All news in category "Incidents and Data Breaches"

Largest U.S. Telecommunications Hack: What Happened

🔐 On December 4, 2024, U.S. officials confirmed a widespread cyber-espionage campaign that targeted some 80 global telecommunications providers across dozens of countries. The intrusion has been attributed to a sophisticated nation-state actor tracked by Microsoft as Salt Typhoon (aka Ghost Emperor / FamousSparrow), with earlier links to LightBasin. A joint task force—Operation Enduring Security Framework—led by the NSA, Pentagon and CISA was created to contain and investigate the offensive.

Intellexa Predator Leaks Reveal Zero-Days and Ad Abuse

🔎 Amnesty International reports a Pakistani human rights lawyer received a WhatsApp link tied to a Predator 1-click attempt, the first known targeting of Balochistan civil society by Intellexa's spyware. Jointly published leaks and vendor analyses show Predator (also marketed as Helios, Nova and Green Arrow) used messaging, ad-based and ISP-assisted vectors plus multiple zero-day exploits to install surveillance payloads. Google Threat Intelligence Group mapped numerous V8, WebKit, Android kernel and other CVEs to the campaign and documented a modular iOS exploitation framework named JSKit and a post-exploitation payload called PREYHUNTER. The disclosures raise urgent questions about exploit sourcing, customer access to logs, and human rights due diligence.

Intellexa's Predator Spyware Continues Despite Sanctions

📣 Leaked documents and coordinated technical reports indicate the Intellexa surveillance consortium continues to develop, sell and operate its Predator spyware despite multiple sanctions. Analyses from Google Threat Intelligence Group, Recorded Future and Amnesty’s Security Lab attribute numerous mobile browser zero-day exploits and new infection methods to the vendor. Amnesty disclosed a novel Aladdin zero-click vector that abuses the mobile advertising ecosystem to deliver malicious ads which infect devices on view, while Recorded Future and Google documented Intellexa’s outsized share of exploited zero-days. The combined findings point to active customers, new nexus entities and ongoing global operations.

German fraud ring used fake celebrity ads for investments

🔍 Investigators say an alleged international fraud ring used fake celebrity advertising to market a purported 'secret financial product,' duping at least 120 people across Germany out of more than €1.3 million. Authorities carried out coordinated searches in Germany and Israel, focusing on Tel Aviv and Düsseldorf, and targeted publishers accused of running misleading campaigns. The scheme promoted AI-optimized investment strategies and automated crypto trading via large social-media campaigns and fake news sites, and victims were typically left with total loss of invested capital while seized evidence is analyzed.

CISA: PRC-linked BRICKSTORM Backdoor Targets vSphere

🔒 CISA on Thursday released details of a Golang backdoor named BRICKSTORM used by PRC-linked actors to maintain long-term stealthy access to VMware vSphere and Windows systems. The implant provides interactive shell access, file management, SOCKS proxying, and multiple C2 channels including HTTPS, WebSockets, nested TLS, and DNS-over-HTTPS to conceal communications and blend with normal traffic. CISA and private-sector researchers tied deployments to clusters tracked as UNC5221 and to CrowdStrike’s Warp Panda, noting self-reinstating persistence, VSOCK support for inter-VM operations, and use in attacks against government, IT, legal, and technology targets.

Coupang Exposes 33.7M Accounts Due to Key Mismanagement

🔒 Coupang disclosed an unauthorized exposure affecting approximately 33.7 million user accounts, an incident investigators trace to long‑neglected token signing keys in its authentication infrastructure. Leaked records reportedly included names, email addresses, shipping address lists and some order details; payment and login credentials were not exposed. Authorities and a joint public-private investigation are probing the breach and potential regulatory violations, and a former authentication engineer is the prime suspect.

