Check Point Research is tracking an active phishing campaign involving KONNI, a North Korea-affiliated threat actor active since at least 2014. Historically, KONNI focused on South Korean diplomatic, academic, and government-linked targets, using geopolitical themes as phishing lures. This latest activity marks a clear shift. In the current campaign, KONNI targets software developers and engineering teams, particularly those involved in blockchain and cryptocurrency projects. The lures are designed to resemble legitimate project documentation, indicating an effort to compromise individuals with access to valuable technical infrastructure rather than traditional political targets. The campaign stands out for two reasons: its expanded geographic […]

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Check Point Research has identified VoidLink, one of the first known examples of advanced malware largely generated using artificial intelligence. Unlike earlier AI-assisted malware, which was typically low-quality or derivative, VoidLink demonstrates a high level of sophistication and rapid evolution. AI dramatically accelerated development, enabling what appears to be a single actor to plan, build, and iterate a complex malware framework in days rather than months. This marks a turning point: AI is no longer just supporting malware development. It is actively reshaping how advanced threats are created. Defenders must adapt, as AI lowers the barrier to high-complexity attacks and […]

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In Q4 2025, Microsoft once again ranked as the most impersonated brand in phishing attacks, accounting for 22% of all brand phishing attempts, according to data from Check Point Research. This continues a multi-quarter trend in which attackers increasingly abuse trusted enterprise and consumer brands to harvest credentials and gain initial access. Google followed in second place with 13%, while Amazon climbed into third position at 9%, fueled by Black Friday and holiday sales, overtaking Apple. After a prolonged absence, Facebook (Meta) re-entered the top 10, landing in fifth place, highlighting renewed interest among attackers in social media account takeover. […]

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Executive Summary Check Point Research identified active, large-scale exploitation of CVE-2025-37164, a critical remote code execution vulnerability affecting HPE OneView. The exploitation campaign is attributed to the RondoDox botnet and escalated rapidly to tens of thousands of automated attack attempts. Check Point blocked tens of thousands of exploitation attempts through its security infrastructure, highlighting both the severity of the risk and the importance of layered defenses. Check Point reported the active exploitation to CISA on January 7, 2026, and the vulnerability was added to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities KEV catalog the same day. Organizations running HPE OneView should patch immediately […]

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In December 2025, organizations experienced an average of 2,027 cyber attacks per organization per week. This represents a 1% month-over-month increase and a 9% year-over-year increase. While overall growth remained moderate, Latin America recorded the sharpest regional increase, with organizations experiencing an average of 3,065 attacks per week, a 26% increase year over year. The data points to sharper regional and sector-level spikes in activity, driven primarily by ransomware operations and expanding exposure linked to enterprise adoption of generative AI (GenAI). Latin America experienced the sharpest rise in cyber attacks globally, with organizations in the region facing an average of […]

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Key Points: VoidLink is a cloud-native Linux malware framework built to maintain long-term, stealthy access to cloud infrastructure rather than targeting individual endpoints. It reflects a shift in attacker focus away from Windows systems toward the Linux environments that power cloud services and critical operations. Its modular, plug-in-driven design allows threat actors to customize capabilities over time, expanding attacks quietly as objectives evolve. Adaptive stealth enables it to operate differently depending on defenses, prioritizing evasion in monitored environments and speed where visibility is limited. Check Point Research has identified a new and highly advanced malware framework, VoidLink, designed specifically to […]

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Executive Summary The OPCOPRO “Truman Show” operation is a fully synthetic, AI‑powered investment scam that uses legitimate Android and iOS apps from the official mobile app stores, and AI‑generated communities to steal money and identity data from victims. Instead of relying on malicious code, the attackers use social engineering. The attackers pull victims using phishing SMS/ads/Telegram into tightly-controlled WhatsApp and Telegram groups, where AI‑generated “experts” and synthetic peers simulate an institutional‑grade trading community for weeks before any money or personal details are requested. The mobile apps themselves contain no trading logic and act only as WebView shells connected to attacker‑controlled […]

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This report describes a phishing campaign in which attackers impersonate legitimate Google generated messages by abusing Google Cloud Application Integration to distribute malicious emails that appear to originate from trusted Google infrastructure. The emails mimic routine enterprise notifications such as voicemail alerts and file access or permission requests, making them appear normal and trustworthy to recipients. In this incident, attackers sent 9,394 phishing emails targeting approximately 3,200 customers over the past 14 days. All messages were sent from the legitimate Google address noreply-application-integration@google.com, which significantly increased their credibility and likelihood of reaching end users’ inboxes. Method of attack Based on […]

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Key Insights Insider recruitment is a growing cyber threat across banks, telecoms, and tech firms. Darknet ads offer payouts from $3,000 to $15,000 for access or data. Crypto exchanges, banks, and cloud providers are prime targets. Prevention requires employee education, strict access controls, and darknet monitoring. The Rise of Insider Recruitment in Cyber Crime Cyber criminals are no longer relying solely on brute force, social engineering, or exploiting vulnerabilities. Increasingly, they are recruiting insiders within organizations to gain access to corporate networks, user devices, and cloud environments. Across darknet forums, employees are being approached, or even volunteering, to sell access […]

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Executive Summary Ink Dragon, a Chinese espionage group, has expanded from Asia and South America into European government networks. The group turns compromised servers into relay nodes, using victims to route commands and support operations in other environments. Updated tooling, including a new FinalDraft variant, allows the attackers to blend into Microsoft cloud activity and maintain long term access. Multiple threat actors, including RudePanda, exploited the same public facing weakness, showing how a single flaw can draw in several advanced groups. Check Point Research continues to track Ink Dragon’s activity and provide intelligence to help organizations detect and disrupt its […]

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