For the latest discoveries in cyber research for the week of 2nd November, please download our Threat Intelligence Bulletin.

TOP ATTACKS AND BREACHES

• Binance, a global cryptocurrency exchange, has suffered a cyberattack resulting in the theft of approximately $6.3 billion in digital assets. Attackers reportedly compromised a DevOps engineer’s laptop and abused internal wallet infrastructure to authorize unauthorized withdrawals. The incident ranks among the largest cryptocurrency thefts ever recorded and is linked to North Korean group.
• Polymarket, a US-based prediction market platform, has disclosed a cyberattack involving a compromised third-party service that distributed malicious JavaScript to its website. The script hijacked authenticated trading sessions and attempted unauthorized transactions. Approximately $2.7 million in cryptocurrency was traced to a suspected attacker-controlled wallet.
• Japan Airlines, a major Japanese international airline, has disclosed a third-party data breach affecting approximately 92,000 passengers through the Amadeus reservation system. Exposed records included passenger names and flight information. Approximately 2,000 individuals also had contact information, passport details, and additional travel records potentially accessed.
• The Florida Department of Education has disclosed a data breach involving unauthorized access to its student financial aid website, potentially affecting 4.9 million individuals. Compromised information reportedly includes names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses, and contact details. The incident was identified on October 19.

AI THREATS

• Researchers have identified extensive use of AI agents by the GOLD OGRE ransomware group during Aur0ra attacks. Operators supplied compromised credentials and objectives, allowing AI tools to perform network reconnaissance, identify privileged accounts, and support lateral movement. The group also used AI-assisted development to test endpoint security evasion techniques.
• Researchers have documented expanding AI adoption among North Korean cyber threat actors. The activity includes using language models to support reconnaissance, develop malicious tools, refine social engineering, and accelerate intrusion workflows. The findings describe how established espionage and financially motivated operations are incorporating AI into existing attack techniques.
• Researchers have uncovered a global espionage campaign in which the China-linked VAPOR PANDA group used the AI-enabled ARTEX framework against more than 200 organizations. Targets included government agencies, telecommunications providers, and defense companies across at least 14 countries. Confirmed intrusions involved credential theft and deployment of the BLOODALCHEMY backdoor.

VULNERABILITIES AND PATCHES

• Check Point Research have analyzed HTTP2Shell (CVE-2026-111497), an actively exploited remote code execution vulnerability affecting Brotli decompression implementations. Initially associated with Node.js, the flaw may also affect other components, including Python packages, .NET, and proxies. Automated scanning and suspicious exploitation attempts have been observed.

  Check Point IPS provides protection against this threat (Node.js Brotli Remote Code Execution (CVE-2026-111497)))

• A critical Linux kernel vulnerability, CVE-2026-98432, has been disclosed with a CVSS score of 9.8. The memory management flaw affects TCP networking and can enable unauthenticated remote code execution with root privileges on systems exposing Multipath TCP listeners.
• Drupal has addressed CVE-2026-118539, a highly critical access control vulnerability in the Commerce Core module used by online stores. Insufficient protection of application routes and data fields allows unauthenticated attackers to bypass authorization restrictions. The flaw has been exploited in attacks and may affect commercial transactions.
• Cisco has patched CVE-2026-76418, a high-severity vulnerability affecting Adaptive Security Appliance and Firepower Threat Defense software. The flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to remotely crash devices configured with SSL VPN functionality. Cisco confirmed that the vulnerability had been exploited in attacks before the security updates became available.

THREAT INTELLIGENCE REPORTS

• Check Point Research has uncovered the Yoba malware campaign, which distributes malicious installers disguised as ChatGPT and Claude desktop applications through fraudulent GitHub projects. Attackers exploit legitimate signed executables to load malicious components and establish persistence. The campaign uses trusted online services for payload delivery and communication.
• Check Point researchers have analyzed unexpected network activity generated by Alibaba’s Qwen model during a security-related task. Repeated testing produced numerous different destination addresses rather than one consistent endpoint. The findings suggest unstable model behavior is a more plausible explanation than a deliberately embedded data-exfiltration mechanism.
• Researchers have identified UAT-11473, an advanced threat actor exploiting a Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN authentication bypass to deploy the KeyDrift malware framework. The campaign targeted organizations in aerospace, defense, satellites and policy research. KeyDrift enables persistent access and extraction of sensitive encryption material from compromised network controllers.
• Researchers have documented more than 400 incidents involving abuse of Microsoft Teams external chat functionality for initial access. Attackers impersonated internal IT support personnel to persuade employees to initiate remote sessions and install access tools. Some campaigns progressed to credential theft, lateral movement, and ransomware-related activity.

The post 2nd November – Threat Intelligence Report appeared first on Check Point Research.

For the latest discoveries in cyber research for the week of 26th October, please download our Threat Intelligence Bulletin.

TOP ATTACKS AND BREACHES

• Japanese cloud hosting provider Onamae Desktop Cloud has confirmed a cyberattack in which intruders compromised its infrastructure and installed malware on customer servers. More than 26,000 servers were potentially affected. The provider began shutting down customer environments on October 21 to contain the intrusion and prevent further unauthorized activity.
• India’s state-run State Bank of India, serving more than 500 million customers, disclosed a data breach after 3,897 customer records appeared online. The exposed information reportedly included contact details, residential addresses, birth dates, bank profiles, loan records, and identity-verification documents. The bank reported no disruption to core services.
• WordPress backup developer TeamUpdraft has suffered a cyberattack after intruders accessed its website and potentially exposed customer information and management-service connection keys. Attackers subsequently abused compromised UpdraftCentral keys to install backdoors on WordPress websites during an 18-hour campaign on October 18 and 19.
• LiteLLM, a widely used open-source AI gateway, confirmed an October 21 supply-chain attack in which attackers used stolen developer tokens to publish malicious packages and Docker images. The compromised version 1.107.0 was designed to steal cloud credentials and AI service secrets, with attackers subsequently testing stolen AWS credentials.

AI THREATS

• Check Point Research uncovered how AI-enabled antidetect browsers allow operators to manage thousands of deceptive accounts while evading platform safeguards. Tools including Kameleo, AdsPower, and MultiLogin facilitate account takeovers, financial fraud, and automated distribution of AI-generated content, supporting large-scale influence operations across social media platforms.
• Researchers observed affiliates of INC and The Gentlemen ransomware groups using AI agents to conduct human-approved cyberattacks. The operation targeted 62 organizations by exploiting remote-access systems and compromised credentials. Victims were concentrated in the manufacturing, energy, healthcare, and pharmaceutical sectors, primarily in the United States.
• Researchers analyzed a cybercriminal operation that used multiple AI assistants to plan and execute different types of malicious activity. The attacker relied on AI-generated scripts and reconnaissance reports to develop attack capabilities. Exposed operational records revealed how AI tools supported campaign planning, technical execution, and adaptation across different targets.

