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Firmware Vulnerabilities affecting Dell Laptops Could allow attackers to achieve persistent access

A set of vulnerabilities affecting millions of Dell laptops used by government agencies, cybersecurity professionals, and enterprises worldwide. The vulnerability known as “ReVault,” mainly target the Broadcom BCM5820X security chip embedded in Dell’s ControlVault3 firmware.

This subsequently create opportunities for attackers to steal passwords, biometric data, and maintain persistent access to compromised systems.

How does the vulnerability work

Most of the flaws reside in the firmware for ControlVault3 and ControlVault3+, which are hardware security components that store passwords, biometric templates, and security codes.

The lists includes:

Two out-of-bounds vulnerabilities (CVE-2025-24311, CVE-2025-25050)
An arbitrary free (CVE-2025-25215) flaw
A stack-overflow bug (CVE-2025-24922)
An unsafe-deserialization flaw (CVE-2025-24919)

According to the researchers, the vulnerabilities can be exploited in so-called ReVault attacks by:

Attackers who have achieved non-administrative access/privileges on a vulnerable target laptop. The vulnerabilities may allow them to interact with the ControlVault firmware and leak key material that would allow them to permanently modify the firmware (i.e., effectively creating a potential backdoor into the system)
Attackers that have physical access to the laptop. They could pry the device open, use a custom connector to access the Unified Security Hub board (which runs ControlVault) over USB, and exploit those vulnerabilities – all without having to log into the system beforehand or having knowledge of the full-disk encryption password.

“Another interesting consequence of this scenario is that if a system is configured to be unlocked with the user’s fingerprint, it is also possible to tamper with the CV firmware to accept any fingerprint,” as per researchers.

Technical details have not been publicly shared, but they have, of course, been privately reported to Dell and Broadcom.

These are 5 critical vulnerabilities of ReVault found by Cisco Talos researcher

ReVault Attack – Five Critical Vulnerabilities

ControlVault3 and ControlVault3+ systems:

CVE-2025-24311: An out-of-bounds read vulnerability that enables information leakage
CVE-2025-25050: An out-of-bounds write flaw allowing code execution
CVE-2025-25215: An arbitrary memory free vulnerability
CVE-2025-24922: A stack-based buffer overflow enabling arbitrary code execution
CVE-2025-24919: An unsafe deserialization flaw in ControlVault’s Windows APIs

Importance of device security posture/Endpoint security

The incident highlight how device posture check is designed to evaluate threat that a device poses to an organization and its systems.

The persistent nature of these attacks represents a significant escalation in firmware-based threats, as the malicious code resides below the operating system level.

Here traditional antivirus solutions cannot detect or remove it. Now sophistication of cyber threats means that organizations need to become more proactive in terms of defense.

The identification and mitigation of a threat early on, via an effective and clearly defined security posture, reduces costs, lessens downtime, and minimizes reputational damage.

Periodic security audits are essential to have a complete check on all the security features of the organization. Such audits identify vulnerabilities in the current security controls and allow for ensuring things align properly with industry standards.

Importance of Endpoint security

End point security detect and prevent security threats like file-based malware attacks among other malicious activities. It also provides investigation and remediation capabilities needed to respond to dynamic security incidents and alerts.

Conclusion:

Protecting against endpoint attacks is challenging for organisation because endpoints exist where humans and machines intersect. With the increasing number of adversaries trying to breach organizations using sophisticated cyberattacks, quickly detecting potential threats will help speed the remediation process and keep data protected.

(Source: https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2025/08/05/dell-laptops-firmware-vulnerabilities-revault-attacks/)

New Malware Strikes on Users Data, infects Devices has bypass mechanism;

How deadly the malware is warns Researchers. Linux malware variant offers advanced features and evasion mechanisms

PSA stealer malware affected more then 4,000 computers in 62 countries

A brand new malware related to Linux been found infecting thousands of computers around the world, stealing people’s login credentials, payment information and browser cookies, warns security researchers from SentinelLabs and Beazley Security. More than 4,000 computers were infected with PSA Stealer in 62 countries, the two companies said, suggesting that the campaign is rather successful.

As per researcher PSA Stealer is apparently being distributed through phishing emails and malicious landing pages. The malicious attachments contain a legitimate program (such as a PDF reader) and a weaponized DLL. The program sideloads the DLL, successfully deploying the malware while not raising any alarms.

More than 4,000 computers were infected with PSA Stealer in 62 countries, the two companies said, suggesting that the campaign is rather successful.

The joint report detailing the activities of PXA Stealer, a new Python-based infostealer for the Linux platform. Spotted in late 2024, and has since grown into a formidable threat, successfully evading defense tools while wreaking havoc across the globe.

