Malware

Pierluigi Paganini January 15, 2026
Lumen disrupts AISURU and Kimwolf botnet by blocking over 550 C2 servers

Lumen’s Black Lotus Labs blocked over 550 C2 servers tied to the AISURU/Kimwolf botnet used for DDoS attacks and proxy abuse. Lumen’s Black Lotus Labs disrupted over 550 command-and-control servers linked to the AISURU and Kimwolf botnet, a major network used for DDoS attacks and proxy abuse. Acting as a DDoS-for-hire service, Aisuru avoids government […]

Pierluigi Paganini January 14, 2026
CERT-UA reports PLUGGYAPE cyberattacks on defense forces

CERT-UA reported PLUGGYAPE malware attacks on Ukraine’s defense forces, linked with medium confidence to Russia’s Void Blizzard group. The Computer Emergency Response Team of Ukraine (CERT-UA) reported new cyberattacks against Ukraine’s defense forces using PLUGGYAPE malware. Government experts attributed the attack with medium confidence to the Russian-linked group Void Blizzard (aka Laundry Bear, UAC-0190), active […]

Pierluigi Paganini January 13, 2026
Dutch court convicts hacker who exploited port networks for drug trafficking

Dutch appeals court jails a 44-year-old hacker for 7 years for hacking port systems to help smuggle cocaine through European logistics hubs. A Dutch appeals court sentenced a 44-year-old hacker to seven years in prison for hacking port systems to help smuggle cocaine through European logistics hubs into the Netherlands. The appeals court reduced the […]

Pierluigi Paganini January 11, 2026
SECURITY AFFAIRS MALWARE NEWSLETTER ROUND 79

Security Affairs Malware newsletter includes a collection of the best articles and research on malware in the international landscape Malware Newsletter VVS Discord Stealer Using Pyarmor for Obfuscation and Detection Evasion   A Broken System Fueling Botnets Malicious NPM Packages Deliver NodeCordRAT     Boto-Cor-de-Rosa campaign reveals Astaroth WhatsApp-based worm activity in Brazil CNCERT: Risk Warning Regarding […]

Pierluigi Paganini January 09, 2026
China-linked UAT-7290 spies on telco in South Asia and Europe using modular malware

China-linked UAT-7290 has targeted South Asia and Southeastern Europe since 2022, conducting espionage and deploying RushDrop, DriveSwitch, and SilentRaid. China-linked threat actor UAT-7290 has conducted espionage attacks since at least 2022, targeting South Asia and Southeastern Europe. UAT-7290 primarily targets telecom providers, it conducts espionage by deeply embedding in victim networks and also operates Operational […]

Pierluigi Paganini January 08, 2026
Astaroth banking Trojan spreads in Brazil via WhatsApp worm

A WhatsApp worm spread the Astaroth banking trojan across Brazil by automatically sending malicious messages to victims’ contacts. Astaroth, a long-running Brazilian banking malware, has evolved in a new campaign dubbed Boto Cor-de-Rosa by abusing WhatsApp Web for propagation. The malware harvests the victim’s WhatsApp contact list and automatically sends malicious messages to each contact, […]

Pierluigi Paganini January 07, 2026
Fake Booking.com lures and BSoD scams spread DCRat in European hospitality sector

PHALT#BLYX targets European hotels with fake Booking emails and BSoD lures, tricking staff into installing the DCRat remote access trojan. Researchers uncovered a late-December 2025 campaign, dubbed PHALT#BLYX, targeting European hotels with fake Booking-themed emails. Victims are redirected to bogus BSoD pages using ClickFix-style lures that prompt them to apply “fixes.” The multi-stage attack ultimately […]

Pierluigi Paganini January 05, 2026
Russia-linked APT UAC-0184 uses Viber to spy on Ukrainian military in 2025

Russia-linked APT UAC-0184 targets Ukrainian military and government bodies via Viber, delivering malicious ZIP files for espionage in 2025. Russia-linked threat actor UAC-0184 (aka Hive0156) is targeting Ukrainian military and government entities, using Viber messages to deliver malicious ZIP files as part of ongoing intelligence-gathering operations in 2025. “Recent monitoring data from the 360 ​​Advanced […]

Pierluigi Paganini January 05, 2026
Kimwolf botnet leverages residential proxies to hijack 2M+ Android devices

The Kimwolf botnet has infected over 2 million Android devices, spreading mainly through residential proxy networks, researchers say. The Kimwolf botnet has compromised more than 2 million Android devices, spreading primarily via residential proxy networks, according to cybersecurity firm Synthient. Kimwolf is a newly discovered Android botnet linked to the Aisuru botnet that has infected over 1.8 […]

Pierluigi Paganini January 05, 2026
VVS Stealer, a new python malware steals Discord credentials

VVS Stealer is a Python-based malware that steals Discord credentials and tokens and has been sold on Telegram since at least April 2025. Palo Alto Networks researchers uncovered VVS Stealer, a Python-based malware that steals Discord credentials and tokens and has been sold on Telegram since at least April 2025. VVS Stealer uses the source […]