Beginning in August 2025, a sophisticated intrusion was discovered where attackers used log poisoning techniques to deploy a web shell on vulnerable phpMyAdmin panels. The threat actors exploited misconfigured web applications to plant China Chopper web shells, controlled via AntSword, before deploying Nezha, an open-source monitoring tool, to facilitate remote command execution. This led to the deployment of Ghost RAT on compromised systems. Analysis revealed over 100 compromised machines, predominantly located in Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong. The attackers demonstrated technical proficiency through multi-stage operations, utilizing AWS and VPS infrastructure, with indicators pointing to China-nexus threat actors. The campaign highlights increasing abuse of legitimate publicly available tools to achieve malicious objectives while maintaining plausible deniability.
Since mid-2025, China-aligned threat actor TA416 has resumed targeting European government and diplomatic organizations after a two-year operational shift to Southeast Asia. The campaigns primarily focused on diplomatic missions to the EU and NATO, using web bug reconnaissance and malware delivery through compromised accounts and attacker-controlled infrastructure. In March 2026, TA416 expanded operations to Middle Eastern diplomatic entities following the Iran conflict outbreak. Throughout this period, the actor continuously evolved infection chains, utilizing fake Cloudflare Turnstile pages, OAuth redirect abuse, and C# project files to deliver a customized PlugX backdoor via DLL sideloading. The group employed both broad reconnaissance campaigns and targeted malware delivery, demonstrating sophisticated tradecraft including use of re-registered legitimate domains and cloud infrastructure for command and control operations.
A South Asian financial institution was targeted with two custom malware components: BRUSHWORM, a modular backdoor, and BRUSHLOGGER, a keylogger. BRUSHWORM features anti-analysis checks, encrypted configuration, scheduled task persistence, modular payload downloading, USB worm propagation, and extensive file theft. BRUSHLOGGER uses DLL side-loading to capture system-wide keystrokes with window context tracking. The malware's low sophistication and implementation flaws suggest an inexperienced author, possibly using AI code-generation tools. Multiple testing versions were discovered on VirusTotal, indicating iterative development. The malware components combine to create a functional collection platform with modular loading, USB propagation, broad file theft, air-gap bridging, and persistent keystroke capture.
The social media giant has disabled more than 150,000 accounts powering scam centers in Asia. The post Meta Launches New Protection Tools as It Helps Disrupt Scam Centers appeared first on SecurityWeek .
An extensive cyber espionage campaign conducted by SloppyLemming, an India-nexus threat actor, targeted government entities and critical infrastructure in Pakistan and Bangladesh from January 2025 to January 2026. The campaign used two attack vectors: PDF lures with ClickOnce execution chains and macro-enabled Excel documents. It deployed a custom x64 shellcode implant named BurrowShell and a Rust-based keylogger. The attackers extensively abused Cloudflare Workers for C2 and payload delivery, registering 112 domains impersonating government entities. The campaign focused on nuclear, defense, telecommunications, energy, and financial sectors, aligning with regional strategic competition in South Asia.
A South Asian APT group has been consistently targeting Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Turkey. The operation involves phishing campaigns using military-themed lures to compromise phones of military personnel. The attackers employ various tactics, including PDF phishing documents, fake login pages for government and military organizations, and malicious Android apps. The Android malware, based on the Rafel Rat, steals information and provides remote access. Victims are primarily from South Asian countries, with stolen data including SMS messages, contact lists, and documents. The operation also uses Windows malware with the same command and control infrastructure.