Key pointers on installing the applications /malware (Side Loading)

The malware PSA can target browser extensions for various crypto wallets, including Exodus, Magic Eden, Crypto.com and many more

Can pull data from sites such as Coinbase, Kraken, and PayPal.

Finally, it can inject a DLL into running browser instances to bypass encryption mechanisms.

PSA Stealer is apparently being distributed through phishing emails and malicious landing pages

The malicious attachments contain a legitimate program (such as a PDF reader) and a weaponized DLL.

The program sideloads the DLL, successfully deploying the malware while not raising any alarms.

Hackers who are from Vietnamize origin are selling data selling it on the black market – in a Telegram group. The majority of the victims are located in South Korea, the US, the Netherlands, Hungary, and Austria.

So far, more than 200,000 were stolen passwords, as well as hundreds of credit card information and more than four million cookies.

Vulnerability in SAP NetWeaver recently discovered by threat researchers from from Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 is being exploited to deploy Linux malware is capable of running arbitrary system commands and deploying additional payloads, experts have warned.

Security researchers from Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 discovered a piece of malware called Auto-Color, a backdoor, from Linux and dubbed for its ability to rename itself after installation.

The researchers found it was capable of opening reverse shells, executing arbitrary system commands, acting as a proxy, uploading and modifying files.

This also include adjusting settings dynamically. It was also discovered that the backdoor remains mostly dormant if its C2 server is unreachable, effectively evading detection by staying inactive until the operator instructions arrive.

Mitigating threat from Malware

Malware is any software intentionally designed to damage, disrupt, or gain unauthorized access to computer systems. In cybersecurity the diversity of malware include viruses, worms, spyware and ransomware. Each has unique attack methods, so it’s essential to understand their nature and behavior to mitigate potential risks.

How does Malware spread & threat Malware pose?

All channels available at disposal should be monitored when we think of malware and how they spread. All types of malware can spread in various ways, using technical vulnerabilities and human inattention to infiltrate systems and networks, but some methods prove more successful than others. Understanding how malware typically presents itself and spreads can help businesses stay vigilant against its damage.

Deceive & Defend against Malware with Mirage Cloak from IntruceptLabs

Mirage Cloak offers various deception methods to detect and stop threats before they cause damage. These methods include adding decoys to the network, deploying breadcrumbs on current enterprise assets, using baits as tripwires on endpoints, and setting up lures with intentionally misconfigured or vulnerable services or applications. The flexible framework also lets customers add new deception methods as needed.

Our AI-powered proactive defense system identifies potential threats in real time, giving you the upper hand in protecting your network and assets.
By leveraging advanced artificial intelligence, our system reduces false positives, allowing your security team to focus on genuine threats and respond effectively.
With machine learning capabilities, our defense system continuously learns and evolves, adapting to new attack vectors and staying ahead of cyber threats.

Do connect with us for any query: https://intruceptlabs.com/contact/

(Source: Dangerous new Linux malware strikes – thousands of users see passwords, personal info stolen, here’s what we know | TechRadar)

New Cyberattack Methodology ‘Man in Prompt’, User’s at Risk, Target-AI Tools

AI tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini and others being afflicted by malicious actors via injecting harmful instructions into leading GenAI tools. These were overlooked previously and attack methodology targets the browser extensions installed by various organizations.

The attack methodology named as ‘Man in Prompt’, exercise its attack with new class exploit targeting the AI tools as per LayerX’s researchers.

As per the research any browser extension, even without any special permissions, can access the prompts of both commercial and internal LLMs and inject them with prompts to steal data, exfiltrate it and cover their tracks.

The exploit has been tested on all top commercial LLMs, with proof-of-concept demos provided for ChatGPT and Google Gemini.

The question is how do they impact Users & organizations at large & how does the AI tools function within web browsers?

For organizations the implications can be high then expected as AI tools are most sought after and slowly organization across verticals are relying on AI tools.

The LLMs used and tested on many organizations are mostly trained ones. They carry huge data set of information which are mostly confidential and possibility of being vulnerable to such attack rises .

The attack methodology named as ‘Man in Prompt’, exercise its attack with new class exploit targeting the AI tools as per LayerX’s researchers. As per the research any browser extension, even without any special permissions, can access the prompts of both commercial and internal LLMs and inject them with prompts to steal data, exfiltrate it, and cover their tracks.

LayerX researcher termed this type of attack as ‘hacking copilots’ that are equipped to steal organizational information.

The prompts given are a part of the web page structure where input fields are known as the Document Object Model, or DOM. So virtually any browser extension with basic scripting access to the DOM can read or alter what users type into AI prompts, even without requiring special permissions.

Bad actors can use compromised extensions to carry out activities including manipulating a user’s input to the AI.

