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malware
AI Cloud Data GlassWorm Internet malware

GlassWorm Malware Campaign Attacks Developer IDEs, Steals Data


About GlassWorm campaign 

Cybersecurity experts have discovered another incident of the ongoing GlassWorm campaign, which uses a new Zig dropper that's built to secretly compromise all integrated development environments (IDEs) on a developer's system. 

The tactic was found in an Open VSX extension called "specstudio.code-wakatime-activity-tracker”, which disguised as WakaTime, a famous tool that calculates the time programmes spend with the IDE. The extension can not be downloaded now. 

Attack tactic 

In previous attacks, GlassWorm used the same native compiled code in extensions. Instead of using the binary as the payload directly, it is deployed as a covert indirection for the visible GlassWorm dropper. It can secretly compromise all other IDEs that may be present in your device. 

The recently discovered Microsoft Visual Studio Code (VS Code) extension is a replica (almost).

The extension installs a universal Mach-O binary called "mac.node," if the system is running Apple macOS, and a binary called "win.node" for Windows computers.

Execution 

These Zig-written compiled shared libraries that load straight into Node's runtime and run outside of the JavaScript sandbox with complete operating system-level access are Node.js native addons.

Finding every IDE on the system that supports VS Code extensions is the binary's main objective once it has been loaded. This includes forks like VSCodium, Positron, and other AI-powered coding tools like Cursor and Windsurf, in addition to Microsoft VS Code and VS Code Insiders.

Malicious code installation 

Once this is achieved, the binary installs an infected VS Code extension (.VSIX) from a hacker-owned GitHub account. The extension, known as “floktokbok.autoimport”, imitates “steoates.autoimport”, an authentic extension with over 5 million downloads on the office Visual Studio Marketplace.

After that, the installed .VSIX file is written to a secondary path and secretly deployed into each IDE via editor's CLI installer. 

In the second-stage, VS Code extension works as a dropper that escapes deployment on Russian devices, interacts with the Solana blockchain, gets personal data, and deploys a remote access trojan (RAT). In the final stage, RAT installs a data-stealing Google Chrome extension. 

“The campaign has expanded repeatedly since then, compromising hundreds of projects across GitHub, npm, and VS Code, and most recently delivering a persistent RAT through a fake Chrome extension that logged keystrokes and dumped session cookies. The group keeps iterating, and they just made a meaningful jump,” cybersecurity firm aikido reported. 

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Internet
AI Cloud Cyber Attacks Data Internet

Attackers Exploit Critical Flaw to Breach 766 Next.js Hosts and Steal Data


Credential-stealing operation

A massive credential-harvesting campaign was found abusing the React2Shell flaw as an initial infection vector to steal database credentials, shell command history, Amazon Web Services (AWS) secrets, GitHub, Stripe API keys. 

Cisco Talos has linked the campaign to a threat cluster tracked as UAT-10608. At least 766 hosts around multiple geographic regions and cloud providers have been exploited as part of the operation. 

About the attack vector

According to experts, “Post-compromise, UAT-10608 leverages automated scripts for extracting and exfiltrating credentials from a variety of applications, which are then posted to its command-and-control (C2). The C2 hosts a web-based graphical user interface (GUI) titled 'NEXUS Listener' that can be used to view stolen information and gain analytical insights using precompiled statistics on credentials harvested and hosts compromised.”

Who are the victims?

The campaign targets Next.js instances that are vulnerable to CVE-2025-55182 (CVSS score: 10.0), a severe flaw in React Server Components and Next.js App Router that could enable remote code execution for access, and then deploy the NEXUS Listener collection framework.

This is achieved by a dropper that continues to play a multi-phase harvesting script that stores various details from the victim system. 

SSH private keys and authorized_keys

JSON-parsed keys and authorized_keys

Kubernetes service account tokens

Environment variables

API keys

Docker container configurations 

Running processes

IAM role-associated temporary credentials

Attack motive

The victims and the indiscriminate targeting pattern are consistent with automated scanning. The key thing in the framework is an application (password-protected) that makes all stolen data public to the user through a geographical user interface that has search functions to browse through the information. The present Nexus Listener version is V3, meaning the tool has gone through significant changes.

Talos managed to get data from an unknown NEXUS Listener incident. It had API keys linked with Stripe, AI platforms such as Anthropic, OpenAI, and NVIDIA NIM, communication services such as Brevo and SendGrid, webhook secrets, Telegram bot tokens, GitLab, and GitHub tokens, app secrets, and database connection strings. 

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Privacy
AI Data Email alias Internet Privacy

Why Email Aliases Are Important for Every User


Email spam was once annoying in the digital world. Recently, email providers have improved overflowing inboxes, which were sometimes confused with distractions and unwanted mail, such as hyperbolic promotions and efforts to steal user data. 

But the problem has not disappeared completely, as users still face problems sometimes. To address the issue, user can use email aliases. 

About email alias 

Email alias is an alternative email address that allows you to get mails without sharing your address. The alias reroutes all incoming mails to your primary account.

Types of email aliases 

Plus addressing: For organizing mail efficiently, you are a + symbol and a category, you can also add rules to your mail and filter them by source. 

Provider aliases: Mainly used for organizations to have particular emails for sections, while all mails go to the same inbox. 

Masked/forwarding aliases: They are aimed at privacy. Users don't give their real email, instead, a random mail is generated, while the email is sent to your real inbox. This feature is available with services like Proton Mail. 

