Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, July 06 - 10, 2020

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, August 24 - 28, 2020 - Featured Image

Weekly Threat Briefing July 10, 2020

The Good

With another week coming to an end, let’s take a quick glance at all the good developments that happened this week. The US Department of Justice (DoJ) indicted the notorious Fxmsp hacker responsible for breaching networks of 135 companies between 2016 and 2019. In a different incident, German authorities took down a web server controlled by the DDoSSecrets group. The server hosted the BlueLeaks website that provided access to internal documents of police personnel.

  • The DoJ indicted the infamous ‘Fxmsp’ hacker for selling access to dozens of corporate networks. The hacker had breached the networks of 135 companies in 44 countries between 2016 and 2019.

  • Security experts released free decryption keys for the recently discovered EvilQuest ransomware that uses a custom symmetric encryption routine based on the RC2 algorithm.

  • Microsoft seized six domains of a threat actor group that were used in a phishing operation against Office 365 customers. The gang sent emails to companies that hosted email servers and enterprise infrastructure on Microsoft’s Office 365 cloud service.

  • German authorities took down a web server - belonging to the DDoSecrets hacktivist group - that hosted the BlueLeaks website. The website provided access to internal documents stolen from the US police departments.

The Bad

The week also witnessed several organizations falling victims to different cyberattacks. Attackers hijacked over 240 website subdomains of various well-known companies with an aim to redirect users to malware, X-rated content, and online gambling. Meanwhile, the DXC Technology and EDP Renewable North America (EDPR NA) disclosed being hit by ransomware attacks.

  • The Egypt-based ride-hailing app, SWVL, was hacked in an attack that impacted personal information of passengers. The exposed data included emails, names, and phone numbers.

  • Clubillion app leaked Personally Identifiable Information (PII) of millions of its users due to an unsecured Elasticsearch database. The impacted data included emails, private messages, and IP addresses.

  • More than 240 website subdomains belonging to different organizations were hijacked to redirect netizens to malware, X-rated material, online gambling, and other unexpected content. The affected organizations included Chevron, the Red Cross, UNESCO, 3M, Getty Images, Hawaiian Airlines, Arm, Warner Brothers, and Honeywell.

  • DXC Technology disclosed a ransomware attack on its subsidiary firm, Xchanging. The incident occurred on July 5.

  • In a notification to customers, BCycle revealed that credit card information of some of its users was impacted in a hack. The incident occurred between January 24 and April 26, 2020.

  • Hackers attacked the Sheriff’s Office for Cooke County, Texas, and stole some of the law enforcement agency’s data in the process. The compromised data included information of both past and current police personnel.

  • Brazilian health insurer, Hapvida, disclosed a cyberattack that potentially affected both personal and medical information of its customers.

  • All IT systems of X-FAB Group were halted following a cyberattack. The firm had also stopped production at all its six manufacturing sites as an additional measure to stop further spread of the attack.

  • Ragnar Locker ransomware targeted EDP Renewable North America (EDPR NA) in its latest attack campaign. The incident had occurred on May 8, 2020.

  • Around 15 billion credentials that could give access to individuals’ bank accounts and companies’ networks were found for sale on the dark web. These credentials were harvested from over 100,000 discrete data breaches.

  • Chilton county temporarily closed its computer network after being targeted in a ransomware attack. As a result of the attack, local records required by the courthouse were rendered inaccessible.

New Threats

Among the new threats discovered this week, security researchers uncovered two threat actor groups, Keeper and Cosmic Lynx, that were responsible for a large number of card-skimming and BEC attacks respectively. While the Keeper gang has hijacked over 570 e-commerce sites over the last three years, the Cosmic Lynx has launched more than 200 BEC attacks since July 2019.

