Security News

Attackers use abandoned WordPress plugin to backdoor websites
2023-04-20 20:02

Attackers are using Eval PHP, an outdated legitimate WordPress plugin, to compromise websites by injecting stealthy backdoors. Eval PHP is an old WordPress plugin that allows site admins to embed PHP code on pages and posts of WordPress sites and then execute the code when the page is opened in the browser.

Azure admins warned to disable shared key access as backdoor attack detailed
2023-04-11 13:00

A design flaw in Microsoft Azure - that shared key authorization is enabled by default when creating storage accounts - could give attackers full access to your environment, according to Orca Security researchers. "Similar to the abuse of public AWS S3 buckets seen in recent years, attackers can also look for and utilize Azure access keys as a backdoor into an organization," Orca's Roi Nisimi said.

Hackers Using Self-Extracting Archives Exploit for Stealthy Backdoor Attacks
2023-04-05 12:36

An unknown threat actor used a malicious self-extracting archive file in an attempt to establish persistent backdoor access to a victim's environment, new findings from CrowdStrike show. SFX files are capable of extracting the data contained within them without the need for dedicated software to display the file contents.

Chinese RedGolf Group Targeting Windows and Linux Systems with KEYPLUG Backdoor
2023-03-30 15:58

A Chinese state-sponsored threat activity group tracked as RedGolf has been attributed to the use of a custom Windows and Linux backdoor called KEYPLUG. "RedGolf is a particularly prolific Chinese state-sponsored threat actor group that has likely been active for many years against a wide range of industries globally," Recorded Future told The Hacker News. The use of KEYPLUG by Chinese threat actors was first disclosed by Google-owned Manidant in March 2022 in attacks targeting multiple U.S. state government networks between May 2021 and February 2022.

Chinese Hackers Targeting European Entities with New MQsTTang Backdoor
2023-03-03 09:56

The China-aligned Mustang Panda actor has been observed using a hitherto unseen custom backdoor called MQsTTang as part of an ongoing social engineering campaign that commenced in January 2023. "Unlike most of the group's malware, MQsTTang doesn't seem to be based on existing families or publicly available projects," ESET researcher Alexandre Côté Cyr said in a new report.

Chinese hackers use new custom backdoor to evade detection
2023-03-02 20:09

The Chinese cyber espionage hacking group Mustang Panda was seen deploying a new custom backdoor named 'MQsTTang' in attacks starting this year. Mustang Panda is an advanced persistent threat group known to target organizations worldwide in data theft attacks using customized versions of the PlugX malware.

Putting Undetectable Backdoors in Machine Learning Models
2023-02-24 12:34

Abstract: Given the computational cost and technical expertise required to train machine learning models, users may delegate the task of learning to a service provider. We show how a malicious learner can plant an undetectable backdoor into a classifier.

Defenders on high alert as backdoor attacks become more common
2023-02-24 05:30

Although ransomware's share of incidents declined only slightly from 2021 to 2022, defenders were more successful detecting and preventing ransomware, according to IBM. Despite this, attackers continued to innovate with the report showing the average time to complete a ransomware attack dropped from 2 months down to less than 4 days. "The shift towards detection and response has allowed defenders to disrupt adversaries earlier in the attack chain - tempering ransomware's progression in the short term," said Charles Henderson, Head of IBM Security X-Force.

Lazarus Group Likely Using New WinorDLL64 Backdoor to Exfiltrate Sensitive Data
2023-02-23 11:47

A new backdoor associated with a malware downloader named Wslink has been discovered, with the tool likely used by the notorious North Korea-aligned Lazarus Group, new findings reveal. The payload, dubbed WinorDLL64 by ESET, is a fully-featured implant that can exfiltrate, overwrite, and delete files; execute PowerShell commands; and obtain comprehensive information about the underlying machine.

Hackers now exploit critical Fortinet bug to backdoor servers
2023-02-22 19:06

Threat actors are targeting Internet-exposed Fortinet appliances with exploits targeting CVE-2022-39952, an unauthenticated file path manipulation vulnerability in the FortiNAC webserver that can be abused for remote command execution. These attacks come one day after Horizon3 security researchers released proof-of-concept exploit code for the critical-severity flaw that will add a cron job to initiate a reverse shell on compromised systems as the root user.