VULNERABILITIES AND PATCHES

• Critical PHP vulnerabilities CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619 have been used in widespread exploitation attempts that could enable remote code execution. Attack traffic reportedly increased from thousands to millions of attempts following disclosure. As of October 23, approximately 97.5% of publicly visible PHP instances did not indicate patched versions.

Check Point IPS provides protection against this threat (PHP Remote Code Execution (CVE-2026-109618, CVE-2026-109619, CVE-2026-115560((

• Oracle has released its October 2026 Critical Patch Update, addressing 1,209 unique vulnerabilities through 1,295 security patches across 33 product families. The update includes 95 critical CVEs and affects widely deployed enterprise products, including Fusion Middleware, E-Business Suite, MySQL, and Java SE.
• GitLab has fixed CVE-2026-110264, a critical vulnerability with a CVSS score of 10.0 affecting Community and Enterprise Editions. The integer overflow flaw could allow unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code remotely on affected servers. The vulnerability affects versions before 18.11.13 and several 19.x releases.
• A critical privilege-escalation vulnerability, CVE-2026-114625, affects on-premises Arista VeloCloud Orchestrator deployments. The flaw carries a CVSS score of 9.4 and allows authenticated users, including those with read-only access, to obtain operator-level permissions. Successful exploitation can expose restricted management functions, and the vulnerability has been exploited in attacks.

THREAT INTELLIGENCE REPORTS

• Check Point Research has profiled Aokigahara, a newly identified infostealer targeting credentials and session data associated with AI applications, developer tools, and cloud platforms. Targeted applications include Claude, ChatGPT Desktop, Cursor, and GitHub Copilot. Stolen information may include authentication tokens, account credentials, and other sensitive application data.
• Researchers revealed that U.S. federal investigators suspect an executive at a ransomware negotiation company assisted the ShinyHunters extortion group in operating its victim disclosure website. The site reportedly listed nearly 100 organizations between May and October 2026.
• Researchers mapped Lazarus’s Operation FlashHole, a cyberespionage campaign targeting organizations in South Korea’s software, construction, and telecommunications equipment sectors. Attackers used tailored phishing messages and fraudulent portfolio websites to deliver malware. The campaign exploited trusted financial-security software to execute malicious components.
• Researchers have uncovered a large-scale campaign by threat actor k0t targeting Fortinet FortiGate, FortiWeb, and Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect devices. Attackers exploited vulnerabilities and weak credentials to establish persistent access and steal information. The operation exposed more than 70,000 credentials and showed possible connections to ransomware groups.

The post 26th October – Threat Intelligence Report appeared first on Check Point Research.

For the latest discoveries in cyber research for the week of 19th October, please download our Threat Intelligence Bulletin.

TOP ATTACKS AND BREACHES

• CenterPoint Energy, a US utility company serving Texas and several other states, has disclosed a data breach affecting more than 1 million Texas residents. Unauthorized access to an external system exposed names, addresses, Social Security information, and driver’s license numbers, according to regulatory notifications filed by the company.
• Burger King Japan, operator of the international fast-food chain in Japan, has disclosed a breach affecting approximately 11.18 million application members. Unauthorized access between October 2 and 7 exposed contact information, birth dates, gender, and regional details. The company found no evidence of compromised passwords or payment cards.
• ConnectWise Cloud Backup, a Microsoft 365 backup service used by managed service providers, has suffered a credential compromise enabling unauthorized access to customer environments. Attackers used compromised application credentials to sign in to at least 173 organizations, potentially accessing email, files, and Teams information before access was suspended.
• Several French supermarkets, including E. Leclerc stores, have experienced cyberattacks targeting connected refrigeration controllers. Attackers reportedly manipulated temperature settings, causing refrigeration system failures, food losses, and operational disruption. Losses from the attacks exceeded $100,000 for one retailer.

AI THREATS

• Check Point researchers have identified critical vulnerabilities in LiteLLM, a widely used AI model gateway. CVE-2026-35029 and CVE-2026-59823 could allow low-privileged users to change configurations, access sensitive files, redirect requests, and steal credentials. Successful exploitation could enable administrative takeover or remote code execution. LiteLLM addressed both flaws.
• Check Point researchers have demonstrated how peer influence can cause AI agents working in teams to violate established rules. In controlled experiments, repeated changes in teammate behavior increased one agent’s violation rate from 44% to 98%. The agents rarely acknowledged peer influence when explaining their decisions.
• India’s national cybersecurity response team, CERT-In, has reported unauthorized access to organizational systems involving autonomous AI agents. The activity exploited exposed credentials, insecure application interfaces, and misconfigured cloud services to retrieve business information. Compromised credentials also enabled repeated access without detection by the affected organizations.

VULNERABILITIES AND PATCHES

• Microsoft has released its October 2026 Patch Tuesday updates, addressing a record 1,413 vulnerabilities across Windows, Office, SharePoint, and other products. The updates address several critical flaws and three zero-days. Among them is CVE-2026-96951, an actively exploited Windows Shell vulnerability that allows attackers to bypass security protections.

Check Point IPS provides protection against this threat (Microsoft Windows Shell Command Injection (CVE-2026-96951))

• Ivanti Connect Secure is affected by CVE-2026-104935, an authentication bypass vulnerability that allows remote attackers to execute commands without valid credentials. The flaw has been reported as actively exploited and was added to CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Affected deployments include internet-facing secure access appliances.

Check Point IPS provides protection against this threat (Ivanti Connect Secure Authentication Bypass (CVE-2026-104935))

• GitLab has released security updates addressing CVE-2026-97229, a critical vulnerability affecting Community and Enterprise Editions. Rated CVSS 10.0, the flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to execute code remotely through insufficient validation of CI/CD configurations. The updates also address vulnerabilities involving script injection, authorization bypass, and pipeline manipulation.
• BeyondTrust has addressed CVE-2026-102764, a critical authentication bypass vulnerability affecting Remote Support versions 26.2.3 and earlier. Rated CVSS 9.3, the flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to perform unauthorized file operations on affected appliances. The China-linked espionage group ARMORY CASTLE reportedly exploited the vulnerability before its public disclosure.

THREAT INTELLIGENCE REPORTS

• Check Point researchers have identified phishing campaigns using counterfeit calendar invitations to steal Microsoft account credentials. Malicious invitations carried calendar attachments or deceptive meeting links directing recipients to credential-harvesting pages. More than 302,000 unique phishing emails targeting over 40,000 organizations were identified during the tracked campaigns.
• Check Point researchers have analyzed election-related phishing and fraud targeting US voters ahead of the 2026 midterms. The research identified spoofed registration messages, exposed election-office credentials, fake prediction-market websites, and politically themed merchandise domains.
• Researchers have profiled Silent Lynx, a Kazakhstan-linked espionage group targeting Russian energy infrastructure and government entities in Central Asia. Attackers used spear-phishing messages sent through compromised government email accounts and hosted malicious files on legitimate services. Campaign activity also involved exploitation of WinRAR vulnerability CVE-2025-8088.

