Ticker feed

The Gunra ransomware group, which emerged in April targeting Windows systems, has released a sophisticated Linux variant capable of running 100 parallel encryption threads—double what most ransomware allows. This cross-platform expansion makes Gunra particularly dangerous, offering attackers unprecedented speed and flexibility in file encryption.

The group gained notoriety by allegedly leaking 40TB of hospital data in May and has since targeted victims across Brazil, Japan, Canada, Turkey, South Korea, Taiwan, and the US. Unlike its Windows version, the Linux variant skips ransom notes and focuses purely on rapid, configurable encryption. Trend Micro researchers warn organizations to monitor this fast-evolving threat closely.

Source: Dark Reading

Google researchers exposed UNC3944, a ransomware group targeting US retail, airline, and insurance companies through sophisticated phone scams. The hackers call IT help desks pretending to be employees, trick staff into resetting passwords, then use stolen credentials to access virtual server systems and deploy ransomware within hours.

Unlike typical cyberattacks, they don't use malware but manipulate legitimate administrative tools, making detection extremely difficult. The group's activity declined after 2024 law enforcement actions. But other ransomware groups are now copying these tactics, making this a growing threat requiring immediate defensive action.

Source: Industrial Cyber

Gov. Tim Walz activated the Minnesota National Guard Tuesday to help St. Paul recover from a sophisticated cyberattack that has crippled city systems since Friday. Mayor Melvin Carter declared a state of emergency, calling it a "deliberate, coordinated digital attack" by external criminals targeting the city's infrastructure. The FBI and cybersecurity firms are investigating alongside the Guard's cyber forces.

City Wi-Fi, internal networks, and online bill payment are down, forcing some workers offline. Libraries and recreation services are also affected, though 911 remains operational. Officials won't restore services until they fully understand the breach's scope.

Source: CBS News Minnesota

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has added a cross-site request forgery vulnerability in PaperCut NG/MF print management software to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. The flaw is currently being exploited by attackers in the wild.

CISA is requiring all federal agencies to patch their systems immediately to prevent potential security breaches. PaperCut NG/MF is widely used across government and enterprise environments for managing printing services, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for organizations running unpatched versions of the software.

Source: The Hacker News

The Python Package Index (PyPI) is warning developers about an ongoing phishing campaign targeting their accounts. Attackers are sending fake verification emails and using lookalike domains to steal credentials from Python developers. The fraudulent emails appear legitimate but direct users to malicious sites designed to harvest login information.

PyPI officials are urging developers to verify email authenticity before clicking links and to enable two-factor authentication. This campaign specifically targets the Python development community, potentially compromising software supply chains if successful.

Source: The Hacker News

The Scattered Spider cybercrime group launched sophisticated ransomware attacks on July 28, 2025, targeting VMware ESXi servers across critical U.S. infrastructure including retail and airline sectors. The hackers used stolen credentials and social engineering to hijack ESXi hypervisors, encrypting multiple virtual machines at once and causing widespread business disruptions.

CISA issued an urgent advisory urging organizations to patch vulnerable ESXi systems and strengthen access controls. Security experts say their evolving tactics make detection increasingly difficult for defenders. The attacks underscore urgent concerns about ransomware threats to virtualized environments that many organizations rely on for core operations.

Source: The Hacker News

Cybercriminals compromised Toptal's GitHub account and published 10 malicious npm packages that downloaded 5,000 times before removal. The packages contained code designed to steal GitHub authentication tokens and completely wipe victim systems using destructive commands. All packages targeted the same preinstall and postinstall scripts, sending stolen data to webhook endpoints before silently deleting files on Windows and Linux machines.

Toptal has since restored safe versions, but the attack method remains unknown. This follows similar supply chain attacks targeting npm and Python repositories with surveillanceware.

Source: The Hacker News

A pro-Ukraine hacking group called Silent Crow claims it successfully attacked Russia's national airline Aeroflot, forcing the cancellation of dozens of flights and causing widespread system failures. The group, working with Belarusian hackers Cyber Partisans, says it compromised Aeroflot's IT infrastructure and threatens to release passenger data. Russian prosecutors confirmed the cyber-attack and opened a criminal investigation.

The disruption mostly affected domestic routes but also flights to Belarus, Armenia, and Tashkent. Passengers were transferred to other carriers. This marks a rare visible impact from the ongoing cyber warfare between pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian hacking groups since 2022.

Source: BBC News

Hackers accessed personal data belonging to most of Allianz Life's 1.4 million U.S. customers on July 16 through a social engineering attack on a third-party cloud system. The Minneapolis-based insurance company discovered the breach the next day and immediately contacted the FBI.

While Allianz Life's own systems weren't compromised, the attackers obtained personally identifiable information from customers, financial professionals, and some employees. The company is offering affected individuals 24 months of free identity theft protection and credit monitoring. This incident only impacts the U.S. subsidiary, not other Allianz entities worldwide.

Source: CBS News

A new ransomware group called Chaos has launched attacks across multiple sectors, primarily targeting US organizations with some victims in the UK, New Zealand, and India. The gang, which emerged in February 2025, uses sophisticated social engineering tactics—flooding targets with spam emails then impersonating IT security staff over phone calls to trick victims into granting remote access via Microsoft Quick Assist.

Cisco Talos researchers believe Chaos is likely formed by former BlackSuit/Royal gang members based on similar encryption methods and ransom note structures. The group demands large ransoms (one case involved $300,000) and threatens DDoS attacks plus data disclosure if victims don't pay.

Source: Infosecurity