News from the AI & ML world
DeeperML - #cyberespionage
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@www.microsoft.com
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www.microsoft.com
Microsoft is aggressively integrating artificial intelligence across its products and services, striving to revolutionize the user experience. The company is focused on developing agentic systems that can work independently, proactively identify problems, suggest solutions, and maintain context across interactions. Microsoft envisions a future where AI agents will augment and amplify organizational capabilities, leading to significant transformations in various fields. To facilitate secure and flexible interactions, Microsoft is employing Model Context Protocol (MCP) to enable AI models to interact with external services.
As AI agents become more sophisticated and integrated into business processes, Microsoft recognizes the importance of evolving identity standards. The company is actively working on robust mechanisms to ensure agents can securely access data and act across connected systems, including APIs, code repositories, and enterprise systems. Microsoft emphasizes that industry collaboration on identity standards is crucial for the safe and effective deployment of AI agents. To aid organizations in safely adopting AI, Microsoft Deputy CISO Yonatan Zunger shares guidance for efficient implementation and defense against evolving identity attack techniques. Microsoft CVP Charles Lamanna offers an AI adoption playbook, emphasizing the importance of "customer obsession" and "extreme ownership" for both startups and large enterprises navigating the age of AI. Lamanna suggests focusing on a few high-impact AI projects instead of spreading resources thinly across numerous pilots. Recommended read:
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@cyberscoop.com
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North Korean operatives have infiltrated hundreds of Fortune 500 companies, posing a significant and growing threat to IT infrastructure and sensitive data. Security leaders at Mandiant and Google Cloud have indicated that nearly every major company has either hired or received applications from North Korean nationals working on behalf of the regime. These individuals primarily aim to earn salaries that are then sent back to Pyongyang, contributing to the country's revenue stream. Cybersecurity experts warn that this issue is more pervasive than previously understood, with organizations often unaware of the extent of the infiltration.
Hundreds of Fortune 500 organizations have unknowingly hired these North Korean IT workers, and nearly every CISO interviewed has admitted to hiring at least one, if not several, of these individuals. Google has also detected North Korean technical workers within its talent pipeline, though the company states that none have been hired to date. The risk of North Korean nationals working for large organizations has become so prevalent that security professionals now assume it is happening unless actively detected. Security analysts continue to raise alarms and highlight the expansive ecosystem of tools, infrastructure, and specialized talent North Korea has developed to support this illicit activity. The FBI and cybersecurity experts are actively working to identify and remove these remote workers. According to Adam Meyers, Head of Country Adversary Operations at CrowdStrike, there have been over 90 incidents in the past 90 days, resulting in millions of dollars flowing to the North Korean regime through high-paying developer jobs. Microsoft is tracking thousands of personas and identities used by these North Korean IT workers, indicating a high-volume operation. Uncovering one North Korean IT worker scam often leads to the discovery of many others, as demonstrated by CrowdStrike's investigation that revealed 30 victim organizations. Recommended read:
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@www.silentpush.com
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North Korean hackers, identified as the Contagious Interview APT group, are running a sophisticated malware campaign targeting individuals seeking employment in the cryptocurrency sector. Silent Push threat analysts have uncovered the operation, revealing that the group, also known as Famous Chollima and a subgroup of Lazarus, is using three front companies—BlockNovas LLC, Angeloper Agency, and SoftGlide LLC—to spread malicious software. These companies are being used to lure unsuspecting job applicants into downloading malware through fake job interview opportunities, marking an evolution in the group's cyber espionage and financial gain tactics.
The campaign involves the distribution of three distinct malware strains: BeaverTail, InvisibleFerret, and OtterCookie. Job seekers are enticed with postings on various online platforms, including CryptoJobsList, CryptoTask, and Upwork. Once an application is submitted, the hackers send what appear to be legitimate interview-related files containing the malware. The attackers are also using AI-generated images to create employee profiles for these front companies, specifically using Remaker AI to fabricate realistic personas, enhancing the credibility of their fraudulent operations and making it harder for job seekers to differentiate between genuine and malicious opportunities. The use of these front companies and AI-generated profiles signifies a new escalation in the tactics employed by Contagious Interview. The malware, once installed, allows hackers to remotely access infected computers and steal sensitive data. The campaign leverages legitimate platforms like GitHub and various job boards to further enhance its deceptive nature. Silent Push's analysis has successfully traced the malware back to specific websites and internet addresses used by the hackers, including lianxinxiao[.]com, and uncovered a hidden online dashboard monitoring suspected BeaverTail websites, providing valuable insights into the operational infrastructure of this North Korean APT group. Recommended read:
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@www.ic3.gov
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The FBI has issued a public appeal for information regarding a widespread cyber campaign targeting US telecommunications infrastructure. The activity, attributed to a hacking group affiliated with the People's Republic of China and tracked as 'Salt Typhoon,' has resulted in the compromise of multiple U.S. telecommunications companies and others worldwide. The breaches, which have been ongoing for at least two years, have led to the theft of call data logs, a limited number of private communications, and the copying of select information subject to court-ordered U.S. law enforcement requests. The FBI is seeking information about the individuals who comprise Salt Typhoon and any details related to their malicious cyber activity.
