New Ransomware Charon Uses Earth Baxia APT Techniques to Target Enterprises


Trend Micro researchers recently identified a new ransomware family called Charon, deployed in a targeted attack observed in the Middle East’s public sector and aviation industry.

The threat actor employed a DLL sideloading technique notably similar to tactics previously documented in the Earth Baxia campaigns, which have historically targeted government sectors. The attack chain leveraged a legitimate browser-related file, Edge.exe (originally named cookie_exporter.exe), to sideload a malicious msedge.dll (SWORDLDR), which subsequently deployed the Charon ransomware payload. Analysis of the msedge.dll component revealed it was designed to load a file named DumpStack.log, which was absent from the Trend Micro initial telemetry.

Read more…
Source:Trend Micro


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


Related:

  • Business continuity isn’t keeping pace with cyber threats, warns Sedgwick CISO

    January 2, 2026

    Business continuity plans are lagging behind the speed and complexity of modern cyberattacks, according to Eric Schmitt (pictured), chief information security officer at Sedgwick. “In most cases, it is not,” Schmitt said, when asked whether current business continuity frameworks are adapting to today’s cyber threat environment. He drew a sharp line between business continuity and disaster ...

  • Cognizant hit with multiple US class-action lawsuits after TriZetto data breach

    January 2, 2026

    Cognizant Technology Solutions is facing a wave of class-action lawsuits in the United States after a long-running data breach at its healthcare claims processing unit, TriZetto Provider Solutions (TPS), triggered legal challenges from affected individuals. According to court filings, at least three lawsuits were filed late last month in federal courts in New Jersey and Missouri, ...

  • Accused data thief threw MacBook into a river to destroy evidence

    December 29, 2025

    South Korean e-tailer Coupang claims a former employee has admitted to improperly accessing data describing 33 million of its customers, but says the accused deleted the stolen data. In a post published on Christmas, Coupang revealed it worked with Mandiant, Palo Alto Networks, and Ernst & Young, to conduct a forensic investigation into the incident, and ...

  • Uncovering Hidden Forensic Evidence in Windows: The Mystery of AutoLogger-Diagtrack-Listener.etl

    December 9, 2025

    During a recent incident response engagement, FortiGuard IR services (FGIR) responded to a ransomware attack where the threat actor heavily used anti forensic techniques to cover their tracks and to avoid their malware getting into the hands of researchers. They attempted to achieve this by deleting files and folders they had created, clearing logs and obfuscating ...

  • Trump’s national security strategy wants spy agencies to watch world supply chains

    December 5, 2025

    President Donald Trump’s national security strategy tasks the U.S. intelligence community with monitoring global supply chains as part of a sweeping goal to decouple the nation’s economy from foreign adversaries and advance American economic interests. The demands listed in the 33-page strategy document published late Thursday reflect how aggressively the Trump administration is directing federal agencies ...

  • Multiple London councils hit by ‘cyber attack’

    November 26, 2025

    Several London councils have been hit by a “cyber attack” which could have compromised residents’ data. Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, and Westminster City councils said they have been responding to a “cyber security issue” since Monday morning. The councils, which share a number of IT systems, added they are working with the “help of ...