CoolClient is a backdoor family attributed to the HoneyMyte APT group (also known as Mustang Panda) that has been used in their cyber-espionage campaigns targeting organizations across Asia and Russia. It supports such capabilities as keylogging, clipboard theft, credential harvesting, file management, system reconnaissance, and plugin-based extensions.
Since its first public disclosure by Sophos in 2022 and subsequent analysis by Trend Micro in 2023, CoolClient has continued to evolve. In 2025, we analyzed a newer variant that introduced clipboard theft and HTTP traffic interception for credential harvesting.
Read more…
Source: Kaspersky
Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- German police add Black Basta boss to EU most-wanted list
January 16, 2026
German cops have added Russian national Oleg Evgenievich Nefekov to their list of most-wanted criminals for his services to ransomware. Nefekov, 35, is accused of spearheading the Black Basta ransomware operation, which suffered a similar fate as Conti last year – ceasing activity after a major internal leak. His name and face also now appear ...
- Cisco has finally patched a maximum-level security issue
January 16, 2026
A maximum-severity vulnerability in certain Cisco products has finally been addressed after allegedly being exploited by Chinese hackers for several weeks. In mid-December 2025, the networking giant disclosed a remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in AsyncOS that affects Secure Email Gateway (SEG) and Secure Email and Web Manager (SEWM) appliances. It tracked the flaw as CVE-2025-20393 ...
- “Reprompt” attack lets attackers steal data from Microsoft Copilot
January 15, 2026
Researchers found a method to steal data which bypasses Microsoft Copilot’s built-in safety mechanisms. The attack flow, called Reprompt, abuses how Microsoft Copilot handled URL parameters in order to hijack a user’s existing Copilot Personal session. Copilot is an AI assistant which connects to a personal account and is integrated into Windows, the Edge browser, and ...
- DeadLock Ransomware: Smart Contracts for Malicious Purposes
January 15, 2026
DeadLock is a ransomware family discovered in July 2025. It is notable for not being associated with any known affiliate programs and for lacking a Data Leak Site (DLS). This, combined with the limited number of reported victims, has resulted in low exposure for the group. However, Group-IB specialists have discovered an interesting use of ...
- Microsoft disrupts global cybercrime subscription service responsible for millions in fraud losses
January 14, 2026
Today, Microsoft is announcing a coordinated legal action in the United States and, for the first time, the United Kingdom to disrupt RedVDS, a global cybercrime subscription service fueling millions in fraud losses. These efforts are part of a broader joint operation with international law enforcement, including German authorities and Europol, which has allowed Microsoft and ...
- Phishing scammers are posting fake “account restricted” comments on LinkedIn
January 14, 2026
Recently, fake LinkedIn profiles have started posting comment replies claiming that a user has “engaged in activities that are not in compliance” with LinkedIn’s policies and that their account has been “temporarily restricted” until they submit an appeal through a specified link in the comment. The accounts posting the comments all try to look like official ...

