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Research Saturday: Daily Summaries Delivered
by N2K Networks
Every Saturday, we sit down with cybersecurity researchers to talk shop about the latest threats, vulnerabilities, and technical discoveries.
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- 3 days ago22 min
This Sparrow doesn't migrate.
Martin Zugec, Technical Solutions Director at Bitdefender, discussing their work on "FamousSparrow APT Targets Azerbaijani Oil and Gas Industry." Bitdefender researchers uncovered a sustained cyber espionage campaign by the China-linked FamousSparrow group targeting an Azerbaijani oil and gas company, highlighting the growing focus on critical energy infrastructure in the South Caucasus. The attackers repeatedly exploited the same vulnerable Microsoft Exchange server over multiple months, deploying evolving versions of Deed RAT and Terndoor malware through sophisticated DLL sideloading techniques designed to evade detection and maintain persistence. The operation underscores FamousSparrow's adaptability and persistence, demonstrating how advanced threat actors continually refine their tooling and return to compromised environments until vulnerabilities are fully remediated and access is cut off. The research and executive brief can be found here: FamousSparrow APT Targets Azerbaijani Oil and Gas Industry Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 1 weeks ago21 min
You've been muted...permanently.
Ismael Valenzuela, Arctic Wolf’s VP of Labs, Threat Research and Intelligence, discusses their work on "BlueNoroff Uses ClickFix, Fileless PowerShell, and AI-Generated Fake Zoom Meetings to Target Web3 Sector." Arctic Wolf researchers uncovered a sophisticated campaign by North Korean threat group Lazarus Group subgroup BlueNoroff that targets cryptocurrency and Web3 executives through fake Zoom and Microsoft Teams meetings, using typo-squatted links, ClickFix-style attacks, and AI-generated deepfakes to steal credentials and cryptocurrency-related data. The attackers built a self-reinforcing operation that captures victims’ webcam footage and Telegram sessions, then repurposes those assets alongside AI-generated images to create increasingly convincing fake meeting participants for future attacks. Researchers identified more than 100 victims across 20 countries, with the campaign primarily targeting CEOs, founders, investors, and senior leaders in the cryptocurrency, blockchain, and financial sectors as part of a long-running effort to steal digital assets and gain access to high-value networks. The research and executive brief can be found here: BlueNoroff Uses ClickFix, Fileless PowerShell, and AI-Generated Fake Zoom Meetings to Target Web3 Sector Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 2 weeks ago24 min
The skills pay the bills.
Today we are joined by Marco Giuliani, Vice President & Head of Research at ThreatDown, discussing their work on "GachiLoader adopts AI skill lure." Threat actors are now using fake AI agent “skills” as highly convincing social engineering lures, with a new campaign disguising the GachiLoader malware as a legitimate OpenClaw tool for automated Polymarket betting. Victims are tricked through fake installation guides and polished Electron apps into downloading malware that deploys the Rhadamanthys infostealer using fileless injection and blockchain-based command-and-control infrastructure. Researchers say the campaign marks an evolution in cybercrime, turning AI skill ecosystems into a new phishing-style attack surface. The research and executive brief can be found here: GachiLoader adopts AI skill lure Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 3 weeks ago25 min
Ghosted by Grafana
Today we are joined by Sasi Levi, Security Research Lead at Noma Security, sharing their team's work on "GrafanaGhost: The Phantom Stealing Your Data." Researchers at Noma Security disclosed “GrafanaGhost,” a vulnerability that could allow attackers to silently exfiltrate sensitive business data from Grafana dashboards using indirect prompt injection techniques. The attack chains together multiple bypasses, including protocol-relative URLs and AI guardrail manipulation, to trick Grafana into sending sensitive data to attacker-controlled servers without requiring user interaction. Researchers say the flaw highlights growing risks tied to AI-integrated enterprise platforms, where attackers increasingly target AI behavior and weak security controls instead of traditional software bugs. The research and executive brief can be found here: GrafanaGhost: The Phantom Stealing Your Data Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- May 16, 202626 min
Scam papers served.
