CTRL + ALT + SEC

Tag: phishing

What’s New in Cybersecurity This Week: Projects, Videos, Articles & Podcasts I’m Following – 9/1/25
Welcome to my weekly cybersecurity roundup! Here, I share updates on the projects I’m currently working on, along with the most insightful cybersecurity videos I watched, articles I found valuable, and podcasts I tuned into this week.

Featured Analysis

Featured article analysis: New ClickFix Malware Variant ‘LightPerlGirl’ Targets Users in Stealthy Hack

The article highlights the stealthy and evasive nature of this new threat. By using LOLBINS (Living Off the Land Binaries) like PowerShell, the malware is designed to evade detection by conventional antivirus software and even modern endpoint detection and response (EDR) systems, which are not commonly found on personal computers. The PowerShell script runs in memory, leaving little to no trace on the disk. This approach exploits the trust users place in legitimate system tools and known security services like Cloudflare. The use of a travel site for an expensive destination like the Galapagos suggests the attackers are targeting affluent individuals, potentially executives, whose personal devices could serve as a gateway to their corporate networks.

Despite successfully identifying the malware and its payload, researchers at Todyl have several unanswered questions about the operation’s infrastructure and the relationships between the different actors involved. For instance, they are unsure whether the developers of LightPerlGirl are directly affiliated with the creators of the Lumma infostealer or if they are separate entities using a malware-as-a-service model. The discovery of this variant was almost accidental, as it was found on a customer’s corporate device which was protected by Todyl’s security platform. This underscores the difficulty in detecting such stealthy attacks, even for advanced security solutions. The article emphasizes that the true danger of ClickFix variants lies in their potential to compromise a company’s enterprise network through an unsuspecting employee’s personal device.

Projects
- TryHackMe – Hydra – Complete
- TryHackMe – Gobuster: The Basics – Complete
- TryHackMe – Shells Overview – Complete
- TryHackMe – SQLMap: The Basics – In Progress
Videos

Articles
- No, Google did not warn 2.5 billion Gmail users to reset passwords – Google has disputed a widely reported story about the company warning all Gmail users to reset their passwords due to a recent data breach that also affected some Workspace accounts.
- FBI cyber cop: Salt Typhoon pwned ‘nearly every American’ – China’s Salt Typhoon cyberspies hoovered up information belonging to millions of people in the United States over the course of the years-long intrusion into telecommunications networks, according to a top FBI cyber official.
- Disney to pay $10M to settle claims it collected kids’ data on YouTube – Disney will pay $10 million to settle claims by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission that it mislabeled videos for children on YouTube, which allowed the collection of kids’ personal information without their consent or notification to their parents.
- Cloudflare Blocks Record-Breaking 11.5 Tbps DDoS Attack – Cloudflare on Tuesday said it automatically mitigated a record-setting volumetric distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack that peaked at 11.5 terabits per second (Tbps).
- Iranian Hackers Exploit 100+ Embassy Email Accounts in Global Phishing Targeting Diplomats – An Iran-nexus group has been linked to a “coordinated” and “multi-wave” spear-phishing campaign targeting the embassies and consulates in Europe and other regions across the world.
- Google Fined $379 Million by French Regulator for Cookie Consent Violations – The French data protection authority has fined Google and Chinese e-commerce giant Shein $379 million (€325 million) and $175 million (€150 million), respectively, for violating cookie rules.
- VirusTotal Finds 44 Undetected SVG Files Used to Deploy Base64-Encoded Phishing Pages – Cybersecurity researchers have flagged a new malware campaign that has leveraged Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) files as part of phishing attacks impersonating the Colombian judicial system.
- New ClickFix Malware Variant ‘LightPerlGirl’ Targets Users in Stealthy Hack – Researchers identify a previously unknown ClickFix variant exploiting PowerShell and clipboard hijacking to deliver the Lumma infostealer via a compromised travel site.
- Jury orders Google to pay $425 million for violating user privacy – The class action lawsuit alleged that Google continued to collect user information even after they turned activity tracking off.
September 8, 2025
What’s New in Cybersecurity This Week: Projects, Videos, Articles & Podcasts I’m Following – 8/25/25
Welcome to my weekly cybersecurity roundup! Here, I share updates on the projects I’m currently working on, along with the most insightful cybersecurity videos I watched, articles I found valuable, and podcasts I tuned into this week.

Featured Analysis

Featured article analysis: Booking.com phishing campaign uses sneaky ‘ん’ character to trick you

These are two separate but related phishing campaigns that exploit a typographical trick called homoglyphs to deceive victims. In the first instance, threat actors used the Japanese hiragana character ん (U+3093), which in some fonts looks like a forward slash, to create a fake Booking.com URL. This visual deception makes the malicious domain [suspicious link removed] appear as a subdirectory of the legitimate booking.com, tricking users into believing they are on a genuine site. The link then redirects victims to a malicious MSI installer that drops malware, such as infostealers or remote access trojans, onto their computers. This tactic is a sophisticated form of a homograph attack, and it demonstrates how attackers leverage the visual similarities between characters from different alphabets to execute social engineering campaigns.

