TECHZONE™

Cybercriminals Target AI Users with Malware-Loaded Installers Posing as Popular Tools https://thehackernews.com/2025/05/cybercriminals-target-ai-users-with.html Fake installers for popular artificial intelligence (AI) tools like OpenAI ChatGPT and InVideo AI are being used as lures to propagate various threats, such as the CyberLock and Lucky_Gh0$t ransomware families, and a new malware dubbed Numero. "CyberLock ransomware, developed using PowerShell, primarily focuses on encrypting specific files on the victim's system," Cisco Talos researcher Chetan

New Windows RAT Evades Detection for Weeks Using Corrupted DOS and PE Headers https://thehackernews.com/2025/05/new-windows-rat-evades-detection-for.html Cybersecurity researchers have taken the wraps off an unusual cyber attack that leveraged malware with corrupted DOS and PE headers, according to new findings from Fortinet. The DOS (Disk Operating System) and PE (Portable Executable) headers are essential parts of a Windows PE file, providing information about the executable. While the DOS header makes the executable file backward compatible

DragonForce Exploits SimpleHelp Flaws to Deploy Ransomware Across Customer Endpoints https://thehackernews.com/2025/05/dragonforce-exploits-simplehelp-flaws.html The threat actors behind the DragonForce ransomware gained access to an unnamed Managed Service Provider's (MSP) SimpleHelp remote monitoring and management (RMM) tool, and then leveraged it to exfiltrate data and drop the locker on multiple endpoints. It's believed that the attackers exploited a trio of security flaws in SimpleHelp (CVE-2024-57727, CVE-2024-57728, and CVE-2024-57726) that were

Chinese APT41 Exploits Google Calendar for Malware Command-and-Control Operations https://thehackernews.com/2025/05/chinese-apt41-exploits-google-calendar.html Google on Wednesday disclosed that the Chinese state-sponsored threat actor known as APT41 leveraged a malware called TOUGHPROGRESS that uses Google Calendar for command-and-control (C2). The tech giant, which discovered the activity in late October 2024, said the malware was hosted on a compromised government website and was used to target multiple other government entities. "Misuse of cloud

Over 100,000 WordPress Sites at Risk from Critical CVSS 10.0 Vulnerability in Wishlist Plugin https://thehackernews.com/2025/05/over-100000-wordpress-sites-at-risk.html Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed a critical unpatched security flaw impacting TI WooCommerce Wishlist plugin for WordPress that could be exploited by unauthenticated attackers to upload arbitrary files. TI WooCommerce Wishlist, which has over 100,000 active installations, is a tool to allow e-commerce site customers to save their favorite products for later and share the lists on social

Word to the wise: Beware of fake Docusign emails https://www.welivesecurity.com/en/scams/personal-data-fraudsters-docusign-scam-emails/ Cybercriminals impersonate the trusted e-signature brand and send fake Docusign notifications to trick people into giving away their personal or corporate data

Iranian Hacker Pleads Guilty in $19 Million Robbinhood Ransomware Attack on Baltimore https://thehackernews.com/2025/05/iranian-hacker-pleads-guilty-in-19.html An Iranian national has pleaded guilty in the U.S. over his involvement in an international ransomware and extortion scheme involving the Robbinhood ransomware. Sina Gholinejad (aka Sina Ghaaf), 37, and his co-conspirators are said to have breached the computer networks of various organizations in the United States and encrypted files with Robbinhood ransomware to demand Bitcoin ransom payments.

Czech Republic Blames China-Linked APT31 Hackers for 2022 Cyberattack https://thehackernews.com/2025/05/czech-republic-blames-china-linked.html The Czech Republic on Wednesday formally accused a threat actor associated with the People's Republic of China (PRC) of targeting its Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In a public statement, the government said it identified China as the culprit behind a malicious campaign targeting one of the unclassified networks of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The extent of the breach is presently not

251 Amazon-Hosted IPs Used in Exploit Scan Targeting ColdFusion, Struts, and Elasticsearch https://thehackernews.com/2025/05/251-amazon-hosted-ips-used-in-exploit.html Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed details of a coordinated cloud-based scanning activity that targeted 75 distinct "exposure points" earlier this month. The activity, observed by GreyNoise on May 8, 2025, involved as many as 251 malicious IP addresses that are all geolocated to Japan and hosted by Amazon. "These IPs triggered 75 distinct behaviors, including CVE exploits,

Apple Blocks $9 Billion in Fraud Over 5 Years Amid Rising App Store Threats https://thehackernews.com/2025/05/apple-blocks-9-billion-in-fraud-over-5.html Apple on Tuesday revealed that it prevented over $9 billion in fraudulent transactions in the last five years, including more than $2 billion in 2024 alone. The company said the App Store is confronted by a wide range of threats that seek to defraud users in various ways, ranging from "deceptive apps designed to steal personal information to fraudulent payment schemes that attempt to exploit