Perform prompt injection attacks, altering the user’s input or inserting hidden instructions.
Extract data directly from the prompt, response, or session.
Compromise model integrity, tricking the LLM into revealing sensitive information or performing unintended actions

Understanding the attack scenario

Proof-of-concept attacks against major platforms

For ChatGPT, an extension with minimal declared permissions could inject a prompt, extract the AI’s response and remove chat history from the user’s view to reduce detection.

LayerX implemented an exploit that can steal internal data from corporate environments using Google Gemini via its integration into Google Workspace.

Over the last few months, Google has rolled out new integrations of its Gemini AI into Google Workspace. Currently, this feature is available to organizations using Workspace and paying users.

Gemini integration is implemented directly within the page as added code on top of the existing page. It modifies and directly writes to the web application’s Document Object Model (DOM), giving it control and access to all functionality within the application

These platforms are vulnerable to any exploit which Layer X researchers showcased that without any special permissions shows how practically any user is vulnerable to such an attack.

Threat mitigation

These kind of attacks creates a blind spot for traditional security tools like endpoint Data Loss Prevention (DLP) systems or Secure Web Gateways, as they lack visibility into these DOM-level interactions. Blocking AI tools by URL alone also won’t protect internal AI deployments.

LayerX advises organisations to adjust their security strategies towards inspecting in-browser behaviour.

Key recommendations include monitoring DOM interactions within AI tools to detect suspicious activity, blocking risky extensions based on their behavior rather than just their listed permissions, and actively preventing prompt tampering and data exfiltration in real-time at the browser layer.

(Source: https://layerxsecurity.com/blog/man-in-the-prompt-top-ai-tools-vulnerable-to-injection/)

Analyzing the newly discovered Vulnerability in Gemini CLI; Impact on Software coding

Google’s Gemini command line interface (CLI) AI agent

Its not been one month when Google’s Gemini CLI vulnerability discovered by Tracebit researchers and found attackers could use prompt injection attacks to steal sensitive data.

Google’s Gemini CLI, an open-source AI agent for coding could allow attackers exploit to hide malicious commands, using “a toxic combination of improper validation, prompt injection and misleading UX,” as Tracebit explains.

After reports of the vulnerability surfaced, Google classified the situation as Priority 1 and Severity 1 on July 23, releasing the improved version two days later.

Those planning to use Gemini CLI should immediately upgrade to its latest version (0.1.14). Additionally, users could use the tool’s sandboxing mode for additional security and protection.

Disclosure of the vulnerability

Researchers reported on vulnerability directly to Google through its Bug Hunters programme. According to a timeline provided by Tracebit, the vulnerability was initially reported to Google’s Vulnerability Disclosure Programme (VDP) on 27 June, just two days after Gemini CLI’s public release.

Impact of the vulnerability

A detailed analysis found that in the patched version of Gemini CLI, attempts at code injection display the malicious command to users. This require explicit approval for any additional binaries to be executed. This change is intended to prevent the silent execution that the original vulnerability enabled.

Tracebit’s researchers played an important role in discovering and reporting the issue which is symbol of independent security research, particularly as AI-powered tools become central to software development workflows.

LLM integral to software development but hackers are using it too

Gemini CLI integrates Google’s LLM with traditional command line tools such as PowerShell or Bash. This allows developers to use natural language prompts to speed up tasks such as analyzing and debugging code, generating documentation, and understanding new repositories (“repos”).

As developers worldwide are using LLMs to help them develop code faster, attackers worldwide are using LLMs to help them understand and attack applications faster.

Tracebit also discovered that malicious commands could easily be hidden in Gemini CLI This is possible by by packing the command line with blank characters, pushing the malicious commands out of the user’s sight.

More vigilance required when examining and running third-party or untrusted code, especially in tools leveraging AI to assist in software development.

Through the use of LLMs, AI excels at educating users, finding patterns and automate repetitive tasks.

Sam Cox, Tracebit’s founder, says he personally tested the exploit, which ultimately allowed him to execute any command — including destructive ones. “That’s exactly why I found this so concerning,” Cox told Ars Technica. “The same technique would work for deleting files, a fork bomb or even installing a remote shell giving the attacker remote control of the user’s machine.”

Source: https://in.mashable.com/tech/97813/if-youre-coding-with-gemini-cli-you-need-this-security-update

Kaspersky reveals SharePoint ToolShell vulnerabilities stem from incomplete 2020 fix.

Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) discovered that the recently exploited ToolShell vulnerabilities in Microsoft SharePoint originate from an incomplete fix for CVE-2020-1147, first reported in 2020.

IntruceptLabs have published the security advisory https://intruceptlabs.com/2025/07/toolshell-zero-day-exploits-in-microsoft-sharepoint-enable-full-remote-takeover/ on 21st July 2025.

