Microsoft warns that a threat actor tracked as Storm-0501 has evolved its operations, shifting away from encrypting devices with ransomware to focusing on cloud-based encryption, data theft, and extortion. The hackers now abuse native cloud features to exfiltrate data, wipe backups, and destroy storage accounts, thereby applying pressure and extorting victims without deploying traditional ransomware encryption
Google to verify all Android devs to block malware on Google Play
Google is introducing a new defense for Android called ‘Developer Verification’ to block malware installations from sideloaded apps sourced from outside the official Google Play app store. For apps on Google Play, there was already a requirement for publishers to provide a D-U-N-S (Data Universal Numbering System) number, introduced on August 31, 2023. Google says this has had a
Vulcan Elements wins Pentagon deals as $65M round fuels expansion
Vulcan Elements has landed more than $10 million in Defense Department contracts across every branch of the U.S. military. Here, an engineer demonstrates Vulcan’s commissioned strip caster. (Courtesy Vulcan Elements) Vulcan Elements, a 2-year-old startup manufacturing rare earth magnets in North Carolina, has quietly landed more than $10 million in Defense Department contracts across every
Surge in coordinated scans targets Microsoft RDP auth servers
Internet intelligence firm GreyNoise reports that it has recorded a significant spike in scanning activity consisting of nearly 1,971 IP addresses probing Microsoft Remote Desktop Web Access and RDP Web Client authentication portals in unison, suggesting a coordinated reconnaissance campaign. The researchers say that this is a massive change in activity, with the company usually only
New Android malware poses as antivirus from Russian intelligence agency
A new Android malware posing as an antivirus tool software created by Russia’s Federal Security Services agency (FSB) is being used to target executives of Russian businesses. In a new report from Russian mobile security firm Dr. Web, researchers track the new spyware as ‘Android.Backdoor.916.origin,’ finding no links to known malware families. Among its various
FTC warns tech giants not to bow to foreign pressure on encryption
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is warning major U.S. tech companies against yielding to foreign government demands that weaken data security, compromise encryption, or impose censorship on their platforms. FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson signed the letter sent to large American companies like Akamai, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Cloudflare, Discord, GoDaddy, Meta, Microsoft, Signal, Snap
Murky Panda hackers exploit cloud trust to hack downstream customers
A Chinese state-sponsored hacking group known as Murky Panda (Silk Typhoon) exploits trusted relationships in cloud environments to gain initial access to the networks and data of downstream customers. Murky Panda, also known as Silk Typhoon (Microsoft) and Hafnium, is known for targeting government, technology, academic, legal, and professional services organizations in North America. The
Dev gets 4 years for creating kill switch on ex-employer’s systems
A software developer has been sentenced to four years in prison for sabotaging his ex-employer’s Windows network with custom malware and a kill switch that locked out employees when his account was disabled. Davis Lu, 55, a Chinese national living legally in Houston, worked for an Ohio-based company, reportedly Eaton Corporation, from 2007 until his
AI website builder Lovable increasingly abused for malicious activity
Cybercriminals are increasingly abusing the AI-powered Lovable website creation and hosting platform to generate phishing pages, malware-dropping portals, and various fraudulent websites. The malicious sites created through the platform impersonate large and recognizable brands, and feature traffic filtering systems like CAPTCHA to keep bots out. While Lovable has taken steps to better protect its platform
PyPI now blocks domain resurrection attacks used for hijacking accounts
The Python Package Index (PyPI) has introduced new protections against domain resurrection attacks that enable hijacking accounts through password resets. PyPI is the official repository for open-source Python packages. It is used by software developers, product maintainers, and companies working with Python libraries, tools, and frameworks. Accounts of project maintainers publishing software on PyPI are