hacking news

Pierluigi Paganini August 04, 2025
PlayPraetor Android RAT expands rapidly across Spanish and French-speaking regions

PlayPraetor Android RAT has hit 11K+ devices, spreading fast via campaigns targeting Spanish and French speakers, say Cleafy researchers. Cleafy researchers have identified a new Android RAT called PlayPraetor, which has infected over 11,000 devices, mainly in Portugal, Spain, France, Morocco, Peru, and Hong Kong. The malware is spreading rapidly, with more than 2,000 new […]

Pierluigi Paganini August 04, 2025
Nation-state group CL-STA-0969 targeted Southeast Asian telecoms in 2024

State-backed group CL-STA-0969 hit Southeast Asian telecoms in 2024, targeting critical infrastructure, says Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42. Palo Alto Networks reported that a nation-state actor, tracked as CL-STA-0969, targeted telecom firms in Southeast Asia, with attacks on critical infrastructure from February to November 2024. Threat actor CL-STA-0969 overlaps with the China-linked cyber espionage group […]

Pierluigi Paganini August 03, 2025
Akira Ransomware targets SonicWall VPNs in likely zero-day attacks

Akira ransomware targets fully patched SonicWall VPNs in suspected zero-day attacks, with multiple intrusions seen in late July 2025. Arctic Wolf Labs researchers reported that Akira ransomware is exploiting SonicWall SSL VPNs in a likely zero-day attack, targeting even fully patched devices. Arctic Wolf Labs observed multiple intrusions via VPN access in late July 2025. […]

Pierluigi Paganini August 03, 2025
Security Affairs newsletter Round 535 by Pierluigi Paganini – INTERNATIONAL EDITION

A new round of the weekly Security Affairs newsletter has arrived! Every week, the best security articles from Security Affairs are free in your email box. Enjoy a new round of the weekly SecurityAffairs newsletter, including the international press. New Linux backdoor Plague bypasses auth via malicious PAM module China Presses Nvidia Over Alleged Backdoors […]

Pierluigi Paganini August 02, 2025
New Linux backdoor Plague bypasses auth via malicious PAM module

A stealthy Linux backdoor named Plague, hidden as a malicious PAM module, allows attackers to bypass auth and maintain persistent SSH access. Nextron Systems researchers discovered a new stealthy Linux backdoor called Plague, hidden as a malicious PAM (Pluggable Authentication Module) module. It silently bypasses authentication and grants persistent SSH access. A Pluggable Authentication Module […]

Pierluigi Paganini August 01, 2025
Malicious AI-generated npm package hits Solana users

AI-generated npm package @kodane/patch-manager drained Solana wallets; 1,500+ downloads before takedown on July 28, 2025. AI-generated npm package @kodane/patch-manager was flagged for hiding malicious software to drain Solana wallets. The package was uploaded on July 28, 2025, and it was downloaded more than 1,500 times before takedown. “The package @kodane/patch-manager, is a sophisticated cryptocurrency wallet […]

Pierluigi Paganini August 01, 2025
Meta Offers $1M bounty at Pwn2Own Ireland 2025 for WhatsApp exploits

Meta backs Pwn2Own Ireland 2025 in Cork, offering up to $1M for WhatsApp exploits; targets include phones and wearables, Oct 21–24 via Zero Day Initiative. Meta is sponsoring ZDI’s Pwn2Own Ireland 2025 hacking competition, where participants can earn big prizes for smartphone, WhatsApp and wearable device exploits. Participants can earn up to $1 million for […]

Pierluigi Paganini August 01, 2025
CISA released Thorium platform to support malware and forensic analysis

CISA releases Thorium, an open-source tool for malware and forensic analysis, now available to analysts in government, public, and private sectors. CISA has released Thorium, a new open-source platform designed to support malware and forensic analysis. The platform was designed in collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories, the US Agency presented it as a scalable, open-source platform […]

Pierluigi Paganini July 31, 2025
Russia-linked APT Secret Blizzard targets foreign embassies in Moscow with ApolloShadow malware

Russia-linked Secret Blizzard targets foreign embassies in Moscow via ISP-level AitM attacks, deploying custom ApolloShadow malware. Microsoft researchers uncovered a cyberespionage campaign by the Russia-linked APT group Secret Blizzard (aka Turla, Snake, Uroburos, Waterbug, Venomous Bear and KRYPTON)  targeting foreign embassies in Moscow. The threat actor uses an adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) method at the ISP level to deploy custom malware called ApolloShadow. This […]

Pierluigi Paganini July 31, 2025
Attackers actively exploit critical zero-day in Alone WordPress Theme

Hackers exploit a critical vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-5394 (CVSS score of 9.8), in the Alone WordPress theme to hijack sites. Threat actors are actively exploiting a critical flaw, tracked as CVE-2025-5394 (CVSS score of 9.8), in the “Alone – Charity Multipurpose Non-profit WordPress Theme” to compromise websites. On May 30th, 2025, security researcher Thái An […]