Predator Spyware Uses Ad-Based Zero-Click Infection

📢 Researchers report that the Predator spyware operator Intellexa developed a zero-click delivery mechanism called Aladdin that can infect targets simply by serving a weaponized advertisement. The technique abuses commercial mobile advertising systems and Demand Side Platforms to force malicious ads to specific IPs and devices, with viewing alone triggering redirections to exploit servers. First deployed in 2024 and routed through shell companies across multiple countries, the campaign is corroborated by leaked Intellexa documents and technical analysis from Amnesty, Google, and Recorded Future. Analysts recommend blocking ads, hiding public IPs, and using platform protections, though leaked materials suggest operators can obtain subscriber IP/location data from local mobile operators.

False-Flag Teams Lure Delivers ValleyRAT via SEO Poisoning

🚨 ReliaQuest attributes a false-flag SEO poisoning campaign to the actor known as Silver Fox, which has been active since November 2025 and aims to masquerade as a Russian group to mislead investigators. The campaign pushes a malicious Teams installer packaged as "MSTчamsSetup.zip" from an Alibaba Cloud URL, drops a trojanized Setup.exe, establishes exclusions in Microsoft Defender, and writes a staged installer "Verifier.exe" to the AppData profile. The loader scans for security processes, injects a malicious DLL into rundll32.exe, and reaches out to a remote server to retrieve the final ValleyRAT payload.

Contractors Accused of Wiping 96 Government Databases

🧾 Two Virginia brothers, former federal contractors Muneeb and Sohaib Akhter, have been charged with conspiring to steal sensitive data and deleting roughly 96 government databases after being fired. Prosecutors allege the deletions occurred in February 2025 and that Muneeb also stole IRS and EEOC information for hundreds of individuals. One minute after deleting a DHS database he reportedly asked an AI tool how to clear system logs. Authorities say the pair wiped devices, destroyed evidence, and face multiple federal charges including computer fraud and aggravated identity theft.

GhostFrame Phishing Framework Surpasses One Million Attacks

🔍 A newly discovered phishing framework named GhostFrame has been linked to more than one million attacks, according to Barracuda. The kit uses a benign-looking outer HTML page that conceals a malicious iframe, enabling attackers to swap content, target regions and evade scanners without changing the visible landing page. GhostFrame employs a two-stage chain: the loader creates randomized subdomains and validates them before loading an internal credential-stealing page, and includes anti-analysis controls that block inspection shortcuts and restrict user actions. Barracuda recommends a multilayered defense—regular browser updates, staff training, email gateways and web filters, restricting iframe embedding, and monitoring for injected or redirected content.

Momberger Alerts Customers of Fraudulent Invoice Emails

🔔 Momberger – Lack & Technik warns customers of a targeted email fraud campaign that began on December 1. The company says unauthorized access to an email account was used to send forged messages requesting payment of fictitious invoices; only existing customer addresses were targeted. Momberger urges recipients not to pay, open links, or attachments, and says systems have been secured while additional protections and authorities are involved.

UDPGangster Backdoor Campaigns Target Turkey, Israel

🔒FortiGuard Labs reports multiple campaigns deploying the UDPGangster UDP-based backdoor, attributed to the MuddyWater espionage group. Attackers used macro-embedded Microsoft Word documents delivered via phishing, impersonating official Turkish emails and targeting users in Turkey, Israel, and Azerbaijan. The malware implements persistence, extensive anti-analysis checks, and UDP C2 communications to exfiltrate data and execute remote commands. Fortinet detections and protections are available to mitigate these threats.

PRC State-Sponsored Actors Use BRICKSTORM Malware Campaigns

🔒 CISA warns that PRC state-sponsored actors are deploying the BRICKSTORM backdoor to maintain stealthy, long-term access on VMware vSphere and Windows hosts. The malware leverages nested TLS/WebSockets, DNS-over-HTTPS, and a SOCKS proxy for encrypted C2, lateral movement, and tunneling, and implements a self‑healing persistence mechanism. CISA urges defenders to hunt with provided YARA/Sigma rules, block unauthorized DoH, inventory edge devices, and enforce DMZ segmentation.