  • A hacking group known as ‘Keeper’ was found responsible for hacking more than 570 online e-commerce portals over the last three years. The gang carried out their attack by inserting malicious scripts into the checkout pages of the sites.
  • New details reveal that the Evilnum threat actor group has shifted its focus on targets located in Europe and the United Kingdom. Some of its victims are also located in Australia and Canada. The APT group is specialized in targeting financial firms.
  • Russia-based Cosmic Lynx threat actor group is responsible for more than 200 BEC attacks since July 2019. The gang relies on infrastructure linked with malware campaigns from Emotet and TrickBot.
  • The week witnessed new variants of Lampion trojan, Mirai botnet, and Joker spyware. While the new Lampion variant came with VBS downloader files, the new version of Mirai exploited nine vulnerabilities, including a flaw found in Comtrend routers. The new Joker variant included the capabilities of unleashing additional malware onto a targeted device. A new variant of Purple Exploit kit was also found with two more exploits added to its arsenal.
  • More than a dozen websites hosted on Microsoft IIS servers and running ASP.NET have been targeted by a payment-card skimmer code in a campaign that started likely in April 2020. The malicious code was injected into the existing JavaScript libraries.
  • Cerberus banking trojan made a comeback disguised as the Calculadora de Moneda app. The trojan’s capabilities included logging keystrokes, and stealing credentials from Google Authenticator and SMS messages.
  • Two new ransomware - Conti and FileCry - emerged this week. While Conti uses 32 independent CPU threads to encrypt files on infected computers, the new FileCry ransomware derives its name from WannaCry.
  • A survey revealed that 127 routers from seven different vendors are affected by several vulnerabilities. The vendors have failed to fix these flaws despite the available security patches. The affected vendor names are AVM, D-Link, Linksys, TP-Link, Zyxel, and Netgear.
  • Federal authorities issued security advisories related to a vulnerability in ultrasound systems from Philips. Described as an authentication bypass issue, the flaw can be successfully exploited to allow an attacker to view or modify information.

Related Threat Briefings

May 9, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, May 05–09, 2025

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May 2, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, April 28–May 02, 2025

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Apr 25, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, April 21–25, 2025

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Apr 11, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, April 07–11, 2025

The U.K. government rolled out a Cyber Governance Code of Practice aimed at directors and board members, not just CISOs. Backed by the NCSC and other national bodies, the code includes practical actions, modular training, and a board-level toolkit. Startups building the future of cyber defense are getting serious backing. The British Business Bank has committed most of a £50 million fund to Osney Capital, which will invest in early-stage cybersecurity companies across the U.K. A torrent download might be doing more than delivering cracked software. A campaign has been distributing ViperSoftX to Korean users, likely run by Arabic-speaking threat actors. Invasive spyware campaigns are zeroing in on high-risk communities. MOONSHINE and BADBAZAAR are being deployed through trojanized mobile apps to surveil Uyghur, Tibetan, and Taiwanese individuals, as well as civil society groups. Search for QuickBooks during tax season, and you might land on a trap. Threat actors are placing deceptive Google Ads that link to phishing pages almost identical to the real QuickBooks login portal. It starts with a PDF search and ends with malware on your machine. A new campaign is using fake CAPTCHAs and Cloudflare Turnstile to lure users into downloading LegionLoader. Seed phrases aren’t supposed to come from strangers. The PoisonSeed campaign is targeting crypto holders and enterprise users by compromising bulk email services. Victims are lured with fake wallet setup instructions that embed attacker-controlled recovery phrases - giving threat actors full access once the wallets are used. A Chinese-linked threat group, ToddyCat, has been exploiting a security vulnerability in ESET's software to deliver a new malware, TCESB, in Asia.

