All news in category “Incidents and Data Breaches”

🔐 More than 30 plugins in the EssentialPlugin package were found to contain a backdoor that grants unauthorized access to sites. The malicious code was introduced after the project's acquisition in August 2025 but remained dormant until recently, when updates delivered a downloader that injects malware into wp-config.php. The payload selectively displayed spam to Googlebot and used an Ethereum-based C2 for evasion. WordPress.org closed the affected plugins and issued a forced update, though configuration files may still be infected.

🔒 Huntress researchers uncovered a digitally signed adware campaign that deployed SYSTEM‑privilege payloads to disable antivirus protections on thousands of endpoints. The binaries, signed by Dragon Boss Solutions LLC and bundled in browser-like PUPs such as Chromstera and WorldWideWeb, used an Advanced Installer MSI to drop a PowerShell script, ClockRemoval.ps1, which stops services, uninstalls AVs, edits the hosts file and persists via WMI and scheduled tasks. After registering the operator’s unclaimed update domain, Huntress sinkholed infrastructure and observed over 23,500 infected hosts checking in across 124 countries, including hundreds in high-value networks. Administrators are urged to search for specific WMI subscriptions, scheduled tasks, blocked vendor domains in hosts, and processes signed by the publisher.

⚠️ Cisco Talos researchers report that threat actors have abused n8n managed cloud webhooks since October 2025 to deliver malicious payloads and fingerprint devices via email. Attackers embed URLs on the shared *.app.n8n.cloud subdomain so returned HTML executes in recipients' browsers, sometimes prompting a CAPTCHA that triggers JavaScript-initiated downloads. Observed campaigns delivered modified RMM installers for persistence and used invisible tracking pixels to confirm opens, with message volume jumping sharply by March 2026.

⚠️ Huntress has identified a signed adware operation linked to Dragon Boss Solutions LLC that has disabled antivirus products on approximately 23,565 endpoints worldwide. The campaign leverages a legitimate code‑signing certificate and an MSI update mechanism to deploy a PowerShell payload, ClockRemoval.ps1, which systematically kills, uninstalls and blocks reinstallation of AVs. Targets include Malwarebytes, Kaspersky, McAfee and ESET, and persistence is maintained via scheduled tasks and WMI event subscriptions. Researchers sinkholed an unregistered update domain and observed infections across 124 countries, including universities, utilities and government networks.

🔒 Researchers at Socket uncovered 108 malicious Google Chrome extensions that collectively amassed about 20,000 installs and reported to a single command-and-control server. Published under five publisher identities, the add-ons posed as games, Telegram sidebars, and enhancement tools while exfiltrating Google account data, hijacking Telegram Web sessions, opening arbitrary URLs, and injecting ads and scripts. Some source files contained Russian-language comments; attribution remains unconfirmed. Users should remove any identified extensions and log out of Telegram Web sessions immediately.

🔒 Kraken says a criminal group is attempting to extort the exchange by threatening to release videos that show internal support systems containing client data. The company says the incident resulted from an insider threat, with two instances of improper access by support employees and exposure limited to client support data. About 2,000 accounts (0.02% of users) were affected; Kraken says funds were never at risk. The exchange will not pay or negotiate and is working with federal law enforcement.

🔒 Researchers at Socket have discovered more than 100 malicious Chrome extensions in the official Web Store that harvest Google OAuth2 bearer tokens, hijack sessions, deploy backdoors, and conduct ad fraud. The extensions were published under multiple publisher identities and span categories such as Telegram sidebars, games, video enhancers, translation tools, and utilities. Socket links the campaign to a centralized command-and-control backend hosted on a Contabo VPS and notes code comments that suggest a Russian malware-as-a-service operation. Users are urged to check installed extensions against the IDs Socket published and remove any matches immediately.

🔒 McGraw-Hill says unauthorized actors accessed a limited set of data hosted on a Salesforce webpage after a platform misconfiguration. The company emphasized this did not involve unauthorized entry to its Salesforce accounts, customer databases, courseware, or internal systems, and that exposed information was non-sensitive. McGraw-Hill secured the pages, engaged external cybersecurity experts, and is working with Salesforce to strengthen protections amid an extortion claim by ShinyHunters.

🔒 A malicious macOS app impersonating Ledger Live on the Apple App Store drained approximately $9.5 million in cryptocurrency from 50 users after they were tricked into entering their seed/recovery phrases. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT traced funds moved across multiple chains (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tron, Solana, Ripple) and funneled through more than 150 deposit addresses tied to a centralized mixer called "AudiA6" on KuCoin. Apple removed the fraudulent app after multiple reports, and KuCoin says it has frozen the implicated accounts pending further action. Ledger provides a Mac app on its website but not through the App Store; users are urged to download only from official vendor channels.

🔔 Researchers uncovered 'Pushpaganda', an ad fraud campaign that uses search engine poisoning and AI-generated content to surface deceptive stories in Google Discover and trick Android and Chrome users into enabling persistent browser notifications. Once enabled, the alerts deliver scareware-style legal threats and redirect victims through actor-controlled domains that generate illicit ad revenue and funnel users to financial scams. HUMAN's findings link the operation to hundreds of domains and hundreds of millions of bid requests, and Google has deployed a fix.

