20 Feb, 2025

Chinese cyberspies use new SSH backdoor in network device hacks

A Chinese hacking group is hijacking the SSH daemon on network appliances by injecting malware into the process for persistent access and covert operations. The newly identified attack suite has been used in attacks since mid-November 2024, attributed to the Chinese Evasive Panda, aka DaggerFly, cyber-espionage group. As per the findings of Fortinet’s Fortiguard researchers, the attack […]

3 mins read

Backdoor found in two healthcare patient monitors, linked to IP in China

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is warning that Contec CMS8000 devices, a widely used healthcare patient monitoring device, include a backdoor that quietly sends patient data to a remote IP address and downloads and executes files on the device. Contec is a China-based company that specializes in healthcare technology, offering a range of […]

5 mins read

Stealthy ‘Magic Packet’ malware targets Juniper VPN gateways

A malicious campaign has been specifically targeting Juniper edge devices, many acting as VPN gateways, with malware dubbed J-magic that starts a reverse shell only if it detects a “magic packet” in the network traffic. The J-magic attacks appear to target organizations in the semiconductor, energy, manufacturing (marine, solar panels, heavy machinery), and IT sectors. […]

3 mins read

Malicious PyPi package steals Discord auth tokens from devs

A malicious package named ‘pycord-self’ on the Python package index (PyPI) targets Discord developers to steal authentication tokens and plant a backdoor for remote control over the system. The package mimics the highly popular ‘discord.py-self,’ which has nearly 28 million downloads, and even offers the functionality of the legitimate project. The official package is a Python […]

2 mins read

Over 4,000 backdoors hijacked by registering expired domains

Over 4,000 abandoned but still active web backdoors were hijacked and their communication infrastructure sinkholed after researchers registered expired domains used for commanding them. Some of the live malware (web shells) was deployed on web servers of  high-profile targets, including government and university systems, ready to execute commands from anyone who tool control of the communication […]

2 mins read

Eagerbee backdoor deployed against Middle Eastern govt orgs, ISPs

New variants of the Eagerbee malware framework are being deployed against government organizations and internet service providers (ISPs) in the Middle East. Previously, the malware was seen in attacks conducted by Chinese state-backed threat actors who Sophos tracked as ‘Crimson Palace.’ According to a new report by Kaspersky researchers, there’s a potential connection to a threat group they […]

3 mins read

New ‘OtterCookie’ malware used to backdoor devs in fake job offers

North Korean threat actors are using new malware called OtterCookie in the Contagious Interview campaign that is targeting software developers. Contagious Interview has been active since at least December 2022, according to researchers at cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks. The campaign targets software developers with fake job offers to deliver malware such as BeaverTail and InvisibleFerret. […]

2 mins read

Winnti hackers target other threat actors with new Glutton PHP backdoor

The Chinese Winnti hacking group is using a new PHP backdoor named ‘Glutton’ in attacks on organizations in China and the U.S., and also in attacks on other cybercriminals. Chinese security firm QAX’s XLab discovered the new PHP malware in late April 2024, but evidence of its deployment, along with other files, dates back to […]

3 mins read

Chinese hackers use Visual Studio Code tunnels for remote access

Chinese hackers targeting large IT service providers in Southern Europe were seen abusing Visual Studio Code (VSCode) tunnels to maintain persistent remote access to compromised systems. VSCode tunnels are part of Microsoft’s Remote Development feature, which enables developers to securely access and work on remote systems via Visual Studio Code. Developers can also execute command […]

3 mins read

GitHub projects targeted with malicious commits to frame researcher

GitHub projects have been targeted with malicious commits and pull requests, in an attempt to inject backdoors into these projects. Most recently, the GitHub repository of Exo Labs, an AI and machine learning startup, was targeted in the attack, which has left many wondering about the attacker’s true intentions. ‘Innocent looking PR’ caught injecting backdoor On Tuesday, Alex Cheema, co-founder […]

5 mins read