Thomas Elkins, SOC L3 Analyst from BlueVoyant, is discussing "Unpacking Augmented Marauder’s Multi-Pronged Casbaneiro Campaigns." BlueVoyant researchers uncovered a large-scale phishing campaign by a Brazil-linked threat group targeting Spanish-speaking users across Latin America and Europe, using fake judicial summons emails, WhatsApp attacks, ClickFix tactics, and email phishing to spread the Casbaneiro banking trojan through the Horabot malware framework. The campaign uses sophisticated evasion methods including password-protected PDFs, dynamically generated ZIP filenames, anti-sandbox checks, fileless execution, and customized phishing lures to bypass security tools while turning infected systems into self-propagating botnets that hijack Outlook and webmail accounts to spread further attacks. Researchers say the operation highlights how the Augmented Marauder group (also known as Water Saci) is rapidly evolving its malware ecosystem, combining WhatsApp automation, dynamic phishing infrastructure, and advanced banking malware delivery into a highly adaptable, multi-pronged cybercrime operation. The research and executive brief can be found here: Unpacking Augmented Marauder’s Multi-Pronged Casbaneiro Campaigns Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- May 9, 202624 min
The spy who logged me in.
Mark Kelly, Staff Threat Researcher at Proofpoint, is discussing their work on "I’d come running back to EU again: TA416 resumes European government espionage campaigns." China-linked threat group TA416 has resumed large-scale phishing and malware campaigns targeting European governments, diplomatic missions tied to the EU and NATO, and more recently Middle Eastern entities following the outbreak of conflict in Iran. The group has continually evolved its tactics between mid-2025 and early 2026, using techniques like fake Cloudflare verification pages, Microsoft OAuth redirect abuse, and malicious C# project files to deliver customized PlugX malware through spearphishing campaigns. Researchers say the renewed activity reflects shifting geopolitical priorities tied to EU-China tensions, the Russia-Ukraine war, and instability in the Middle East, while highlighting TA416’s ongoing focus on intelligence gathering against diplomatic networks. The research and executive brief can be found here: I’d come running back to EU again: TA416 resumes European government espionage campaigns Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- May 2, 202630 min
Double-edged threat.
Today we are joined by Justin Albrecht, Principal Researcher at Lookout, discussing "Attackers Wielding DarkSword Threaten iOS Users." DarkSword is a highly sophisticated iOS exploit chain discovered by Lookout that targets iPhones (iOS 18.4–18.6.2), enabling near zero-click compromise and rapid theft of sensitive data, including credentials and cryptocurrency wallet information. Likely deployed by a Russia-linked threat actor (UNC6353) against Ukrainian users, it uses watering hole attacks on compromised websites and operates in a “hit-and-run” fashion—exfiltrating data within minutes before wiping traces. The campaign highlights a growing secondary market for advanced exploits, allowing financially motivated groups to access powerful tools once reserved for state actors, significantly expanding the mobile threat landscape. The research and executive brief can be found here: Attackers Wielding DarkSword Threaten iOS Users Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- Apr 25, 202618 min
A QRazy clever scam.
This week, we are joined by Juliana Testa, Senior Security Engineer from 7AI, sharing their work on "Quish Splash - When the QR Code Is the Weapon: A Multi-Wave Phishing Campaign That Slipped Past Every Filter." A large-scale “quishing” campaign used QR codes embedded in image attachments to hide phishing URLs, allowing 28 out of 33 emails to bypass SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and Microsoft Defender and land directly in inboxes. Each recipient received a unique QR code and tracking ID, defeating traditional detection methods and enabling attackers to scale the campaign to over 1.6 million emails across multiple organizations while shifting execution to less-secure mobile devices. The attack was ultimately uncovered through AI-driven alerting combined with human analysis and threat hunting, highlighting a major blind spot in email security and the need for QR code inspection, mobile protections, and tighter auto-reply controls. The research and executive brief can be found here: Quish Splash - When the QR Code Is the Weapon: A Multi-Wave Phishing Campaign That Slipped Past Every Filter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Every Saturday, we sit down with cybersecurity researchers to talk shop about the latest threats, vulnerabilities, and technical discoveries.
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