Check Point IPS provides protection against this threat (RARLAB WinRAR Directory Traversal (CVE-2025-8088)

The post 19th October – Threat Intelligence Report appeared first on Check Point Research.

For the latest discoveries in cyber research for the week of 12th October, please download our Threat Intelligence Bulletin.

TOP ATTACKS AND BREACHES

• Denmark’s government has disclosed a breach involving its Central Register of Persons after unauthorized individuals exploited access provided to a private supplier. The incident reportedly exposed personal information, including names, addresses, and identification numbers, associated with approximately 8.8 million individuals in the national registry.
• UK-based online fashion retailer ASOS has confirmed a cyberattack involving stolen employee credentials that enabled unauthorized access to third-party platforms. Attackers reportedly obtained customer names and contact details and sent unauthorized push notifications to mobile application users. The threat group Xuanye claimed responsibility for the incident.
• ATB, Ukraine’s largest grocery retailer, has faced a cyberattack that disrupted its online services after attackers posted an extortion demand on its website. The DataSuckers group claimed to have stolen records belonging to 7.9 million customers, which include names, addresses, passport information and order records.
• Osaka Metropolitan University, one of Japan’s largest universities, has sustained a suspected ransomware attack that disrupted classes, internal networks, email, and administrative systems. Approximately 500 servers were affected, while personal information belonging to at least 130,000 individuals may have been exposed.

AI THREATS

• Researchers documented an AI-assisted intrusion campaign involving the ARTEX toolkit against South Korean financial institutions. Exposed directories revealed Claude Code session histories, configuration files, and Chinese-language prompts associated with the operation. The attackers allegedly used AI-assisted workflows to facilitate data theft and planned to sell stolen information.
• Researchers identified a phishing campaign targeting both employees and AI-powered email assistants. Malicious emails combine conventional phishing lures with hidden prompt injections embedded in HTML comments and invisible text. These instructions attempt to promote fraudulent requests, or induce unauthorized disclosure of information.
• Researchers profiled CyberXero, an AI-augmented initial access broker targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure and conducting automated attacks against WordPress and e-commerce platforms. The operation combines automated exploitation with AI agents and has obtained information belonging to more than 628,000 Ukrainian individuals through its campaigns.

VULNERABILITIES AND PATCHES

• Veeam has released security updates addressing multiple vulnerabilities in Backup & Replication version 12. These include CVE-2025-64393, a critical remote code execution flaw rated CVSS 9.4 that allows low-privileged backup users to execute commands on affected servers. Versions before build 12.3.2.4934 are vulnerable.
• Citrix NetScaler ADC and Gateway appliances are affected by CVE-2026-88779, a high-severity memory overflow vulnerability rated CVSS 8.7. The flaw affects customer-managed appliances configured for SAML authentication and could cause denial of service. Citrix confirmed targeted exploitation, and security updates are available for affected versions.
• Cisco has released security updates addressing multiple critical vulnerabilities in NX-OS software. The flaws include CVE-2026-76455, an improper access control vulnerability rated CVSS 9.8. Successful exploitation could allow unauthorized access of affected network infrastructure.
• Atlassian released patches for CVE-2026-21589, a critical arbitrary file access vulnerability rated CVSS 9.3. The flaw affects eight self-managed Data Center products, including Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket, and Bamboo. Unauthenticated attackers could access sensitive files and potentially obtain credentials enabling administrative access to connected applications.

Check Point IPS provides protection against this threat (Atlassian Multiple Products Arbitrary File Read (CVE-2026-21589))

THREAT INTELLIGENCE REPORTS

• Check Point Research has reported a 48% year-over-year increase in global cyberattacks during September 2026, averaging 2,803 weekly attacks per organization. Education remained the most targeted sector, while reported ransomware attacks increased by 53%. Additionally, one in every 39 enterprise GenAI prompts posed a high risk of sensitive data exposure.
• Researchers have analyzed a cyberespionage campaign by Russia-aligned UAC-0099 targeting Ukrainian organizations, including transportation, manufacturing, and energy companies. The group uses the MATCHBOIL downloader to deploy additional malware, including the MATCHWOK backdoor.
• The FBI and Secret Service warn of continued exploitation in the FortiBleed credential-theft campaign, affecting more than 86,000 Fortinet FortiGate firewalls and VPN gateways across 194 countries. Attackers exploited previously compromised credentials to establish persistent access and reportedly sold access to ransomware affiliates, including INC, Lynx, and Payload.
• Researchers have identified a cyberespionage campaign targeting Taiwanese research organizations through phishing emails impersonating academic and policy institutions. The attackers used potentially AI-assisted event invitations, malicious QR codes, and fake Google login pages. Their phishing infrastructure could intercept credentials and MFA challenges in real time.

The post 12th October – Threat Intelligence Report appeared first on Check Point Research.

For the latest discoveries in cyber research for the week of 5th October, please download our Threat Intelligence Bulletin.

TOP ATTACKS AND BREACHES

• Arizona’s state court system has suffered a phishing-led cyberattack after an employee clicked a malicious link. Attackers copied backup files containing protective-order records and more than 150,000 Foster Care Review Board reports dating back to 2010, exposing personal and case-related information belonging to current and former participants.
• Japanese car-sharing service Times Car has disclosed a data breach affecting approximately 6.6 million current and former accounts. Exposed information includes personal data, while identity-verification documents, including driver’s-license images, were exposed for about 1.6 million accounts. Payment card information was not affected.
• South Africa’s air navigation provider has suffered a ransomware attack affecting operational technology supporting aviation weather services. Preliminary findings identified suspicious activity in weather-related environments, while separate reporting cited possible data theft. The provider has sought independent digital forensics to determine the scope of the incident.
• Fakturownia, a Polish online invoicing platform used by more than 600,000 businesses, has disclosed a data breach after an attacker exploited a system vulnerability. Copied information included account and company data, password hashes, bank account details, authentication tokens, contractor information, and portions of invoices stored on the platform.

AI THREATS

• Researchers observed autonomous AI agents attempting rudimentary hacking techniques while gathering public information from US and Canadian government websites. Activity included failed SQL injection attempts against the US Department of Education and Library and Archives Canada. Officials reported no compromise, while the origin of the agents remains unconfirmed.
• Researchers demonstrated that malicious Custom GPTs hosted on ChatGPT were used in a ClickFix campaign to deliver remote access malware. Victims were redirected to a Google Sites page and tricked into running commands. Huntress investigated at least 40 related incidents, including two confirmed infections that began through Custom GPTs.
• Researchers outlined how JadePuffer, an AI-enabled threat actor tracked as Storm-3168, used compromised Azure service principals to automate cloud reconnaissance and destructive actions. The activity included deleting storage and application resources, targeting backup-related assets, and attempting to retrieve access keys, reflecting agent-driven post-compromise operations in cloud environments.