The SharePoint vulnerabilities have emerged as a major cybersecurity threat this year amid active exploitation. Kaspersky Security Network showed exploitation attempts worldwide, including in Egypt, Jordan, Russia, Vietnam and Zambia.

The attacks target organizations across government, finance, manufacturing, forestry and agriculture sectors.

Two newly discovered zero-day vulnerabilities (CVE-2025-53770 and CVE-2025-53771) in Microsoft SharePoint Server are being actively exploited in the wild.

There is currently no patch available to plug this security hole, but Microsoft says that customers running on-premises SharePoint Servers can stop attackers from exploiting the vulnerability by configuring Antimalware Scan Interface (AMSI) integration in SharePoint and deploying Defender AV on all SharePoint servers.

Share point Vulnerabilities a major cyber threat

The SharePoint vulnerabilities have emerged as a major cybersecurity threat this year amid
active exploitation. Kaspersky Security Network showed exploitation attempts worldwide,
including in Egypt, Jordan, Russia, Vietnam and Zambia.

The attacks target organizations across government, finance, manufacturing, forestry and agriculture sectors. Kaspersky solutions proactively detected and blocked ToolShell attacks before the vulnerabilities were publicly disclosed.

Kaspersky GReAT researchers analyzed the published ToolShell exploit and found it alarmingly similar to the 2020 CVE-2020-1147 exploit.

This suggests that the CVE-2025- 53770 patch is, in fact, an effective fix for the vulnerability that CVE-2020-1147 attempted to address five years ago.
The connection to CVE-2020-1147 became evident following the discovery of CVE-2025- 49704 and CVE-2025-49706, patched on July 8. However, these fixes could be bypassed by adding a single forward slash to the exploit payload.

Once Microsoft learned of active exploitation of these vulnerabilities, they responded with comprehensive patches that addressed potential bypass methods, designating the vulnerabilities as CVE-2025-53770 and CVE-2025-53771.

The surge in attacks against SharePoint servers worldwide occurred during the window between initial exploitation and full patch deployment. Despite patches now being available for the ToolShell vulnerabilities, Kaspersky expects attackers will continue exploiting this chain for years to come.

“Many high-profile vulnerabilities remain actively exploited years after discovery —
ProxyLogon, PrintNightmare and EternalBlue still compromise unpatched systems today.

We expect ToolShell to follow the same pattern: its ease of exploitation means the public exploit
will soon appear in popular penetration testing tools, ensuring prolonged use by attackers,”
said Boris Larin, principal security researcher at Kaspersky GReAT.

Do connect with us for any queries https://intruceptlabs.com/contact/

(Source: Read full report on Read the full report on Securelist.com)

Surge in Ransomware attack reveal sophistication of Threat actors that strategically focuses on industries to incentivizes Ransom payment

The United States remains the primary target for Ransomware attacks
UK is preparing to ban any Ransomware payments for critical infrastructure companies
Manufacturing, Technology and Healthcare top targeted sectors, with the Oil & Gas industry experiencing a remarkable 935% increase in attacks as per Zscaler report
RaaS market growth drivers

There has been improvement in cyber resilience but it has been observed when too many entities pay ransom, each payment provides gateway for next attack as the payment incentivise.

Ransomware attack target pattern reveals how threat actors are strategically focusing on industries where operational disruption, data sensitivity, and regulatory concerns create maximum leverage.

In the beginning of July 2025, Federal authorities, including the FBI and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), have issued a high-priority advisory warning about the escalating threat posed by the Medusa ransomware group.

Medusa ransomware group ramped up its attacks, increasingly targeting users of major email service providers like Gmail and Outlook. Medusa’s reach extends across multiple industries, with healthcare, education, legal services, insurance, technology, and manufacturing among the hardest hit.

Now UK is preparing to ban any Ransomware payments for critical infrastructure companies, local governments, schools and publicly funded entities like the NHS. The new ransomware payment proposal is just one part of a package of new regulations slated to soon go into effect in the UK, mostly centered on the Cyber Resilience Bill.

The new UK rules would additionally require all business types that are not impacted to notify the government when they intend to make a ransomware payment and may be required to seek guidance on the possibility of the payment violating sanctions on cybercriminal groups.

Surge in ransomware attacks

Zscaler released its annual ThreatLabz 2025 Ransomware Report, revealing a dramatic 146% surge in ransomware attacks blocked by their cloud platform

The report highlights a significant shift in attack strategies, with threat actors increasingly focusing on data extortion over encryption.

Key findings show that ransomware groups stole 238 TB of data, representing a 92% increase year-over-year.

