Tag

threat intelligence

5 stories

How 319 Chrome Extensions Redirected Searches and What It Means for Users and SOCs

A sprawling network of 319 browser extensions has been tied to search hijacking that affected an estimated 13.4 million users over the past decade. Marketed as benign utilities — PDF converters, safe search tools, finders, and AI helpers — these add-ons quietly routed user queries through operator-controlled servers before forwarding results to mainstream engines such as Yahoo or Bing. The result: referral revenue for operators, a persistent intermediary with visibility…

Saugata DattaOct 29, 20263 min read153

Cybersecurity

Breaking the Ransomware Chain: Flashpoint’s 2026 Survival Guide

Ransomware is scaling faster than many organizations anticipated. In the first half of 2026, Flashpoint tracked 6,256 ransomware incidents — a 45% jump from 2025 — driven by expanding Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) ecosystems, commoditized tooling, and growing use of AI. For security leaders, threat hunters, and intelligence teams, understanding how these operations form and where they can be interrupted has become a business-critical priority. Why ransomware is surging Flashpoint’s analysis points…

Saugata DattaOct 27, 20262 min read160

Cybersecurity

Attackers Exploit VMware vCenter Vulnerability to Gain Persistent Remote Access

A newly disclosed critical flaw in VMware vCenter (CVE-2026-59310) has moved quickly from patch release to active exploitation, according to investigative reporting and telemetry from security firms. The vulnerability—a directory traversal bug that allows an actor with network access to execute arbitrary code—was patched by Broadcom late last month, and forensic evidence collected by QUIRSO indicates attackers were able to chain that weakness into persistent remote access on production appliances…

Saugata DattaAug 12, 20264 min read392

Cybersecurity

Hackers Used AI to Build First Known Zero-Day 2FA Bypass, Google Warns

Google's threat hunters have flagged a troubling milestone: the first known instance of a zero-day exploit likely discovered and weaponized using an artificial intelligence model. What began as an obscure Python script has been linked to a coordinated effort by cybercriminals to develop a two-factor authentication (2FA) bypass that could be scaled for mass exploitation. The disclosure underscores how AI is reshaping offensive cyber operations and compressing the timeline from…

Saugata DattaMay 12, 20264 min read353

Artificial Intelligence

When Money Talks and Machines Mimic: Ransomware, Extortion, and the AI Arms Race in Cybersecurity

The landscape of cyber threats has shifted decisively toward financially motivated crime. Extortion and ransomware now drive more than half of attacks with known motivations, as opportunistic criminal groups scale operations with automated tooling and AI. Speed, automation, and deception combine to inflict outsized damage on vulnerable organizations and public services. Why extortion and ransomware dominate Ransomware and extortion target assets that are both critical and costly to restore. Hospitals,…

Saugata DattaFeb 11, 20263 min read868

How 319 Chrome Extensions Redirected Searches and What It Means for Users and SOCs

Breaking the Ransomware Chain: Flashpoint’s 2026 Survival Guide

Attackers Exploit VMware vCenter Vulnerability to Gain Persistent Remote Access

Hackers Used AI to Build First Known Zero-Day 2FA Bypass, Google Warns

When Money Talks and Machines Mimic: Ransomware, Extortion, and the AI Arms Race in Cybersecurity

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