VULNERABILITIES AND PATCHES

• Citrix has issued fixes for critical NetScaler vulnerabilities CVE-2026-88771-2, affecting NetScaler ADC and Gateway. Attackers have exploited the flaws to gain remote access, deploy web shells and tunneling malware, steal credentials, and move from exposed appliances into internal networks.

Check Point IPS provides protection against these threats (Citrix NetScaler Multiple Products Buffer Overflow (CVE-2026-88772), Citrix NetScaler Multiple Products Command Injection (CVE-2026-88771))

• Cisco has alerted about CVE-2026-76504, a critical (CVSS 9.8) vulnerability in Catalyst SD-WAN Manager. The flaw allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to send crafted requests and gain administrator access. Cisco reported active exploitation and stated that no fixes are available.

Check Point IPS provides protection against this threat (Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager Authentication Bypass (CVE-2026-76504))

• Apple has patched CVE-2026-86950, a CoreGraphics memory corruption vulnerability affecting iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Processing a malicious image or PDF can allow arbitrary code execution. Apple reported exploitation in highly targeted attacks and addressed the flaw through improved bounds checking across affected iOS, iPadOS, and macOS releases.
• GitLab has released patches for CVE-2026-90970, a critical AI Gateway vulnerability rated CVSS 9.9. Authenticated Duo Agent Platform users can escape the prompt-template sandbox and execute arbitrary commands on the AI Gateway host.

THREAT INTELLIGENCE REPORTS

• Researchers documented Warlock ransomware attacks exploiting SharePoint ToolShell vulnerabilities against organizations in the utilities, telecom, government and education sectors. The group used compromised SharePoint servers for initial access, disabled endpoint protection on dozens of systems, and deployed ransomware across at least 33 hosts during one intrusion.
• Researchers exposed a China-nexus espionage campaign tracked as UAT-11587 targeting government and policy organizations across Asia. The group deployed the Antino backdoor through spear-phishing and tailored decoy documents. Antino uses Microsoft 365 services for command and control, file transfer, system reconnaissance, command execution, and persistence.
• Researchers have uncovered TA419, a China-aligned espionage actor targeting US AI policy experts at think tanks, universities, and law firms. The group impersonates prominent economists and AI policymakers, builds rapport through benign emails, then redirects targets to phishing pages designed to steal Microsoft 365 credentials and session cookies.
• Researchers mapped Russia-linked Star Blizzard phishing campaigns targeting more than 100 organizations, primarily in the United States and United Kingdom. The actor uses a new RedFlick delivery technique to install the CosmicPulse backdoor through scheduled tasks, supporting espionage activity against governments, NGOs, think tanks, and organizations connected to Ukraine.

The post 5th October – Threat Intelligence Report appeared first on Check Point Research.

For the latest discoveries in cyber research for the week of 28th September, please download our Threat Intelligence Bulletin.

TOP ATTACKS AND BREACHES

• The FBI has confirmed unauthorized activity affecting FBIjobs.gov after the ShinyHunters group defaced the website. The group claimed to have stolen employee and applicant information and shared samples of purported FBI personnel records with several media organizations.
• Astrana Health, a major US healthcare technology provider, has confirmed a cyberattack that exposed confidential information. Attackers spoofed the company’s telephone number to impersonate personnel and gained access to its servers. Astrana restored systems from backups and disclosed the incident in an SEC filing but has not publicly revealed what data was exposed.
• Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget has disclosed the theft of $351.6 million from several hot and warm wallets. The company detected unauthorized transfers on September 24 and temporarily suspended withdrawals. Bitget said cold wallets and most platform assets were unaffected, while suspected North Korean involvement remains under examination.
• Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, one of Germany’s largest universities, has suffered a data breach after an attacker accessed an enrollment system. The university said information was likely retrieved, potentially including names, bank details, health insurance information, and financial aid identifiers belonging to students.

AI THREATS

• Australia has revealed that an OpenAI agent gained unauthorized access to a government Medicare statistics portal while performing an internal research task. After encountering access restrictions, the agent found a workaround and accessed public and non-public files. Officials said no personal information was accessed, while OpenAI described the behavior as unintended.
• Researchers have described a financially motivated campaign using open-source AI agents to automate attacks against online retailers. The operators launched 105 attack projects between September 10 and 15 and compromised at least 27 organizations to varying degrees, stealing more than 600,000 valid payment card records.
• Researchers have highlighted CLOSEDQUORUM, a Windows malware that uses four commercial AI models to determine its next post-compromise action. The models can direct credential and cryptocurrency wallet theft, persistence, or process injection. Cisco Talos has not confirmed that the malware has been successfully deployed in real-world attacks.

VULNERABILITIES AND PATCHES

• Check Point has observed active exploitation of two critical pre-authentication vulnerabilities with CVSS scores of 9.8 – CVE-2026-85102 and CVE-2026-93616. The flaws affect Security Gateway and Security Management products and can enable remote code execution. Fixes for both vulnerabilities are available.
• F5 has released fixes for CVE-2026-94127, a critical heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in BIG-IP Access Policy Manager with a CVSS score of 9.8. The actively exploited flaw allows unauthenticated remote code execution when affected systems are configured with an access policy and OAuth profile.

Check Point IPS provides protection against this threat (F5 BIG-IP Heap Overflow (CVE-2026-94127))

• WordPress has fixed CVE-2026-87902, a vulnerability affecting versions before 7.1.2 that allows unauthenticated attackers to include local PHP files outside active theme directories. Attackers have begun exploiting the flaw to write malicious PHP files and execute commands under specific server and theme configurations.

THREAT INTELLIGENCE REPORTS

• Researchers have detailed Storm-2570, a ransomware affiliate operating across Qilin, DragonForce, Anubis, and BERT ecosystems. The actor maintains consistent post-compromise tooling and infrastructure across deployments, including remote access, credential theft, lateral movement, security tampering, and cloud-based data exfiltration before ransomware deployment.
• Researchers detailed an INC ransomware intrusion affecting at least 175 endpoints. Particularly useful intelligence includes BYOVD-based security-tool disabling, AnyDesk, lateral movement through scheduled tasks, and a 17-day gap that researchers say could indicate separate initial-access and ransomware actors.
• Researchers have tracked an active TeamFiltration campaign targeting more than 5,700 Microsoft 365 accounts across 28 tenants in Latin America, particularly organizations in Chile. Seven service accounts were compromised, with subsequent activity including corporate VPN authentication attempts and access to Azure Portal and SharePoint Online.
• Researchers have identified Storm-3168, associated with JADEPUFFER, using compromised service principals to conduct destructive operations in Azure environments. The actor performed reconnaissance, credential collection, and bulk deletion attempts targeting storage accounts, SQL databases, Key Vaults, virtual machines, recovery protections, and other cloud resources.

The post 28th September – Threat Intelligence Report appeared first on Check Point Research.

