All news with #phishing tag

Researchers Expose TA585 Delivering MonsterV2 RAT via Phishing

🔎 Proofpoint researchers detailed a previously undocumented actor, TA585, observed delivering the off‑the‑shelf malware MonsterV2 through tailored phishing chains. The actor appears to manage its entire operation — infrastructure, delivery, and payload installation — employing web injections, CAPTCHA overlays and ClickFix social engineering to trigger PowerShell or Run commands. MonsterV2 functions as a RAT, stealer and loader with HVNC, keylogging, clipboard clippers and a C++ crypter (SonicCrypt) to evade detection. Proofpoint also links parts of the infrastructure to other stealer campaigns and highlights commercialized pricing and geographic filtering in its monetization.

Rust-Based ChaosBot Backdoor Uses Discord for C2 Operations

🔒 eSentire disclosed a Rust-based backdoor named ChaosBot that leverages Discord channels for command-and-control, allowing operators to perform reconnaissance and execute arbitrary commands on compromised systems. The intrusion, first observed in late September 2025 at a financial services customer, began after attackers used compromised Cisco VPN credentials and an over-privileged Active Directory service account via WMI. Distribution included phishing LNK files that launch PowerShell and display a decoy PDF, while the payload sideloads a malicious DLL through Microsoft Edge to deploy an FRP reverse proxy. ChaosBot supports commands to run shells, capture screenshots, and transfer files, and newer variants employ ETW patching and VM detection to evade analysis.

Fake 'Inflation Refund' Texts Target New Yorkers in NY

🔔 A new smishing campaign impersonates the New York Department of Taxation and Finance, sending texts that urge recipients to submit payment information to process an 'Inflation Refund.' Links lead to a counterfeit site requesting name, address, phone, email and Social Security Number. New Yorkers are reminded the refund is automatic for eligible taxpayers and agencies will not text or call for payment details. Report suspicious messages to the Tax Department or IRS.

Microsoft: 'Payroll Pirates' Hijack HR SaaS Accounts

🔒 Microsoft warns that a financially motivated group tracked as Storm-2657 is hijacking employee accounts to redirect payroll by altering profiles in third-party HR SaaS platforms such as Workday. Attacks rely on AitM phishing, MFA gaps and SSO abuse rather than software vulnerabilities. Observed tactics include creating inbox rules to delete warning notifications and enrolling attacker-controlled phone numbers for persistent access. Microsoft reported compromises at multiple U.S. universities and recommends phishing-resistant, passwordless MFA such as FIDO2 keys, and reviews of MFA devices and mailbox rules to detect takeover.

175 Malicious npm Packages Used in Large-Scale Phishing

⚠️ Researchers have identified 175 malicious packages on the npm registry used as infrastructure for a widespread phishing campaign called Beamglea. The packages, collectively downloaded about 26,000 times, host redirect scripts served via unpkg.com that route victims to credential-harvesting pages. Attackers automated package publication and embedded victim-specific emails into generated HTML, pre-filling login fields to increase the likelihood of successful credential capture.

How to Respond After Clicking a Suspicious Link Safely

⚠ If you clicked a suspicious link, stay calm and act promptly. For work devices, contact IT immediately and follow their instructions. For personal devices, close the browser and check for unexpected downloads; if you entered credentials, change passwords and enable MFA; if financial data was entered, contact your bank; if a file was downloaded, disconnect, run a full scan, and consider restoring from a clean backup. Monitor accounts and report phishing attempts.

OpenAI Disrupts Malware Abuse by Russian, DPRK, China

🛡️ OpenAI said it disrupted three clusters that misused ChatGPT to assist malware development, including Russian-language actors refining a RAT and credential stealer, North Korean operators tied to Xeno RAT campaigns, and Chinese-linked accounts targeting semiconductor firms. The company also blocked accounts used for scams, influence operations, and surveillance assistance and said actors worked around direct refusals by composing building-block code. OpenAI emphasized that models often declined explicit malicious prompts and that many outputs were not inherently harmful on their own.

Phishers Exploit 1Password Watchtower to Steal Vaults

🔒 Malwarebytes has flagged a phishing campaign that impersonated 1Password’s Watchtower breach alerts, nearly tricking an employee into surrendering their vault credentials. The message used authentic branding, familiar phrasing and urgency cues, and embedded legitimate-seeming support links before redirecting victims via Mandrill to a typosquatted credential‑stealing page. By Oct. 2 multiple vendors had marked the site as phishing and Mandrill blocked the redirect, but earlier clicks may already have exposed entire vaults.

Ransomware and Phishing Threats Escalate for German SMEs

🔒 German SMEs face a sharp rise in ransomware and data-exfiltration incidents, with leak-site publications more than quadrupling from 2021 to 2024. Authorities report that 80% of analyzed ransomware incidents targeted small and medium-sized enterprises, often using double extortion. Attackers favor targeted phishing—executives receive on average 57 such attempts yearly—and many firms lack adequate defenses amid staffing shortages and overly complex security stacks.

WhatsApp-Based Self-Spreading Malware Hits Brazil Nationwide

⚠️ Trend Micro has uncovered a self-propagating malware campaign named SORVEPOTEL that primarily targets Brazilian Windows users via WhatsApp. The attack is delivered through convincing phishing messages with malicious ZIP attachments that contain LNK shortcuts which trigger PowerShell to download a batch payload. The payload establishes persistence by copying itself to the Windows Startup folder and contacts a command-and-control server, and if WhatsApp Web is active the malware automatically forwards the infected ZIP to contacts and groups, causing rapid spread and frequent account bans. Researchers report no evidence of data exfiltration or file encryption so far.

