Cyber Defense Advisors

Year: 2025

Legacy Stripe API Exploited to Validate Stolen Payment Cards in Web Skimmer Campaign

Threat hunters are warning of a sophisticated web skimmer campaign that leverages a legacy application programming interface (API) from payment processor Stripe to validate stolen payment information prior to exfiltration. “This tactic ensures that only valid card data is sent to the attackers, making the operation more efficient and potentially harder to detect,” Jscrambler researchers […]

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Europol Dismantles Kidflix With 72,000 CSAM Videos Seized in Major Operation

In one of the largest coordinated law enforcement operations, authorities have dismantled Kidflix, a streaming platform that offered child sexual abuse material (CSAM). “A total of 1.8 million users worldwide logged on to the platform between April 2022 and March 2025,” Europol said in a statement. “On March 11, 2025, the server, which contained around […]

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Smashing Security podcast #411: The fall of Troy, and whisky barrel scammers

Renowned cybersecurity expert Troy Hunt falls victim to a phishing attack, resulting in the exposure of thousands of subscriber details, and don’t lose your life savings in a whisky scam… All this and more is discussed in the latest edition of the “Smashing Security” podcast by cybersecurity veterans Graham Cluley and Carole Theriault. Plus! Don’t […]

Cyber News

Google Fixed Cloud Run Vulnerability Allowing Unauthorized Image Access via IAM Misuse

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed details of a now-patched privilege escalation vulnerability in Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Cloud Run that could have allowed a malicious actor to access container images and even inject malicious code. “The vulnerability could have allowed such an identity to abuse its Google Cloud Run revision edit permissions in order to pull […]

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Helping Your Clients Achieve NIST Compliance: A Step by Step Guide for Service Providers

Introduction As the cybersecurity landscape evolves, service providers play an increasingly vital role in safeguarding sensitive data and maintaining compliance with industry regulations. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) offers a comprehensive set of frameworks that provide a clear path to achieving robust cybersecurity practices. For service providers, adhering to NIST 

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Rational Astrologies and Security

John Kelsey and I wrote a short paper for the Rossfest Festschrift: “Rational Astrologies and Security“: There is another non-security way that designers can spend their security budget: on making their own lives easier. Many of these fall into the category of what has been called rational astrology. First identified by Randy Steve Waldman [Wal12], […]

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Outlaw Group Uses SSH Brute-Force to Deploy Cryptojacking Malware on Linux Servers

Cybersecurity researchers have shed light on an “auto-propagating” cryptocurrency mining botnet called Outlaw (aka Dota) that’s known for targeting SSH servers with weak credentials. “Outlaw is a Linux malware that relies on SSH brute-force attacks, cryptocurrency mining, and worm-like propagation to infect and maintain control over systems,” Elastic Security Labs said in a new analysis 

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How SSL Misconfigurations Impact Your Attack Surface

When assessing an organization’s external attack surface, encryption-related issues (especially SSL misconfigurations) receive special attention. Why? Their widespread use, configuration complexity, and visibility to attackers as well as users make them more likely to be exploited.  This highlights how important your SSL configurations are in maintaining your web application security and 

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FIN7 Deploys Anubis Backdoor to Hijack Windows Systems via Compromised SharePoint Sites

The financially motivated threat actor known as FIN7 has been linked to a Python-based backdoor called Anubis (not to be confused with an Android banking trojan of the same name) that can grant them remote access to compromised Windows systems. “This malware allows attackers to execute remote shell commands and other system operations, giving them […]

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