The second campaign targeting Intuit users employs a simpler yet equally effective homoglyph trick. Attackers used a lowercase Latin L to impersonate the letter i, creating the lookalike domain Lntuit.com to mimic the legitimate Intuit.com. This visual substitution is especially effective on mobile devices and in certain fonts where the two characters are nearly indistinguishable, preying on users’ tendency to glance quickly at URLs rather than scrutinize them. The email directs victims to a phishing page designed to steal credentials. Both the Booking.com and Intuit campaigns underscore a growing trend where attackers are creatively manipulating typography to bypass traditional security awareness, highlighting the vulnerability of visual inspection as a sole defense against phishing.

These attacks serve as a critical reminder that cybersecurity threats are constantly evolving, particularly in the realm of social engineering. The use of homoglyphs and homograph attacks demonstrates a move beyond simple fake emails to highly deceptive links that are difficult to spot. The article emphasizes the need for a multi-layered defense strategy, including user education on how to properly inspect URLs—by hovering over links and identifying the true registered domain—and maintaining up-to-date endpoint security software. While these measures offer protection, the campaigns also illustrate the limitations of relying on visual cues alone and reinforce the importance of robust technological solutions to combat increasingly sophisticated phishing tactics.

Projects
- TryHackMe – SQL Fundamentals – Complete
- TryHackMe – Hydra – In Progress
Articles
- Farmers Insurance data breach impacts 1.1M people after Salesforce attack – U.S. insurance giant Farmers Insurance has disclosed a data breach impacting 1.1 million customers, with BleepingComputer learning that the data was stolen in the widespread Salesforce attacks.
- Booking.com phishing campaign uses sneaky ‘ん’ character to trick you – Threat actors are leveraging a Unicode character to make phishing links appear like legitimate Booking.com links in a new campaign distributing malware.
- TransUnion says hackers stole 4.4 million customers’ personal information – TransUnion attributed the July 28 breach to unauthorized access of a third-party application storing customers’ personal data for its U.S. consumer support operations.
- WhatsApp Patches Zero-Click Exploit Targeting iOS and macOS Devices – WhatsApp has addressed a security vulnerability in its messaging apps for Apple iOS and macOS that it said may have been exploited in the wild in conjunction with a recently disclosed Apple flaw in targeted zero-day attacks.
Podcasts
September 1, 2025
What’s New in Cybersecurity This Week: Projects, Videos, Articles & Podcasts I’m Following – 8/18/25
Welcome to my weekly cybersecurity roundup! Here, I share updates on the projects I’m currently working on, along with the most insightful cybersecurity videos I watched, articles I found valuable, and podcasts I tuned into this week.

Featured Analysis

Featured article analysis: HR giant Workday discloses data breach after Salesforce attack

Workday, a major human resources software provider, has disclosed a data breach stemming from a social engineering attack that compromised a third-party customer relationship management (CRM) platform. While Workday explicitly stated that its core customer tenants and their sensitive data were not affected, the breach exposed business contact information, including names, email addresses, and phone numbers of customers. This type of information, though not directly sensitive, is crucial for threat actors to execute more sophisticated social engineering or phishing campaigns against Workday’s extensive client base, which includes over 60% of Fortune 500 companies.

Further investigation revealed that the Workday incident is part of a broader series of attacks orchestrated by the notorious ShinyHunters extortion group. These attacks specifically target Salesforce CRM instances through social engineering and voice phishing, tricking employees into linking malicious OAuth applications. Once linked, the attackers gain access to and steal company databases, using the stolen data for extortion. This widespread campaign has impacted numerous other high-profile companies, including Adidas, Google, Louis Vuitton, and Chanel, highlighting a significant and ongoing threat to organizations relying on third-party CRM platforms.

The Workday breach underscores the pervasive and evolving nature of social engineering threats, particularly when they target critical third-party vendors in an organization’s supply chain. Even with robust internal security, a single vulnerability in a partner’s system can expose valuable data that fuels subsequent, more damaging attacks. The involvement of a sophisticated group like ShinyHunters, known for large-scale data theft and extortion, emphasizes the need for continuous employee training on social engineering tactics, multi-factor authentication, and stringent oversight of third-party access to corporate data.

Projects
- TryHackMe – JavaScript Essentials – Complete
- TryHackMe – SQL Fundamentals – In Progress
Videos