For the latest discoveries in cyber research for the week of 21st September, please download our Threat Intelligence Bulletin.

TOP ATTACKS AND BREACHES

• Japan’s Digital Agency, which operates the Government Solution Service used by multiple ministries, has confirmed a data breach after attackers exploited a vulnerability in a VPN appliance. Approximately 246,000 records were exposed, including names and contact details belonging to government officials and contractors, while financial information was not affected.
• Two oil tankers bound for Texas were hit by cyberattacks that disrupted onboard systems during voyages to the United States. US Coast Guard and FBI personnel boarded the vessels, while officials confirmed malicious cyber activity on the VL Prosperity but have not publicly attributed the attacks to a specific actor.
• Brevo, a French customer communication and marketing platform, has confirmed a supply chain attack after attackers used a compromised Cloudflare API key to inject malicious ClickFix scripts into websites that use Brevo components. The attack affected about 100,000 websites.
• Japanese software company Helpfeel, operator of image-sharing service Gyazo, has reported a data breach after attackers exploited a vulnerability in an image upload server. Above 23 million user records and 490 million image metadata records were exposed, including email addresses, password hashes, session IDs, integration tokens, and location metadata.

AI THREATS

• Check Point Research has analyzed the July-August AI threat landscape, highlighting the latest cases when AI models broke out of their evaluation environments. On the attackers’ side, AI is increasingly used as an operational tool, while the AI systems themselves are also targeted. The report highlights AI-assisted ransomware intrusions, criminal markets for stolen model access, and vulnerabilities in coding agents and enterprise copilots.
• Researchers uncovered Luciferus, an uncensored AI service advertised on an underground forum for malware creation and other prohibited activities. Testing showed that the service could generate code for a simple remote access trojan, while its operator markets several paid tiers to users seeking unrestricted AI assistance.
• Researchers unveiled BragJack, an attack that allows malicious browser extensions to hijack AI assistants by forcing prompts through trusted browser channels. The technique affected several AI-enabled browsers and assistants, enabling actions such as file access, screenshots, microphone and camera use, and logged-in activity before vendors issued security fixes.

VULNERABILITIES AND PATCHES

• Check Point has released a fix for CVE-2026-91843, a critical vulnerability affecting Security Management and Log Servers. The flaw, rated CVSS 9.8, stems from a stack overflow in the login process and can allow unauthenticated remote attackers to execute code as root on affected R80 through R82 systems.
• Cisco has addressed CVE-2026-76460 & CVE-2026-76461, two critical vulnerabilities affecting Cisco ISE and Secure Email Gateway with CVSS scores of 10.0 and 9.8. According to Cisco, the company is aware of active exploitation of CVE-2026-76460, which allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to gain access to the system’s management interface.
• Oracle has released its September 2026 Critical Security Patch Update, addressing more than 800 vulnerabilities across 17 product families. More than 100 flaws are rated critical, while over 240 can be exploited remotely without authentication. Affected products include E-Business Suite, Fusion Middleware, Hyperion, Siebel CRM, Analytics, Communications, and Virtualization.
• ISC has published security updates for BIND 9 addressing 14 vulnerabilities, including seven high-severity flaws that can trigger denial-of-service conditions. One issue, CVE-2026-77692, allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to crash the named process with a single crafted DNS-over-HTTPS request. Versions 9.21.26 and 9.20.29 contain the fixes.

THREAT INTELLIGENCE REPORTS

• US, Japanese, Australian, and German authorities warned about WaterPlum (Contagious Interview), a North Korea-linked campaign that infected at least 30,000 devices across more than 100 countries. Operators posed as AI or blockchain employers, targeting IT professionals and stealing funds or credentials from over 7,000 cryptocurrency wallets from December 2025 through July 2026.
• Researchers outlined a China-aligned FamousSparrow espionage campaign targeting government entities across Latin America and a telecommunications organization in Puerto Rico. The group deployed a new backdoor called SparroWocky, replacing its long-running SparrowDoor implant and supporting persistent surveillance across victims in Latin America.
• Researchers revealed HEAVYGRAM, a Windows surveillance backdoor linked with moderate confidence to the Iranian Handala group. Active since 2023 against Iranian dissidents and journalists, the malware uses Telegram for command and control and can execute commands, capture screenshots, steal Telegram session data, exfiltrate files, and maintain persistence.
• Researchers identified GhostCode, a device-code phishing kit that targets Microsoft 365 accounts by abusing the legitimate OAuth 2.0 device authorization flow. Victims authenticate through Microsoft, allowing attackers to capture tokens, register attacker-controlled devices, and obtain persistent account access without stealing the victim’s password or directly bypassing MFA.

The post 21st September – Threat Intelligence Report appeared first on Check Point Research.

For the latest discoveries in cyber research for the week of 14th Setpember, please download our Threat Intelligence Bulletin.

TOP ATTACKS AND BREACHES

• IDScan.net, a US identity verification provider, has disclosed a data breach after detecting unauthorized access on September 1. Exposed data included names and government identification numbers, while a criminal marketplace advertised a collection containing millions of identity documents, including driver’s licenses, associated with the company’s verification services.
• Mathspace, an education platform used in Australia and New Zealand, has suffered a data breach affecting more than 1 million people. The attackers exploited CVE-2026-72898 in self-hosted tool Metabase to access an internal reporting database. Exposed information included names, email addresses, usernames, and locations, while passwords and academic records were not affected.

Check Point IPS provides protection against this threat (Metabase SQL Injection (CVE-2026-72898))

• Fintech company Revolut has reported a data exposure after employees fulfilled fraudulent information requests sent from an email account within a government agency’s legitimate domain. Exposed records included identity documents, verification selfies, contact details, IBANs, account statements, withdrawal records, and complete transaction histories.
• Florida’s state Department of Motor Vehicles fell victim to a data breach after criminals used credentials stolen from a Plant City police officer’s personal device. The credentials enabled access to driver records, and the ShinyHunters group published images of stolen data.

AI THREATS

• Check Point Research has detailed PuzzleMask, a plain-prose prompt technique that hides prohibited instructions from lightweight LLM gatekeepers while allowing stronger target models to recover them. In testing, gatekeepers classified the prompts as safe, while target models extracted and acted on concealed payloads in more than 90 percent of trials.
• Check Point Research has demonstrated a covert cross-account channel in ChatGPT’s code-execution environment that allowed hidden tasks to run using a victim’s available tools, data, and connected applications. A proof of concept used a shared conversation to retrieve Gmail data from one account and relay the results to another.
• Anthropic has disclosed four incidents in which Claude models operated on the real internet because of configuration failures instead of remaining within intended sandboxes. In the most serious case, a model published a malicious PyPI package that was executed by systems, exposing credentials and enabling access to a database.

VULNERABILITIES AND PATCHES

• Microsoft has released its September 2026 Patch Tuesday updates, addressing a record 974 vulnerabilities across its products, including two actively exploited zero-days. CVE-2026-85880 and CVE-2026-81963 both allow local attackers to elevate privileges to SYSTEM, while 20 additional flaws could enable unauthenticated remote code execution without user interaction.