How it protects our privacy 

Email aliases are helpful for organizing inbox, and can be effective for contacting business. But the main benefit is protecting your privacy. 

There are several strategies to accomplish this, but the primary one is to minimize the amount of time your email is displayed online. Your aliases can be removed at any moment, but they will still be visible and used. The more aliases you use, the more difficult it is to identify your real core email address. 

Because it keeps your address hidden from spammers, marketers, and phishing efforts, you will have more privacy. It is also simpler to determine who has exploited your data. 

Giving email aliases in specific circumstances makes it simpler to find instances when they have been abused. Instead of having to deal with a ton of spam, you can remove an alias as soon as you discover someone is abusing it and start over.

Aliases can be helpful for privacy, but they are not a foolproof way to be safe online. They do not automatically encrypt emails, nor do they cease tracking cookies.

The case of Apple

Court filings revealed that Apple Hide My Email, a function intended to protect genuine email addresses, does not keep users anonymous from law enforcement, raising new concerns about privacy.

With the use of this feature, which is accessible to iCloud+ subscribers, users can create arbitrary email aliases so that websites and applications never see their primary address. Apple claims it doesn't read messages; they are just forwarded. However, recent US cases show a clear limit: Apple was able to connect those anonymous aliases to identifiable accounts in response to legitimate court demands

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Online
Google Internet IT malware North Korea Online

North Korean Hackers Target Softwares that Support Online Services


Hackers target behind-the-scenes softwares

Hackers associated with North Korea hacked the behind-the-scenes software that operates various online functions to steal login credentials that could trigger cyber operations, according to Google. 

Threat actors hacked Axios, a program that links apps and web services, by installing their malicious software in an update. An expert at Sentinel said that “Every time you load a website, check your bank balance, or open an app on your phone, there’s a good chance Axios is running somewhere in the background making that work.” 

About the compromised software

The malicious software has been removed. But if it were successful, it could carry out data theft and other cyberattacks. The software is open-source, not a proprietary commercial product. This means the code can be openly licensed and changed by the users. 

Experts described the incident as a supply chain attack in which hackers could compromise downstream entities. According to experts, you don’t have to click anything or make a mistake, as the software you trust does it for you. 

Who is responsible?

Google attributed the hack to a group it tracks as UNC1069. In a February report, Google stated that the group has been active since at least 2018 and is well-known for focusing on the banking and cryptocurrency sectors.

According to a statement from John Hultquist, principal analyst for Google's threat intelligence group, "North Korean hackers have deep experience with supply chain attacks, which they primarily use to ⁠steal cryptocurrency."

The U.S. government claims that North Korea uses stolen cryptocurrency to finance its weapons and other initiatives while avoiding sanctions.

Attack tactic

A request for comment was not immediately answered by North Korea's mission to the United Nations.

The hackers created versions of the malware that could infect macOS, Windows, and Linux operating systems, according to an analysis published by cybersecurity ⁠firm Elastic ​Security.

According to Elastic, "the attacker gained a delivery mechanism with potential reach into millions of environments" as a result of the hackers' techniques. The number of times the dangerous program was downloaded was unclear.

Attempts to get in touch with the hackers failed.

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Technology
agentic browser AI Cloud Comet Internet Perplexity Technology

Perplexity's Comet AI Browser Tricked Into Phishing Scam Within Four Minutes


Agentic browser at risk

Agentic web browsers that use AI tools to autonomously do tasks across various websites for a user could be trained and fooled into phishing attacks. Hackers exploit the AI browsers’ tendency to assert their actions and deploy them against the same model to remove security checks. 

According to security expert Shaked Chen, “The AI now operates in real time, inside messy and dynamic pages, while continuously requesting information, making decisions, and narrating its actions along the way. Well, 'narrating' is quite an understatement - It blabbers, and way too much!,” the Hacker News reported. Agentic Blabbering is an AI browser that displays what it sees, thinks, and plans to do next, and what it deems safe or a threat. 

Tricking the browsers

By hacking the traffic between the AI services on the vendor’s servers and putting it as input to a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN), it made Perplexity’s Comet AI browser fall prey to a phishing attack within four minutes. 

The research is based on established tactics such as Scamlexity and VibeScamming, which revealed that vibe-coding platforms and AI browsers can be coerced into generating scam pages and performing malicious tasks via prompt injection. 

Attack tactic

There is a change in the attack surface as a result of the AI agent managing the tasks without frequent human oversight, meaning that a scammer no longer has to trick a user. Instead, it seeks to deceive the AI model itself. 

Chen said, “If you can observe what the agent flags as suspicious, hesitates on, and more importantly, what it thinks and blabbers about the page, you can use that as a training signal.” Chen added that the “scam evolves until the AI Browser reliably walks into the trap another AI set for it."

End goal?

The aim is to make a “scamming machine” that improves and recreates a phishing page until the agentic browser accepts the commands and carries out the hacker’s command, like putting the victim’s passwords on a malicious web page built for refund scams. 

Guardio is concerned about the development, saying that, “This reveals the unfortunate near future we are facing: scams will not just be launched and adjusted in the wild, they will be trained offline, against the exact model millions rely on, until they work flawlessly on first contact.”

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US
Cyber Attacks Data Internet Iran Israel US

Threat Actors Hit Iranian Sites and Apps After the US-Israel Strike


A series of cyber attacks happened last week during the U.S- Israel attack on targets throughout Iran. 