Articles
- HR giant Workday discloses data breach after Salesforce attack – Human resources giant Workday has disclosed a data breach after attackers gained access to a third-party customer relationship management (CRM) platform in a recent social engineering attack.
- UK telecom firm Colt suffers massive ransomware attack – UK telecoms and network services company Colt suffered a cyberattack, claimed by the Warlock ransomware gang.
- Hotels in Italy suffer a potentially massive breach – Tens of thousands of allegedly stolen documents include high-resolution scans of passports and ID cards used by customers during check-in, according to Italian authorities.
- DOJ Charges 22-Year-Old for Running RapperBot Botnet Behind 370,000 DDoS Attacks – A 22-year-old man from the U.S. state of Oregon has been charged with allegedly developing and overseeing a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS)-for-hire botnet called RapperBot.
- Security researcher driven by free nuggets unearths McDonald’s security flaw — changing ‘login’ to ‘register’ in URL prompted site to issue plain text password for a new account
- Scattered Spider hacker gets sentenced to 10 years in prison – Noah Michael Urban, a key member of the Scattered Spider cybercrime collective, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Wednesday after pleading guilty to charges of wire fraud and conspiracy in April.
- Dev gets 4 years for creating kill switch on ex-employer’s systems – A software developer has been sentenced to four years in prison for sabotaging his ex-employer’s Windows network with custom malware and a kill switch that locked out employees when his account was disabled.
- U.S. Navy Sailor Convicted of Spying for China – Wei was an active-duty U.S. Navy sailor stationed at Naval Base San Diego when he agreed to sell Navy secrets to a Chinese intelligence officer for $12,000.
Podcasts
August 25, 2025
What’s New in Cybersecurity This Week: Projects, Videos, Articles & Podcasts I’m Following – 8/4/25
Welcome to my weekly cybersecurity roundup! Here, I share updates on the projects I’m currently working on, along with the most insightful cybersecurity videos I watched, articles I found valuable, and podcasts I tuned into this week.

Featured Analysis

Featured article analysis: Hacker extradited to US for stealing $3.3 million from taxpayers

The article details the successful extradition of Nigerian national Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu from France to the U.S., where he faces charges related to a sophisticated hacking and fraud scheme. The core of his alleged criminal activity involved spearphishing attacks targeting U.S. tax preparation businesses. By gaining unauthorized access to these businesses’ computer systems, Amachukwu and his co-conspirators were able to steal the personal data of thousands of American citizens. This stolen information was then used to file fraudulent tax returns and Small Business Administration (SBA) loan applications, resulting in over $3.3 million in confirmed losses to the U.S. government. The extradition underscores the international cooperation necessary to combat cybercrime and demonstrates a commitment by law enforcement to pursue and prosecute individuals who exploit digital vulnerabilities for financial gain, regardless of their physical location.

Beyond the tax and loan fraud, the article highlights Amachukwu’s alleged involvement in a separate, parallel scam. This second scheme involved a fake investment opportunity where victims were convinced to invest millions in non-existent standby letters of credit. This dual-pronged criminal activity paints a picture of a perpetrator who engaged in multiple forms of financial deception, exploiting both technological vulnerabilities and human trust. The indictment against Amachukwu reflects the seriousness of his alleged crimes, with charges including conspiracy to commit computer intrusions, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. The potential penalties, including a mandatory two-year consecutive sentence for aggravated identity theft and up to 20 years for each wire fraud count, illustrate the severe legal consequences for such offenses.

The extradition and subsequent court appearance of Amachukwu serve as a significant development in the case, moving it from international pursuit to domestic prosecution. The fact that he was apprehended and extradited from France, where he was presumably located after the alleged crimes took place, showcases the global reach of U.S. law enforcement and its ability to work with international partners to bring suspects to justice. While a trial date has yet to be scheduled, the article makes it clear that the U.S. government is not only seeking a conviction but also the forfeiture of all proceeds from his criminal activities. This aggressive legal approach aims to both punish the perpetrator and recover the stolen funds, providing a comprehensive response to the financial and personal damage caused by his fraudulent schemes.

Projects
- TryHackMe – JavaScript Essentials – In Progress
Whitepapers
- CrowdStrike 2025 Threat Hunting Report
Articles
- CL-STA-0969 Installs Covert Malware in Telecom Networks During 10-Month Espionage Campaign – Telecommunications organizations in Southeast Asia have been targeted by a state-sponsored threat actor known as CL-STA-0969 to facilitate remote control over compromised networks.
- Python-powered malware snags hundreds of credit cards, 200K passwords, and 4M cookies – PXA Stealer pilfers data from nearly 40 browsers, including Chrome
- North Korea sent me abroad to be a secret IT worker. My wages funded the regime – Jin-su says over the years he used hundreds of fake IDs to apply for remote IT work with Western companies. It was part of a vast undercover scheme to raise funds for North Korea.
- Cisco Says User Data Stolen in CRM Hack – Cisco has disclosed a data breach affecting Cisco.com user accounts, including names, email address, and phone numbers.
- What the Coinbase Breach Says About Insider Risk – The lesson from the breach is not just about what went wrong — but what could have gone right.
- PBS confirms data breach after employee info leaked on Discord servers – PBS has suffered a data breach exposing the corporate contact information of its employees and those of its affiliates, BleepingComputer has learned.
- Hacker extradited to US for stealing $3.3 million from taxpayers – Nigerian national Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu has been extradited from France to the U.S. to face charges of hacking, fraud, and identity theft for suspected spearphishing attacks on U.S. tax preparation businesses.
- Hacker used a voice phishing attack to steal Cisco customers’ personal information – A cybercriminal tricked a Cisco representative into granting them access to steal the personal information of Cisco.com users, the company said on Tuesday.
- Air France and KLM disclose data breaches impacting customers – Air France and KLM announced on Wednesday that attackers had breached a customer service platform and stolen the data of an undisclosed number of customers.
- Hacker extradited to US for stealing $3.3 million from taxpayers – Nigerian national Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu has been extradited from France to the U.S. to face charges of hacking, fraud, and identity theft for suspected spearphishing attacks on U.S. tax preparation businesses.
Podcasts
- Smashing Security – 428: Red flags, leaked chats, and a final farewell
- The 404 Media Podcast – How AI is being used by hackers and criminals
August 11, 2025
What’s New in Cybersecurity This Week: Projects, Videos, Articles & Podcasts I’m Following – 7/14/25
Welcome to my weekly cybersecurity roundup! Here, I share updates on the projects I’m currently working on, along with the most insightful cybersecurity videos I watched, articles I found valuable, and podcasts I tuned into this week.

