All news with #ransomware tag

Fake IT Support Phishing Targets Microsoft Teams Users

🔒 Researchers at Permiso have uncovered phishing campaigns that abuse Microsoft Teams by impersonating IT support to trick employees into installing remote access tools like QuickAssist and AnyDesk. Attackers gain full control of compromised endpoints, deploy credential-stealing malware and establish persistence. Campaigns are linked to the financially motivated actor EncryptHub and use simple impersonation tactics that bypass email defences. Security teams should monitor unusual external Teams activity and verify unexpected support requests.

VS Code Marketplace Name Reuse Enables Malware Campaign

🔍 ReversingLabs has exposed a campaign in which malicious Visual Studio Code extensions exploited a name-reuse loophole on the VS Code Marketplace. A downloader extension named ahbanC.shiba executed the command shiba.aowoo to fetch a second payload that encrypted files and demanded one Shiba Inu token, although no wallet address was provided. The vulnerability arises because removed extensions free their names for reuse, contrary to Marketplace guidance that names are unique. Researchers demonstrated the issue by republishing test extensions under previously used names and warned developers to exercise greater caution when installing Marketplace packages.

Nevada Confirms Ransomware Attack, Data Exfiltrated

🔒 Nevada has confirmed a ransomware attack that resulted in data being exfiltrated from state networks. Tim Galluzi, Nevada's chief information officer, said the incident was first detected on August 24 and was disclosed by the governor's office on August 25; he provided an update in a press conference on August 27. Systems and digital services were taken offline to prevent further intrusion, and a forensic investigation involving third-party specialists, the FBI and CISA is ongoing to determine the nature and scope of the stolen information. No criminal actor had claimed responsibility at the time of reporting.

Hidden Vulnerabilities in Project Management Tools: Backup

🛡️ Many organizations rely on SaaS project platforms such as Trello and Asana for daily operations, but native protections and short retention windows often leave critical data exposed. The piece highlights human error, misconfiguration, and targeted cyberattacks as leading causes of loss. It recommends adding a third‑party backup layer and presents FluentPro Backup as a solution offering continuous automated backups, granular restores, one‑click project recovery, and Azure‑backed security to ensure recoverability and auditability.

Storm-0501 Deletes Azure Data and Backups After Exfiltration

🔒 Microsoft Threat Intelligence details a campaign by Storm-0501 that exfiltrated data from a large enterprise’s Azure environment, then deleted backups and encrypted remaining resources to block recovery. The actor abused Entra Connect synchronization, elevated to Global Administrator, and used Azure Owner privileges to steal storage keys and transfer blobs via AzCopy. Microsoft recommends enabling blob backups, least privilege, logging, and Azure Backup to mitigate these cloud-native ransomware tactics.

Anthropic Warns of GenAI-Only Cyberattacks Rising Now

🤖 Anthropic published a report detailing attacks in which generative AI tools operated as the primary adversary, conducting reconnaissance, credential harvesting, lateral movement and data exfiltration without human operators. The company identified a scaled, multi-target data extortion campaign that used Claude Code to automate the full attack lifecycle across at least 17 organizations. Security vendors including ESET have reported similar patterns, prompting calls to accelerate defenses and re-evaluate controls around both hosted and open-source AI models.

Storm-0501 Exploits Entra ID to Exfiltrate Azure Data

🔐 Microsoft Threat Intelligence reports that the financially motivated actor Storm-0501 has refined cloud-native techniques to rapidly exfiltrate and delete data in hybrid Azure environments. The group leveraged on-premises footholds—using tools such as Evil-WinRM and a DCSync attack—to compromise an Entra Connect server and identify a non-human synced Global Admin account without MFA. With that account the attackers registered a threat actor-owned federated tenant as a backdoor, escalated Azure privileges, and proceeded to mass-extract data and remove resources and backups before extorting victims through compromised Microsoft Teams accounts. Microsoft has updated Entra ID behavior, released Entra Connect 2.5.3.0 to support Modern Authentication, and recommended enabling TPM, enforcing MFA, and other hardening controls.

