Espionage
MirrorFace hackers targeting Japanese govt, politicians since 2019
The National Police Agency (NPA) and the Cabinet Cyber Security Center in Japan have linked a cyber-espionage campaign targeting the country to the Chinese state-backed “MirrorFace” hacking group. The campaign has been underway since 2019 and is still ongoing, while the Japanese investigators have observed distinct phases with differentiation of targets and attack methods. In […]
Russian cyber spies hide behind other hackers to target Ukraine
Russian cyber-espionage group Turla, aka “Secret Blizzard,” is utilizing other threat actors’ infrastructure to target Ukrainian military devices connected via Starlink. Microsoft and Lumen recently exposed how the nation-state actor, who is linked to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), is hijacking and using malware and servers of the Pakistani threat actor Storm-0156. Microsoft released another report […]
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 […]
U.S. org suffered four month intrusion by Chinese hackers
A large U.S. organization with significant presence in China has been reportedly breached by China-based threat actors who persisted on its networks from April to August 2024. According to Symantec’s threat researchers, the operation appeared to focus on intelligence gathering, involving multiple compromised machines and targeting Exchange Servers, likely for email and data exfiltration. The researchers […]
Russian hackers hijack Pakistani hackers’ servers for their own attacks
The notorious Russian cyber-espionage group Turla is hacking other hackers, hijacking the Pakistani threat actor Storm-0156’s infrastructure to launch their own covert attacks on already compromised networks. Using this tactic, Turla (aka “Secret Blizzard”) accessed networks Storm-0156 had previously breached, like in Afghan and Indian government organizations, and deployed their malware tools. According to a report […]
European govt air-gapped systems breached using custom malware
An APT hacking group known as GoldenJackal has successfully breached air-gapped government systems in Europe using two custom toolsets to steal sensitive data, like emails, encryption keys, images, archives, and documents. According to an ESET report, this happened at least two times, one against the embassy of a South Asian country in Belarus in September 2019 […]
South Korea says DPRK hackers stole spy plane technical data
South Korea’s ruling party, People Power Party (PPP), claims that North Korean hackers have stolen crucial information about K2 tanks, the country’s main battle tank, as well as its “Baekdu” and “Geumgang” spy planes. PPP fears that DPRK will use this information to evade military surveillance and gain an advantage on the battlefield, so it’s […]
North Korean hackers exploit VPN update flaw to install malware
South Korea’s National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) warns that state-backed DPRK hackers hijacked flaws in a VPN’s software update to deploy malware and breach networks. The advisory connects this activity with a nationwide industrial factories modernization project Kim Jong-un, the North Korean president, announced in January 2023, believing the hackers are looking to steal trade […]