The cyberattacks included hijacking the various news sites to show messages and also hacking BadeSaba, a religious calendar application over 5 million downloads, which showed messages warning users “It’s time for reckoning” and telling armed forces to give up and quit. 

The U.S Cyber Command spokesperson didn't comment on the issue. 

Internet connectivity in Iran has dropped significantly at 0706 GMT, with minimum connectivity remaining, according to Kentik’s director of internet analysis. It was a smart move to launch a cyberattack on BadeSaba as pro-government people use it and are more religious, said Hamid Kashfi, a security expert and founder of DarkCell, a cybersecurity firm. 

Cyberattacks also hit various Iranian military targets and government services to restrict a coordinated Iranian response, according to the Jerusalem Post. Reuters hasn't verified the claims yet. Sophos director of threat intelligence said that “As Iran considers its options, ‌the likelihood increases that proxy groups and hacktivists may take action, including cyberattacks, against Israeli and U.S.-affiliated military, commercial, or civilian targets,” said Rafe Pilling, the director of threat intelligence with cybersecurity firm.”

These cyber operations may include old data breaches reported as new, vain efforts to breach interne-exposed industrial systems, and may also redirect offensive cyber operations. 

Cynthia Kaiser, a senior vice president at the anti-ransomware company Halcyon and a former top FBI cyber official, stated that activity has escalated in the Middle East. 

According to Kaiser, the company has also received calls to action from well-known pro-Iranian cyber personalities who have previously carried out ransomware attacks, hack-and-leak operations, and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, which overload internet services and make them unavailable. He stated, "CrowdStrike is already seeing activity consistent with Iranian-aligned threat actors and hacktivist groups conducting reconnaissance and initiating DDoS attacks.”

Experts also believe that state-sponsored Iranian hacking gangs already launched “wiper “ attacks that remove data on Israeli targets before the strikes. 

Apart from a brief disruption of services in Tirana, the capital of Albania, there was little indication of the disruptive cyberattacks frequently mentioned during discussions about Iran's digital capabilities in June following the U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear targets, according to media sources.

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Updates
AI Bug Fortinet Internet Technology Updates

Threat Actors Exploit Fortinet Devices and Steal Firewall Configurations


Fortinet products targeted

Threat actors are targeting Fortinet FortiGate devices via automated attacks that make rogue accounts and steal firewall settings info. 

The campaign began earlier this year when threat actors exploited an unknown bug in the devices’ single-sign-on (SSO) option to make accounts with VPN access and steal firewall configurations. This means automation was involved. 

About the attack

Cybersecurity company Arctic Wolf discovered this attack and said they are quite similar to the attacks it found in December after the reveal of a critical login bypass flaw (CVE-2025-59718) in Fortinet products. 

The advisory comes after a series of reports from Fortinet users about threat actors abusing a patch bypass for the bug CVE-2025-59718 to take over patched walls. 

Impacted admins complaint that Fortinet said that the latest FortiOS variant 7.4.10 doesn't totally fix the authentication bypass bug, which should have been fixed in December 2025.

Patches and fixing 

Fortinet also plans on releasing more FortiOS variants soon to fully patch the CVE-2025-59718 security bug. 

Following an SSO login from cloud-init@mail.io on IP address 104.28.244.114, the attackers created admin users, according to logs shared by impacted Fortinet customers. This matches indications of compromise found by Arctic Wolf during its analysis of ongoing FortiGate attacks and prior exploitation the cybersecurity firm noticed in December. 

Turn off FortiCloud SSO to prevent intrusions. 

Turning off SSO

Admins can temporarily disable the vulnerable FortiCloud login capability (if enabled) by navigating to System -> Settings and changing "Allow administrative login using FortiCloud SSO" to Off. This will help administrators safeguard their firewalls until Fortinet properly updates FortiOS against these persistent assaults.

You can also run these commands from the interface:

"config system global

set admin-forticloud-sso-login disable

end"

What to do next?

Internet security watchdog Shadowserver is investigating around 11,000 Fortinet devices that are vulnerable to online threats and have FortiCloud SSO turned on. 

Additionally, CISA ordered federal agencies to patch CVE-2025-59718 within a week after adding it to its list of vulnerabilities that were exploited in attacks on December 16.

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Technology
AI Apple Data Google Internet Microsoft Techno Technology

Experts Find Malicious Browser Extensions, Chrome, Safari, and Edge Affected


Threat actors exploit extensions

Cybersecurity experts found 17 extensions for Chrome, Edge, and Firefox browsers which track user's internet activity and install backdoors for access. The extensions were downloaded over 840,000 times. 

The campaign is not new. LayerX claimed that the campaign is part of GhostPoster, another campaign first found by Koi Security last year in December. Last year, researchers discovered 17 different extensions that were downloaded over 50,000 times and showed the same monitoring behaviour and deploying backdoors. 

Few extensions from the new batch were uploaded in 2020, exposing users to malware for years. The extensions appeared in places like the Edge store and later expanded to Firefox and Chrome. 

Few extensions stored malicious JavaScript code in the PNG logo. The code is a kind of instruction on downloading the main payload from a remote server. 

The main payload does multiple things. It can hijack affiliate links on famous e-commerce websites to steal money from content creators and influencers. “The malware watches for visits to major e-commerce platforms. When you click an affiliate link on Taobao or JD.com, the extension intercepts it. The original affiliate, whoever was supposed to earn a commission from your purchase, gets nothing. The malware operators get paid instead,” said Koi researchers. 

