All news in category "Incidents and Data Breaches"

BRICKSTORM espionage campaign targeting appliances in US

🔒BRICKSTORM is a highly evasive backdoor campaign tracked by GTIG and Mandiant that targets network appliances and virtualization infrastructure to maintain long-term access to US organizations. The actor, tracked as UNC5221, deploys a Go-based malware with SOCKS proxy functionality and uses techniques — including zero‑day exploitation of edge appliances, credential capture via a BRICKSTEAL servlet filter, and VM cloning — to remain undetected for an average of 393 days. GTIG and Mandiant published YARA rules, a scanner, and a focused hunting checklist to help defenders locate infections and harden management interfaces and vSphere deployments.

Brickstorm: Long-term Go-based Backdoor Targets US Orgs

🔒 Google researchers report suspected China-linked operators used a Go-based backdoor named Brickstorm to persistently exfiltrate data from U.S. technology, legal, SaaS and BPO organizations, with an average dwell time of 393 days. Brickstorm operated as a web server, file dropper, SOCKS relay and remote command executor while masquerading traffic as legitimate cloud services and targeting edge appliances that often lack EDR. GTIG attributes the activity to UNC5221, a cluster linked to Ivanti zero-day exploitation and custom tools like Spawnant and Zipline. Mandiant published a scanner with YARA rules but cautioned it may not detect all variants or persistence mechanisms.

UK Arrests Suspect After RTX MUSE Ransomware Hits Airports

🛫 The UK's National Crime Agency arrested a man in his forties in West Sussex on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offences linked to a ransomware attack that disrupted airports across Europe. RTX Corporation confirmed the incident affected its Collins Aerospace MUSE passenger processing software, first detected on September 19. The suspect has been released on conditional bail while the probe, supported by the South East ROCU and other agencies, remains in its early stages. Affected customers shifted to backup and manual processes while RTX and external cybersecurity experts work to contain and remediate the impact.

PyPI warns users to reset credentials after phishing

🔒 The Python Software Foundation warns of a phishing campaign using a convincing fake PyPI site at pypi-mirror[.]org that asks users to 'verify their email address' and threatens account suspension. If you clicked the link and submitted credentials, change your password immediately, inspect your account's Security History, and report suspicious activity to security@pypi.org. Maintainers should avoid clicking links in unsolicited emails, use password managers that auto-fill only on matching domains, and enable phishing-resistant 2FA such as hardware security keys.

GitHub notifications abused to impersonate Y Combinator

📩 Attackers abused GitHub's notification system to send fake Y Combinator W2026 invitations by creating issues and tagging users so the platform would deliver legitimate-looking emails. The lure promised participation in a purported $15 million funding program and linked to a typo-squatted domain. That site ran obfuscated JavaScript and presented an EIP-712-style wallet verification prompt that, when signed, authorized draining transactions.

AI-Obfuscated SVG Phishing Campaign Detected and Blocked

🔍 Microsoft Threat Intelligence detected and blocked a credential-phishing campaign that likely leveraged AI-generated code to obfuscate its payload inside an SVG attachment. The malicious SVG imitated a PDF and hid JavaScript within invisible, business-themed elements and a long sequence of business terms that the embedded script decoded into redirects, browser fingerprinting, and session tracking. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 blocked the activity by correlating infrastructure, behavioral, and message-context signals, while Security Copilot flagged the code as likely LLM-generated.

One Weak Password Topples 158-Year-Old Transport Firm

🔒 KNP Logistics Group, a 158-year-old UK transport firm, collapsed after the Akira ransomware group accessed an employee account by guessing a weak password. Attackers bypassed protections by targeting an internet-facing account without MFA, deployed ransomware across the estate, and destroyed backups, halting operations across 500 trucks and precipitating administration and 700 job losses. The incident underscores the urgent need for strong password policies, MFA, and isolated, tested backups.

Feds Tie Scattered Spider Duo to $115M in Ransoms

🔒 U.S. prosecutors have charged 19‑year‑old Thalha Jubair as a core member of Scattered Spider, alleging the group extorted at least $115 million from victims. Jubair and an alleged co‑conspirator, 18‑year‑old Owen Flowers, appeared in London court facing accusations tied to high‑profile attacks on retailers, public transit and U.S. healthcare providers. Authorities say the complaint links Jubair to a network of SIM‑swapping, SMS phishing and ransomware operations and to cryptocurrency servers used to launder proceeds.

GitHub Pages SEO Poisoning Delivers Atomic Stealer

🚨 Attackers are creating convincing GitHub Pages that impersonate well-known brands to trick macOS users into installing the Atomic infostealer. Using SEO poisoning, malicious repositories are promoted in search results and funnel victims through multiple redirects to pages that instruct users to paste a Terminal curl command. That command decodes a base64 URL and executes a script that fetches and runs the Atomic payload. LastPass published IoCs and requested takedowns, but warns the campaign remains active.

US Secret Service Disrupts Massive SIM Farm Network

📵 The U.S. Secret Service says it disrupted a large network of SIM farms near New York City that officials warn could have disabled cellular service during the U.N. General Assembly. Agents seized more than 300 SIM servers and roughly 100,000 SIM cards across sites in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Authorities say the equipment could have texted the entire U.S. population within minutes, launched DDoS attacks, and interfered with emergency communications. The agency attributed the operation to nation-state actors working with organised crime, while specific locations and perpetrators remain undisclosed.