Cavalry Werewolf Targets Russian Public Sector with RATs

🚨 BI.ZONE warns of a campaign dubbed Cavalry Werewolf that has targeted Russian state agencies and critical industrial sectors using FoalShell and StallionRAT. Attackers used spear-phishing with spoofed Kyrgyz government emails and RAR attachments to deploy lightweight reverse shells and a RAT that exfiltrates data via a Telegram bot. Observed tooling and Telegram commands indicate organized post-compromise operations and use of socks proxies for lateral movement. BI.ZONE links the activity to groups including Tomiris and YoroTrooper, suggesting possible Kazakhstan ties.

Confucius Targets Pakistan with WooperStealer and Anondoor

🔒 Fortinet researchers attribute a renewed phishing campaign to Confucius, which has repeatedly targeted Pakistani government, military, and defense industry recipients using spear‑phishing and malicious documents. Attack chains observed from December 2024 through August 2025 delivered WooperStealer via DLL side‑loading using .PPSX and .LNK lures, and later introduced a Python implant, Anondoor. The group layered obfuscation and swapped tools and infrastructure to sustain credential theft, screenshot capture, file enumeration, and persistent exfiltration while evading detection.

New MatrixPDF Phishing Technique Targets Gmail Users

📄 Researchers at Varonis have identified a sophisticated phishing toolkit called MatrixPDF that embeds prompts, JavaScript, and external redirects inside seemingly legitimate PDF files to target Gmail users. Attackers exploit Gmail's preview and desktop PDF readers: a blurred preview displays a prompt to 'open secure document' that directs victims to external payloads, while embedded scripts can fetch malware if a user grants permission. Because the malicious content is only retrieved after user interaction, Gmail's automated scanners and attachment sandboxes can be bypassed. Security experts recommend stronger webmail controls, robust attachment sandboxing, endpoint detection, and frequent, realistic user awareness training.

Amazon Prime Day 2025: Surge in Scam Domains and Phishing

🔍 Check Point Research found a marked rise in Amazon Prime Day scams during the first three weeks of September 2025, driven by malicious domains, phishing emails, and credential-harvesting pages that mimic legitimate Amazon communications. Attackers are exploiting urgency and trusted branding to capture login and payment details. Consumers and organizations should verify senders and domains, enable MFA, apply robust email filters, and monitor account activity to reduce exposure.

WhatsApp phishing: fake vote pages hijack accounts

🔒 Kaspersky analyzed a global phishing campaign that uses convincing fake voting pages to hijack WhatsApp accounts. Attackers lure victims with personalized requests and multilingual scam pages; when users click Vote they’re prompted for the phone number linked to their account and shown a single‑use verification code. Victims who then enter or paste that code in their WhatsApp app inadvertently activate a remote WhatsApp Web session, giving attackers full access. Immediately check Linked devices, disconnect unknown sessions, and follow Kaspersky’s recovery and prevention guidance.

ENISA: Phishing Drives Most EU Cyber Intrusions in 2024–25

📣 The EU security agency's ENISA Threat Landscape 2025 report, analyzing 4,875 incidents from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025, finds phishing was the initial access vector in 60% of intrusions, with vulnerability exploitation at 21%. Botnets and malicious applications accounted for 10% and 8% respectively, and 68% of intrusions led to follow-up malware deployment. ENISA highlights AI-powered phishing exceeded 80% of social engineering globally by early 2025 and warns of attacks aimed at critical digital supply chain dependencies and high-value targets such as outdated mobile and OT systems.

MatrixPDF: PDFs Weaponized to Evade Gmail Defenses

📄 Researchers at Varonis have discovered MatrixPDF, a toolkit that disguises malicious web redirects and scripts inside seemingly benign PDFs to bypass Gmail filters. The files use blurred content, overlays and convincing prompts such as “Open Secure Document” to trick users into opening external sites. In some cases embedded JavaScript can auto-fetch payloads when a reader grants permission. Because Gmail treats preview clicks as user-initiated, these PDFs often evade email scanners and sandboxes.

Phishing and Patching: Cyber Basics Still Critical

🔐 Fortinet’s 2025 Global Threat Landscape Report underscores that two fundamentals — protecting against phishing and keeping software up to date — remain the most effective defenses. Attackers are scaling campaigns with automation and generative AI to produce more convincing messages, and they combine email, SMS, and voice techniques to raise success rates. Organizations should strengthen employee training, deploy MFA, and adopt centralized or automated patch management to reduce exposure and limit lateral movement.

MatrixPDF toolkit converts PDFs into phishing lures

📄 MatrixPDF is a newly observed toolkit that converts ordinary PDFs into interactive phishing and malware lures, researchers report. First seen advertised on cybercrime forums and promoted via Telegram, it embeds blurred content, fake "Secure Document" prompts, clickable overlays and JavaScript actions that redirect users to external payloads. Varonis testing showed these PDFs can bypass Gmail filters because they contain no embedded binaries and rely on user clicks to fetch malicious content. Sellers offer subscriptions from $400/month to $1,500/year.

Microsoft Blocks Phishing Using AI-Generated Code Tactics

🔒 Microsoft Threat Intelligence stopped a credential phishing campaign that likely used AI-generated code to hide a payload inside an SVG file disguised as a PDF. Attackers sent self-addressed emails from a compromised small-business account, hiding real targets in the Bcc field and attaching a file named "23mb – PDF- 6 pages.svg." Embedded JavaScript decoded business-style obfuscation to redirect victims to a fake CAPTCHA and a fraudulent sign-in page, and Microsoft Defender for Office 365 blocked the campaign by flagging delivery patterns, suspicious domains and anomalous code behavior.