Mar 28, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, March 24–28, 2025

The U.K’s NCSC is putting domain abuse in its crosshairs. New guidance targets registrars with a push to curb malicious domain registrations and hijacks. The recommendations focus on tightening security at registration, offering enhanced protections to customers, and more. Europe is getting serious about the quantum future. ETSI has rolled out a new quantum-safe encryption standard featuring Covercrypt, a novel key encapsulation scheme with built-in access controls. By tying decryption permissions to user attributes, Covercrypt delivers speed and post-quantum security. Medusa isn’t just encrypting files, it’s dismantling defenses first. The RaaS has been leveraging a malicious driver called ABYSSWORKER in BYOVD attacks to disable endpoint protections. FamousSparrow has returned with new tools and a familiar agenda. The Chinese APT group was behind a July 2024 attack targeting a U.S. trade group and a Mexican research institute, deploying a web shell on an IIS server to drop SparrowDoor and ShadowPad. A supply chain attack snuck through npm by modifying what developers thought they could trust. Threat actors used two packages to inject malware into the widely used ethers library. Lucid isn’t just phishing - it’s engineering trust through your inbox. This advanced PhaaS platform weaponizes the built-in features of iMessage and RCS to create hyper-realistic scams. Known for years of corporate espionage, RedCurl has shifted gears with a new ransomware called QWCrypt. The malware was found in a North American network, targeting hypervisors for maximum disruption. PlayBoy Locker is offering ransomware with a user manual and tech support. The newly investigated RaaS platform operates on an affiliate model and comes packed with features. Targeting Windows, NAS, and ESXi systems, it moves laterally using LDAP scans and abuses Restart Manager DLLs to shut down active processes before encryption.

Mar 21, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, March 17–21, 2025

The race to outpace quantum threats is officially on. The NCSC has issued guidance to help organizations transition to post-quantum cryptography by 2035, with a focus on NIST-approved algorithms and planned support for critical sectors. A nationwide fraud crackdown ends with hundreds behind bars. Operation Henhouse led to 422 arrests and the seizure of millions in assets, as U.K. police target the country’s most widespread and costly crime - fraud. A threat actor briefly exposed their entire playbook. Researchers found a public server hosting tools tied to a campaign targeting South Korea, including a Rust-compiled payload delivering Cobalt Strike Cat and a list of over 1,000 potential targets. Phishing messages on Signal are leading to full system compromise. CERT-UA warns of DarkCrystal RAT attacks targeting Ukraine’s defense sector, using fake contacts and malicious files to trick victims into executing spyware. Ransomware slipped into VSCode under the radar. Two malicious extensions were discovered on the VSCode Marketplace, bypassing checks to deliver test-stage ransomware demanding ShibaCoin for decryption. Fake ads are being weaponized to steal Google credentials. A campaign targeting Semrush users is redirecting victims to spoofed login pages, where attackers harvest Google account logins through a fake “Log in with Google” prompt. A fake browser update could cost you more than a few clicks. A new ClearFake campaign is using fake reCAPTCHA and Turnstile pages to deliver malware like Lumma and Vidar Stealer, with payloads fetched through Binance’s Smart Chain. Hackers are quietly poisoning AI-generated code. A new supply chain attack targets AI editors like Copilot and Cursor, exploiting rules files to inject malicious prompts that trick the tools into writing compromised code.

Mar 14, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, March 10–14, 2025

A Russian hosting provider is feeling the heat from global sanctions. Australia, the U.K., and the U.S. have sanctioned Zservers, a bulletproof hosting provider linked to ransomware and fraud, freezing its assets and restricting operations. Switzerland is tightening its grip on cyber incident reporting. Starting April 1, critical infrastructure operatorsmust report cyberattacks to the NCSC within 24 hours, reinforcing national cybersecurity defenses. Cybercriminals are upgrading their toolkit for long-term access. Ragnar Loader is being leveraged by ransomware groups like FIN7, FIN8, and Ragnar Locker, evolving into a stealthier and more modular malware for persistent system compromise. Chinese hackers are slipping past defenses in Juniper routers. The UNC3886 threat group is backdooring older Juniper MX routers, bypassing security protections and embedding custom TinyShell malware to maintain access. North Korean hackers are adding ransomware to their arsenal. Moonstone Sleet (Storm-1789) is deploying Qilin ransomware, using fake companies and trojanized tools to infiltrate targets through LinkedIn and freelance platforms. A botnet is turning home routers into attack platforms. The Ballista botnet is exploiting an unpatched TP-Link Archer router flaw (CVE-2023-1389) to spread stealthily, using Tor domains and remote command execution to launch DDoS attacks worldwide. Copy, paste, and lose your crypto. MassJacker hijacks clipboard transactions, swapping wallet addresses with attacker-controlled ones, stealing funds from victims who unknowingly send money to the wrong destination. A fake CAPTCHA is all it takes to get root access. The OBSCURE#BAT campaign is using social engineering tactics to install the r77 rootkit, bypassing defenses and targeting English-speaking users with stealthy, persistent malware.