The report identifies Manufacturing, Technology, and Healthcare as the most targeted sectors, with the Oil & Gas industry experiencing a remarkable 935% increase in attacks.

The United States remains the primary target, accounting for 50% of all attacks with 3,671 incidents. RansomHub emerged as the most active group with 833 publicly named victims, followed by Akira (520) and Clop (488).

Ransomware and Crypto market

Well ransomware technique might have changed its pattern but not tactics, with crytpcurrencies it marked a major change and turning point in the world of cyber security.

How can we forget WannaCry (2017), it was perhaps the most infamous ransomware attack in history, caused global disruption by exploiting a Windows vulnerability.

The demand was Bitcoin, but its scale and method were more advanced but not the first.

BlackSuit ransomware extortion sites seized in Operation Checkmate

Law enforcement has seized the dark web extortion sites of the BlackSuit ransomware operation, which has targeted and breached the networks of hundreds of organizations worldwide over the past several years.

Yesterday 28 july, the websites on the BlackSuit .onion domains were replaced with seizure banners announcing that the ransomware gang’s sites were taken down by the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations federal law enforcement agency as part of a joint international action codenamed Operation Checkmate.

Key trends Key driving the Ransomware Protection Market

The demand for ransomware protection solutions is further fuelled by the growing number of cyber-attacks targeting businesses, particularly in the BFSI sector, which remains the largest revenue generator in the market.

The demand for RaaS based products growing due to corporate digitization, and the advent of crypto currency like Bitcoin are the key market drivers enhancing the market demand and growth.

This include technological advancements and increasing cyber threats.

Market size in 2024: USD 32.24 billion; projected to reach USD 93.35 billion by 2032.
End-point security segment accounted for 35% of market revenue.
BFSI sector generated the most income, with significant ransomware attacks reported.
Managed services segment dominated the market, catering to SMEs for enhanced cyber security.

Of all the reasons, cyber attacks now focus on any vulnerability as many businesses are switching to cloud services. In response to the ransom, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks are launched, which continue until the ransom is paid or the data risks being permanently lost.

Cybercriminals may breach into sites for trading cryptocurrencies and steal money. Crypto currency is currently the most widely used payment method in the event of a ransomware attack

Email remained the primary entry point in 96% of the reviewed breaches, accounting for 93%.

Social attacks are roughly three times more likely to cause breaches in businesses than physical vulnerabilities, highlighting the importance of regular staff cybersecurity training.

It has caused business to start researching ransomware defenses and has significantly increased demand for these defenses in the market under investigation.

Around the world, there are more data leaks and other security breaches. Phishing attacks have been used against numerous businesses from various industries at some point.

APEC market for Ransomware expected to grow

The Asia-Pacific Ransomware Protection Market is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR from 2023 to 2032.

This is due to the growing economies of China, India, and Australia spending extensively on cyber security solutions; Asia Pacific is also predicted to have growth potential in the ransomware prevention market.

Moreover, China’s Ransomware Protection market held the largest market share, and The Asia-Pacific region’s fastest-growing market for ransomware protection was India.

The market for Ransomware Protection industry has recently provided some of the most important benefits. Major players in the Ransomware Protection market, are attempting to increase market demand by investing in research and development operations.

Ransomware Protection Industry Developments

Intrucept has launched Intru360 gives security analysts and SOC managers a clear view across the organization, helping them fully understand the extent and context of an attack. It also simplifies workflows by automatically handling alerts, allowing for faster detection of both known and unknown threats.

Identify latest threats without having to purchase, implement, and oversee several solutions or find, hire, and manage a team security analyst.

Unify latest threat intelligence and security technologies to prioritize the threats that pose the greatest risk to your company.

Here are some features we offer:

Over 400 third-party and cloud integrations.
More than 1,100 preconfigured correlation rules.
Ready-to-use threat analytics, threat intelligence service feeds, and prioritization based on risk.
Prebuilt playbooks and automated response capabilities.

Source:

BlackSuit ransomware extortion sites seized in Operation Checkmate

Ransomware attacks surge despite international enforcement effort | Cybersecurity Dive

Ransomware Protection Market Size, Growth Analysis – 2032

Malware Uses AWS Lambda to collect data; Govt Org’s Across S E Asia affected by HazyBeacon

Data Stolen from various government based organizations across South east-Asia via State-Backed HazyBeacon Malware that Uses AWS Lambda was discovered and tracked by researchers Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 under the moniker CL-STA-1020.

Here “CL” stands for “cluster” and “STA” refers to “state-backed motivation, data collected include information about recent tariffs and trade disputes. The initial access vector used to deliver the malware is currently not known, although evidence shows the use of DLL side-loading techniques to deploy it on compromised hosts. Specifically, it involves planting a malicious version of a DLL called “mscorsvc.dll” along with the legitimate Windows executable, “mscorsvw.exe.”