Featured Analysis

Featured article analysis: McDonald’s Chatbot Recruitment Platform Exposed 64 Million Job Applications

This reveals a significant data breach within McDonald’s recruitment platform, McHire, exposing the personal information of 64 million job applicants. The breach stemmed from two critical vulnerabilities: the persistence of default “123456” credentials for a test account belonging to Paradox.ai (the bot’s creator) and an insecure direct object reference (IDOR) weakness in an internal API. These flaws allowed security researchers Ian Carroll and Sam Curry unauthorized access to applicant data, including names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and even the ability to view and intervene in ongoing chatbot conversations. The ease with which such widespread data could be accessed highlights severe lapses in security protocols and underscores the potential for malicious actors to exploit similar weaknesses if not promptly addressed.

The incident underscores the paramount importance of robust security practices, particularly in platforms handling vast amounts of personal identifiable information (PII). The fact that a simple, unchanged default password from a 2019 test account could grant administrative access, combined with an IDOR vulnerability allowing sequential access to applicant records, points to fundamental oversights in development and testing. While Paradox.ai swiftly remediated the vulnerabilities upon notification, the incident serves as a stark reminder that even seemingly minor security gaps can have massive implications. It also calls into question the adequacy of their penetration testing, as these issues were not identified internally prior to the researchers’ discovery.

Despite the swift resolution and Paradox.ai’s assertion that only chat interactions of five applicants were accessed by the researchers and no data was shared online, the potential for harm was immense. The exposure of 64 million applicant records, even without highly sensitive data like Social Security numbers, still presents a significant privacy concern and could lead to various forms of targeted attacks like phishing. This incident should prompt other companies utilizing similar third-party recruitment platforms to scrutinize their own security measures and demand higher standards from their vendors to prevent similar breaches and safeguard applicant data.

Projects
- TryHackMe – Web Application Basics – In Progress
Articles
- McDonald’s Chatbot Recruitment Platform Exposed 64 Million Job Applications – Two vulnerabilities in an internal API allowed unauthorized access to contacts and chats, exposing the information of 64 million McDonald’s applicants.
- Google Gemini flaw hijacks email summaries for phishing – Google Gemini for Workspace can be exploited to generate email summaries that appear legitimate but include malicious instructions or warnings that direct users to phishing sites without using attachments or direct links.
- Telegram Messenger’s Ties to Russia’s FSB Revealed in New Report – The Telegram messaging app may have ties to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), according to an investigation.
- Louis Vuitton suffers two hacks in a week as customer data is accessed in UK and Korea – Louis Vuitton has revealed that customer data was stolen during an unauthorised breach of the fashion giant’s UK operation’s systems.
- Russian Basketball Star Daniil Kasatkin Arrested in Ransomware Probe – Daniil Kasatkin, a Russian pro basketball player, faces US ransomware charges after his Paris arrest. His lawyer claims he’s “useless with computers,” raising questions about his alleged negotiator role in cybercrime.
- Cloudflare says 1.1.1.1 outage not caused by attack or BGP hijack – To quash speculation of a cyberattack or BGP hijack incident causing the recent 1.1.1.1 Resolver service outage, Cloudflare explains in a post mortem that the incident was caused by an internal misconfiguration.
- China’s Salt Typhoon Hacked US National Guard – Chinese hacking group Salt Typhoon targeted a National Guard unit’s network and tapped into communications with other units.
- Former US Army member confesses to Telecom hack and extortion conspiracy – A former US Army soldier pleaded guilty to hacking telecom databases, stealing data, and extorting companies by threatening to release the stolen info.
- Popular fitness app Fitify exposes 138K user progress photos – Fitify’s publicly accessible Google cloud storage bucket has exposed hundreds of thousands of files. Some of the files were user-uploaded progress pictures that individuals upload to track their body changes over time. After Cybernews contacted the company, the unprotected instance was closed.
- Salt Typhoon breach: Chinese APT compromises U.S. Army National Guard network – China-linked APT Salt Typhoon breached a U.S. Army National Guard unit’s network, accessed configs, and intercepted communications with other units.
July 21, 2025
What’s New in Cybersecurity This Week: Projects, Videos, Articles & Podcasts I’m Following – 7/7/25
Welcome to my weekly cybersecurity roundup! Here, I share updates on the projects I’m currently working on, along with the most insightful cybersecurity videos I watched, articles I found valuable, and podcasts I tuned into this week.