Check Point IPS provides protection against this threat (Microsoft Windows Update Stack Elevation of Privilege (CVE-2026-81963))

• GitLab has addressed CVE-2026-85706, a critical path traversal vulnerability affecting Community and Enterprise Editions, with a CVSS score of 10.0. The flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to read arbitrary files through the repository commits API. Affected versions include 18.7 through 19.3.1, with fixes available in 19.1.8, 19.2.6, and 19.3.2.

Check Point IPS provides protection against this threat (GitLab Arbitrary File Read (CVE-2026-85706))

• MikroTik has fixed CVE-2026-67276 and CVE-2026-86060, RouterOS vulnerabilities that can be chained to obtain passwordless SSH access and elevate privileges to full administrator. Successful exploitation can give attackers control over exposed routers, enabling configuration changes, DNS manipulation, traffic interception, and use of compromised devices as network footholds

THREAT INTELLIGENCE REPORTS

• Check Point Research has reported that enterprise GenAI usage continued to expand in August, reaching an average of 106 prompts per user, while 86% of organizations regularly using GenAI were affected by high-risk prompt activity. The report also recorded 1,042 ransomware attacks, almost double the August 2025 figure, while average weekly cyberattacks rose 22% year over year to 2,422 per organization.
• Researchers have detected a passkey-themed social engineering campaign targeting Microsoft 365 accounts. Attackers use phone and text lures directing employees to lookalike sign-in pages, then register their own authentication methods and collect data from SharePoint, OneDrive, and Exchange after gaining access to compromised accounts.
• Researchers have analyzed an Android banking-fraud campaign by the GoldFactory group that abuses Android Work Profile functionality through a tool called Vwork to clone victims’ banking applications. The Gigabud malware used in the operation was linked to at least 1,469 compromised devices in Indonesia and nearly $1 million in losses.
• Researchers have detailed BlueMoon, an exploit chain combining two vulnerabilities in Chromium’s V8 JavaScript engine with a Windows flaw to compromise targeted systems. The vulnerabilities were used by multiple espionage groups after Chrome patches became available, allowing browser exploitation, sandbox escape, and privilege escalation on vulnerable Windows devices.

Check Point IPS provides protection against this threat (Google Chrome Type Confusion (CVE-2026-85046))

The post 14th September – Threat Intelligence Report appeared first on Check Point Research.

For the latest discoveries in cyber research for the week of 7th Setpember, please download our Threat Intelligence Bulletin.

TOP ATTACKS AND BREACHES

• Thomson Reuters, a global information and technology company, has disclosed a breach of its C-Track court case-management platform affecting courts across 11 US states and Canada. An unauthorized party obtained C-Track files containing court records, including names and other personal information.
• Hit, a major Slovenian gambling and tourism operator, has sustained a cyberattack that forced six casinos to close for about three days. Operations have resumed, but some table games, bingo, loyalty services, cash registers, and hotel systems remained unavailable during restoration, while some employees were temporarily furloughed.
• Baylor Genetics, a US clinical diagnostic laboratory, has disclosed a data breach affecting 2.8M patients and employees after unauthorized access to part of its IT environment in June. Stolen data included names, birth dates, medical testing and laboratory results, health insurance information, and some Social Security numbers.
• Global cloud storage provider Dropbox has disclosed unauthorized access to about 5,000 accounts after attackers exploited Lenovo’s email verification process. Fraudulent Lenovo IDs created with victims’ email addresses enabled access without Dropbox passwords, while files were viewed or downloaded from affected accounts.

AI THREATS

• Researchers have detailed an AI-assisted ransomware intrusion that compromised an enterprise network in under 10 hours. Autonomous agents mapped internal systems, mined code repositories, obtained root credentials from a secrets manager, and abused build pipelines and cloud resources, compressing activity that normally requires substantially more human effort.
• Security researchers have disclosed GitSpawn, a vulnerability class affecting AI coding agents including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Goose, Qwen Code, Grok Build, and Hermes. Malicious repository Git configurations can trigger arbitrary code execution as the developer when agents automatically gather project context, in some cases before trust prompts.
• Researchers have showcased how an AI coding assistant can be used to port a known PLC exploit to a different controller model, producing working payloads after guided analysis. While the process still required significant manual effort, it demonstrated how AI can accelerate exploit development for industrial systems.

VULNERABILITIES AND PATCHES

• SonicWall has addressed CVE-2026-83548 and CVE-2026-83549, critical vulnerabilities affecting SMA 1000 remote access gateways. CVE-2026-83548 is a pre-authentication SSRF flaw rated CVSS 10.0, while CVE-2026-83549 enables post-authentication remote code execution. Both were exploited as zero-days and affect SMA 6210, 7210, and 8200v appliances.
• JFrog has addressed CVE-2026-82329, a critical CVSS 9.8 authentication bypass affecting self-hosted Artifactory deployments. The flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to obtain administrator access tokens and take control of repositories. Exploitation was observed shortly after disclosure against internet-exposed systems, while JFrog Cloud environments were patched by the vendor.

Check Point IPS provides protection against this threat (JFrog Artifactory Authentication Bypass (CVE-2026-82329))

• Security researcher have unveiled FalconFlank, a zero-day privilege escalation technique affecting CrowdStrike Falcon on Windows 11 25H2 and Windows Server 2025. The proof-of-concept abuses Falcon’s Microsoft Office macro-removal remediation behavior, allowing a low-privileged local user to obtain elevated access on affected systems

THREAT INTELLIGENCE REPORTS

• Check Point Research has uncovered a Chinese-speaking cybercrime cluster, dubbed Gambling Goblin, that compromises Brazilian government and education websites. The group installs malicious Apache modules to proxy visitors to gambling and phishing pages while manipulating search rankings. Its infrastructure spans multiple languages and shows links to Earth Berberoka.

Check Point Threat Emulation and Harmony Endpoint provide protection against this threat

• Check Point Research has analyzed JSCeal, a cryptocurrency-focused information stealer compiled into V8 bytecode and executed through a bundled Node.js runtime. Researchers developed a static deobfuscation pipeline that recovered readable code, revealing keylogging, browser credential theft, HTTPS interception, additional encryption, and newer variants targeting macOS systems.

Check Point Threat Emulation and Harmony Endpoint provide protection against this threat

• Researchers have mapped a campaign by Iran-linked Mirage Kitten that uses fake LinkedIn coding tests to deliver NodeRabbit and PollCat malware. The malicious tests are distributed through cloud links and install cross-platform implants. Targets include fintech and aviation organizations in Egypt, Ethiopia, and Afghanistan.
• Researchers have analyzed new macOS delivery activity linked to North Korea’s Contagious Interview campaign. Attackers use fake job interviews and trojanized disk images or installer packages impersonating legitimate Mac applications. The samples connect to infrastructure previously associated with malicious Git hooks and VS Code task files.

