Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

In the ever-evolving world of cybercrime, ransomware attacks continue to be a lucrative business for cybercriminals. The latest development comes from the Dark Angels ransomware group, who have reportedly secured a staggering $75 million ransom payment from an undisclosed victim. This eye-watering sum shatters the previous record of $40 million paid by insurance giant CNA Financial in 2021, setting a new and alarming benchmark in the ransomware landscape.

In this version of the Hacker’s Playbook Threat Coverage round-up, we are highlighting attack coverage for newly discovered or analyzed threats by the SafeBreach Labs team. SafeBreach customers can select and run these attacks and more from the SafeBreach Hacker’s Playbook to ensure coverage against these advanced threats. Additional details about the threats and our coverage can be seen below.

Organizations are falling victim to ransomware attacks where data is stolen, but the victim isn’t being told about it. I have a theory as to why this is happening. Many assume data is being exfiltrated as part of a ransomware attack and it’s going to be used as part of the extortion component of the attack. But according to Arctic Wolf’s The State of Cybersecurity: 2024 Trends Report, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

In a significant development in cybersecurity, the threat actor known as Stargazer Goblin has established a complex network of fake GitHub accounts to facilitate a Distribution-as-a-Service (DaaS) operation. This network, comprising over 3,000 inauthentic accounts, has been actively spreading various information-stealing malware and generating $100,000 in illicit profits over the past year.

Read also: A Scattered Spider member arrested in the UK, LockBit affiliates plead guilty, and more.

Don't worry, I'm not trying to conjure images in your mind of Rod Stewart in his iconic leopard print trousers. Instead, I want to warn you about a cybercrime group that has gained notoriety for attacking VMware ESXi servers since February 2024.

By Olivia Betts and Adam Price In July 2024, CloudFlare identified that it can take cybercriminals as little as 22 minutes to weaponise a publicly available Proof-of-Concept (PoC) exploit following its release. The IT services management company noted an increase in scanning for disclosed Common and in attempts to weaponise available PoCs across 2023 and 2024.

MuddyWater deploys BugSleep malware, researchers discover malicious files on the npm registry, and Void Banshee exploits a Microsoft MHTML flaw.

On July 23, 2024, CrowdStrike Intelligence identified the phishing domain crowdstrike-office365com, which impersonates CrowdStrike and delivers malicious ZIP and RAR files containing a Microsoft Installer (MSI) loader. The loader ultimately executes Lumma Stealer packed with CypherIt.