Mar 7, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, March 03–07, 2025

The code caves of GitHub just got a cleanup crew courtesy of Microsoft. A sprawling malvertising campaign that snagged nearly a million devices worldwide has been knocked down a peg. Cheap Android gadgets are getting a breather from a relentless digital pest. The BadBox 2.0 botnet, a souped-up sequel backed by multiple threat crews, saw 24 shady apps booted from Google Play and half a million infected devices cut off from their puppet masters, thanks to some crafty sinkholing and Google’s cleanup sweep. A sneaky gatecrasher has turned WordPress into a redirect rollercoaster. A malicious JavaScript injection lurking in a theme file has snagged at least 31 sites, pulling visitors through a two-step detour to shady third-party domains. Japan’s digital defenses are under siege from a shadowy crew with a taste for chaos. Since January, unknown threat actors have been prying open organizations in tech, telecom, entertainment, and more, exploiting CVE-2024-4577 in PHP-CGI on Windows. Crooks posing as the Electronic Frontier Foundation are targeting Albion Online players with phishing emails and fake PDFs, claiming account trouble. It’s a ruse to drop Stealc malware and Pyramid C2. A fresh face in the cybercrime underworld is juggling a bag of nasty surprises. EncryptHub is hitting users of QQ Talk, WeChat, Google Meet, and more with trojanized apps and slick multi-stage attacks. The Eleven11bot botnet, loosely tied to Iran, has taken over 86,000 IoT devices to slam telecoms and gaming servers with relentless DDoS barrages. Social media’s sunny side has a dark shadow creeping across the Middle East and North Africa. Since September 2024, Desert Dexter has been slinging a tweaked AsyncRAT via legit file-sharing sites and Telegram. For detailed Cyber Threat Intel, click ‘Read More’.

Feb 21, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, February 17–21, 2025

Google is stepping up its defenses against the quantum threat. The company is rolling out quantum-resistant digital signatures in Cloud KMS, following NIST’s post-quantum cryptography standards. Supply chain attacks just got harder to pull off. Apiiro has released two open-source tools to detect malicious code in software projects. With high detection rates across PyPI and npm packages, these tools add a crucial layer of security for developers. China’s Salt Typhoon is making itself at home in global telecom networks. The group has been caught using JumbledPath, a custom-built spying tool, to infiltrate ISPs in the U.S., Italy, South Africa, and Thailand. ShadowPad malware is once again causing havoc in Europe. Trend Micro flagged 21 targeted companies across 15 countries, with manufacturing firms bearing the brunt. A RAT is hiding in plain sight. SectopRAT has been spotted disguised as a fake Google Docs Chrome extension. It steals browser data, targets VPNs and cryptocurrency wallets, and injects malicious scripts into web pages. Darcula Suite is taking PhaaS to the next level. The upcoming update, currently in beta, will let users generate their own phishing kits by cloning real websites and customizing attack elements. A new payment card skimming campaign is turning Stripe’s old API into a weapon. Hackers are injecting malicious scripts into checkout pages, validating stolen card details through Stripe before exfiltration. LummaC2 is spreading through cracked software downloads again. ASEC found it disguised as a pirated Total Commander installer, hiding behind Google Collab Drive and Reddit links.