Cyber Defense Advisors

Month: April 2025

Phishing Campaigns Use Real-Time Checks to Validate Victim Emails Before Credential Theft

Cybersecurity researchers are calling attention to a new type of credential phishing scheme that ensures that the stolen information is associated with valid online accounts. The technique has been codenamed precision-validating phishing by Cofense, which it said employs real-time email validation so that only a select set of high-value targets are served the fake login […]

Cyber News

⚡ Weekly Recap: Windows 0-Day, VPN Exploits, Weaponized AI, Hijacked Antivirus and More

Attackers aren’t waiting for patches anymore — they are breaking in before defenses are ready. Trusted security tools are being hijacked to deliver malware. Even after a breach is detected and patched, some attackers stay hidden. This week’s events show a hard truth: it’s not enough to react after an attack. You have to assume […]

Cyber News

China Sort of Admits to Being Behind Volt Typhoon

The Wall Street Journal has the story: Chinese officials acknowledged in a secret December meeting that Beijing was behind a widespread series of alarming cyberattacks on U.S. infrastructure, according to people familiar with the matter, underscoring how hostilities between the two superpowers are continuing to escalate. The Chinese delegation linked years of intrusions into computer […]

Cyber News

Cybersecurity in the AI Era: Evolve Faster Than the Threats or Get Left Behind

AI is changing cybersecurity faster than many defenders realize. Attackers are already using AI to automate reconnaissance, generate sophisticated phishing lures, and exploit vulnerabilities before security teams can react. Meanwhile, defenders are overwhelmed by massive amounts of data and alerts, struggling to process information quickly enough to identify real threats. AI offers a way to 

Cyber News

Medusa ransomware gang claims to have hacked NASCAR

The Medusa ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) claims to have compromised the computer systems of NASCAR, the United States’ National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and made off with more than 1TB of data. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog. 

Cyber News

Pakistan-Linked Hackers Expand Targets in India with CurlBack RAT and Spark RAT

A threat actor with ties to Pakistan has been observed targeting various sectors in India with various remote access trojans like Xeno RAT, Spark RAT, and a previously undocumented malware family called CurlBack RAT. The activity, detected by SEQRITE in December 2024, targeted Indian entities under railway, oil and gas, and external affairs ministries, marking […]

Cyber News

CMMC Compliance Becomes Urgent as DoD Finalizes Cybersecurity Rules

CMMC Compliance Becomes Urgent as DoD Finalizes Cybersecurity Rules With the Department of Defense’s new cybersecurity requirements set to appear in contracts by mid-2025, defense contractors must act swiftly to achieve compliance or risk losing eligibility for future work. The Department of Defense has finalized the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program, turning what was […]

Cyber Thoughts

Fortinet Warns Attackers Retain FortiGate Access Post-Patching via SSL-VPN Symlink Exploit

Fortinet has revealed that threat actors have found a way to maintain read-only access to vulnerable FortiGate devices even after the initial access vector used to breach the devices was patched. The attackers are believed to have leveraged known and now-patched security flaws, including, but not limited to, CVE-2022-42475, CVE-2023-27997, and CVE-2024-21762. “A threat actor […]

Cyber News

Paper Werewolf Deploys PowerModul Implant in Targeted Cyberattacks on Russian Sectors

The threat actor known as Paper Werewolf has been observed exclusively targeting Russian entities with a new implant called PowerModul. The activity, which took place between July and December 2024, singled out organizations in the mass media, telecommunications, construction, government entities, and energy sectors, Kaspersky said in a new report published Thursday. Paper Werewolf, also […]

Cyber News