Stealth Falcon Targets Middle East with Windows BITS Feature
New ESET research reveals that Stealth Falcon, a cyber espionage group targeting political activists and journalists in the Middle East, has changed tactics and is currently using a backdoor relying on Windows Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS), instead of the PowerShell-based backdoor used by the group in previous campaigns. The
New Threat Group Targets Middle East
Hackers belonging to a threat group dubbed LYCEUM (aka HEXANE) have been launching attacks on organizations in the oil and gas sector since May of this year, new research by SecureWorks shows. This campaign primarily targets firms located in the Middle East, but LYCEUM has been active since April of
Israel Appears to Attack Four Countries in Two Days, Bombing Iran’s Allies Across Middle East
Tensions in the Middle East have surged since last weekend as the result of Israeli attacks on targets in four different countries, all of them allied with Iran. While the Israeli military recently claimed strikes on targets in Syria and the Palestinian-administered Gaza Strip, it is also thought to be
US plans coalition of allies to patrol waters off Iran and Yemen
The United States aims to build a military coalition to “ensure freedom of navigation both in the Straits of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab” a US military official said on Tuesday. The Strait of Hormuz, located between the south of Iran and the Arabian peninsula, connects the Persian Gulf and
Iran says it won’t wage war, U.S. deploys more troops to Middle East
In a Tuesday speech, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stated that “despite all of the Americans’ efforts in the region and their desire to cut off our ties with all of the world and their desire to keep Iran secluded,” his country “will not wage war against any nation.” A day
Two tankers attacked in Gulf of Oman — reports
Two oil tankers, one from Norway and one from Singapore, were attacked in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday morning, prompting the Fifth Fleet of the United States Navy to provide assistance to the vessels. The Norwegian tanker was being charted by Taiwan’s state-owned CPC Corp. A CPC spokesman said that
Chinese Cyber-Spies Target Government Organizations in Middle East
Researchers with Palo Alto Networks have uncovered a new campaign by Chinese hackers that targets governments in the Middle East. The actor behind the attacks has been identified as Chinese cyber espionage group Emissary Panda (aka APT27, TG-3390, Bronze Union, and Lucky Mouse). Between April 1 and 16, Emissary Panda
US may deploy thousands more troops amid Iran tension
As a result of escalating tensions with Iran, the US government is considering to send thousands of additional forces to the Middle East. The US Department of Defense is expected to detail the plans on Thursday. According to Reuters, around 5,000 extra troops could be deployed, while AP news agency
Gaza Cybergang Blends Sophistication Levels in Highly Effective Spy Effort
Kaspersky Lab has released new research on an Arabic speaking advanced persistent threat group (APT) engaged in cyber-espionage. The group, dubbed the Gaza Cybergang, has been active since 2012 and has already targeted around 240 high-profile victims, including “embassies, government entities, media outlets and journalists, activists, political parties and individuals,
DarkHydrus abuses Google Drive to spread RogueRobin Trojan
Researchers with the 360 Threat Intelligence Center (360TIC) have spotted a new attack campaign by the DarkHydrus advanced persistent threat (APT) group, also called Lazy Meerkat, which goes after political targets in the Middle East. DarkHydrus is known for targeting victims with spear-phishing emails and is currently spreading the RogueRobin backdoor Trojan through malicious Microsoft