Latest cybersecurity reporting from selected sources.

Rhadamanthys, VenomRAT and Elysium Targeted in OperationA multinational law enforcement operation resulted in the arrest of a remote access Trojan operator and the seizure of over 1,000 info stealer and botnet servers. Authorities took down 1,025 servers associated with the Rhadamanthys infostealer, the Venom RAT and a botnet dubbed Elysium.

PolarNet Has Hallmarks of an Operational Relay BoxNearly 40,000 enterprise-grade devices and consumer-class routers, IP cameras and more are infected with malware researchers codenamed PolarEdge, controlled by a botnet of the same name, which experts suspect is designed to hide traffic tied to cyberespionage operations.

Hackers Using Amadey Bot to Drops Payloads From Fake GitHub AccountsThreat actors are using public GitHub repositories to host and distribute malware through the Amadey botnet in an ongoing campaign linked to a broader malware-as-a-service operation, Cisco Talos said in a report published Thursday.

A Mirai Offshoot Uses DVR Command Injection Bug to Spread, Hitting 50,000 DevicesA Mirai botnet malware variant is targeting a command injection vulnerability in internet-connected digital video recorders used for CCTV surveillance, enabling attackers to take control of the devices and add them to a botnet. A security researcher first identified the vulnerability in April 2024.

Stealthy Malware Installs Cryptomining SoftwareA botnet targeting Internet of Things devices works by brute forcing credentials and downloading cryptomining software. Researchers call the botnet "PumaBot," since its malware checks for the string "Pumatronix," the name of a Brazilian manufacturer of surveillance and traffic camera systems.

Police Take Down 300 Servers Worldwide, Neutralize 650 DomainsLaw enforcement in a European-led operation against malware often used as a precursor to ransomware took down 300 servers worldwide, police said Friday. The crackdown is the latest action under Operation Endgame targeting ransomware and botnet ecosystem.

Police Take Down 300 Servers Worldwide, Neutralize 650 DomainsLaw enforcement in a European-led operation against malware often used as a precursor to ransomware took down 300 servers worldwide, police said Friday. The crackdown is the latest action under Operation Endgame targeting ransomware and botnet ecosystem.

Experts Express Surprise Over Major Social Platform Falling Victim to DDoS AttacksOne of the world's biggest social networks continued to face intermittent outages Tuesday, apparently due to unsophisticated, distributed denial-of-service attacks. Experts said the attacks were traced to malware-infected devices - many based in the U.S. - and pro-Palestinian hacktivists.

Off-Brand Android Devices Come Infrected With A TrojanA botnet infected more than 1 million off-brand Android devices manufactured in China, reached consumers with a backdoor already installed. Scammers used the devices for programmatic ad fraud, click fraud and converting the devices into a residential proxy.

Murdoc Botnet Uses Over 100 Distinct C2 Servers to Manage Infected DevicesA new variant of the Mirai malware is exploiting vulnerabilities in cameras and routers to infiltrate devices, download payloads and integrate them into an expanding botnet. Qualys tracked over 1,300 active internet protocol addresses linked to the Murdoc Botnet since its emergence in July 2024.

Around 30,000 German IoT Infected from Backdroored Android ApplicationsThe German federal information security agency disrupted a botnet that infected thousands of backdoored digital picture frames and media players made with knock-off Android operating systems shipped from China. The agency identified at least 30,000 infected devices.

'Operation Endgame' Disrupted 5 Botnets Including IcedID and SmokeLoaderAn international law enforcement operation resulted in the arrests of four botnet operators and the seizure of more than 100 servers used as infrastructure for malware dropper botnets. Armenian police arrested one person and Ukrainian police arrested three. German police are seeking eight suspects.

GRU Hackers Commandeered 'Moobot' for CyberespionageThe U.S. federal government says it disrupted a criminal botnet that Russian military intelligence had converted into a platform for global cyberespionage. The malware targets Linux-based IoT devices - in this case, routers made by New York manufacturer Ubiquiti.

Botnet Looks for Vulnerable Internal Network MachinesDelivering more proof that the Log4Shell vulnerability is endemic, Akamai researchers detected botnet malware updated to use the flaw as an infection vector. Log4Shell burst into public awareness in late 2021 when security researchers identified a flaw in the ubiquitous Apache Log4J 2 Java library.

Volume of Poorly Secured, Legacy IoT That Can Be Turned Against Us Keeps GrowingThe FBI announcing that it has forcibly removed "KV Botnet" Chinese nation-state malware from "hundreds" of poorly secured SOHO routers across America highlights the risk posed by the growing volume of outdated IoT devices. The FBI's fix is temporary, and we need a more permanent solution.