,000 users with malicious Excel attachments that ran macros to download malware. The campaign deployed TVRAT (also known as TeamSpy), which exploited a TeamViewer flaw, and DarkVNC via VNC Viewer, exfiltrating stolen data to US-hosted command-and-control servers. About half the victims were in the US, and stolen credentials were used for fraud.
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Russian national facing 20 years for malware campaign that infected 80,000 freelancers
US prosecutors indicted Russian national Searzhudin Aktulaev for a 2016 TVRAT malware campaign that infected 80,000 freelance platform users, carrying up to 20 years.
Searzhudin Tamirlanovich Aktulaev was arrested in Cyprus in May 2025, extradited to the US, and appeared in a San Francisco federal court on charges including conspiracy, aggravated identity theft, and damaging protected computers. Between June 2016 and November 2017 he spread a TVRAT (TVSPY/TeamSpy) variant via malicious Microsoft Excel attachments sent from 255 fake accounts on a freelance employment platform's messaging system, infecting about 80,000 users. TVRAT exploited a TeamViewer vulnerability and DarkVNC exploited a bug in VNC Viewer to take over devices; he used the access to steal data and commit fraud, maintained C2 domains, and stored stolen e-commerce credentials for hundreds of victims. About half the victims were in the US, mostly California; the charges carry a maximum 20-year sentence and his next hearing is October 5.
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Russian Man Extradited Over Malware Campaign Targeting Freelancers
A Russian national was extradited to the US for allegedly spreading TVRAT and DarkVNC malware to 80,000 freelance platform users via Excel attachments.
Searzhudin Tamirlanovich Aktulaev, 40, was arrested in Cyprus in May 2025, extradited on August 28, 2026, and indicted on conspiracy, computer damage, unauthorized access and aggravated identity theft charges. Prosecutors say he and co-conspirators used about 255 fake accounts on a freelance employment platform's messaging system to send macro-laden Excel attachments between June 2016 and November 2017, deploying TVRAT (TVSPY/TeamSpy) and DarkVNC remote access trojans. Thousands of victims were identified on a US-hosted C2 domain, with roughly half of the 80,000 affected users in the US; C2 infrastructure was paid for with virtual currency. If convicted he faces up to 20 years for wire fraud conspiracy plus additional terms and fines.
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WordlistLoader Delivers Amatera via ClickFix, SynkLoader Phishes Windows Passwords
Gen Digital details WordlistLoader delivering Amatera Stealer via ClickFix and EtherHiding, while SynkLoader phishes Windows credentials through Microsoft Teams.
Gen Digital identified WordlistLoader, an intermediate stage that reconstructs shellcode encoded as plain English words (or 16-byte UUID chunks) and loads Amatera Stealer 4.3.3-alpha1, delivered through ClearFake ClickFix prompts on compromised websites. The chain uses EtherHiding to fetch JavaScript from a blockchain smart contract, hidden cmd.exe via conhost, WebDAV-mounted shares with rundll32 execution, and ETW bypass via hardware breakpoints. The stealer adds hardened WoW64 syscalls, Heaven's Gate indirect-syscall trampolines and a redesigned application-bound encryption bypass. Separately, Expel observed SynkLoader distributed via Microsoft Teams phishing impersonating IT service desks, installing an MSI from Azure blob storage and serving a fake lock screen to capture credentials.
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