Security News

Mustang Panda Deploys Updated COOLCLIENT Backdoor in Government Cyber Attacks

Threat actors with ties to China have been observed using an updated version of a backdoor called COOLCLIENT in cyber espionage attacks in 2025 to facilitate comprehensive data theft from infected endpoints. The activity has been attributed to Mustang Panda (aka Earth Preta, Fireant, HoneyMyte, Polaris, and Twill Typhoon) with the intrusions primarily directed against government entities located

Password Reuse in Disguise: An Often-Missed Risky Workaround

When security teams discuss credential-related risk, the focus typically falls on threats such as phishing, malware, or ransomware. These attack methods continue to evolve and rightly command attention. However, one of the most persistent and underestimated risks to organizational security remains far more ordinary. Near-identical password reuse continues to slip past security controls, often

Google Warns of Active Exploitation of WinRAR Vulnerability CVE-2025-8088

Google on Tuesday revealed that multiple threat actors, including nation-state adversaries and financially motivated groups, are exploiting a now-patched critical security flaw in RARLAB WinRAR to establish initial access and deploy a diverse array of payloads. "Discovered and patched in July 2025, government-backed threat actors linked to Russia and China as well as financially motivated

Fake Python Spellchecker Packages on PyPI Delivered Hidden Remote Access Trojan

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered two malicious packages in the Python Package Index (PyPI) repository that masquerade as spellcheckers but contain functionality to deliver a remote access trojan (RAT). The packages, named spellcheckerpy and spellcheckpy, are no longer available for download, but not before they were collectively downloaded a little over 1,000 times. "Hidden inside the

Fortinet Patches CVE-2026-24858 After Active FortiOS SSO Exploitation Detected

Fortinet has begun releasing security updates to address a critical flaw impacting FortiOS that has come under active exploitation in the wild. The vulnerability, assigned the CVE identifier CVE-2026-24858 (CVSS score: 9.4), has been described as an authentication bypass related to FortiOS single sign-on (SSO). The flaw also affects FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer. The company said it's

ISC Stormcast For Wednesday, January 28th, 2026 https://isc.sans.edu/podcastdetail/9784, (Wed, Jan 28th)

AI & the Death of Accuracy: What It Means for Zero-Trust

AI "model collapse," where LLMs over time train on more and more AI-generated data and become degraded as a result, can introduce inaccuracies, promulgate malicious activity, and impact PII protections.

Vibe-Coded 'Sicarii' Ransomware Can't Be Decrypted

A new ransomware strain that entered the scene last year has poorly designed code and an odd "Hebrew" identity that might be a false flag.

Critical Telnet Server Flaw Exposes Forgotten Attack Surface

While telnet is considered obsolete, the network protocol is still used by hundreds of thousands of legacy systems and IoT devices for remote access.

Microsoft Rushes Emergency Patch for Office Zero-Day

To exploit the vulnerability, an attacker would need either system access or be able to convince a user to open a malicious Office file.

'Stanley' Toolkit Turns Chrome Into Undetectable Phishing Vector

The malware-as-a-service kit enables malicious extensions to overlay pages on real websites without changing the visible URL, signaling a fresh challenge for enterprise security.

WhatsApp Rolls Out Lockdown-Style Security Mode to Protect Targeted Users From Spyware

Meta on Tuesday announced it's adding Strict Account Settings on WhatsApp to secure certain users against advanced cyber attacks because of who they are and what they do. The feature, similar to Lockdown Mode in Apple iOS and Advanced Protection in Android, aims to protect individuals, such as journalists or public-facing figures, from sophisticated spyware by trading some functionality for

Experts Detect Pakistan-Linked Cyber Campaigns Aimed at Indian Government Entities

Indian government entities have been targeted in two campaigns undertaken by a threat actor that operates in Pakistan using previously undocumented tradecraft. The campaigns have been codenamed Gopher Strike and Sheet Attack by Zscaler ThreatLabz, which identified them in September 2025. "While these campaigns share some similarities with the Pakistan-linked Advanced Persistent Threat (APT)

WorldLeaks Extortion Group Claims It Stole 1.4TB of Nike Data

The sportswear brand is investigating an alleged breach of its network that exposed some 188,347 files of highly sensitive corporate data.

WorldLeaks Extortion Group Claims It Stole 1.4TB of Nike Data

The sportswear brand is investigating an alleged breach of its network that exposed some 188,347 files of highly sensitive corporate data.

ClickFix Attacks Expand Using Fake CAPTCHAs, Microsoft Scripts, and Trusted Web Services

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed details of a new campaign that combines ClickFix-style fake CAPTCHAs with a signed Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) script to distribute an information stealer called Amatera. "Instead of launching PowerShell directly, the attacker uses this script to control how execution begins and to avoid more common, easily recognized execution paths,"

Beauty in Destruction: Exploring Malware's Impact Through Art

Artistic initiatives turn cybersecurity into immersive exhibits at the Museum of Malware Art, transforming digital threats into thought-provoking experiences.

Hand CVE Over to the Private Sector

How MITRE has mismanaged the world's vulnerability database for decades and wasted millions along the way.

CTEM in Practice: Prioritization, Validation, and Outcomes That Matter

Cybersecurity teams increasingly want to move beyond looking at threats and vulnerabilities in isolation. It’s not only about what could go wrong (vulnerabilities) or who might attack (threats), but where they intersect in your actual environment to create real, exploitable exposure. Which exposures truly matter? Can attackers exploit them? Are our defenses effective? Continuous Threat Exposure

Critical Grist-Core Vulnerability Allows RCE Attacks via Spreadsheet Formulas

A critical security flaw has been disclosed in Grist‑Core, an open-source, self-hosted version of the Grist relational spreadsheet-database, that could result in remote code execution. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-24002 (CVSS score: 9.1), has been codenamed Cellbreak by Cyera Research Labs. "One malicious formula can turn a spreadsheet into a Remote Code Execution (RCE) beachhead,"