After that, it deploys Google Analytics tracking into every page that people open, and removes security headers from HTTP responses. 

In the end, it escapes CAPTCHA via three different ways, and deploy invisible iframes that do ad frauds, click frauds, and tracking. These iframes disappear after 15 seconds.

Besides this, all extensions were deleted from the repositories, but users shoul also remove them personally. 

This staged execution flow demonstrates a clear evolution toward longer dormancy, modularity, and resilience against both static and behavioral detection mechanisms,” said LayerX. 

The PNG steganography technique is employed by some. Some people download JavaScript directly and include it into each page you visit. Others employ bespoke ciphers to encode the C&C domains and use concealed eval() calls. The same assailant. identical servers. many methods of delivery. This appears to be testing several strategies to see which one gets the most installs, avoids detection the longest, and makes the most money.

This campaign reflects a deliberate shift toward patience and precision. By embedding malicious code in images, delaying execution, and rotating delivery techniques across identical infrastructure, the attackers test which methods evade detection longest. The strategy favors longevity and profit over speed, exposing how browser ecosystems remain vulnerable to quietly persistent threats.

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malware
AI Cloud Data Google Ads Internet malware

n8n Supply Chain Attack Exploits Community Nodes In Google Ads Integration to Steal Tokens


Hackers were found uploading a set of eight packages on the npm registry that pretended as integrations attacking the n8n workflow automation platform to steal developers’ OAuth credentials. 

About the exploit 

The package is called “n8n-nodes-hfgjf-irtuinvcm-lasdqewriit”, it copies Google Ads integration and asks users to connect their ad account in a fake form and steal OAuth credentials from servers under the threat actors’ control. 

Endor Labs released a report on the incident. "The attack represents a new escalation in supply chain threats,” it said. Adding that “unlike traditional npm malware, which often targets developer credentials, this campaign exploited workflow automation platforms that act as centralized credential vaults – holding OAuth tokens, API keys, and sensitive credentials for dozens of integrated services like Google Ads, Stripe, and Salesforce in a single location," according to the report. 

Attack tactic 

Experts are not sure if the packages share similar malicious functions. But Reversing labs Spectra Assure analysed a few packages and found no security issues. In one package called “n8n-nodes-zl-vietts,” it found a malicious component with malware history. 

The campaign might still be running as another updated version of the package “n8n-nodes-gg-udhasudsh-hgjkhg-official” was posted to npm recently.

Once installed as a community node, the malicious package works as a typical n8n integration, showing configuration screens. Once the workflow is started, it launches a code to decode the stored tokens via n8n’s master key and send the stolen data to a remote server. 

This is the first time a supply chain attack has specially targeted the n8n ecosystem, with hackers exploiting the trust in community integrations. 

New risks in ad integration 

The report exposed the security gaps due to untrusted workflows integration, which increases the attack surface. Experts have advised developers to audit packages before installing them, check package metadata for any malicious component, and use genuine n8n integrations. 

The findings highlight the security issues that come with integrating untrusted workflows, which can expand the attack surface. Developers are recommended to audit packages before installing them, scrutinize package metadata for any anomalies, and use official n8n integrations.

According to researchers Kiran Raj and Henrik Plate, "Community nodes run with the same level of access as n8n itself. They can read environment variables, access the file system, make outbound network requests, and, most critically, receive decrypted API keys and OAuth tokens during workflow execution.”

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Ransomware
AI Cloud Cyber Crime Data Extortion Internet Ransomware

Former Cybersecurity Employees Involved in Ransomware Extortion Incidents Worth Millions


It is very unfortunate and shameful for the cybersecurity industry, when cybersecurity professionals themselves betray trust to launch cyberattacks against their own country. In a shocking incident, two men have admitted to working normal jobs as cybersecurity professionals during the day, while moonlighting as cyber attackers.

About accused

An ex-employee of the Israeli cybersecurity company Sygnia has pleaded guilty to federal crimes in the US for having involvement in ransomware cyberattacks aimed to extort millions of dollars from firms in the US. 

The culprit, Ryan Clifford Goldberg, worked as a cyber incident response supervisor at Sygnia, and accepted that he was involved in a year-long plan of attacking business around the US. 

Kevin Tyler Martin, another associate,who worked as an ex DigitalMint employee, worked as a negotiation intermediary with the threat actors, a role supposed to help ransomware targets, has also accepted involvement. 

The situation is particularly disturbing because both men held positions of trust inside the sector established to fight against such threats.

Accused pled guilty to extortion charges 

Both the accused have pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to manipulate commerce via extortion, according to federal court records. In the plea statement, they have accepted that along with a third actor (not charged and unknown), they both launched business compromises and ransom extortions over many years. 

Extortion worth millions 

In one incident, the actors successfully extorted over $1 million in crypto from a Florida based medical equipment firm. According to the federal court, besides their legitimate work, they deployed software ‘ALPHV BlackCat’ to extract and encode target’s data, and distributed the extortion money with the software’s developers. 

According to DigitalMint, two of the people who were charged were ex-employees. After the incident, both were fired and “acted wholly outside the scope of their employment and without any authorization, knowledge or involvement from the company,” DigitalMint said in an email shared with Bloomberg.

In a recent conversation with Bloomberg, Sygnia mentioned that it was not a target of the investigation and the accused Goldberg was relieved of his duties as soon as the news became known.

A representative for Sygnia declined to speak further, and Goldberg and Martin's lawyers also declined to comment on the report.

