During tax season, threat actors exploit the urgency of time-sensitive tax-related emails to trick targets into opening malicious attachments, scanning QR codes, or following link chains. Recent campaigns identified by Microsoft Threat Intelligence use lures around W-2 forms, tax forms, and impersonation of government tax agencies and financial institutions. These campaigns aim to harvest credentials or deliver malware, often using phishing-as-a-service platforms for convincing credential theft and MFA bypass. Notable tactics include using legitimate remote monitoring tools, targeting specific industries and roles like accountants, and employing sophisticated social engineering techniques. The campaigns leverage various file formats, legitimate infrastructure, and multiple user interactions to complicate detection.
It was previously estimated that more than 1.6 million people may be affected by the Marquis data breach. The post Marquis Data Breach Affects 672,000 Individuals appeared first on SecurityWeek .
Meta does not plan on fixing the vulnerability because it involves the use of a modified client application. The post Researcher Discovers 4th WhatsApp View Once Bypass; Meta Won’t Patch appeared first on SecurityWeek .
A recurring phishing scheme impersonates United Healthcare, offering a free Oral-B toothbrush as bait. The scammers have evolved their tactics, now using IPv6-mapped IPv4 addresses to obfuscate links in emails. This technique makes the IP addresses appear confusing while remaining valid and routable. The phishing emails direct victims to fast-rotating landing pages, likely aiming to collect personal information and card data under the guise of confirming eligibility or paying for shipping. The article provides technical details on how the IPv6 trick works and offers advice on staying safe, including steps to take if personal information has been compromised.
Users are being tricked into enabling unwanted browser notifications through quiz websites. These sites challenge visitors with quizzes on various topics, but their main goal is to get users to click 'Start the quiz' button. This action triggers a misleading prompt that tricks users into allowing notifications. Once enabled, these notifications can display advertisements, scams, or unwanted downloads even when the user is not on the original website. The article provides instructions on how to remove and block web push notifications across different browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Edge, and Safari. It also lists several domains associated with this deceptive campaign.
Why educational institutions are increasingly falling victim to ransomware, the risks phishing and USB drives pose, and how to secure the digital infrastructure of schools and universities.
Explaining how the browser-in-the-browser phishing technique works, why fake login windows look just like the real thing, and the red flags that can help you identify a scam page.
Employees seeking free versions of paid software may unknowingly install malware-laced “cracked” apps that can steal credentials, deploy cryptominers, or open the door to ransomware. The post How Pirated Software Turns Helpful Employees Into Malware Delivery Agents appeared first on SecurityWeek .
A global espionage campaign targeting telecommunications and government organizations across four continents has been disrupted. The threat actor, UNC2814, is suspected to be linked to China and has been active since 2017. The campaign utilized a sophisticated backdoor called GRIDTIDE, which leveraged Google Sheets API for command and control. The attackers compromised 53 victims in 42 countries, with suspected infections in 20 more. GRIDTIDE's capabilities include executing shell commands, file transfers, and evading detection by disguising traffic as legitimate cloud API requests. The disruption involved terminating attacker-controlled cloud projects, disabling infrastructure, and revoking API access.
The FBI has confirmed that the Ploutus malware, which has been around for over a decade, is still being used in the wild. The post FBI: $20 Million Losses Caused by 700 ATM Jackpotting Attacks in 2025 appeared first on SecurityWeek .
An investigation using Silent Push's Traffic Origin and residential proxy data revealed a suspicious Chinese VPN provider. The analysis focused on IP address 205.198.91.155, which showed unusual traffic from Russia, China, Myanmar, Iran, and Venezuela. This IP was linked to the domain lvcha.in, hosting a Chinese-language VPN. Further investigation uncovered nearly 50 related domains promoting the same VPN, suggesting attempts to bypass country-level firewalls. The VPN's infrastructure was found to use residential proxies and had connections to various high-risk countries. This case study demonstrates the importance of verifying physical and technical behaviors of connections to protect against fraud and state-sponsored actors using stolen identities and spoofed locations.
A series of attacks targeting financial organizations across Africa has been observed since July 2023. The threat actor, tracked as CL-CRI-1014, uses open-source and publicly available tools like PoshC2, Chisel, and Classroom Spy to establish attack frameworks, create tunnels for network communication, and perform remote administration. They forge file signatures to disguise their toolset and mask malicious activities. The attackers are suspected to be acting as initial access brokers, creating footholds in financial institutions to sell access on darknet markets. Their playbook includes lateral movement techniques such as creating remote services, executing through DCOM, and using PsExec. The threat actor also employs evasion methods like using packers and signing tools with stolen signatures.
The 'Game of Emperor' report details a persistent cyber intrusion campaign by the threat actor 'Earth Estries' targeting sectors such as consulting, managed service providers, NGOs, and telecoms. The campaign affects multiple countries primarily outside Europe, including Afghanistan, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, USA, and Vietnam. There are no known exploits or patches associated with this threat. The campaign is ongoing but assessed as medium severity due to its persistence and potential indirect risks to European organizations through global supply chains.