Boyd Gaming Reports Cyber Incident Exposing Employee Data

🔒 Boyd Gaming Corporation disclosed a cybersecurity incident in an SEC 8-K filing, saying an unauthorized third party accessed its internal IT systems and removed certain data. The company said the breach involved employee information and a limited number of other individuals, though it did not specify the data types or number affected. Boyd said operations were not impacted and it is working with cybersecurity experts and federal law enforcement while notifying regulators.

Hoppegarten IT outage continues after August cyberattack

🔒 The municipality of Hoppegarten in Brandenburg is still recovering from a hacker attack that forced its IT systems to be shut down on August 10. As of September 22, remediation remains ongoing, with central services such as email, telephone, and citizen services restored. Communication with subordinate institutions, including schools and daycare centers, remains disrupted. Authorities say the State Criminal Police Office is investigating a suspected attempted data encryption, possibly tied to an extortion attempt.

Cell Tower Hacking Network Dismantled Near UN Event

🔒 The US Secret Service has seized and dismantled a network of electronic devices across the New York tristate area that could be used to disrupt cellular service ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. Authorities recovered 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards, equipment capable of enabling DoS attacks, disabling towers and facilitating anonymous encrypted communications. The operation was led by the agency’s Advanced Threat Interdiction Unit, which says early analysis identified contacts between individuals tied to the network and known nation-state threat actors; the investigation remains ongoing with multiple federal and local partners.

CISA: Federal Agency Breached via GeoServer RCE Incident

🔒 CISA reported that an unnamed federal civilian agency was breached after actors exploited CVE-2024-36401, an RCE in a public-facing GeoServer, on July 11, 2024. The vendor had patched the flaw on June 30 and CISA added it to the KEV catalogue on July 15; a second GeoServer was compromised on July 24. Attackers deployed open-source tools and web shells such as China Chopper, used living-off-the-land and brute-force techniques, and established persistence. CISA highlighted failures in timely patching, incident-response testing, and continuous EDR monitoring.

European Police Bust €100m Cryptocurrency Fraud Ring

🔍 A Eurojust-coordinated joint action day led to the arrest of five suspects, including the alleged mastermind of a cryptocurrency investment fraud that reportedly seized €100m from victims across 23 countries. Authorities say the multi-year scheme, active since at least 2018, used professionally designed websites to promise high returns and then demanded additional fees to process withdrawals before sites went offline. Europol provided operational and analytical support while the joint investigation team helped coordinate cross-border activity.

Boyd Gaming Reports Data Breach After Cyberattack, SEC Filing

🔒 Boyd Gaming Corporation disclosed it suffered a cyberattack that resulted in unauthorized access to its IT systems and the removal of certain data, including employee information and data for a limited number of other individuals. The company said it engaged external cybersecurity experts and notified law enforcement, and that it is notifying impacted individuals and regulators as required. Boyd Gaming reported operations were not affected, does not expect a material adverse financial impact, and expects its cybersecurity insurance to cover related costs.

Eurojust Arrests Five Over €100M Cryptocurrency Scam

🛑 Eurojust coordinated the arrest of five suspects tied to an elaborate online investment fraud that stole more than €100 million from over 100 victims across France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Searches and asset freezes were carried out in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Romania and Bulgaria, and investigators say funds were laundered via Lithuanian bank accounts. Victims were charged extra withdrawal fees before the platform disappeared.

Cloudflare Mitigates Record 22.2 Tbps DDoS Attack Again

🚨 Cloudflare reported that it mitigated a massive volumetric DDoS attack that peaked at 22.2 Tbps and 10.6 billion packets per second, lasting roughly 40 seconds. The traffic surge equated to streaming about one million 4K videos simultaneously and generated a packet rate roughly equal to 1.3 web page refreshes per person on Earth. Such extreme packet velocities strain firewalls, routers, and load balancers even where aggregate bandwidth may be handled. Cloudflare has provided limited technical detail on this and recent record attacks.

US Secret Service Seizes 300 SIM Servers, 100,000 Cards

🚨 The U.S. Secret Service announced it dismantled a network of more than 300 co-located SIM servers and roughly 100,000 SIM cards across the New York tri-state area ahead of the United Nations General Assembly. The devices, concentrated within a 35-mile radius of the UN gathering, were used to issue anonymous threats to senior U.S. officials and could be weaponized to disrupt telecommunications or enable encrypted communications. The agency's Advanced Threat Interdiction Unit is leading the investigation and said early evidence shows cellular links between nation-state actors and individuals known to federal law enforcement.

CISA: GeoServer RCE Exploit Led to Federal Agency Breach

🔒 CISA says attackers breached a U.S. federal agency after exploiting an unpatched GeoServer instance using the critical RCE flaw CVE-2024-36401. Threat actors uploaded web shells and access scripts, then moved laterally to compromise a web server and an SQL server. The intrusion remained undetected for three weeks until an EDR alert flagged suspected malware on July 31, 2024. CISA urges rapid patching of critical flaws and continuous EDR monitoring.