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Trust Wallet
Chrome Cloud Data Google Internet Technology Trust Wallet

Trust Wallet Chrome Extension Hack Costs $8.5 Million Theft


Chrome extension compromise resulted in millions of theft

Trust Wallet recently disclosed that the Sha1-Hulur supply chain attack last year in November might be responsible for the compromise of its Google Chrome extension, causing $8.5 million assets theft. 

About the incident

According to the company, its "developer GitHub secrets were exposed in the attack, which gave the attacker access to our browser extension source code and the Chrome Web Store (CWS) API key." The attacker obtained full CWS API access via the leaked key, allowing builds to be uploaded directly without Trust Wallet's standard release process, which requires internal approval/manual review."

Later, the threat actor registered the domain "metrics-trustwallet[.]com" and deployed a malware variant of the extension with a backdoor that could harvest users' wallet mnemonic phrases to the sub-domain "api.metrics-trustwallet[.]com."

Attack tactic 

According to Koi, a cybersecurity company, the infected code activates with each unlock causing sensitive data to be harvested. It doesn't matter if the victims used biometrics or password, and if the wallet extension was opened once after the 2.68 version update or in use for months. 

The researchers Yuval Ronen and Oren Yomtov reported that, "the code loops through every wallet in the user's account, not just the active one. If you had multiple wallets configured, all of them were compromised. Seed phrases are stuffed into a field called errorMessage inside what looks like standard unlock telemetry. A casual code review sees an analytics event tracking unlock success with some error metadata."

Movie “Dune” reference? Yes.

Besides this, the analysis also revealed that querying the server directly gave the reply "He who controls the spice controls the universe." It's a Dune reference that is found in similar incidents like the Shai-Hulud npm. "The Last-Modified header reveals the infrastructure was staged by December 8 – over two weeks before the malicious update was pushed on December 24," it added. "This wasn't opportunistic. It was planned."

The findings came after Trust Wallet requested its one million users of Chrome extension to update to variant 2.69 after a malicious update (variant 2.68) was triggered by unknown hackers on December 24, 2025, in the browser's extension marketplace. 

The breach caused $8.5 million loss in cryptocurrency assets being stolen from 2,520 wallet addresses. The wallet theft was first reported after the malicious update.

Control measures 

Post-incident, Trust Wallet has started a reimbursement claim process for affected victims. The company has implemented additional monitoring measures related to its release processes.


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surveillance
AI Cloud Data Internet Privacy Stalkerware surveillance

FTC Refuses to Lift Ban on Stalkerware Company that Exposed Sensitive Data


The surveillance industry banned a stalkerware maker after a data breach leaked information of its customers and the people they were spying on. Consumer spyware company Support King can't sell the surveillance software now, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said. 

The FTC has denied founder Scott Zuckerman's request to cancel the ban. It is also applicable to other subsidiaries OneClickMonitor and SpyFone.

Recently, the FTC announced the move in a press release when Zuckerman petitioned the agency to cancel the ban order in July of 2025. 

The FTC banned Zuckerman from “offering, promoting, selling, or advertising any surveillance app, service, or business,” in 2021 and stopped him from running other stalkerware business. Zuckerman had to also delete all the data stored by SpyFone and went through various audits to implement cybersecurity measures for his ventures. Then acting director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, Samuel Levine said that the "stalkerware was hidden from device owners, but was fully exposed to hackers who exploited the company’s slipshod security."

Zuckerman in his petition said that the FTC mandate has made it difficult for him to conduct other businesses due to monetary losses, even though Support King is out of business and he now only operates a restaurant and plans other ventures.

The ban came from a 2018 incident after a researcher discovered an Amazon S3 bucket of SpyFone that left important data such as selfies, chats, texts, contacts, passwords, logins, and audio recordings exposed online in the open. The leaked data comprised 44,109 email ids.

According to Samuel, “SpyFone is a brazen brand name for a surveillance business that helped stalkers steal private information." He further said that the "stalkerware was hidden from device owners, but was fully exposed to hackers who exploited the company’s slipshod security.r

According to TechCrunch, after the 2021 order, Zuckerman started running another stalkerware firm. In 2022, TechCrunch found breached data from stalkerware application SpyTrac. 

According to the data, freelance developers ran SpyTrac who had direct links with Support King. It was an attempt to escape the FTC ban. Additionally, the breached data contained records from SpyFone, which Support King was supposed to delete. Beside this, the data also contained access keys to the cloud storage of OneClickMonitor, another stalkerware application. 

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Telecom
AI Apple Data Google Internet Location Privacy Samsung Telecom

Indian Government Proposes Compulsory Location Tracking in Smartphones, Faces Backlash


Government faces backlash over location-tracking proposal

The Indian government is pushing a telecom industry proposal that will compel smartphone companies to allow satellite location tracking that will be activated 24x7 for surveillance. 

Tech giants Samsung, Google, and Apple have opposed this move due to privacy concerns. Privacy debates have stirred in India after the government was forced to repeal an order that mandated smartphone companies to pre-install a state run cyber safety application on all devices. Activists and opposition raised concerns about possible spying. 

About the proposal 

Recently, the government had been concerned that agencies didn't get accurate locations when legal requests were sent to telecom companies during investigations. Currently, the firm only uses cellular tower data that provides estimated area location, this can be sometimes inaccurate.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) representing Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio suggested accurate user locations be provided if the government mandates smartphone firms to turn on A-GPS technology which uses cellular data and satellite signals.

