Ransomware on ESXi: The mechanization of virtualized attacks

In 2024, ransomware attacks targeting VMware ESXi servers reached alarming levels, with the average ransom demand skyrocketing to $5 million. With approximately 8,000 ESXi hosts exposed directly to the internet (according to Shodan), the operational and business impact of these attacks is profound. Most of the Ransomware strands that are attacking ESXi servers nowadays, are…

WordPress Skimmers Evade Detection by Injecting Themselves into Database Tables

Cybersecurity researchers are warning of a new stealthy credit card skimmer campaign that targets WordPress e-commerce checkout pages by inserting malicious JavaScript code into a database table associated with the content management system (CMS). “This credit card skimmer malware targeting WordPress websites silently injects malicious JavaScript into database entries to steal sensitive payment

Expired Domains Allowed Control Over 4,000 Backdoors on Compromised Systems

No less than 4,000 unique web backdoors previously deployed by various threat actors have been hijacked by taking control of abandoned and expired infrastructure for as little as $20 per domain. Cybersecurity company watchTowr Labs said it pulled off the operation by registering over 40 domain names that the backdoors had been designed to use…

Microsoft Sues Hacking Group Exploiting Azure AI for Harmful Content Creation

Microsoft has revealed that it’s pursuing legal action against a “foreign-based threat–actor group” for operating a hacking-as-a-service infrastructure to intentionally get around the safety controls of its generative artificial intelligence (AI) services and produce offensive and harmful content. The tech giant’s Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) said it has observed the threat actors “develop

DoJ Indicts Three Russians for Operating Crypto Mixers Used in Cybercrime Laundering

The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) on Friday indicted three Russian nationals for their alleged involvement in operating the cryptocurrency mixing services Blender.io and Sinbad.io. Roman Vitalyevich Ostapenko and Alexander Evgenievich Oleynik were arrested on December 1, 2024, in coordination with the Netherlands’ Financial Intelligence and Investigative Service, Finland’s National Bureau of

Google Project Zero Researcher Uncovers Zero-Click Exploit Targeting Samsung Devices

Cybersecurity researchers have detailed a now-patched security flaw impacting Monkey’s Audio (APE) decoder on Samsung smartphones that could lead to code execution. The high-severity vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2024-49415 (CVSS score: 8.1), affects Samsung devices running Android versions 12, 13, and 14. “Out-of-bounds write in libsaped.so prior to SMR Dec-2024 Release 1 allows remote