Featured Analysis

Featured article analysis: Elmo’s X account was hacked and shared antisemitic and racist posts

The recent hacking of Elmo’s X (formerly Twitter) account represents a concerning incident that transcends a simple social media breach, highlighting broader vulnerabilities and the potential for weaponized online platforms. The unauthorized posts, which included antisemitic, racist, and politically charged content, not only severely damaged the innocent and wholesome brand associated with Elmo and Sesame Street but also demonstrated how easily prominent accounts can be leveraged to disseminate harmful narratives. The fact that such hateful messages were visible to nearly 650,000 followers, even for a brief period, underscores the immediate and widespread impact that compromised accounts can have on public discourse and perception. This event serves as a stark reminder of the constant threat of cyberattacks and the imperative for robust security measures across all major online platforms.

This incident also brings into focus the ongoing challenges faced by X, particularly in light of previous controversies surrounding its AI chatbot Grok and the proliferation of extremist views on the platform. The “disgusting” nature of the hacked posts, as described by Sesame Workshop, echoes similar issues where X has struggled to contain inflammatory content, including antisemitic remarks. The repeated instances of problematic content, whether through compromised accounts or algorithmic failures, raise serious questions about X’s content moderation strategies and its ability to safeguard users from harmful material. While XAI has acknowledged and attempted to address issues with Grok, the Elmo hack suggests that the platform’s vulnerabilities extend beyond AI-generated content to fundamental account security.

Ultimately, the Elmo account hack is more than just an isolated security breach; it’s a symptom of a larger, more complex problem concerning online safety, platform responsibility, and the weaponization of social media. For a character universally associated with childhood innocence and positive values to be used as a conduit for hate speech is deeply disturbing and illustrates the insidious nature of online extremism. This event should prompt renewed scrutiny of social media companies’ commitment to preventing abuse, ensuring account integrity, and protecting their users from the dissemination of harmful ideologies. The incident reinforces the critical need for continuous vigilance, technological advancements in security, and a proactive approach to combating the misuse of online platforms.

Welcome to my weekly cybersecurity roundup! Here, I share updates on the projects I’m currently working on, along with the most insightful cybersecurity videos I watched, articles I found valuable, and podcasts I tuned into this week.

Projects
- TryHackMe – Web Application Basics – In Progress
Articles
- FBI warns travelers of ‘Scattered Spider’ group targeting airlines – SFGATE contributor Jim Glab rounds up air travel and airport news for our weekly column Routes
- Qantas is being extorted in recent data-theft cyberattack – Qantas has confirmed that it is now being extorted by threat actors following a cyberattack that potentially exposed the data for 6 million customers.
- Columbia data stolen in cyberattack that caused dayslong IT outage, University says – Bloomberg News reported that the alleged hacker stole the personal information of Columbia applicants.
- AT&T Reaches $177M Deal Over 2019 and 2024 Data Breaches – AT&T’s $177M data breach settlement. Check eligibility for payouts from 2019 and 2024 incidents.
- Alleged Chinese State Hacker Wanted by US Arrested in Italy – Xu Zewei has been arrested on charges that he is a member of the Chinese state-sponsored hacking group Hafnium (Silk Typhoon).
- Canadian Electric Utility Says Power Meters Disrupted by Cyberattack – Nova Scotia Power is notifying individuals affected by the recent data breach, including in the United States.
- U.S. Sanctions North Korean Andariel Hacker Behind Fraudulent IT Worker Scheme – The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Tuesday sanctioned a member of a North Korean hacking group called Andariel for their role in the infamous remote information technology (IT) worker scheme.
- Russian pro basketball player arrested for alleged role in ransomware attacks – Russian professional basketball player Daniil Kasatkin was arrested in France at the request of the United States for allegedly acting as a negotiator for a ransomware gang.
- Elmo’s X account hacked to publish racist and antisemetic posts – In case it wasn’t obvious, no, that’s not the real Elmo that posted racist and antisemetic posts on Elon Musk’s X. Someone had hacked into the Sesame Street character’s X account.
Podcasts
July 14, 2025
What’s New in Cybersecurity This Week: Projects, Videos, Articles & Podcasts I’m Following – 6/16/25
Welcome to my weekly cybersecurity roundup! Here, I share updates on the projects I’m currently working on, along with the most insightful cybersecurity videos I watched, articles I found valuable, and podcasts I tuned into this week.

Featured Analysis

Featured article analysis: 16 Billion Apple, Facebook, Google And Other Passwords Leaked

The confirmed leak of an estimated 16 billion login credentials, including passwords, making it potentially the largest breach in history. Unlike previous reports of individual company breaches, this “mother of all leaks” is attributed to multiple infostealers, aggregating data from a vast array of online services, including major platforms like Apple, Facebook, and Google, as well as VPNs and developer portals. Crucially, cybersecurity researcher Bob Diachenko clarified that this isn’t a direct breach of these large companies’ databases but rather a collection of credentials found in infostealer logs, often linked to reused passwords. This makes the leak a severe threat, serving as a “blueprint for mass exploitation” through phishing and account takeovers, emphasizing the urgent need for robust password hygiene.

