Updated BackConfig Malware Targeting Government and Military Organizations in South Asia

Unit 42 has observed activity over the last 4 months involving the BackConfig malware used by the Hangover threat group (aka Neon, Viceroy Tiger, MONSOON). Targets of the spear-phishing attacks, using local and topical lures, included government and military organizations in South Read More …

State-backed phishing targets U.S. Government employees with fast food lures

More than a dozen state-backed hacking groups are actively targeting U.S. Government employees and healthcare organizations in phishing campaigns that use lures designed to take advantage of the fears surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. “TAG has specifically identified over a dozen government-backed attacker Read More …

German government might have lost tens of millions of euros in COVID-19 phishing attack

The government of North Rhine-Westphalia, a province in western Germany, is believed to have lost tens of millions of euros after it failed to build a secure website for distributing coronavirus emergency aid funding. The funds were lost following a Read More …

PoetRAT Trojan targets energy sector using coronavirus lures

Government and energy sectors are being targeted in a new campaign that weaponizes the coronavirus outbreak. On Thursday, Cisco Talos researchers Warren Mercer, Paul Rascagneres and Vitor Ventura published an analysis of a new campaign that deploys PoetRAT, a previously-undiscovered Remote Access Trojan (RAT) Read More …

DarkHotel hackers use VPN zero-day to breach Chinese government agencies

Foreign state-sponsored hackers have launched a massive hacking operation aimed at Chinese government agencies and their employees. Attacks began last month, in March, and are believed to be related to the current coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Chinese security-firm Qihoo 360, which Read More …

UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is looking for organisations who can support in the supply of ventilators and ventilator components

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is looking for organisations who can support in the supply of ventilators and ventilator components across the United Kingdom as part of the Government’s response to COVID-19. These questions aim to Read More …

US government agencies have shadow IT infrastructure problem, cybersecurity risks, says GAO

Federal agencies are facing increasing cybersecurity risks due to a bevy of IT facilities aren’t being tracked as full-fledged data centers, according to a General Accountability Office report. As noted previously, federal agencies have been consolidating and closing data centers over the Read More …

Molerats Delivers Spark Backdoor to Government and Telecommunications Organizations

Between October 2019 through the beginning of December 2019, Unit 42 observed multiple instances of phishing attacks likely related to a threat group known as Molerats (AKA Gaza Hackers Team and Gaza Cybergang) targeting eight organizations in six different countries Read More …

Puerto Rico Government Hit By $2.6M Phishing Scam

A phishing scam has swindled a Puerto Rico government agency out of more than $2.6 million, according to reports. According to reports, the email-based phishing scam hit Puerto Rico’s Industrial Development Company, which is a government-owned corporation aimed at driving economic Read More …