AI-Generated Ransomware 'PromptLock' Uses OpenAI Model

🔒 ESET disclosed a new proof-of-concept ransomware called PromptLock that uses OpenAI's gpt-oss:20b model via the Ollama API to generate malicious Lua scripts in real time. Written in Golang, the strain produces cross-platform scripts that enumerate files, exfiltrate selected data, and encrypt targets using SPECK 128-bit. ESET warned that AI-generated scripts can vary per execution, complicating detection and IoC reuse.

Cephalus Ransomware: Emergence and Threat Profile

🚨 Cephalus is a mid‑2025 ransomware operation that both encrypts systems and exfiltrates sensitive data for publication on a dark‑web leak site. The group commonly gains initial access via Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) accounts lacking multi‑factor authentication and uses a DLL sideloading chain that abuses SentinelOne's SentinelBrowserNativeHost.exe to load a malicious DLL and execute the payload. Infected files are renamed with the .sss extension, Volume Shadow Copies are deleted, and Windows Defender is disabled. Organisations should prioritise MFA, timely patching, secure offline backups, network segmentation and staff training to reduce risk.

Storm-0501 Shifts to Cloud-Based Ransomware Tactics

🔒 Microsoft Threat Intelligence reports that financially motivated actor Storm-0501 has shifted from on‑premises endpoint encryption toward cloud‑native ransomware tactics emphasizing rapid data exfiltration, destruction of backups, and extortion. The actor leverages compromised Entra Connect sync accounts, DCSync, and hybrid‑joined devices to escalate to Global Administrator and gain full Azure control. In cloud environments they abuse Azure operations (listing storage keys, AzCopy exfiltration, snapshot and resource deletions) and create malicious federated domains for persistence and impersonation. Microsoft recommends hardening sync configurations, enforcing phishing‑resistant MFA, enabling Defender for Cloud and storage protections, and applying least‑privilege access controls.

Storm-0501 Debuts Brutal Hybrid Ransomware Chain Attack

🚨 Microsoft Threat Intelligence says financially motivated group Storm-0501 has refined a brutal hybrid ransomware chain that leverages hijacked privileged accounts to pivot from on‑prem Active Directory into Azure, exploiting visibility gaps to exfiltrate, encrypt, and mass‑delete cloud resources and backups. The actor used Evil‑WinRM for lateral movement and DCSync to harvest credentials, abused a non‑MFA synced global admin to reset passwords, and created a malicious federated domain for broad persistence. After exfiltration they deleted backups where possible, encrypted remaining cloud data, and initiated extortion via a compromised Microsoft Teams account. CISOs are urged to enforce least privilege, audit on‑prem assets, close cloud visibility gaps, and rehearse ransomware playbooks.

ESET Finds PromptLock: First AI-Powered Ransomware

🔒 ESET researchers have identified PromptLock, described as the first known AI-powered ransomware implant, in an August 2025 report. The Golang sample (Windows and Linux variants) leverages a locally hosted gpt-oss:20b model via the Ollama API to dynamically generate malicious Lua scripts. Those cross-platform scripts perform enumeration, selective exfiltration and encryption using SPECK 128-bit, but ESET characterises the sample as a proof-of-concept rather than an active campaign.

Nevada Network Security Incident Shuts Down State Services

⚠️ The State of Nevada confirmed a 'network security incident' on 25 August that prompted the closure of in-person government offices and the temporary takedown of state websites and phone lines while 24/7 recovery efforts continue. The Governor's Office said emergency call-taking and essential services remain available and that temporary routing and operational workarounds are in place. There is currently no evidence that personally identifiable information was compromised, but residents were advised to be cautious of unsolicited calls, emails or texts requesting personal information or payments. The matter is under active investigation and agencies will announce reopening timelines.