ThreatsDay: Wi‑Fi Hack, npm Worm, DeFi Theft and More

🔒This week's ThreatsDay roundup highlights a string of high-impact incidents, from a $9 million DeFi drain and an npm-based self-replicating worm to airport Wi‑Fi evil‑twin attacks and mass camera compromises. Researchers and vendors including Fortinet, Microsoft, and TruffleHog disclosed evolving malware techniques, supply-chain abuse, and widespread credential exposure. Practical protections include minimizing long-lived secrets, enforcing CI/CD safeguards, updating detection for eBPF-based threats, and applying MFA and phishing-resistant controls.

Post Office Avoids £1.1m Fine for Leak of 502 Postmasters

🔒 The Information Commissioner's Office found that an unredacted settlement document related to the long-running Horizon scandal exposed the names, home addresses and postmaster status of 502 litigants on the Post Office website between 25 April and 19 June 2024. The ICO considered a fine just under £1.1m but issued a reprimand under its public sector approach after concluding the breach was not 'egregious'. The regulator criticised the Post Office for lacking documented publishing policies, quality assurance and sufficient staff training; the organisation has offered compensation and 24 months of identity protection and taken steps to remove cached copies and strengthen controls.

GoldFactory Targets SE Asia with Modified Banking Apps

🛡️ Group-IB says the financially motivated actor GoldFactory has launched a new campaign across Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, distributing modified Android banking apps that serve as droppers for remote‑access trojans. The campaign, active since October 2024 and linked to activity as far back as June 2023, relies on phone-based social engineering and messaging apps like Zalo to direct victims to fake Play Store landing pages. Injected modules preserve normal banking functionality while hooking app logic to bypass security checks, abuse accessibility services, and exfiltrate credentials and account balances.

Cloudflare Mitigates Record 29.7 Tbps DDoS by AISURU

🚨 Cloudflare reported it detected and mitigated a record 29.7 Tbps distributed denial-of-service attack attributed to the AISURU botnet. The UDP "carpet-bombing" assault, which randomized packet attributes and targeted an average of 15,000 destination ports per second, lasted 69 seconds. Cloudflare also mitigated a 14.1 Bpps event and said AISURU may comprise 1–4 million infected hosts, while blocking thousands of related hyper-volumetric attacks and noting significant quarterly increases in DDoS activity.

WARP PANDA: Sophisticated China-Nexus Cloud Threats

🔍 CrowdStrike identified a China-nexus adversary, WARP PANDA, conducting covert intrusions against VMware vCenter and cloud infrastructure throughout 2025, deploying novel Golang implants and the backdoor BRICKSTORM. Operations emphasized stealth—log clearing, timestomping, unregistered VMs, and tunnelling via vCenter/ESXi/guest VMs—enabling long-term persistence and data staging from live VM snapshots. WARP PANDA also exfiltrated Microsoft 365 and SharePoint content, registered MFA devices, and abused cloud services for C2, prompting recommendations for tighter ESXi/vCenter controls and robust EDR on guests.

Marquis data breach affects over 74 US banks, credit unions

🔒 Financial software provider Marquis Software Solutions disclosed a ransomware intrusion on August 14, 2025, after attackers breached a SonicWall firewall and exfiltrated certain files. The incident potentially impacted roughly 400,000 customers across 74 banks and credit unions and involved names, contact details, Social Security and Taxpayer IDs, account information (no security codes), and dates of birth. Marquis says there is no confirmed misuse or publication of the data to date and is notifying affected institutions and state regulators while implementing enhanced security measures, including MFA, patching, account cleanup, and tightened firewall policies.

Leroy Merlin Notifies French Customers of Data Breach

🔔 French home improvement retailer Leroy Merlin has notified customers in France that certain personal data may have been exposed in a cyberattack, including full names, phone numbers, email and postal addresses, dates of birth and loyalty program details. The company says no banking data or account passwords were involved and that it moved quickly to block unauthorized access and contain the incident. The notice warns customers to be vigilant against phishing and impersonation attempts; BleepingComputer confirmed the notification is genuine and has sought further details. No ransomware group had claimed responsibility at the time of reporting.