Campaign execution flow

As per researchers backdoor leverages AWS Lambda URLs as command and control (C2) infrastructure. AWS Lambda URLs are a feature of AWS Lambda that allows users to invoke serverless functions directly over HTTPS.

This technique uses legitimate cloud functionality to hide in plain sight, creating a reliable, scalable and difficult-to-detect communication channel.

Figure 1 shows the high-level execution flow of this attack.

(Source: Behind the Clouds: Attackers Targeting Governments in Southeast Asia Implement Novel Covert C2 Communication)

Key points:

The malware is using a newly discovered Windows backdoor dubbed HazyBeacon.

Secondly, it exploits a legitimate feature of the AWS Lambda serverless compute service called Lambda URLs, to hide its malicious activities

AWS Lambda URLs are a part of AWS Lambda that allow users to invoke serverless functions directly over HTTPS.

In this attack, the HazyBeacon backdoor uses the service to establish C2 communications, allowing the actor to engage in covert intelligence gathering.

Researchers at Trellix, revealed the attacker tactic of using Lambda to obscure C2 activity in late June, noting that such obscurity “makes network-based detection nearly impossible without decryption or deep behavioral analysis,” according to their report.

During backdoor deployment, attackers also establish persistence on the compromised Windows endpoint by creating a Windows service named msdnetsvc, which ensures that the HazyBeacon DLL would be loaded even after rebooting the system.

Unit 42 included a list of indicators of compromise (IoCs) in the post to help identify a potential attack. Defenders can set their machine-learning models and analysis techniques to be triggered by those IoCs, as well as use behavioral threat protection to detect and block the execution of processes with malicious behavior in their cloud environments.

How the malware reaches out to serverless AWS Lambda endpoints

These URLs are hosted on cloud infrastructure that’s globally trusted
Traffic looks like regular HTTPS communication
Detection becomes near-impossible for traditional firewalls or EDRs

This use of cloud-native tools for C2 is a growing trend in advanced persistent threats (APTs).

South east Asia a focal point of target

The reason why Southeast Asia has increasingly becoming a focal point for cyber espionage mainly due various sensitive trade negotiations being done by countries, defense enhancement taken up by countries as a part of modernization and power alignment between U.S.–China.

Why threat actors chose this area via targeting government agencies as the data stolen carried various intelligence inputs that were based on foreign policy direction, infrastructure planning and various regulatory shifts that further influence the behavior of global markets.

HazyBeacon reflects a broader aspect and trend in cyber security related to advanced persistent threats using trusted platforms as covert channels.

This cloud-based malware cluster, similar techniques have been observed in threats using Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, or Dropbox APIs to evade detection and facilitate persistent access.

Once the malware is on the system, it doesn’t want to leave. HazyBeacon registers itself as a Windows service, making sure it gets relaunched after every reboot.

Organizations who detect and mitigate this emerging threats also understand how attackers exploit cloud services for malicious purposes.

The misuse of AWS Lambda occurs when the malicious DLL, mscorsvc.dll, establishes a C2 channel through an AWS Lambda URL. AWS Lambda runs code in response to events without requiring server provisioning or management; the URLs feature, introduced in 2022, extends this functionality by providing customers with a way to configure dedicated HTTPS endpoints for Lambda functions.

Source: 🔍 Deep Dive: How State‑Backed HazyBeacon Malware is Weaponizing AWS Lambda & Steganography | by Abhay Haswani | Jul, 2025 | Medium

Increased Funding on Cyber Offensive operation against Cyber Defense budget cut by Trump Admin; How wise a decision? Lets explore

Major new legislation commits over $1billion to US cyber offensives. Defining Cyber-offensive operations will include exploiting flaws in software or hack devices or deploy spyware.

This also include collecting internet traffic data and may involve targeted cyberattacks using zero-day exploits. Organizations often build the necessary infrastructure for such activities or gathers Intelligence as a part of these activates.

Trump administration, through the Department of Defense, has announced plans to spend $1 billion over four years on “offensive cyber operations.”

Along side recently the Trump regime announced that cyber offensive operation against Russia will be paused, highlighting that US govt now focuses mainly on China, moving away from eastern Europe.

It’s not clear what tools or software would qualify, but the legislation notes that the funds would go towards enhancing and improving the capabilities of the US Indo-Pacific Command, potentially focusing on the US’s biggest geopolitical rival, China.

The ongoing trade war with China is one of the main reason for Trump regime to shift focus from Russia , and in recent months security researchers have seen Chinese state hackers linked to People’s Liberation Army and the Ministry of State Security target companies in the fields of robotics, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and high-end medical device manufacturing.