New Self-Spreading Malware Infects Docker Containers to Mine Dero Cryptocurrency https://thehackernews.com/2025/05/new-self-spreading-malware-infects.html Misconfigured Docker API instances have become the target of a new malware campaign that transforms them into a cryptocurrency mining botnet. The attacks, designed to mine for Dero currency, is notable for its worm-like capabilities to propagate the malware to other exposed Docker instances and rope them into an ever-growing horde of mining bots. Kaspersky said it observed an unidentified threat

Russian Hackers Breach 20+ NGOs Using Evilginx Phishing via Fake Microsoft Entra Pages https://thehackernews.com/2025/05/russian-hackers-breach-20-ngos-using.html Microsoft has shed light on a previously undocumented cluster of threat activity originating from a Russia-affiliated threat actor dubbed Void Blizzard (aka Laundry Bear) that it said is attributed to "worldwide cloud abuse." Active since at least April 2024, the hacking group is linked to espionage operations mainly targeting organizations that are important to Russian government objectives,

AI Agents and the Non‑Human Identity Crisis: How to Deploy AI More Securely at Scale https://thehackernews.com/2025/05/ai-agents-and-nonhuman-identity-crisis.html Artificial intelligence is driving a massive shift in enterprise productivity, from GitHub Copilot’s code completions to chatbots that mine internal knowledge bases for instant answers. Each new agent must authenticate to other services, quietly swelling the population of non‑human identities (NHIs) across corporate clouds. That population is already overwhelming the enterprise: many companies

Employees Searching Payroll Portals on Google Tricked Into Sending Paychecks to Hackers https://thehackernews.com/2025/05/employees-searching-payroll-portals-on.html Threat hunters have exposed a novel campaign that makes use of search engine optimization (SEO) poisoning techniques to target employee mobile devices and facilitate payroll fraud. The activity, first detected by ReliaQuest in May 2025 targeting an unnamed customer in the manufacturing sector, is characterized by the use of fake login pages to access the employee payroll portal and redirect

Hackers Are Calling Your Office: FBI Alerts Law Firms to Luna Moth’s Stealth Phishing Campaign https://thehackernews.com/2025/05/hackers-are-calling-your-office-fbi.html The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has warned of social engineering attacks mounted by a criminal extortion actor known as Luna Moth targeting law firms over the past two years. The campaign leverages "information technology (IT) themed social engineering calls, and callback phishing emails, to gain remote access to systems or devices and steal sensitive data to extort the victims,"

Russia-Linked Hackers Target Tajikistan Government with Weaponized Word Documents https://thehackernews.com/2025/05/russia-linked-hackers-target-tajikistan.html The Russia-aligned threat actor known as TAG-110 has been observed conducting a spear-phishing campaign targeting Tajikistan using macro-enabled Word templates as an initial payload. The attack chain is a departure from the threat actor's previously documented use of an HTML Application (.HTA) loader dubbed HATVIBE, Recorded Future's Insikt Group said in an analysis. "Given TAG-110's historical

Over 70 Malicious npm and VS Code Packages Found Stealing Data and Crypto https://thehackernews.com/2025/05/over-70-malicious-npm-and-vs-code.html As many as 60 malicious npm packages have been discovered in the package registry with malicious functionality to harvest hostnames, IP addresses, DNS servers, and user directories to a Discord-controlled endpoint. The packages, published under three different accounts, come with an install‑time script that's triggered during npm install, Socket security researcher Kirill Boychenko said in a

CISO's Guide To Web Privacy Validation And Why It's Important https://thehackernews.com/2025/05/cisos-guide-to-web-privacy-validation.html Are your web privacy controls protecting your users, or just a box-ticking exercise? This CISO’s guide provides a practical roadmap for continuous web privacy validation that’s aligned with real-world practices. – Download the full guide here. Web Privacy: From Legal Requirement to Business Essential As regulators ramp up enforcement and users grow more privacy-aware, CISOs face a mounting

⚡ Weekly Recap: APT Campaigns, Browser Hijacks, AI Malware, Cloud Breaches and Critical CVEs https://thehackernews.com/2025/05/weekly-recap-apt-campaigns-browser.html Cyber threats don't show up one at a time anymore. They’re layered, planned, and often stay hidden until it’s too late. For cybersecurity teams, the key isn’t just reacting to alerts—it’s spotting early signs of trouble before they become real threats. This update is designed to deliver clear, accurate insights based on real patterns and changes we can verify. With today’s complex systems, we

Hackers Use Fake VPN and Browser NSIS Installers to Deliver Winos 4.0 Malware https://thehackernews.com/2025/05/hackers-use-fake-vpn-and-browser-nsis.html Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed a malware campaign that uses fake software installers masquerading as popular tools like LetsVPN and QQ Browser to deliver the Winos 4.0 framework. The campaign, first detected by Rapid7 in February 2025, involves the use of a multi-stage, memory-resident loader called Catena. "Catena uses embedded shellcode and configuration switching logic to stage