ransomware
CISA: Windows BlueHammer flaw now exploited by ransomware gangs
CISA confirmed on Monday that ransomware gangs have begun exploiting a high-severity Microsoft Defender privilege escalation vulnerability that has previously been abused in zero-day attacks. Dubbed BlueHammer, the security flaw (CVE-2026-33825) was leaked by a security researcher known as “Nightmare Eclipse” in early April, together with proof-of-concept exploit code, in protest at how the Microsoft Security Response […]
Stealthy Mistic backdoor linked to ransomware access broker KongTuke
A new backdoor dubbed Mistic has been observed in financially motivated attacks targeting organizations in the insurance, education, IT, and professional services sectors. The malware is believed to be linked to KongTuke/Woodgnat, an initial access broker active since at least 2024 that specializes in compromising corporate networks and selling that access to ransomware groups, including […]
New Prinz Eugen ransomware prioritizes recent files for encryption
A new ransomware operation named ‘Prinz Eugen’ prioritizes recently modified files for encryption and leaves no ransom note on the system. An investigation from Threatdown, the former corporate business unit of Malwarebytes, found that the Prinz Eugen hackers have a hands-on-keyboard style and prefer to use legitimate remote monitoring and management (RMM) software and living-off-the-land […]
Gentlemen ransomware uses multiple EDR killers to disable defenses
The Gentlemen ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) is actively developing and maintaining a suite of endpoint detection and response (EDR) killers to help affiliates evade detection in attacks. The gang employs a collection of EDR-killing tools, most notably a utility that researchers dubbed GentleKiller. The tool has at least eight variants and impersonates various legitimate security products, including Kaspersky, […]
Ransomware gang abuses Microsoft Teams relays to hide malicious traffic
DragonForce ransomware used a custom malware named ‘Backdoor.Turn’ to hide command-and-control traffic inside Microsoft Teams relay infrastructure. The backdoor abuses the Traversal Using Relays around NAT (TURN) protocol used by Microsoft Teams to distribute messages when a direct connection to the client is unavailable (e.g., clients on a private network). DragonForce is a ransomware operation active since […]
Ukrainian national pleads guilty to role in Conti ransomware operation
A Ukrainian national extradited from Ireland to the United States last year has pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges tied to the Conti ransomware operation. The U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday that 44-year-old Oleksii Oleksiyovych Lytvynenko pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in Conti ransomware attacks conducted between 2021 and […]
Authorities dismantle ‘AudiA6’ ransomware crypto-laundering service
Law enforcement has dismantled the “AudiA6” cryptocurrency service allegedly used by ransomware actors and other cybercriminals to launder more than $380 million. Europol says that the service has been linked to more than 15 distinct international investigations of ransomware attacks. It is believed that the platform acted as a central money laundering hub between 2022 and 2025. […]
CISA gives feds 3 days to patch Check Point VPN bug exploited as zero-day
CISA has ordered U.S. government agencies to secure their Check Point Remote Access VPN and Mobile Access deployments against a critical vulnerability exploited in zero-day attacks by Qilin ransomware affiliates. Unauthenticated remote attackers can exploit this security flaw (tracked as CVE-2026-50751) to bypass authentication and establish a remote access VPN connection on targeted Mobile Access/SSL VPNs, […]
Check Point links VPN zero-day attacks to Qilin ransomware gang
Israeli cybersecurity company Check Point has released security updates to patch a critical flaw affecting Remote Access VPN and Mobile Access deployments, which was exploited in zero-day attacks. Tracked as CVE-2026-50751, this vulnerability can be exploited by unauthenticated, remote attackers to bypass authentication on targeted Mobile Access / SSL VPNs, Remote Access VPNs, or Spark firewalls […]
U.S. sanctions Nobitex crypto exchange used by Iranian ransomware actors
The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has announced sanctions against Nobitex, Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, for facilitating payments related to terrorist activities. Nobitex is believed to have helped evade economic sanctions and also facilitated transactions linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Among the transactions, the U.S. authorities found wallets associated […]