computer security

Researchers have exposed a new targeted email campaign aimed at French entities in the construction, real estate, and government sectors that leverages the Chocolatey Windows package manager to deliver a backdoor called Serpent on compromised systems. Enterprise security firm Proofpoint attributed the attacks to a likely advanced threat actor based on the tactics and the victimology patterns observed. The ultimate objective of the campaign remains presently unknown. “The threat actor attempted to install a backdoor…

Details of a new nation-state sponsored phishing campaign have been uncovered setting its sights on European governmental entities in what’s seen as an attempt to obtain intelligence on refugee and supply movement in the region. Enterprise security company Proofpoint, which detected the malicious emails for the first time on February 24, 2022, dubbed the social engineering attacks “Asylum Ambuscade.” “The email included a malicious macro attachment which utilized social engineering themes pertaining to the Emergency…

Entities in the aviation, aerospace, transportation, manufacturing, and defense industries have been targeted by a persistent threat group since at least 2017 as part of a string of spear-phishing campaigns mounted to deliver a variety of remote access trojans (RATs) on compromised systems. The use of commodity malware such as AsyncRAT and NetWire, among others, has led enterprise security firm Proofpoint to a “cybercriminal threat actor” codenamed TA2541 that employs “broad targeting with high volume…

A previously undocumented malware packer named DTPacker has been observed distributing multiple remote access trojans (RATs) and information stealers such as Agent Tesla, Ave Maria, AsyncRAT, and FormBook to plunder information and facilitate follow-on attacks. “The malware uses multiple obfuscation techniques to evade antivirus, sandboxing, and analysis,” enterprise security company Proofpoint said in an analysis published Monday. “It is likely distributed on underground forums.” The .NET-based commodity malware has been associated with dozens of campaigns…

Infection chains associated with the multi-purpose Qakbot malware have been broken down into “distinct building blocks,” an effort that Microsoft said will help to proactively detect and block the threat in an effective manner. The Microsoft 365 Defender Threat Intelligence Team dubbed Qakbot a “customizable chameleon that adapts to suit the needs of the multiple threat actor groups that utilize it.” Qakbot is believed to be the creation of a financially motivated cybercriminal threat group…

Cybersecurity researchers on Tuesday took the wraps off a mass volume email attack staged by a prolific cybercriminal gang affecting a wide range of industries, with one of its region-specific operations notably targeting Germany and Austria. Enterprise security firm Proofpoint tied the malware campaign with high confidence to TA505, which is the name assigned to the financially motivated threat group that’s been active in the cybercrime business since at least 2014, and is behind the…