This analysis examines how threat actors abuse Keitaro, an advertising performance tracker, for various malicious purposes. The report covers a wide range of threats, including malware delivery, phishing, scams, and illegal content distribution. Key findings include the use of Keitaro for cloaking and traffic distribution in malvertising campaigns, spam operations leveraging Keitaro for cryptocurrency wallet draining, and the abuse of Keitaro in investment scams. The report also highlights specific threat actors and their tactics, such as domain hijacking for adult content delivery and the use of fake arrests as clickbait for investment scams. Overall, the analysis demonstrates how Keitaro's features make it attractive to cybercriminals seeking to maximize their reach with minimal effort.
A large-scale malvertising campaign targeting U.S.tax form searchers has been uncovered. The attack chain begins with Google Ads, using dual commercial cloaking services to evade detection. Victims are directed to rogue ScreenConnect installers, leading to a multi-stage crypter that ultimately deploys a BYOVD (Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver) tool. This tool, named HwAudKiller, exploits a previously undocumented Huawei audio driver to terminate antivirus and EDR processes from kernel mode. The campaign's sophistication lies in its use of commodity tools and services, combining free-tier ScreenConnect instances, off-the-shelf crypters, and a signed driver with an exploitable weakness. The attackers consistently deploy multiple remote access tools on compromised hosts for redundancy, indicating a likely pre-ransomware or initial access broker operation.
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.
A newly discovered loader called SILENTCONNECT is being used in active campaigns to silently install ScreenConnect, a remote monitoring and management tool, on victim machines. The infection chain begins with users being redirected to a Cloudflare Turnstile CAPTCHA page disguised as a digital invitation. Upon clicking, a VBScript file is downloaded, which retrieves and executes C# source code in memory using PowerShell. SILENTCONNECT employs various evasion techniques, including PEB masquerading and UAC bypass. The campaigns leverage trusted hosting providers like Google Drive and Cloudflare, and abuse living-off-the-land binaries. The loader has been active since March 2025 and poses a significant threat due to its stealthy nature and effectiveness.
Multiple phishing campaigns were identified using workplace meeting lures, PDF attachments, and abuse of legitimate binaries to deliver signed malware. The attacks used digitally signed executables masquerading as legitimate software to install remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools like ScreenConnect, Tactical RMM, and Mesh Agent. These tools enabled attackers to establish persistence and move laterally within compromised environments. The malware was signed using an Extended Validation certificate issued to TrustConnect Software PTY LTD. The campaigns demonstrate how familiar branding and trusted digital signatures can be exploited to bypass user suspicion and gain an initial foothold in enterprise networks.
This report analyzes the recent activities of the MuddyWater APT group, which primarily targets organizations in the Middle East. The group employs sophisticated spear-phishing techniques, often impersonating legitimate entities and using malicious documents to gain initial access. Their attacks focus on long-term infiltration and intelligence gathering rather than immediate disruption. The report details several attack cases from 2019 to 2026, highlighting the group's evolving tactics, including the abuse of legitimate remote management tools and the use of Rust-based malware. The analysis emphasizes the importance of endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions in identifying and mitigating these threats, as traditional perimeter-based security measures prove insufficient against such advanced persistent threats.
Netskope Threat Labs has identified multiple phishing campaigns exploiting video conference invitations from Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. The attackers use fake meeting invites to trick users into downloading malicious payloads disguised as software updates. These payloads are actually legitimate, digitally signed remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools like Datto RMM, LogMeIn, or ScreenConnect. By leveraging these tools, attackers gain administrative remote access to victims' machines, potentially leading to data theft or further malware deployment. The campaigns use convincing phishing pages that mimic legitimate video conferencing platforms, exploiting users' urgency to join scheduled calls. This sophisticated approach allows attackers to bypass traditional security measures and establish a persistent foothold in corporate networks.
An attack campaign targeting organizations in the US, Canada, UK, and Northern Ireland exploits ConnectWise ScreenConnect vulnerabilities. The attack chain begins with a spoofed email containing a malicious .cmd attachment, which executes silently, escalates privileges, disables Windows SmartScreen, and removes the Mark-of-the-Web. It then installs a legitimate Remote Monitoring and Management tool, ScreenConnect, which is abused as a Remote Access Trojan for persistent command-and-control access. The campaign focuses on sectors with high-value data, including government, healthcare, and logistics. The attackers use various techniques to evade detection, including UAC bypass, registry modification, and silent MSI installation. The ScreenConnect client used has a revoked certificate, highlighting the importance of blocking vulnerable software versions and enforcing strict RMM allowlists.