The incident reignites the debate surrounding cybersecurity responsibility. While many experts, like Javvad Malik, advocate for a “shared responsibility” model, where both organizations protect users and individuals remain vigilant, others like Paul Walsh of MetaCert disagree. Walsh argues that expecting users to become security experts when even security providers struggle against sophisticated phishing attacks is unreasonable. This highlights a fundamental tension: while users are urged to adopt stronger password practices and multi-factor authentication, the industry also faces pressure to develop more inherently secure authentication methods that mitigate the risk posed by compromised databases, irrespective of password complexity.

In response to such massive leaks, the article strongly advocates for a pivotal shift from traditional passwords to more secure passkey technology. Experts like Rew Islam from Dashlane, co-chair of the FIDO Alliance, emphasize that passkeys are no longer a “nice-to-have” but an “essential” security measure, especially with major players like Facebook recently adopting them. Passkeys leverage factors users already employ, like facial or fingerprint recognition, offering a more convenient and significantly more secure authentication experience. The expectation is that widespread adoption by more companies, from banks to social media, will build user confidence and eventually lead to passkeys becoming the dominant authentication method for the majority of internet users within the next three years.

Projects
- TryHackMe – Hashing Basics – In Progress
Articles
- Paraguay Suffered Data Breach: 7.4 Million Citizen Records Leaked on Dark Web – Resecurity researchers found 7.4 million records containing personally identifiable information (PII) of Paraguay citizens on the dark web.
- 16 Billion Apple, Facebook, Google And Other Passwords Leaked – If you thought that my May 23 report, confirming the leak of login data totaling an astonishing 184 million compromised credentials, was frightening, I hope you are sitting down now. Researchers have just confirmed what could be the largest leak ever, with an almost incredulous 16 billion login credentials, including passwords, exposed.
- Massive 7.3 Tbps DDoS Attack Delivers 37.4 TB in 45 Seconds, Targeting Hosting Provider – Cloudflare on Thursday said it autonomously blocked the largest distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack ever recorded, which hit a peak of 7.3 terabits per second (Tbps).
- Iran’s government says it shut down internet to protect against cyberattacks – Earlier this week, virtually everyone in Iran lost access to the internet in what was called a “near-total national internet blackout.”
- Russian hackers bypass Gmail MFA using stolen app passwords – Russian hackers bypass multi-factor authentication and access Gmail accounts by leveraging app-specific passwords in advanced social engineering attacks that impersonate U.S. Department of State officials.
Podcasts
June 23, 2025
What’s New in Cybersecurity This Week: Projects, Videos, Articles & Podcasts I’m Following – 6/9/25
Welcome to my weekly cybersecurity roundup! Here, I share updates on the projects I’m currently working on, along with the most insightful cybersecurity videos I watched, articles I found valuable, and podcasts I tuned into this week.

Featured Analysis

Featured article analysis: 40,000 Security Cameras Exposed to Remote Hacking

Cybersecurity firm Bitsight has unveiled a significant vulnerability in the digital landscape, identifying over 40,000 security cameras globally that are susceptible to remote hacking. These cameras, operating primarily over HTTP and RTSP protocols, inadvertently expose live video feeds directly to the internet, making them prime targets for malicious activities ranging from espionage to botnet recruitment. HTTP-based cameras, commonly found in homes and small offices, often allow direct access to administrative interfaces or expose screenshots via simple URI manipulations. RTSP cameras, used in professional surveillance, are harder to fingerprint but can still be exploited to return live footage. This widespread exposure highlights a critical security flaw, transforming devices intended for protection into potential tools for privacy invasion and cyberattacks.

The geographical distribution of these exposed cameras reveals a concerning concentration, with the United States accounting for over 14,000 devices, followed by Japan with approximately 7,000. Other countries like Austria, Czechia, South Korea, Germany, Italy, and Russia also host thousands of vulnerable cameras. Within the US, California and Texas show the highest numbers, with other states like Georgia, New York, and Missouri also significantly impacted. Industry-wise, the telecommunications sector bears the brunt of the exposure, representing a staggering 79% of vulnerable devices, largely due to residential network connections. When excluding this sector, technology, media/entertainment, utilities, business services, and education emerge as the most affected industries, underscoring the broad scope of this security challenge across various critical sectors.

The implications of such widespread exposure are severe, extending beyond mere privacy breaches. Bitsight warns that these cameras are actively sought by threat actors on dark web forums, posing risks such as ensnarement in botnets or serving as pivot points for deeper network intrusions. The presence of these vulnerable devices in diverse locations like offices, factories, restaurants, and hotels amplifies the potential for corporate espionage and data theft. To counter these threats, Bitsight advises users and organizations to adopt crucial security measures: securing internet connections, replacing default credentials, disabling unnecessary remote access, keeping device firmware updated, and consistently monitoring for unusual login attempts. Adhering to these precautions is paramount to safeguard privacy and prevent these surveillance tools from becoming unintended liabilities.

