Security researchers have discovered hundreds of copies of a Chinese-made AI hacking tool publicly exposed to the internet for anyone to access, potentially allowing outsiders to launch cyberattacks against unsuspecting targets.
The hacking software, called Artex, is an open source autonomous penetration testing tool, meaning software that automatically probes computer systems for weaknesses, and it’s been linked to several cyberattacks since its public release in July. As open source software, it’s free for anyone to download and run on their own servers, making it a popular tool for those who cannot access Anthropic or OpenAI’s most advanced cybersecurity AI models for discovering security vulnerabilities. Microsoft has previously described Artex as a system of AI agents that can conduct cyberattacks “from reconnaissance through data exfiltration with little needed human interaction.”
Read more…
Source: TechCrunch
Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- Telegram Platform Abused in ‘ToxicEye’ Malware Campaigns
April 22, 2021
Hackers are leveraging the popular Telegram messaging app by embedding its code inside a remote access trojan (RAT) dubbed ToxicEye, new research has found. A victim’s computer infected with the ToxicEye malware is controlled via a hacker-operated Telegram messaging account. The ToxicEye malware can take over file systems, install ransomware and leak data from victim’s PCs, ...
- Mount Locker Ransomware Aggressively Changes Up Tactics
April 22, 2021
The Mount Locker ransomware has shaken things up in recent campaigns with more sophisticated scripting and anti-prevention features, according to researchers. And, the change in tactics appears to coincide with a rebranding for the malware into “AstroLocker.” According to researchers, Mount Locker has been a swiftly moving threat. Having just hit the ransomware-as-a-service scene in the ...
- SolarWinds hack analysis reveals 56% boost in command server footprint
April 22, 2021
A new analysis of the SolarWinds breach suggests that the attacker infrastructure behind the campaign is far larger than first believed. The catastrophic SolarWinds security incident involved the compromise of the vendor’s network and later the deployment of malicious SolarWinds Orion updates to clients that contained a backdoor called Sunburst. Sunspot, designed to monitor the SolarWinds build ...
- Prometei botnet is hunting for unpatched Microsoft Exchange servers
April 22, 2021
Cyber criminals are trying to use vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange servers to add to their botnet for mining cryptocurrency – but the level of access they’re gaining means they could use their access for other, much more dangerous cyberattacks. Detailed by cybersecurity researchers at Cybereason, the Prometei botnet is a widespread global campaign that is targeting ...
- CVE-2020-24557 Trend Micro bug is being exploited in the wild
April 22, 2021
US-Japanese cybersecurity firm Trend Micro disclosed on Wednesday that a threat actor began using a bug in its antivirus products to gain admin rights on Windows systems as part of its attacks. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2020-24557, affects the company’s Apex One and OfficeScan XG, two advanced security products aimed at enterprise customers. The bug was discovered ...
- Malware and ransomware gangs have found this new way to cover their tracks
April 22, 2021
Theres’s been a huge uptick in the proportion of malware using TLS or the Transport Layer Security to communicate without being spotted, cybersecurity firm Sophos reports. While HTTPS helps prevent eavesdropping, man-in-the-middle attacks, and hijackers who try to impersonate a trusted website, the protocol has also offered cover for cybercriminals to privately share information between a ...