The legislation does not provide detailed information on what “offensive cyber operations” entail or which tools and software will be funded. The investment comes at a time when the U.S. has simultaneously reduced its cybersecurity defense budget by $1 billion. Few months back we witnessed how the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) reaffirmed its commitment to defending against all cyberthreats after budget cuts was announced.

Over 1,000 CISA staff have departed since early 2025 through a combination of layoffs, buyouts, and voluntary resignations. What remains is a hollowed-out workforce facing rising cyber threats with fewer tools and teammates.

CISA maintained although the continued efforts to undermine and weaken cybersecurity teams capabilities, however counter-productive that may be in protecting US infrastructure.

Senator Ron Wyden has concerns. “Vastly expanding U.S. government hacking is going to invite retaliation — not just against federal agencies, but also rural hospitals, local governments and private companies who don’t stand a chance against nation-state hackers,” Wyden told the news site.

The US administration simultaneously enacted cuts to the nation’s cybersecurity defense allocations, by slashing $1 billion from the U.S. cyber defense budget. The cuts pose a significant risk as the country faces increasing cyber threats, particularly from Chinese adversaries.

However, the move to a more offensive cyber stance has been critiqued by Democratic Senator and Senate intelligence committee member Ron Wyden, who said that the offensive strategy, combined with Trump and DOGE’s massive cuts to defensive cyber operations such as slashing the budget and the termination of staff from the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), only invites retaliation from the US’ largest geopolitical rival.

“The Trump administration has slashed funding for cyber security and government technology and left our country wide open to attack by foreign hackers,” Wyden told TechCrunch.

How wise decision it is to cut cyber defense budget while increasing Cyber offensive spending?

The layoffs at CISA have led to concerns the U.S. is less well protected against cyber threats from the likes of China, Russia and Iran.

Obviously there will be reduction in capacity to defend against cyberattacks, especially large-scale coordinated campaigns. The federal government has inadvertently provided adversaries with a map of its blind spots by scaling back critical cybersecurity programs.

This increase in budget for Cyber offensive operation is seen as an aggressive push and might provoke retaliatory attacks on vulnerable targets, such as local governments and healthcare entities. According to the report, the bill does not specify what the “offensive cyber operations” are or what software would qualify for funding.

At the same time The Trump administration has halted US offensive cyber operations against Russia, sparking concerns over national security and potential Russian cyber threats.

The Trump administration is well aware of the nation state attack and advance techniques cyber adversaries adopt to, a national threat to infrastructure security that cannot be compromised.

Every year there has been increase in cyber security budget if we take a look at from 2017 to 2024. The US government civilian agencies spent more on cybersecurity in each successive year than they did the prior year.

(Source: https://techcrunch.com)

Soucrce: Trump seeks unprecedented $1.23 billion cut to federal cyber budget | CSO Online

Zero Trust 2.0” Strategy by White House to Streamline Compliance; A Shift in Threat landscape

Zero trust isn’t just for security teams, but a strategy where organizations meet compliance standards, vendors behavior, govt policies. Overall zero trust is a shift in how an entire enterprise thinks how to access risk and more than a checklist.

The White House is developing a “Zero Trust 2.0” strategy to focus on targeted, high-impact cybersecurity initiatives and improve the efficiency of federal cyber investments.

Trump admin Officials aim to streamline compliance regimes and tailor software security requirements, especially differentiating critical from low-risk software.

The administration is also preparing new guidance on drone procurement and use, restricting purchases from certain foreign entities, and finalizing instructions for agencies to adopt post-quantum cryptography following recent NIST standards.

The zero-trust security architecture was introduced by Forrester Research in 2010. Zero trust is a cybersecurity paradigm focused on resource protection and the premise that trust is never granted implicitly but must be continually evaluated.

Nick Polk, branch director for federal cybersecurity at the Office of Management and Budget, said OMB is looking toward the next iteration of the federal zero trust strategy.

“We’re still coalescing around the exact strategy here, but it likely will be focused on specific initiatives we can undertake for the entire government,” Polk said a July 16 online meeting of the Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board.

AI & Zero Trust

AI tools help build a Zero Trust foundation for enterprises fixing different layers of security and focus on elevating security strategies . Now with the advent of AI-driven advancements, the path forward offers some intriguing prospects for AI and zero trust synergies.

AI and Zero Trust intersecting will unlock key opportunities for holistic cyber security maturity, further AI generates an informed narrative for granting or denying resource access. The security approach seamlessly aligns with a core tenet on principle of Zero Trust and least privilege.

Key Security Updates

Nick Polk also explained some of the key changes in President Donald Trump’s June cybersecurity executive order. Trump maintained many Biden-era initiatives, but canceled a plan to require federal software vendors to submit “artifacts” that demonstrate the security of their product.