In 2025, there was a significant increase in rogue ScreenConnect installations, part of a broader trend of threat actors abusing remote monitoring and management tools (RMMs). These tools were used to gain access, blend in, move laterally, and maintain persistence in target systems. Attackers employed various social engineering tactics to trick employees into downloading malicious RMMs. Common lures included fake Social Security statements, invitations, and financial documents. The Huntress Security Operations Center identified recurring patterns in lures, domains, and file hashes associated with these attacks. Some campaigns showed signs of targeting specific industries, such as accounting firms. The article provides detailed examples of attack patterns, top malicious domains, and file hashes observed throughout the year.
Threat actors are increasingly abusing legitimate Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) tools such as PDQ and GoTo Resolve to deploy secondary RMM tools like ScreenConnect or SimpleHelp, enabling persistent and stealthy access. Attacks often start with phishing emails or malicious downloads, targeting diverse sectors including real estate, investment firms, and car dealerships. Social engineering lures include holiday-themed messages and fake bid transcripts to trick users into executing malicious payloads. The abuse of multiple RMM tools complicates detection and remediation efforts. Detection and mitigation require a managed Security Operations Center (SOC) with visibility into RMM tool usage and network behavior. The threat is medium severity due to the potential for persistence and lateral movement, but exploitation requires initial user interaction. European organizations using these RMM tools are at risk, especially those in Germany and countries with high adoption of these management platforms. Practical mitigations include strict RMM access controls, multi-factor authentication, monitoring for unusual RMM deployments, and user training against phishing. No known exploits in the wild have been reported yet, but the trend indicates growing attacker interest in RMM abuse for persistence and lateral movement.
Cybercriminals are targeting trucking and logistics companies to steal cargo freight through elaborate attack chains. They compromise companies and use their access to bid on cargo shipments, which they then steal and sell. The threat actors typically deliver remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools as a first-stage payload. This cyber-enabled theft is part of a multi-million-dollar criminal enterprise that has increased due to digital transformation. The attackers use tactics such as compromising load boards, email thread hijacking, and direct targeting via email campaigns. They deliver RMM tools like ScreenConnect, SimpleHelp, and PDQ Connect, which grant full control of compromised machines. The activity has been observed since at least June 2025, with nearly two dozen campaigns in the last two months alone.
The ClickFix social engineering technique has gained popularity among threat actors, targeting thousands of devices globally. It tricks users into executing malicious commands on their devices by exploiting their tendency to solve minor technical issues. The technique often impersonates legitimate brands and combines with delivery vectors like phishing and malvertising. ClickFix campaigns typically lead users to a visual lure, such as a landing page, instructing them to run commands in the Windows Run dialog. This user interaction element helps bypass conventional security solutions. Various malware, including infostealers and remote access tools, are delivered through ClickFix attacks. The technique has evolved to target macOS users and is being sold as part of malware kits on hacker forums.
A blockchain developer in Russia lost $500,000 in crypto assets due to a malicious Solidity Language extension for Cursor AI IDE. The fake extension, downloaded 54,000 times, appeared higher in search results than the legitimate one due to ranking algorithms. It installed malware that allowed remote access and data theft. The attackers used ScreenConnect for remote control and deployed various scripts to steal wallet passphrases. A new malicious package was published shortly after the first was removed, with an inflated download count of 2 million. Similar attacks were found targeting blockchain developers through other extensions and npm packages. The incident highlights the ongoing threat of malicious open-source packages in the crypto industry.
A sophisticated phishing campaign has targeted over 2,000 individuals by exploiting the theme of official Social Security statements. Cybercriminals used a convincing phishing lure, mimicking legitimate communication from the Social Security Administration. The attack involved a URL directing victims to a phishing page hosted on Amazon Web Services, enhancing its perceived legitimacy. Users were tricked into downloading and executing malware, which is a .NET application loader that installs ScreenConnect, establishing a silent connection to the attacker's command-and-control server. The malware's behavior includes loading additional files and executing a primary backdoor component. The campaign's impact is significant, with a large percentage of targeted users unknowingly installing the malware.
A deceptive email containing a fake Zoom meeting invitation has been identified. Clicking the 'join' button leads to a website prompting users to install a purported Zoom client update. The downloaded executable, 'Session.ClientSetup.exe', is actually malware that installs an MSI package. This package deploys ScreenConnect, a remote access tool, allowing attackers to gain unauthorized access to the victim's computer. The malware establishes persistence by installing itself as a service and connects to a command and control server at tqtw21aa.anondns.net on port 8041. Users are advised to exercise caution when receiving unexpected Zoom invitations or update prompts.
This analysis examines cyber threats targeting government institutions worldwide, focusing on three case studies: a phishing email targeting the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, a fraudulent domain mimicking the U.S. Social Security Administration, and a malicious PDF posing as a South African Judiciary notice. The study demonstrates how ANY.RUN's solutions, including Threat Intelligence Lookup, Interactive Sandbox, and YARA Search, can be utilized to detect, analyze, and mitigate these threats. Key findings include the use of FormBook stealer, remote access tools, and credential harvesting techniques. The analysis provides actionable insights for government cybersecurity teams to enhance their defensive strategies and response capabilities.