🔐 Breakglass Intelligence reports that China-aligned APT41 is deploying an obfuscated Linux ELF backdoor to harvest cloud credentials across AWS, GCP, Azure and Alibaba Cloud. The implant uses a selective SMTP-based C2 over port 25 and typosquatted Alibaba-themed domains hosted in Singapore to exfiltrate tokens and metadata while avoiding scanners. The malware queries instance metadata endpoints (169.254.169.254), sends stolen IAM, service account and managed identity credentials, and emits periodic UDP broadcasts to 255.255.255.255:6006 to coordinate lateral movement. Defenders should monitor SMTP egress, unusual metadata access, unknown ELF binaries, and connections to Alibaba-lookalike domains.

🚨Research by Socket uncovered a coordinated campaign of 108 malicious Chrome extensions that affected about 20,000 users. Distributed across gaming, social media and translation categories, these extensions appear legitimate while quietly harvesting sensitive data, including Google profiles and active web sessions. Operators used a single command-and-control infrastructure and shared code, complicating detection and enabling a Malware-as-a-Service model.

📱 Mirax is a newly observed Android Remote Access Trojan distributed via Meta advertisements that reached over 220,000 accounts, primarily in Spanish-speaking countries. According to Cleafy, Mirax pairs conventional RAT capabilities—keystroke capture, overlays, camera and SMS access—with an embedded SOCKS5 residential proxy implemented over Yamux to route attacker traffic through victim IPs. The threat uses GitHub-hosted droppers, selectable crypters (Virbox, Golden Crypt), and multi-stage installation flows that request accessibility permissions to persist and evade analysis. Researchers note the platform is offered as a selective MaaS to vetted affiliates, increasing its operational and monetization potential.

🔔 Cybersecurity researchers have uncovered a coordinated campaign of 108 malicious Google Chrome extensions that share a common command-and-control backend and have accumulated roughly 20,000 installs. The add-ons, published under five publisher identities, exfiltrate credentials and session data, inject ads and arbitrary JavaScript, and can force-load attacker-controlled sessions. Many abuse OAuth2, strip security headers, and periodically harvest Telegram Web sessions. Users should remove suspicious extensions and log out of Telegram Web sessions to invalidate any stolen tokens.

🔒 Basic-Fit, one of Europe's largest gym operators, disclosed unauthorized access to the system that records members' visits and said about 1 million members across the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain and Germany were affected. The intrusion was detected and stopped within minutes, but investigators determined the attacker exfiltrated data including full name, address, email, phone number, date of birth, bank account details and membership information. Franchise-held customer records were stored separately and were not exposed. Basic-Fit says no identification documents or account passwords were accessed, and the company has notified regulators and continues to monitor the situation with external experts.

🔓 A data set allegedly belonging to Rockstar Games was published by the ShinyHunters extortion group after they say authentication tokens were stolen from Anodot and used to access connected Snowflake accounts. The leak reportedly contains more than 78.6 million records of internal analytics — including in‑game revenue, purchase metrics, player behavior, and game economy data for GTA Online and Red Dead Online — plus Zendesk support analytics. Rockstar said only a limited amount of non‑material company information was accessed and that the incident does not affect players.

🔒 The FBI Atlanta Field Office and Indonesian authorities dismantled the W3LL phishing platform and seized infrastructure, leading to the arrest of the alleged developer. The W3LL kit, sold for $500, enabled adversary-in-the-middle attacks to capture credentials, session cookies and one-time MFA tokens, allowing attackers to bypass multifactor protections. Its marketplace, W3LLSTORE, facilitated the sale of over 25,000 compromised accounts and contributed to attempts exceeding $20 million in fraud.

🔒 OpenAI is rotating macOS code-signing certificates after a GitHub Actions workflow executed a compromised Axios package (v1.14.1) on March 31, 2026. The workflow had access to certificates used to sign macOS apps including ChatGPT Desktop, Codex, Codex CLI, and Atlas. OpenAI says it found no evidence the certificate was misused but is revoking and rotating it as a precaution; macOS users must update apps by May 8, 2026.

🔒 Booking.com confirmed that unauthorized parties accessed booking information associated with some reservations. The company says it immediately forced PIN resets for affected current and past bookings and directly emailed impacted users with updated reservation PINs and guidance. Compromised fields may include full names, email and postal addresses, phone numbers, and communications with property providers. Booking.com warned customers to be vigilant for phishing and noted that app notifications were not sent, which has caused confusion.

🔒 Researchers report that the JanelaRAT malware, a modified BX RAT, extensively targeted banks and financial services across Latin America, with telemetry showing 14,739 attack attempts in Brazil and 11,695 in Mexico during 2025. The trojan steals banking and cryptocurrency credentials, captures keystrokes, screenshots and system metadata, and uses custom title-bar detection to trigger actions on matched sites. Attackers shifted delivery from VBScript ZIPs to rogue MSI installers and DLL side-loading, often installing a malicious Chromium extension for persistence and data exfiltration. Vendors including Kaspersky, KPMG, and Zscaler documented multi-stage chains and robust C2 capabilities.