“That was really a key instance of compliance over security, requiring an excessive amount of different artifacts from each software vendor, changing requirements midstream, when software providers were already working on getting the security software development form and agencies were already working on collecting it,” Polk said, pointing to a continued requirement for agencies to collect secure software attestation forms from contractors.

How Zero trust help organizations security posture

Organizations who place Zero Trust architecture will have access control policies and definitely use micro segmentation . Required to minimize the damage from ransomware attack can cause.

Attackers not only find it more difficult to breach the system in the first place, they’re limited in their ability to expand made possible by Zero trust when put in place.

Ransomware attack, typically involves an initial infection, lateral movement and data exfiltration with or without encryption. Zero Trust implementation bring organization to address each step as it happens or before it happens. Ransomware will attack a business, consumer, or device e

According to Gartner, at least 70% of new remote access deployments will be served mainly by ZTNA instead of VPN services by 2025 — up from less than 10% at the end of 2021.

Zero trust is based on the principle of least-privilege access, meaning it has to be assumed that no user or application should be inherently trusted. Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) takes a completely different approach than VPNs to securing access for remote workers.

Implementing zero trust will connect users to network and no risk is involved with network. Users are connected directly to only the applications and data they need, preventing the lateral movement of malicious users with overly permissive access to sensitive data and resources.

Behavioral Analytics and Anomaly Detection with AI its much easier to detect and entity actions

Automating Threat Response and Remediation is faster with AI as, AI takes the lead in automating response measures by swift device isolation.

AI involves real time risk assessments and determines when to give access resource.

In few years from now many organization will attain the optimal posture for Zero Trust as AI and zero trust emerge as strong significant partner for a better security maturity and posture.

(Source: https://www.computer.org/csdl/magazine/co/2022/02/09714079/1AZLiSNNvIk)

Source: https://www.govcon.community/c/news-summary/trump-admin-focuses-on-zero-trust-2-0-cybersecurity-efficiencies

Hackers Weaponizing AI Extension to steal Crypto Assets Through Malicious Packages

The amount of crypto malware has doubled in the first quarter of 2025 as per research.

Kaspersky GReAT (Global Research and Analysis Team) experts have discovered open-source packages that download the Quasar backdoor and a stealer designed to exfiltrate cryptocurrency. The malicious packages are intended for the Cursor AI development environment, which is based on Visual Studio Code — a tool used for AI-assisted coding.

The fake extension, published under the name “Solidity Language,” had accumulated 54,000 downloads before being detected and removed.

What makes this attack particularly insidious is its exploitation of search ranking algorithms to position the malicious extension above legitimate alternatives.

How the Threat actors deceive the developers

During an incident response, a blockchain developer from Russia reached out to Kaspersky after installing one of these fake extensions on his computer, which allowed attackers to steal approximately $500,000 worth of crypto assets.

The threat actor behind these packages managed to deceive the developer by making the malicious package rank higher than the legitimate one. The attacker achieved this by artificially inflating the malicious package’s downloads count to 54,000.

After the malicious extension downloaded by the developer was discovered and removed from the repository, the threat actor republished it and artificially inflated its installation count to a higher number – 2 million, compared to 61,000 for the legitimate package.

The extension was removed from the platform following a request from Kaspersky.

The attackers leveraged the Open VSX registry’s relevance-based ranking system, which considers factors including recency of updates, download counts, and ratings. The attack infrastructure reveals a well-organized operation extending beyond this single incident.

In 2025, threat actors are actively publishing clones of legitimate software packages that, once installed, execute harmful payloads ranging from cryptocurrency theft to full codebase deletion.

The discovery leads us to think how cyber criminals take advantage of the trust inherent in open-source environments by embedding harmful code. All third-party code should be treated as untrusted until proven.

After installation, the victim gained no actual functionality from the extension. Instead, malicious ScreenConnect software was installed on the computer, granting threat actors remote access to the infected device.

Using this access, they deployed the open-source Quasar backdoor along with a stealer that collects data from browsers, email clients, and crypto wallets. With these tools, the threat actors were able to obtain the developer’s wallet seed phrases and subsequently steal cryptocurrency from the accounts.

Mitigation Strategies from Intruceptlabs

GaarudNode is an all-in-one solution designed to empower development teams with the tools they need to secure their applications throughout the development lifecycle. By combining the power of SAST, DAST, SCA, API security, and CSPM, GaarudNode provides a comprehensive security framework that ensures your applications are built, tested, and deployed with confidence.

Source: https://www.kaspersky.com/about/press-releases/kaspersky-uncovers-500k-crypto-heist-through-malicious-packages-targeting-cursor-developers