The FBI, through its Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), is urging anyone with information about Salt Typhoon to come forward. The agency's investigation has uncovered a broad and sophisticated cyber operation that exploited access to telecommunications networks to target victims on a global scale. In October, the FBI and CISA confirmed that Chinese state hackers had breached multiple telecom providers, including major companies like AT&T, Verizon, Lumen, Charter Communications, Consolidated Communications, and Windstream, as well as dozens of other telecom companies in numerous countries. In an effort to incentivize informants, the U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program is offering a reward of up to US$10 million for information about foreign government-linked individuals participating in malicious cyber activities against US critical infrastructure. The FBI is accepting tips via TOR in a likely attempt to attract potential informants based in China. The agency has also released public statements and guidance on Salt Typhoon activity in collaboration with U.S. government partners, including the publication of 'Enhanced Visibility and Hardening Guidance for Communications Infrastructure.' Salt Typhoon is also known by other names such as RedMike, Ghost Emperor, FamousSparrow, Earth Estries, and UNC2286. Recommended read:
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@research.checkpoint.com
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Russian state-sponsored espionage group Midnight Blizzard, also known as APT29 or Cozy Bear, is conducting a spear-phishing campaign targeting European diplomatic organizations. Check Point Research has been observing this sophisticated operation, which began in January 2025 and employs advanced techniques to target government officials and diplomats across Europe. The threat actors are impersonating a major European foreign affairs ministry to send deceptive emails inviting targets to wine-tasting events. This campaign, leveraging custom malware, aims to compromise diplomatic entities, including embassies of non-European countries.
The campaign introduces a previously unseen malware loader called GrapeLoader, along with a new variant of the Wineloader backdoor. The phishing emails, sent from domains like 'bakenhof[.]com' or 'silry[.]com,' contain malicious links that, under specific conditions, initiate the download of a ZIP archive named 'wine.zip'. If the targeting conditions are not met, victims are redirected to the legitimate website of the impersonated ministry, reducing suspicion. This mirrors a previous Wineloader campaign, indicating a continued focus on European diplomacy by APT29. Once executed via DLL sideloading, GrapeLoader collects host information, establishes persistence by modifying the Windows Registry, and contacts a command-and-control server. The use of in-memory execution is an advanced evasion technique to complicate detection. The objective of the campaign is likely espionage, given APT29's history of targeting high-profile organizations, including government agencies and think tanks, and its association with the SolarWinds supply chain attack. Recommended read:
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Sathwik Ram@seqrite.com
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Pakistan-linked SideCopy APT has escalated its cyber operations, employing new tactics to infiltrate crucial sectors. Seqrite Labs APT team uncovered these new tactics deployed since the last week of December 2024. The Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) group, previously focused on Indian government, defence, maritime sectors, and university students, is expanding its targeting scope.
The group has broadened its targets to include critical sectors such as railways, oil & gas, and external affairs ministries. One notable shift in their recent campaigns is the transition from using HTML Application (HTA) files to adopting Microsoft Installer (MSI) packages as a primary staging mechanism. This evolution is marked by increasingly sophisticated methods, such as reflective DLL loading and AES encryption via PowerShell. Furthermore, SideCopy is actively repurposing open-source tools like XenoRAT and SparkRAT to enhance their penetration and exploitation capabilities. The group customizes these tools and employs a newly identified Golang-based malware dubbed CurlBack RAT, specifically designed to execute DLL side-loading attacks. Recent campaigns demonstrate an increased use of phishing emails masquerading as government officials to deliver malicious payloads, often using compromised official domains and fake domains mimicking e-governance services. Recommended read:
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Pierluigi Paganini@Security Affairs
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A Russian zero-day broker known as Operation Zero is offering up to $4 million for zero-day exploits targeting the Telegram messaging app. This broker exclusively sells vulnerabilities to Russian government and private organizations, suggesting a significant interest from these entities in exploiting Telegram's security flaws. The high bounty offered indicates the immense value of potential targets to these organizations and their willingness to invest heavily in acquiring such exploits.
Operation Zero has released multiple bounty tiers for security vulnerabilities targeting Telegram, with the price depending on the user interaction required. Remote code execution vulnerabilities needing one user interaction fetch $500,000, while a zero-click RCE vulnerability is valued at $1.5 million. A complete exploit chain capable of compromising the entire system may command up to $4 million. This highlights the potential for targeted attacks on individuals or user groups through the platform, given Telegram's user base of over a billion. Recommended read:
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