Strong opposition from tech giants 

If this is implemented, location services will be activated in smartphones with no disable option. Samsung, Google, and Apple strongly oppose this proposal. A proposal to track user location is not present anywhere else in the world, according to lobbying group India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA), representing Google and Apple. 

Reuters reached out to the India's IT and home ministries for clarity on the telecom industry's proposal but have received no replies. According to digital forensics expert Junade Ali, the "proposal would see phones operate as a dedicated surveillance device." 

According to technology experts, utilizing A-GPS technology, which is normally only activated when specific apps are operating or emergency calls are being made, might give authorities location data accurate enough to follow a person to within a meter.  

Telecom vs government 

Globally, governments are constantly looking for new ways to improve in tracking the movements or data of mobile users. All Russian mobile phones are mandated to have a state-sponsored communications app installed. With 735 million smartphones as of mid-2025, India is the second-largest mobile market in the world. 

According to Counterpoint Research, more than 95% of these gadgets are running Google's Android operating system, while the remaining phones are running Apple's iOS. 

Apple and Google cautioned that their user base will include members of the armed forces, judges, business executives, and journalists, and that the proposed location tracking would jeopardize their security because they store sensitive data.

According to the telecom industry, even the outdated method of location tracking is becoming troublesome because smartphone manufacturers notify users via pop-up messages that their "carrier is trying to access your location."



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zero-day
AI Cloud Data GitHub Internet Technology zero-day

700+ Self-hosted Gits Impacted in a Wild Zero-day Exploit


Hackers actively exploit zero-day bug

Threat actors are abusing a zero-day bug in Gogs- a famous self-hosted Git service. The open source project hasn't fixed it yet.

About the attack 

Over 700 incidents have been impacted in these attacks. Wiz researchers described the bug as "accidental" and said the attack happened in July when they were analyzing malware on a compromised system. During the investigation, the experts "identified that the threat actor was leveraging a previously unknown flaw to compromise instances. They “responsibly disclosed this vulnerability to the maintainers."

The team informed Gogs' maintainers about the bug, who are now working on the fix. 

The flaw is known as CVE-2025-8110. It is primarily a bypass of an earlier patched flaw (CVE-2024-55947) that lets authorized users overwrite external repository files. This leads to remote code execution (RCE). 

About Gogs

Gogs is written in Go, it lets users host Git repositories on their cloud infrastructure or servers. It doesn't use GitHub or other third parties. 

Git and Gogs allow symbolic links that work as shortcuts to another file. They can also point to objects outside the repository. The Gogs API also allows file configuration outside the regular Git protocol. 

Patch update 

The previous patch didn't address such symbolic links exploit and this lets threat actors to leverage the flaw and remotely deploy malicious codes. 

While researchers haven't linked the attacks to any particular gang or person, they believe the threat actors are based in Asia.

Other incidents 

Last year, Mandiant found Chinese state-sponsored hackers abusing a critical flaw in F5 through Supershell, and selling the access to impacted UK government agencies, US defense organizations, and others.

Researchers still don't know what threat actors are doing with access to compromised incidents. "In the environments where we have visibility, the malware was removed quickly so we did not see any post-exploitation activity. We don't have visibility into other compromised servers, beyond knowing they're compromised," researchers said.

How to stay safe?

Wiz has advised users to immediately disable open-registration (if not needed) and control internet exposure by shielding self-hosted Git services via VPN. Users should be careful of new repositories with unexpected usage of the PutContents API or random 8-character names. 

For more details, readers can see the full list of indicators published by the researchers.



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Ransomware
AI Akira Cloud Cyber Attacks Hypervisor Internet Ransomware

Researchers Find Massive Increase in Hypervisor Ransomware Incidents


Rise in hypervisor ransomware incidents 

Cybersecurity experts from Huntress have noticed a sharp rise in ransomware incidents on hypervisors and have asked users to be safe and have proper back-up. 

The Huntress case data has disclosed a surprising increase in hypervisor ransomware. It was involved in malicious encryption and rose from a mere three percent in the first half to a staggering 25 percent in 2025. 

Akira gang responsible 

Experts think that the Akira ransomware gang is the primary threat actor behind this, other players are also going after hypervisors to escape endpoint and network security controls. According to Huntress threat hunters, players are going after hypervisors as they are not secure and hacking them can allow hackers to trigger virtual machines and manage networks.

Why hypervisors?

“This shift underscores a growing and uncomfortable trend: Attackers are targeting the infrastructure that controls all hosts, and with access to the hypervisor, adversaries dramatically amplify the impact of their intrusion," experts said. The attack tactic follows classic playbook. Researchers have "seen it with attacks on VPN appliances: Threat actors realize that the host operating system is often proprietary or restricted, meaning defenders cannot install critical security controls like EDR [Endpoint Detection and Response]. This creates a significant blind spot.”

Other instances 

The experts have also found various cases where ransomware actors install ransomware payloads directly via hypervisors, escaping endpoint security. In a few cases, threat actors used built-in-tools like OpenSSL to run encryption of the virtual machine volume without having to upload custom ransomware binaries.

Attack tactic 

Huntress researchers have also found attackers disrupting a network to steal login credentials and then attack hypervisors.

“We’ve seen misuse of Hyper-V management utilities to modify VM settings and undermine security features,” they add. “This includes disabling endpoint defenses, tampering with virtual switches, and preparing VMs for ransomware deployment at scale," they said.

