HOLLOWGRAPH: Turning Microsoft 365 Calendars into Covert Command-and-Control Channels


The Group-IB Threat Intelligence team has identified HOLLOWGRAPH, a new malware sample that we attribute, with high confidence, to the Cavern backdoor framework. This malware is one component of a larger toolkit, and it uses the Microsoft Graph API through a compromised Microsoft 365 account observed in Israel to communicate with its operators — a technique that helps conceal command-and-control traffic within legitimate Microsoft 365 communications.

The malware supports just two commands, get and send, and executes both  exclusively through trusted Microsoft cloud infrastructure. Using the Microsoft Graph API, it treats the compromised mailbox’s calendar as a two-way dead-drop: operators plant tasking as calendar events, and the implant exfiltrates stolen files by creating its own events with encrypted data attached. To avoid catching the mailbox owner’s attention, every event is dated far into the future — 13 May 2050 — with payloads attached as files to the event.

Read more…
Source:  Group-IB


Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • Cisco warns of two more SD-WAN bugs under active attack

    March 6, 2026

    Just when network admins thought the Cisco SD-WAN patch queue might finally be shrinking, Switchzilla has confirmed miscreants are exploiting more vulnerabilities in its SD-WAN management software. The newly abused flaws affect Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, the platform formerly known as vManage that sits at the center of many organizations’ SD-WAN deployments. One of the bugs, ...

  • Securing ambient AI in healthcare: governance is the new front line

    March 5, 2026

    Ambient AI is no longer experimental. It’s live. From AI-powered clinical documentation assistants to remote monitoring systems and intelligent patient engagement agents, healthcare organizations are embedding AI directly into care delivery. The promise is compelling: less administrative burden, faster insights, and more time with patients. But as AI enters clinical workflows, a more urgent question emerges: ...

  • New BoryptGrab Stealer Targets Windows Users via Deceptive GitHub Pages

    March 5, 2026

    Trend Micro researchers recently found the existence of a new stealer binary that collects browser and cryptocurrency wallet data, system information, and common files, among others. The researchers designated this new stealer BoryptGrab. Certain variants of the stealer can download a PyInstaller backdoor, which Trend Micro refer to as TunnesshClient. TunnesshClient establishes a reverse Secure Shell ...

  • Microsoft warns of new signed malware which deploys remote monitoring tools as backdoors

    March 5, 2026

    Microsoft is warning of a new phishing campaign which aims to deploy persistent backdoors to victim’s computers. In a new in-depth analysis, the company’s researchers said they recently spotted multiple phishing campaigns, currently not attributed to any known threat actors, which send out emails with weaponized PDF files (financial documents, invoices), fake meeting invitations, or organizational ...

  • ‘Hundreds’ of Iranian hacking attempts have hit surveillance cameras since the missile strikes

    March 4, 2026

    Multiple Iranian hacking crews have been targeting internet-connected surveillance cameras across Israel and other Middle Eastern countries since the war started on February 28, according to Check Point security researchers. The Tel Aviv-based security shop has tracked “hundreds” of attempts to exploit a handful of bugs in IP cameras made by two manufacturers, Hikvision and Dahua, ...

  • CIMB refutes claims of data breach involving 1.2 million records

    March 4, 2026

    CIMB Group Holdings Bhd has given assurance that claims circulating online about a data breach involving its customers are false and that customer data continues to be protected. The financial services provider said on social media platform X that its security teams have verified that all systems are secure and that customer data remains fully safeguarded. ...