Malicious CGTrader.blend files abuse Blender Auto Run to install StealC V2, raiding browsers, plugins, and crypto wallets.
Category: cybercrime/malcode – Page 5
OnSolve CodeRED cyberattack disrupts emergency alert systems nationwide
Risk management company Crisis24 has confirmed its OnSolve CodeRED platform suffered a cyberattack that disrupted emergency notification systems used by state and local governments, police departments, and fire agencies across the United States.
The CodeRED platform enables these agencies to send alerts to residents during emergencies.
The cyberattack forced Crisis24 to decommission the legacy CodeRED environment, causing widespread disruption for organizations that use the platform for emergency notifications, weather alerts, and other sensitive warnings.
Innovation in Homeland Security Lives Between Sectors
#homelandsecurity #innovation
Having been involved in the creation of the Department of Homeland Security’s Science & Technology Directorate, and with decades of experience working at the intersection of government, industry, and academia, I have come to a simple but important observation: innovation in homeland security doesn’t happen in one area. Instead, it thrives where mission, research, and engineering come together.
Convergence is the catalyst. Cyber defense, autonomous systems, identity management, quantum computing, and photonics are all examples of technological advancements that didn’t develop in isolation. Their progress was the result of different sectors working together on shared goals, risk management, and practical use. Homeland security enterprise is constituted by a multi-sectoral nature: government sets mission needs, industry creates scalable solutions, and academia provides the necessary research. Real innovation happens when these areas come together.
Statistical data highlights the significance of this alignment. Research on cyber-behavior, for instance, demonstrates that organizational culture, national context, and employee backgrounds significantly impact risk outcomes. Practically speaking, this implies that secure systems cannot be developed in isolation. The human and institutional context is as crucial as technical advancements.
Matrix Push C2 Uses Browser Notifications for Fileless, Cross-Platform Phishing Attacks
That’s not all. Since the attack plays out via the web browser, it’s also a cross-platform threat. This essentially turns any browser application on any platform that subscribes to the malicious notifications to be enlisted to the pool of clients, giving adversaries a persistent communication channel.
Matrix Push C2 is offered as a malware-as-a-service (MaaS) kit to other threat actors. It’s sold directly through crimeware channels, typically via Telegram and cybercrime forums, under a tiered subscription model: about $150 for one month, $405 for three months, $765 for six months, and $1,500 for a full year.
“Payments are accepted in cryptocurrency, and buyers communicate directly with the operator for access,” Dr. Darren Williams, founder and CEO of BlackFog, told The Hacker News. “Matrix Push was first observed at the beginning of October and has been active since then. There’s no evidence of older versions, earlier branding, or long-standing infrastructure. Everything indicates this is a newly launched kit.”
ShadowPad Malware Actively Exploits WSUS Vulnerability for Full System Access
Once installed, the malware is designed to launch a core module that’s responsible for loading other plugins embedded in the shellcode into memory. It also comes fitted with a variety of anti-detection and persistence techniques. The activity has not been attributed to any known threat actor or group.
“After the proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit code for the vulnerability was publicly released, attackers quickly weaponized it to distribute ShadowPad malware via WSUS servers,” AhnLab said. “This vulnerability is critical because it allows remote code execution with system-level permission, significantly increasing the potential impact.”
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Malicious Blender model files deliver StealC infostealing malware
A Russian-linked campaign delivers the StealC V2 information stealer malware through malicious Blender files uploaded to 3D model marketplaces like CGTrader.
Blender is a powerful open-source 3D creation suite that can execute Python scripts for automation, custom user interface panels, add-ons, rendering processes, rigging tools, and pipeline integration.
If the Auto Run feature is enabled, when a user opens a character rig, a Python script can automatically load the facial controls and custom UI panels with the required buttons and sliders.
ClickFix attack uses fake Windows Update screen to push malware
ClickFix attack variants have been observed where threat actors trick users with a realistic-looking Windows Update animation in a full-screen browser page and hide the malicious code inside images.
ClickFix is a social-engineering attack where users are convinced to paste and execute in Windows Command Prompt code or commands that lead to running malware on the system.
The attack has been widely adopted by cybercriminals across all tiers due to its high effectiveness and has continually evolved, with increasingly advanced and deceptive lures.
Real-estate finance services giant SitusAMC breach exposes client data
SitusAMC, a company that provides back-end services for top banks and lenders, disclosed on Saturday a data breach it had discovered earlier this month that impacted customer data.
As a real-estate (commercial and residential) financing firm, SitusAMC handles back-office operations in areas like mortgage origination, servicing, and compliance for banks and investors.
The company generates around $1 billion in annual revenue from 1,500 clients, some of whom are banking giants like Citi, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan Chase.
Shai-Hulud malware infects 500 npm packages, leaks secrets on GitHub
Hundreds of trojanized versions of well-known packages such as Zapier, ENS Domains, PostHog, and Postman have been planted in the npm registry in a new Shai-Hulud supply-chain campaign.
The malicious packages have been added to NPM (Node Package Manager) over the weekend to steal developer and continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) secrets. The data is automatically posted on GitHub in encoded form.
At publishing time, GitHub returned 27,600 results corresponding to entries related to the recent attack.