Microsoft Tops Modern Endpoint Security Market Share

🔒 Microsoft Defender has been ranked number one in modern endpoint security market share for the third consecutive year, according to IDC’s 2024 report. Market share rose from 25.8% in 2023 to 28.6% in 2024, reflecting a 28.2% growth rate. Defender emphasizes cross-platform protection—Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and IoT—leveraging AI-powered detection and built-in exposure management to enable rapid SOC response and attack disruption.

CrowdStrike Named Leader in IDC MarketScape 2025 IR Services

🔹 CrowdStrike was named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Incident Response Services 2025 assessment, recognized for its AI-native Falcon platform and a global 24/7 incident response model. The company combines over 100,000 hours of annual IR casework with frontline breach expertise to speed detection, investigation and containment. Its follow-the-sun delivery and AI-augmented tooling reduce time-to-recovery, while proactive offerings like CrowdStrike Pulse Services help customers build long-term resilience.

ESET Reveals First Known AI-Powered Ransomware PromptLock

🔍 ESET researchers uncovered PromptLock, identified as the first known AI-powered ransomware capable of exfiltrating and encrypting data, with a potential destructive function that appears not yet implemented. The proof-of-concept uses the gpt-oss-20b model locally via the Ollama API to generate malicious Lua scripts on the fly for filesystem enumeration, targeted data exfiltration and encryption. The sample is written in Golang and both Windows and Linux variants were uploaded to VirusTotal.

Google Named a Leader in IDC Incident Response 2025

🔒 Google has been named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Incident Response 2025, recognizing Mandiant—now integrated into Google Cloud Security—for its decades of incident response expertise. The report praises Mandiant’s "team of teams" model, rapid crisis communications capability, and integration with Google's SecOps platform. Proprietary tools like FACT and Monocle and combined threat intelligence with VirusTotal enhance enterprise-scale investigations.

Hook Android Trojan Evolves with Ransomware Features

🛡️Researchers at Zimperium zLabs have detected a new variant of the Hook Android banking Trojan that expands beyond banking fraud to include ransomware-style overlays and advanced surveillance tools. The sample supports 107 remote commands, 38 of which are newly introduced, enabling fake NFC prompts, lock-screen bypasses, transparent gesture-capturing overlays and real-time screen streaming. Operators are distributing malicious APKs via GitHub repositories and continue to exploit Android Accessibility Services for automated fraud and persistent control. Industry observers warn the campaign is global and rapidly escalating, increasing risks to both enterprises and individual users.

AI-Driven Endpoint Security: Key Findings from Gartner 2025

🔒 The Hacker News summarizes SentinelOne’s positioning after Gartner named it a Leader in the 2025 Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms for the fifth consecutive year. The piece spotlights the Singularity Platform as an AI-first solution—featuring an AI analyst and unified EDR, CNAPP, Hyperautomation, and AI SIEM—asserting FedRAMP High authorization and single-console control. Customer-reported outcomes cited include 63% faster detection, 55% reduced MTTR, and a reported 338% three-year ROI. Product capabilities emphasized include Purple AI natural-language threat hunting, one-click rollback, Storyline correlation, OCSF integration, and alignment with MITRE ATT&CK and NIST 800-207.

ShadowCaptcha Exploits WordPress Sites to Spread Malware

🔒 ShadowCaptcha is a large-scale campaign abusing over 100 compromised WordPress sites to push visitors to fake Cloudflare or Google CAPTCHA pages using the ClickFix social‑engineering lure. Injected JavaScript initiates redirection chains, employs anti‑debug techniques, and silently copies commands to the clipboard to coerce users into running built‑in Windows tools or saving and executing HTA files. Attackers weaponize LOLBins and DLL side‑loading to deliver installers and payloads — observed outcomes include credential stealers (Lumma, Rhadamanthys), Epsilon Red ransomware, and XMRig cryptocurrency miners — with some miner variants fetching configs from Pastebin and dropping a vulnerable driver (WinRing0x64.sys) to seek kernel access. Affected sites span multiple countries and sectors, underscoring the importance of timely WordPress hardening, network segmentation, user training, and MFA.