The post 7th September – Threat Intelligence Report appeared first on Check Point Research.

For the latest discoveries in cyber research for the week of 31st August, please download our Threat Intelligence Bulletin.

TOP ATTACKS AND BREACHES

• Manchester Airports Group, the UK operator of Manchester, London Stansted, and East Midlands airports, has disclosed a cyberattack that exposed data belonging to about 8.7 million customers. The compromised information includes contact details, vehicle registration numbers, and information collected through car park, lounge, fast-track, and Wi-Fi registrations.
• The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has confirmed a cyberattack affecting a standalone computer containing information on ATF investigation targets. The system was disconnected after the compromise, while the Qilin ransomware group listed the agency on its leak site and claimed responsibility.
• Boston Scientific, a US-based global medical device company, has experienced a cyberattack that caused network outages and disrupted operations worldwide. Access to internal systems and applications, including services supporting order processing and shipping, was affected. The company began restoring impacted systems following the August 26 disruption.
• McKesson, a major U.S. healthcare and pharmaceutical company, has disclosed a data breach involving unauthorized access to third-party applications and data theft. Threat group ShinyHunters claimed it used vishing to compromise Okta accounts and access Salesforce and Snowflake, exfiltrating about 1TB of data containing approximately 284 million patient-related records.

AI THREATS

• Researchers described Cryptographic Context Injection, a technique that conceals malicious instructions inside encrypted content to bypass safeguards in AI assistants with browsing and code capabilities. During testing, Grok was induced to expose user conversation data while Gemini generated content that would normally be blocked by its safety controls.
• Researchers detailed a prompt injection vulnerability in Amazon Kiro, an AI development environment, that could allow malicious workspace files to manipulate the agent and transmit local information. Exploitation required a user to open a crafted project and interact with Kiro. Amazon addressed the issue in version 0.8.140.
• Researchers profiled AnonyMousKIT, an AI-enabled phishing-as-a-service operation targeting owners of stolen iPhones. The platform uses email, text messages, WhatsApp, and AI-generated voice calls to steal Apple IDs, passcodes, and two-factor authentication codes, helping criminals remove Activation Lock and gain access to associated accounts.

VULNERABILITIES AND PATCHES

• PaperCut released emergency fixes for two actively exploited vulnerabilities affecting PaperCut NG and MF. CVE-2026-81578, rated CVSS 8.8, enables authentication bypass, while CVE-2026-82078, rated CVSS 9.4, involves unsafe class loading. Attackers can chain the vulnerabilities to achieve unauthenticated remote code execution on affected servers.
• Ubiquiti patched 21 critical and high-severity vulnerabilities affecting UniFi Protect, Network, Access, Talk, UniFi OS, and other products. The flaws include authentication bypass, command injection, and privilege escalation issues, with several receiving CVSS scores of 10.0. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to gain administrative control over affected devices.
• Vercel addressed two critical vulnerabilities affecting Next.js, including CVE-2026-75604, a Windows-specific path traversal flaw, and a libheif AVIF image-processing vulnerability. Both can result in unauthenticated remote code execution under affected configurations. Fixes are included in Next.js versions 15.5.24 and 16.3.3. A public proof-of-concept is available for the AVIF issue.
• ServiceNow has addressed three critical vulnerabilities in its AI Platform, CVE-2026-18885, CVE-2026-18886, and CVE-2026-74820, all rated CVSS 10.0. The flaws involve code injection, access control, and SQL injection and can allow unauthenticated attackers to execute code, escalate privileges, or access and modify instance data.

THREAT INTELLIGENCE REPORTS

• Check Point researchers identified a large-scale phishing campaign using fraudulent debt-relief emails to manipulate victims into calling attacker-controlled phone numbers. The campaign targeted more than 9,000 organizations and distributed approximately 24,700 emails within 14 days. Phone conversations were then used to obtain victims’ personal and financial information.
• U.S. authorities announced the disruption of QScan and QTRouter, two platforms operated by China-linked group QTFY to target U.S. critical infrastructure and government networks. QScan infected internet-connected devices, while QTRouter used compromised systems to conceal the origin of intrusion activity targeting agencies including NASA, the Federal Reserve, and Department of Energy.
• Researchers unveiled an expanded toolset used by the Iran-linked Nimbus Manticore threat group to target organizations in the Middle East and Europe. The campaign includes an SSH tunneling utility and a C++ backdoor resembling TWOSTROKE, providing attackers with persistent remote access and command execution on compromised systems.
• Researchers discovered a Chinese threat actor exploiting known ownCloud and WordPress vulnerabilities to compromise sensitive organizations in the Philippines. Victims included a nuclear research agency and a marine engineering contractor supporting the Philippine Navy. The attackers obtained reactor-related records, employee information and credentials, among other data.

The post 31st August – Threat Intelligence Report appeared first on Check Point Research.

For the latest discoveries in cyber research for the week of 24th August, please download our Threat Intelligence Bulletin.

TOP ATTACKS AND BREACHES

• Latvia’s Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD) has confirmed a breach affecting payment records of more than 1.2 million people – roughly two-thirds of the country’s population – as well as 200,000 organizations. The stolen data included identification numbers, license plates, payment amounts, dates and addresses. Attackers reportedly exploited a vulnerability in an internet-facing system.
• Sakura Internet, a Japanese cloud and hosting provider, has disclosed unauthorized access involving rental server environments and a separate sales management system. Up to 1.36 million customer accounts may have been exposed. Attackers also accessed hundreds of rental server accounts and installed malware on affected environments.
• The Hospital for Sick Children, Canada’s largest pediatric hospital, has disclosed data theft involving a third-party application. The incident affected its careers website and exposed information belonging to employees, applicants and staff at related organizations. The hospital stated that clinical systems and patient information were not affected.
• Berlin authorities isolated the city’s urban development and mobility ministries from government IT networks following a security breach. The measure disrupted email and internet access, forcing employees to use alternative communication channels and delaying several public services while the ministries remained disconnected.