Projects
- TryHackMe – Hashing Basics – In Progress
Articles
- Former Black Basta Members Resurface with New Tactics – Ex-Black Basta ransomware affiliates are now using new phishing and remote access techniques as part of the CACTUS ransomware operation.
- Rust-based “Myth Stealer” Malware Targets Gamers – A new Rust-based infostealer called Myth Stealer is spreading via fake gaming sites and malicious documents, targeting browser and crypto data.
- Massive Data Leak in China Exposes Billions of Records – Over 4 billion personal records were exposed from an unsecured Chinese database, marking one of the largest leaks in the country’s history.
- Google Warns of Salesforce Phishing and Data Extortion Campaign – Google flagged a campaign where attackers use vishing and fake tools to steal Salesforce data and extort organizations.
- Iranian APT “BladedFeline” Hides in Telecom Network for 8 Years – The Iranian group BladedFeline covertly accessed a Middle Eastern telecom for eight years using legitimate admin tools.
- New Zero-Click AI Vulnerability in Microsoft 365 Copilot – Researchers found “EchoLeak,” a zero-click vulnerability that could let attackers steal sensitive data from Microsoft 365 Copilot.
- WestJet Cyberattack Disrupts Airline Operations – A cyberattack on WestJet caused disruptions to the airline’s internal systems and operations.
- Trend Micro and Palo Alto Networks Patch Critical Flaws – Both cybersecurity vendors released patches for multiple critical vulnerabilities affecting their products.
- Hackers Abuse TeamFiltration to Target Microsoft Entra ID Accounts – Attackers leveraged the TeamFiltration pentesting tool to compromise over 80,000 Microsoft Entra ID accounts globally.
- 40,000 Security Cameras Exposed to Remote Hacking – Bitsight has identified over 40,000 security cameras that can be easily hacked for spying or other types of malicious activity.
Podcasts
June 16, 2025
What’s New in Cybersecurity This Week: Projects, Videos, Articles & Podcasts I’m Following – 6/2/25
Welcome to my weekly cybersecurity roundup! Here, I share updates on the projects I’m currently working on, along with the most insightful cybersecurity videos I watched, articles I found valuable, and podcasts I tuned into this week.

Featured Analysis

Featured article analysis: Largest ever data leak exposes over 4 billion user records

The recent exposure of over 4 billion user records in China represents an unprecedented cybersecurity catastrophe, highlighting the extreme vulnerability of personal data in the digital age. This colossal leak, comprising 631 gigabytes of unsecure data, contained a vast array of sensitive information, including financial details, WeChat and Alipay records, residential addresses, and potentially even communication logs. The sheer scale and diversity of the exposed data — ranging from over 800 million WeChat IDs to 630 million bank records and 610 million “three-factor checks” with IDs and phone numbers — strongly suggest a centralized aggregation point, possibly for surveillance, profiling, or data enrichment purposes. This incident underscores a critical failure in data security, leaving hundreds of millions of individuals susceptible to a wide range of malicious activities.

With access to correlated data points on residential information, spending habits, financial details, and personal identifiers, threat actors could orchestrate large-scale phishing scams, blackmail schemes, and sophisticated fraud. The inclusion of Alipay card and token information further raises the risk of unauthorized payments and account takeovers, potentially leading to significant financial losses for users. Beyond individual exploitation, the possibility of state-sponsored intelligence gathering and disinformation campaigns cannot be overlooked, given the perceived nature of the data collection as a comprehensive profile of Chinese citizens. The swift removal of the database after discovery, coupled with the anonymity of its owners, further complicates efforts to understand the breach’s origins and implement protective measures for impacted individuals.

The inability to identify the database’s owners or provide direct recourse for affected users exemplifies the precarious position individuals find themselves in when their data is compromised on such a grand scale. While China has experienced significant data breaches in the past, this incident stands as the largest ever recorded, dwarfing previous exposures.

