Stay updated on Malicious Payload threats. Dive into the latest news, trends, and insights on cyber attacks and how to protect your data.
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Background for this topic.
Malicious Payload is a term used in information security to describe the component of a cyber attack that actually inflicts harm on the target system or network. It is the active part of malware or a virus that executes a specific attack, such as stealing data, corrupting files, taking control of a computer, or creating a backdoor for future access. The payload can vary greatly in its functionality and complexity, ranging from simple disruptive activities like displaying unwanted ads to advanced threats such as ransomware or spyware, which may encrypt files or monitor user actions respectively. In terms of information security, understanding and protecting against malicious payloads are critical. Security measures include deploying antivirus software, intrusion detection and prevention systems, and educating users to recognize and avoid common attack vectors like phishing emails or malicious downloads. The goal is to detect and neutralize the malicious payload before it can execute its harmful actions.
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A newly identified supply chain attack targeting DAEMON Tools software has compromised its installers to serve a malicious payload, according to findings from Kaspersky
A new software supply chain attack campaign has been observed using sleeper packages as a conduit to subsequently push malicious payloads that enabled credential theft, GitHub Actions tampering, and SSH persistence
Threat actors have been observed weaponizing n8n, a popular artificial intelligence (AI) workflow automation platform, to facilitate sophisticated phishing campaigns and deliver malicious payloads or fingerprint devices by sending automated emails
North Korean threat actors have been observed sending phishing to compromise targets and obtain access to a victim's KakaoTalk desktop application to distribute malicious payloads to certain contacts
Crims hope for payday from malicious payloads rather than stealing access tokens Microsoft has warned organizations about ongoing OAuth abuse scams that use phishing emails and URL redirects to infect victims' machines with malware and take over their devices.…
Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed details of a new campaign dubbed CRESCENTHARVEST, likely targeting supporters of Iran's ongoing protests to conduct information theft and long-term espionage
Today, at Wild West Hackin' Fest, security researcher Wietze Beukema disclosed multiple vulnerabilities in Windows LK shortcut files that allow attackers to deploy malicious payloads. [...]
Ransomware operators are hosting and delivering malicious payloads at scale by abusing virtual machines (VMs) provisioned by ISPsystem, a legitimate virtual infrastructure management provider. [...]
APT28's attacks rely on specially crafted Microsoft Rich Text Format (RTF) documents to kick off a multistage infection chain to deliver malicious payloads.
Hackers are targeting developers by exploiting the critical vulnerability CVE-2025-11953 in the Metro server for React Native to deliver malicious payloads for Windows and Linux. [...]
Hackers are targeting developers by exploiting the critical vulnerability CVE-2025-11953 in the Metro server for React Native to deliver malicious payloads for Windows and Linux. [...]
Cybersecurity researchers have flagged a new malicious Microsoft Visual Studio Code (VS Code) extension for Moltbot (formerly Clawdbot) on the official Extension Marketplace that claims to be a free artificial intelligence (AI) coding assistant, but stealthily drops a malicious payload on compromised hosts
Multiple threat actors, both state-sponsored and financially motivated, are exploiting the CVE-2025-8088 high-severity vulnerability in WinRAR for initial access and to deliver various malicious payloads. [...]
A new malicious package discovered in the Python Package Index (PyPI) has been found to impersonate a popular library for symbolic mathematics to deploy malicious payloads, including a cryptocurrency miner, on Linux hosts
Cybersecurity researchers have uncovered a new phishing campaign that exploits social media private messages to propagate malicious payloads, likely with the intent to deploy a remote access trojan (RAT)
Ransomware attackers targeting a Fortune 100 company in the finance sector used a new malware strain, dubbed PDFSider, to deliver malicious payloads on Windows systems. [...]
A critical flaw in the W3 Total Cache (W3TC) WordPress plugin can be exploited to run PHP commands on the server by posting a comment that contains a malicious payload. [...]
The China-aligned advanced persistent threat (APT) tracked as 'PlushDaemon' is hijacking software update traffic to deliver malicious payloads to its targets. [...]
The North Korean threat actors behind the Contagious Interview campaign have once again tweaked their tactics by using JSON storage services to stage malicious payloads
Cybercriminals are abusing AdaptixC2, a legitimate emulation framework, in ransomware campaigns