Recent Professional Services Cyber Attacks

A China-aligned group (tracked as TA419) impersonated real AI policy figures and sent benign-sounding outreach to people working on AI policy at US and Japanese organizations. Once targets replied, the attackers sent a shortened link that ultimately led to a fake OneDrive/Microsoft 365 login page…

The article describes how real-world attackers are shifting common breach activity into the web browser, including phishing that steals live sessions, fake “copy/paste to fix” prompts (ClickFix), and OAuth consent/device-code tricks. It highlights how these browser-based lures can bypass MFA and…

Researchers found a real malware campaign where attackers abused ChatGPT “CustomGPTs” and Google sponsored search results to funnel victims to a fake ChatGPT experience. Victims are shown a fake “Service Availability Notice” and pushed to a “backup domain” that looks like a Cloudflare CAPTCHA,…

A real ClickFix campaign abused ChatGPT “Custom GPTs” to impersonate legitimate tools and trick people into running PowerShell commands on their own computers. Victims were funneled from a sponsored Google result to a fake “backup domain” on Google Sites with a Cloudflare CAPTCHA-style prompt,…

The article describes how real-world phishing and social engineering are evolving to bypass the checks employees are trained to use (bad grammar, suspicious URLs, obvious fake login pages). It highlights specific, observed attack workflows including QR-code “device hop” phishing, OAuth token theft…

Attackers compromised legitimate Ukrainian websites and showed visitors a fake CAPTCHA/Cloudflare-style “verification” prompt to trick them into installing malware. The infection chain drops Lunex (aka Psychedelic Stealer), which disables security monitoring using a vulnerable AMD driver and then…

Researchers found a real campaign offering fake “desktop apps” for major U.S. payroll/HR platforms that don’t actually provide desktop software. Victims who install the download unknowingly install ScreenConnect remote access configured for silent, unattended control, giving attackers a direct path…

A security professional was approached by an unknown, likely fake social-media profile offering $300 for a short “digital transformation” phone consultation. The pitch was a confidence trick designed to screen for useful access and then escalate into requests for non-public information that could…

This news roundup describes multiple real-world social engineering operations, including a device-code phishing service that stole access to over 12,000 inboxes and a North Korean campaign posing as recruiters to trick developers during fake coding interviews. The attackers used legitimate login…

Researchers reported a real developer-targeting campaign linked to DPRK actors where attackers pose as legitimate recruiters or Web3 companies and trick targets into running code or pulling poisoned dependencies. The operation has now expanded to include malicious Terraform providers hosted in the…

A CSC report describes real-world scams where criminals impersonate executives and brands online to steal personal or payment information. Examples include fake CEOs contacting people on LinkedIn with bogus job offers, and lookalike “FIFA” domains used for fake ticket sales, travel offers, and…

The article describes how criminals are using AI-generated video (“deepfakes”) to impersonate executives and trusted colleagues on live video calls. A real 2024 case at engineering firm Arup shows how a finance employee was convinced by a deepfake CFO and colleagues to send about $25 million across…

Australian and allied agencies warned that North Korean-linked actors are impersonating recruiters and fake AI/crypto/NFT companies to lure IT professionals into a hiring process that installs malware. The goal is to steal sensitive information and drain cryptocurrency wallets, with reporting…

A weekly threat bulletin highlights a North Korea–linked campaign where attackers posed as AI or blockchain employers to trick IT professionals into getting infected and losing cryptocurrency. It also notes a phishing kit that abuses Microsoft’s legitimate device login flow to gain long-lasting…

A North Korea-linked operation known as “Contagious Interview” posed as recruiters and employers to lure developers into completing “job assessments” or “coding tests,” which led to malware infection. Investigators say at least 30,000 devices were compromised across 100+ countries, and…

Researchers observed real-world infections where compromised WordPress sites showed a fake “Cloudflare Turnstile” verification and instructed visitors to press Win+R and run a PowerShell command. The attacker’s page guides victims step-by-step (and reports progress back to the operator) to execute…

A real-world social engineering attempt used a legitimate Google Doc to trick a target into manually running commands that installed malware. The attacker posed as a crypto marketing executive and used a fake “decryption failure” message and a “manual update” button as the lure, leading to an…

North Korea–linked "Jade Sleet" used job interview-style coding projects to trick developers into running malicious infrastructure code. The lure involved GitHub repositories that contained a weaponized Terraform file, leading to downloads from attacker-controlled domains and installation of macOS…

An alleged North Korean operation called “WaterPlum” targeted job seekers by posing as AI and blockchain companies and using the interview process to trick applicants into downloading malicious files. Authorities say the campaign infected tens of thousands of devices worldwide and led to theft from…

An international advisory says North Korea–linked actors posing as recruiters tricked jobseekers into downloading “coding assignments” during fake interview processes. Opening the files installed backdoors and malware, enabling theft from over 7,000 crypto wallets and supporting at least $10.71M in…