Projects
- TryHackMe – Hashing Basics – In Progress
Papers
- Research on insider threat detection based on personalized federated learning and behavior log analysis
Articles
- ‘Russian Market’ emerges as a go-to shop for stolen credentials – The “Russian Market” cybercrime marketplace has emerged as one of the most popular platforms for buying and selling credentials stolen by information stealer malware.
- Cartier discloses data breach amid fashion brand cyberattacks – Luxury fashion brand Cartier is warning customers it suffered a data breach that exposed customers’ personal information after its systems were compromised.
- Meta stopped covert operations from Iran, China, and Romania spreading propaganda – Meta stopped three covert operations from Iran, China, and Romania using fake accounts to spread propaganda on social media platforms.
- Victoria’s Secret hit by outages as it battles security incident – Fashion retail giant Victoria’s Secret said it is addressing a “security incident,” as its website and online orders face ongoing disruption.
- Crooks fleece The North Face accounts with recycled logins – Outdoorsy brand blames credential stuffing
- Coinbase breach tied to bribed TaskUs support agents in India – A recently disclosed data breach at Coinbase has been linked to India-based customer support representatives from outsourcing firm TaskUs, who threat actors bribed to steal data from the crypto exchange.
- Scattered Spider: Three things the news doesn’t tell you – With the recent attacks on UK retailers Marks & Spencer and Co-op, so-called Scattered Spider has been all over the media, with coverage spilling over into the mainstream news due to the severity of the disruption — currently looking like hundreds of millions in lost profits for M&S alone.
- Exclusive: Hackers Leak 86 Million AT&T Records with Decrypted SSNs – Hackers leak data of 88 million AT&T customers with decrypted SSNs; latest breach raises questions about links to earlier Snowflake-related attack.
- FBI: Play ransomware breached 900 victims, including critical orgs – In an update to a joint advisory with CISA and the Australian Cyber Security Centre, the FBI said that the Play ransomware gang had breached roughly 900 organizations as of May 2025, three times the number of victims reported in October 2023.
- Largest ever data leak exposes over 4 billion user records – In what’s likely the biggest data leak to ever hit China, billions of documents with financial data, WeChat and Alipay details, as well as other sensitive personal data, were exposed to the public. Worryingly, there’s little that impacted users can do to protect themselves.
Podcasts
- Smashing Security 419: Star Wars, the CIA, and a WhatsApp malware mirage
June 9, 2025
What’s New in Cybersecurity This Week: Projects, Videos, Articles & Podcasts I’m Following – 5/26/25
Welcome to my weekly cybersecurity roundup! Here, I share updates on the projects I’m currently working on, along with the most insightful cybersecurity videos I watched, articles I found valuable, and podcasts I tuned into this week.

Featured Analysis

Featured article analysis: Suspected InfoStealer Malware Data Breach Exposed 184 Million Logins and Passwords

This article details a significant data breach involving a publicly exposed database containing an astonishing 184 million unique logins and passwords, totaling 47.42 GB of unencrypted credential data. The researcher who discovered the breach found a wide array of sensitive information, including emails, usernames, passwords, and associated URLs for numerous online services, financial institutions, healthcare platforms, and government portals across various countries. The lack of password protection or encryption on the database dramatically increased the potential for malicious actors to access and exploit this highly sensitive information, posing substantial risks to individuals whose credentials were exposed. The researcher responsibly disclosed the finding to the hosting provider, which subsequently restricted public access to the database.

The analysis of the exposed data strongly suggests that it was harvested by infostealer malware, a type of malicious software designed to extract sensitive information from infected systems, particularly credentials stored in browsers and applications. While the exact method of data collection remains unknown, the article outlines common tactics used by cybercriminals to deploy such malware, including phishing emails, malicious websites, and compromised software. The potential consequences of this type of data exposure are severe, ranging from credential stuffing attacks and account takeovers to corporate espionage and targeted phishing campaigns. The sheer volume and variety of compromised accounts, including those associated with financial and governmental institutions, underscore the gravity of the situation and the potential for widespread harm.

In response to this alarming discovery, the article provides crucial recommendations for users to enhance their online security. These include the fundamental practices of regularly changing passwords, using unique and complex passwords for each account, and enabling two-factor authentication wherever possible. Additionally, the article advises users to check if their credentials have been exposed in known breaches, monitor their accounts for suspicious activity, and consider the use of password managers with caution. The researcher emphasizes the importance of proactive measures and responsible data handling, particularly concerning sensitive information stored in email accounts. The incident serves as a stark reminder of the persistent threats posed by infostealer malware and the critical need for individuals and organizations to prioritize robust cybersecurity practices.

Projects
- TryHackMe – Public Key Cryptography Basics – Complete
- TryHackMe – Hashing Basics – In Progress
Videos

Articles
- Adidas confirms criminals stole data from customer service provider – Hackers take personal data bytes from the brand with three stripes
- Dutch Intelligence Agencies Say Russian Hackers Stole Police Data in Cyberattack – The agencies said that the group, which they called Laundry Bear, is actively trying to steal sensitive data from EU and NATO countries and is “extremely likely Russian state supported.”
- Iranian pleads guilty to RobbinHood ransomware attacks, faces 30 years – An Iranian national has pleaded guilty to participating in the Robbinhood ransomware operation, which was used to breach the networks, steal data, and encrypt devices of U.S. cities and organizations in an attempt to extort millions of dollars over a five-year span.
- Russian IT pro sentenced to 14 years forced labor for sharing medical data with Ukraine – The latest in a long line of techies to face Putin’s wrath
- Botnet hacks 9,000+ ASUS routers to add persistent SSH backdoor – Over 9,000 ASUS routers are compromised by a novel botnet dubbed “AyySSHush” that was also observed targeting SOHO routers from Cisco, D-Link, and Linksys.
- 184,162,718 Passwords And Logins Leaked — Apple, Facebook, Snapchat
- Threat actors abuse Google Apps Script in evasive phishing attacks – Threat actors are abusing the ‘Google Apps Script’ development platform to host phishing pages that appear legitimate and steal login credentials.
- Pakistanis Urged To Immediately Change All Passwords After Massive Global Data Breach – Pakistan’s National Cyber Emergency Response Team (NCERT) has issued a critical warning urging citizens to change their passwords following a massive global data breach exposing 184 million unique account credentials.
June 2, 2025