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:

  • GigaWiper: Anatomy of a destructive backdoor assembled from multiple malware

    July 9, 2026

    In October 2025, Microsoft Threat Intelligence identified destructive wiping activity and uncovered a sophisticated Go programming language (Golang)-based backdoor we now track as GigaWiper, a versatile implant that combines robust command-and-control (C2) capabilities with multiple destructive payloads, including disk wiping, fake ransomware, and system-level sabotage. GigaWiper is particularly notable for its makeup. It’s not a single, ...

  • 6.9 million driver’s license numbers stolen from AssuranceAmerica

    July 9, 2026

    Insurance provider AssuranceAmerica has confirmed a data breach affecting the personal information and driver’s license numbers of up to 6.9 million people. AssuranceAmerica provides car and rental insurance to customers across 14 US states through a network of over 9,500 independent agents. The breach notice letter also mentions information about customers’ auto insurance policies and accounts, their drivers and ...

  • Vidar Stealer Unmasked: Code Signing Abuse, Go Loaders and File Inflation

    July 7, 2026

    In April 2026, Unit 42 researchers identified a financially motivated campaign delivering Vidar stealer and the XMRig cryptocurrency miner to consumer and small- and medium-sized business victims worldwide. Attackers lure victims via malvertising to pages for downloading files that impersonate cracked versions of copyright-protected software. Upon execution, the loader drops and runs both Vidar stealer and ...

  • Fake Netflix, Coca-Cola, and FIFA job scams target marketers

    July 7, 2026

    Attackers are impersonating major companies and recruiters to target marketing professionals, using trusted services and browser tricks to make the scam look legitimate. A BleepingComputer article detailing the campaign found at least 34 domains impersonating high-value companies, including Netflix, Coca-Cola, Adidas, and FIFA. The lure is a fake job interview or scheduling request from a “recruiter” representing one of ...

  • Hacktivists call out Trump by hacking and defacing US Army websites

    July 7, 2026

    The U.S. Army has reportedly fixed two of its websites that had been defaced to display pro-Kurdish messages and to call out President Donald Trump, the latest case of hackers compromising systems run by the federal government in recent months. Security researcher Ronald Lovelace told Cyberscoop, which first reported the defacements, that error pages were modified on two U.S. Army ...

  • When checking the URL isn’t enough: a Device Code Phishing attack via a Microsoft website

    July 6, 2026

    One of the most common pieces of anti-phishing advice is to double-check the website’s domain name before providing your credentials. Typically, a fraudulent domain stands out to the trained eye, differing from the official URL by at least a few characters. Recently, however, Kaspersky encountered a campaign where attackers instruct victims to input data directly ...