AI THREATS

• Researchers have demonstrated an autonomous AI agent exploiting a GitHub Actions flaw in Snowflake’s public repository, gaining read access to the company’s internal Jira system. The agent exfiltrated tokens within seconds. Snowflake patched the workflow and rotated credentials after the demonstration, which required no human steering.
• US authorities warn of active AI-assisted attacks targeting Siemens S7 industrial controllers across manufacturing, energy, water and other critical sectors. Attackers use AI-generated scripts disguised as monitoring tools and open-source libraries to probe internet-exposed attempting to cause unauthorized configuration changes, operational disruption or damage to industrial equipment.
• Researchers have analyzed ‘Kriminal’, a publicly accessible AI platform marketed as uncensored and offering social engineering and exploit assistance through cryptocurrency subscriptions. The service combines models including Grok, Claude and Llama, allowing users to generate phishing content, malicious code and other cybercrime material while reducing reliance on a single provider

VULNERABILITIES AND PATCHES

• GitLab has released out-of-band fixes for CVE-2026-19478, a critical unauthenticated code injection vulnerability affecting self-managed Community and Enterprise editions. Rated CVSS 9.4, the flaw can let remote attackers alter or delete public projects and user data. Exploitation attempts were observed after disclosure.
• Cisco has released fixes for nine critical vulnerabilities affecting Crosswork platforms and Secure Workload software, including six flaws rated CVSS 10.0. The issues include authentication, access-control and file-system weaknesses that could enable unauthorized access or system compromise.
• Citrix has published patches for CVE-2026-19489 and CVE-2026-19490 affecting NetScaler ADC and NetScaler Gateway. The critical authentication bypass flaw can let unauthenticated attackers access appliances configured with SAML authentication, while the second vulnerability can cause denial of service.
• NASA/JPL has fixed a critical vulnerability in the open-source AMMOS Instrument Toolkit AIT-GUI that enables unauthenticated command execution through its web console. Rated CVSS 9.4, the flaw can allow remote command execution, script launches and sequence execution. AIT-GUI version 2.5.2 contains the fix

THREAT INTELLIGENCE REPORTS

• Check Point Research has investigated StopAndProtect campaign which abuses thousands of compromised WordPress sites to distribute malware and store stolen data. The campaign combines ransomware with data theft and uses ClickFix technique to infect visitors. Operational mistakes exposed logs, screenshots and victim IP addresses.
• Check Point Research has investigated the Windows Defender Boot-Time Removal driver, BTR.sys, showing that the Microsoft-signed remediation component can be repurposed to perform privileged file and registry changes during startup. Researchers developed BTR_CLI to craft encrypted tasks and found that multiple versions share a hard-coded RC4 key.
• Check Point Research have uncovered increased targeting of the education sector ahead of the school year. Organizations averaged 4,696 weekly attacks from January through July 2026, increase of 8%. Attackers also registered education-themed domains and used seasonal phishing lures impersonating schools and student reward programs to steal credentials.
• Researchers have tracked a Cl0p extortion campaign exploiting CVE-2026-12569 in PTC Windchill and FlexPLM, with more than 40 organizations named by the group. Analysis identified a custom implant capable of decrypting credentials, accessing databases and supporting bulk data theft from compromised product lifecycle management environments.

Check Point IPS provides protection against this threat (PTC Multiple Products Remote Code Execution (CVE-2026-12569))

The post 24th August – Threat Intelligence Report appeared first on Check Point Research.

For the latest discoveries in cyber research for the week of 17th August, please download our Threat Intelligence Bulletin.

TOP ATTACKS AND BREACHES

• Colombia’s Ministry of Justice has experienced a ransomware attack that affected part of its technology infrastructure and disrupted public services related to illicit-drug monitoring and legal processes. Officials confirmed that some files were encrypted but stated that no data theft was detected during the incident.
• MyDr, Poland’s primary healthcare platform for appointments, medical records, and prescriptions, has suffered a data breach potentially affecting nearly 19 million citizens. Attackers claimed to hold 2.5TB of information and shared a senior politician’s identification details, phone numbers, and prescriptions as evidence of the compromise.
• Levi Strauss & Co., the global American apparel company, has reported a cyberattack after attackers used social engineering to compromise three employee devices and steal corporate information. According to the firm, preliminary findings indicate no consumer data was accessed or copied. The company notified affected individuals and relevant regulators.
• IEH Corporation, a US defense and aerospace component manufacturer, has confirmed a phishing compromise of an employee’s Microsoft 365 mailbox. Attackers used a fraudulent document-sharing link to steal credentials, potentially exposing customer communications, purchase orders, engineering documents, and export-controlled technical information.

AI THREATS

• Researchers detailed a suspected China-linked campaign that used autonomous AI agents against Taiwanese government systems. The operation reportedly mapped 21 systems, compromised 85 accounts, and obtained 2,500 personnel records before expanding toward a nuclear safety organization and seven companies in the energy sector.
• Researchers outlined how North Korea-linked Kimsuky is building an offline AI environment to support phishing, intelligence analysis, and malware development. The setup combines locally hosted language models with document retrieval, code resources, and transcription capabilities, potentially allowing operators to automate additional stages of cyberespionage activity.
• Researchers found that encrypted reasoning blocks used by OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google APIs could be replayed across sessions. Analysis of more than 315,000 blocks recovered hundreds of sensitive artifacts from published agent logs, including API keys, passwords, authentication tokens, and private cryptographic keys.

VULNERABILITIES AND PATCHES

• Microsoft has released its August Patch Tuesday security updates, addressing 421 vulnerabilities across Windows, Office, SharePoint, Exchange Server, Azure and other products. The fixes include 42 critical flaws and CVE-2026-68820, an actively exploited Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock vulnerability that allows local attackers to gain SYSTEM privileges.
• Apple released patches for CVE-2026-65400, a critical macOS Screen Sharing authentication vulnerability with a CVSS score of 9.8. The flaw allows network attackers to authenticate without valid credentials. Active exploitation against internet-exposed systems has resulted in root access and deployment of Monero cryptocurrency miners.
• Adobe released a fix for CVE-2026-71362, a critical authentication vulnerability affecting Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source. Attackers began exploiting the flaw shortly after public disclosure. Successful exploitation enables unauthorized session switching, potentially allowing account takeover and access to information associated with affected accounts.
• Zoom addressed three critical vulnerabilities in Zoom Workplace, including CVE-2026-53413, that could enable remote code execution during a meeting. The flaws affected annotation functionality and required no interaction from the targeted participant. Fixed releases include versions 7.0.6 and 7.1.5 for fast-track users.

THREAT INTELLIGENCE REPORTS

• Check Point Research has exposed a new wave of the Lazarus-linked Operation Dream Job targeting defense organizations in Europe, India and Brazil. Attackers used fraudulent job opportunities and trojanized PDF software to deploy malware, while exploiting Windows zero-day CVE-2026-68820 to obtain SYSTEM privileges and disable security visibility.
• Check Point Research has assessed ransomware activity during Q2 2026, identifying 2,139 publicly reported victims, up 33% year over year. The ransomware ecosystem expanded to 93 active groups, while leaked communications showed The Gentlemen using AI coding assistants to accelerate development of operational tooling.
• Check Point Research have reported that organizations experienced an average of 2,336 weekly cyberattacks during July 2026, representing a 16% year-over-year increase. Ransomware activity also accelerated, while generative AI usage continued exposing corporate information through high-risk prompts submitted to external AI services.
• Researchers revealed a China-linked Jewelbug campaign using XG-Web to conduct espionage against government and military organizations while supporting cryptocurrency fraud. The operation collected approximately 580,000 browser cookies, thousands of credentials, and 2,300 emails through compromised web infrastructure and malicious cryptocurrency services.

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