Mitigation strategies 

Due to the high level of attacks on hypervisors, experts have suggested admins to revisit infosec basics such as multi-factor authentication and password patch updates. Admins should also adopt hypervisor-specific safety measures like only allow-listed binaries can run on a host.

For decades, the Infosec community has known hypervisors to be an easy target. In a worst-case scenario of a successful VM evasion where an attack on a guest virtual machine allows hijacking of the host and its hypervisor, things can go further south. If this were to happen, the impact could be massive as the entire hyperscale clouds depend on hypervisors to isolate tenants' virtual systems.

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Technology
AI Data Google Internet Microsoft Teams Technology

End to End-to-end Encryption? Google Update Allows Firms to Read Employee Texts


Your organization can now read your texts

Microsoft stirred controversy when it revealed a Teams update that could tell your organization when you're not at work. Google did the same. Say goodbye to end-to-end encryption. With this new RCS and SMS Android update, your RCS and SMS texts are no longer private. 

According to Android Authority, "Google is rolling out Android RCS Archival on Pixel (and other Android) phones, allowing employers to intercept and archive RCS chats on work-managed devices. In simpler terms, your employer will now be able to read your RCS chats in Google Messages despite end-to-end encryption.”

Only for organizational devices 

This is only applicable to work-managed devices and doesn't impact personal devices. In regulated industries, it will only add RCS archiving to existing SMS archiving. In an organization, however, texting is different than emailing. In the former, employees sometimes share about their non-work life. End-to-end encryptions keep these conversations safe, but this will no longer be the case.

The end-to-end question 

There is alot of misunderstanding around end-to-end encryption. It protects messages when they are being sent, but once they are on your device, they are decrypted and no longer safe. 

According to Google, this is "a dependable, Android-supported solution for message archival, which is also backwards compatible with SMS and MMS messages as well. Employees will see a clear notification on their device whenever the archival feature is active.”

What will change?

With this update, getting a phone at work is no longer as good as it seems. Employees have always been insecure about the risks in over-sharing on email, as it is easy to spy. But not texts. 

The update will make things different. According to Google, “this new capability, available on Google Pixel and other compatible Android Enterprise devices gives your employees all the benefits of RCS — like typing indicators, read receipts, and end-to-end encryption between Android devices — while ensuring your organization meets its regulatory requirements.”

Promoting organizational surveillance 

Because of organizational surveillance, employees at times turn to shadow IT systems such as Whatsapp and Signal to communicate with colleagues. The new Google update will only make things worse. 

“Earlier,” Google said, ““employers had to block the use of RCS entirely to meet these compliance requirements; this update simply allows organizations to support modern messaging — giving employees messaging benefits like high-quality media sharing and typing indicators — while maintaining the same compliance standards that already apply to SMS messaging."

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Ransomware
AI Asahi Cloud Cyber Attacks Data Internet Ransomware

Beer Firm Asahi Not Entertaining Threat Actors After Cyberattack


Asahi denies ransom payment 

Japanese beer giant Asahi said that it didn't receive any particular ransom demand from threat actors responsible for an advanced and sophisticated cyberattack that could have exposed the data of more than two million people. 

About the attack

CEO Atsushi Katsuki in a press conference said that the company had not been in touch with the threat actors. But Asahi has delayed the release of financial results. Even if the company received a ransom demand, it would not have paid, Katsuki said. Asahi Super Dry is one of Japan's most popular beers. Asahi suffered a cyberattack on 29th September. However, the company clarified on October 3 that it was hit by a ransomware attack.

Attack tactic 

In such incidents, threat actors typically use malicious software to encrypt the target's systems and then ask ransom for providing encryption keys to run the systems again.

Asahi said threat actors could have hacked or stolen identity data like phone numbers and names of around two million people- employees, customers and families.

Qilin gang believed to be responsible 

The firm didn't disclose details of the attacker at the conference. Later, it told AFP via mail that experts hinted towards a high chance of attack by hacking group Qilin. The gang issued a statement that the Japanese media understood as a claim of responsibility. Commenting on the situation, 

Katsuki said the firm thought it had taken needed measures to prevent such an incident. "But this attack was beyond our imagination. It was a sophisticated and cunning attack," Katsuki said. 

Impact on Asahi business 

Interestingly, Asahi delayed the release of third-quarter earnings and recently said that the annual financial results had also been delayed. "These and further information on the impact of the hack on overall corporate performance will be disclosed as soon as possible once the systems have been restored and the relevant data confirmed," the firm said.

The product supply hasn't been affected. Shipments will resume in stages while systems recover. "We apologise for the continued inconvenience and appreciate your understanding," Asahi said.
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Technology
ChatGPT Cloud Content GenAI Internet Misinformation Technology

The New Content Provenance Report Will Address GenAI Misinformation


The GenAI problem 

Today's information environment includes a wide range of communication. Social media platforms have enabled reposting, and comments. The platform is useful for both content consumers and creators, but it has its own challenges.

The rapid adoption of Generative AI has led to a significant increase in misleading content online. These chatbots have a tendency of generating false information which has no factual backing. 

What is AI slop?

The internet is filled with AI slop- content that is made with minimal human input and is like junk. There is currently no mechanism to limit such massive production of harmful or misleading content that can impact human cognition and critical thinking. This calls for a robust mechanism that can address the new challenges that the current system is failing to tackle. 

The content provenance report 

For restoring the integrity of digital information, Canada's Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS) and the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) have launched a new report on public content provenance. Provenance means "place of origin." For building stronger trust with external audiences, businesses and organisations must improve the way they manage the source of their information.

NSSC chief technology officer said that the "new publication examines the emerging field of content provenance technologies and offers clear insights using a range of cyber security perspectives on how these risks may be managed.” 

What is next for Content Integrity?

The industry is implementing few measures to address content provenance challenges like Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA). It will benefit from the help of Generative AI and tech giants like Meta, Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft. 

Currently, there is a pressing need for interoperable standards across various media types such as image, video, and text documents. Although there are content provenance technologies, this area is still in nascent stage. 

What is needed?

The main tech includes genuine timestamps and cryptographically-proof meta to prove that the content isn't tampered. But there are still obstacles in development of these secure technologies, like how and when they are executed.

The present technology places the pressure on the end user to understand the provenance data. 

A provenance system must allow a user to see who or what made the content, the time and the edits/changes that were made. Threat actors have started using GenAI media to make scams believable, it has become difficult to differentiate between what is fake and real. Which is why a mechanism that can track the origin and edit history of digital media is needed. The NCSC and CCCS report will help others to navigate this gray area with more clarity.


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telecoms
Cyber Attacks Data Leak Freedom Mobile Internet telecoms

Telecom Company Freedom Mobile Suffers Data Breach Resulting in Data Leak


About the incident 

Freedom Mobile has revealed a data breach that leaked personal information belonging to a limited number of customers. This happened after illegal access to its internal systems in late October. 

As per the notice sent to customers, the breach was found in late October, when the security team found illicit activity on its customer account management platform.  "Our investigation revealed that a third party used the account of a subcontractor to gain access to the personal information of a limited number of our customers," the statement read.

Attack tactic

According to the investigation, a third-party got access via the account of a subcontractor. It means that a threat actor used genuine login credentials that belonged to an external partner, instead of directly breaking through technical defenses. After gaining access, the threat actors could view particular customer records. The exposed data consists home addresses, first and last names, contact numbers and Freedom Mobile account numbers. 

Details such as account passwords, banking details, credit card were not hacked. The incident impacted only personal profile data, nof authentication secrets or financial data. 

Once the intrusion was found, Freedom Mobile blocked malicious accounts and linked IP addresses, and deployed additional security measures on the platform. 

These steps generally involve strict access permissions, which adds extra monitoring and reviewing login rules for subcontractor ms like implementation of strong passwords and two-factor authentication. No exposed information has been misused, the company has said. 

Risks of stolen data

But the stolen data can be important for important social engineering and phishing attempts. 

Threat actors may use these details to send scam messages on behalf of Freedom Mobile. 

Freedom Mobile has requested customers to stay cautious of emails or texts that ask for personal information, or that redirect them to log in through links. 

Freedom Mobile has emphasized that it never asks for credit card numbers, PINs by email, SMS, passwords, or other banking information. "We quickly identified the incident and implemented corrective measures and security enhancements, including blocking the suspicious accounts and corresponding IP addresses," the company said.

Customers have also been suggested to check their device for any suspicious activity to avoid downloading unexpected attachments or suspicious links. Meanwhile, the investigation is still continuing.


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Phishing Attacks
Cyber Security Data Digital Scams Identity Thefts Internet Phishing Attacks

Scammers Used Fake WhatsApp Profiles of District Collectors in Kerala


Scammers target government officials 

In a likely phishing attempt, over four employees of Kasaragod and Wayanad Collectorates received WhatsApp texts from accounts imitating their district Collectors and asking for urgent money transfers. After that, the numbers have been sent to the cyber police, according to the Collectorate officials. 

Vietnam scammers behind the operation 

The texts came from Vietnam based numbers but showed the profile pictures of concerned collectors, Inbasekar K in Kasaragod and D R Meghasree. 

In one incident, the scammers also shared a Google Pay number, but the target didn't proceed. According to the official, "the employees who received the messages were saved simply because they recognised the Collector’s tone and style of communication." 

Two employees from Wayanad received texts, all from different numbers from Vietnam. In the Kasaragod incident, Collector Inbasekar said a lot of employees received the phishing texts on WhatsApp. Two employees reported the incident. No employee lost the money. 

Scammers used typical scripts

The scam used a similar script in the two districts. The first text read: Hello, how are you? Where are you currently? In the Wayanad incident, the first massage was sent around 4 pm, and in Kasaragod, around 5:30 pm. When the employee replied, a follow up text was sent: Very good. Please do something urgently. This shows that the scam followed the typical pitches used by scammers. 

The numbers have been reported to the cyber police. According to Wayanad officials, "Once the messages were identified as fake, screenshots were immediately circulated across all internal WhatsApp groups." Cyber Unit has blocked both Vietnam-linked and Google Pay numbers.

What needs to be done?

Kasaragod Collector cautioned the public and staff to be careful when getting texts asking for money transfers. Coincidentally, in both the incidents, the texts were sent to staff employed in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. In this pursuit, the scammers revealed the pressures under which booth-level employees are working.

According to cyber security experts, the fake identity scams are increasingly targeting top government officials. Scammers are exploiting hierarchical structures to trick officials into acting promptly. “Police have urged government employees and the public to avoid responding to unsolicited WhatsApp messages requesting money, verify communication through official phone numbers or email, and report suspicious messages immediately to cybercrime authorities,” the New Indian Express reported.

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