Tag Archive for: Rogue

Attackers set up rogue GitHub repos with malware posing as zero-day exploits


Credit: BrownMantis

In an unusual attack campaign, a hacker has been setting up rogue GitHub repositories that claim to host zero-day exploits for popular applications but which instead deliver malware.

The attacker also created fake GitHub and Twitter accounts posing as security researchers and even used real photos of researchers from well-known cybersecurity firms.

“The attacker has made a lot of effort to create all these fake personas, only to deliver very obvious malware,” researchers from security firm VulnCheck, who found the rogue repositories, said in a report.

“It’s unclear if they have been successful but given that they’ve continued to pursue this avenue of attacks, it seems they believe they will be successful.”

While attacks that target security researchers are not a new development, they are relatively rare and more likely to be the work of advanced persistent threat (APT) groups looking to gain access to sensitive information that researchers have access to.

This was the case with a campaign reported by Google’s Threat Analysis Group in 2021 where a government-backed North Korean entity created a web of fake accounts posing as security researchers on Twitter, Telegram, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms and used them to promote proof-of-concept exploits for existing vulnerabilities that were posted on a blog and in YouTube videos.

How the GitHub fake account campaign works

The fake accounts were used to contact other real researchers and invite them to collaborate. As part of the communication, a Visual Studio project with proof-of-concept exploit code was shared, but this project also included a malicious DLL that deployed malware on the victim’s computer.

Separately, some researchers who visited the blog had their up-to-date systems exploited suggesting the attackers had access to some zero-day exploits.

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Space Rogue, From L0pht Hacker to IBM Security Influencer


Before he was Space Rogue, before L0pht, before testifying in front of Congress about what used to be a very unknown risk of networked computers, and before he embarked on a career in cybersecurity, he was just young Cris Thomas with a homemade flashlight.

Growing up in a mobile home in rural Maine in the 1970s, Thomas didn’t have a whole lot of access to technology in his early years. But at the tender age of five, armed with a hammer and a worn-out sealed alkaline flashlight — the kind that you threw away after the batteries lost their juice — he was able to first learn the basics of electrical circuits. Cannibalizing parts from those flashlights and adding C and D cell batteries and wires consisting of garbage bag twist ties, he was in business with his very own lighting device.

That kind of tinkering is the very essence of a hacker’s modus operandi, and it was the start of his love affair with hacking and his eventual profession as a cybersecurity leader. Over the years, Thomas has done stints at the likes of Trustwave Security, Tenable, and almost six years now at IBM as Global Lead of Policy and Special Initiatives. But at its root his beginnings have all the same flavor of self-directed experimentation and trial-and-error with his flashlight. His route was circuitous and full of ups and downs, but he says that in some ways it was easier for him to go down that path than those trying to get their break in cybersecurity today without the traditional path straight from college.

“There’s still people who are trying to break into the industry with little to no formal education, and the debate of college or certifications is still raging. So, I think getting into the industry, from an austere beginning and maybe even skipping the formal education and being self-taught — it is possible,” he says. “It’s a lot more difficult today, because I think people put a lot of importance on the college degree and the formal education, and so it’s hard to get around that stigma.”

After early grade school he moved to a bigger town, was exposed to computers in bits and pieces, and mastered the basics of BASIC from chance encounters, clubs, and high school computer class. But it wasn’t until…

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Hacker Space Rogue to Release Book on Hacking Group L0pht Heavy Industries in February


PHILADELPHIA, PA, January 11, 2023 — The memoir of world-renowned hacker Cris Thomas “Space Rogue: How the Hackers Known as L0pht Changed the World” is available for pre-order now. The new book, to be released on February 16, 2023, will cover the influential hacking group L0pht Heavy Industries, the hacker underground of the 1990s, the L0pht’s rise to prominence, their testimony in front of the US Senate, their claim of being able to “take down the Internet”, and how their legacy continues to shape the security of the online world today.

“Cyber security has become a critical part of today’s world. The L0pht was there at the start. We helped shape the cyber industry, and form the online world we all live in today.” –Space Rogue

In May 1998, the US Congress invited the seven members of the L0pht to testify on the state of government computer security. Two years later, that same group rode the dot-com bubble to create the preeminent security consultancy the industry has ever known, @stake. Along the way, they stood up against tech giants like Microsoft, Oracle, Novell and others to expose weaknesses in those companies’ premiere products. Despite the L0pht’s technical prowess, the group could not keep what they had built together as money and internal politics turned friend against friend. Look inside L0pht Heavy Industries, or simply The L0pht, one of the most influential hacker groups in history. From formation, to congressional testimony, to going legit and the aftermath that followed. 

Follow the hacker ‘Space Rogue’ as he takes you on a journey through the magical hacker scene of the 1990s. The L0pht hacker collective no longer exists, but its legacy lives on. L0pht set the standard for how the cyber security industry now releases vulnerability information. Famous hackers that were once L0pht members, Mudge, Weld Pond, Kingpin, Dildog, Space Rogue, and others have done even more impressive things in the following years. The hackers and consultants hired by @stake and indoctrinated into the L0pht way of thinking have now become giants in the industry. All the hackers who read security information off the L0pht’s website, downloaded software from the…

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Live Rogue Valley music, wineries, Clayfolk Show & Sale and more: Nov. 18 – Medford News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News


Mugs are a perennial favorite at the annual Clayfolk Show & Sale. See listing. Courtesy photo

*Note: To submit your event to Tempo, email information to [email protected].

Friday, Nov. 18

Clayfolk Show & Sale: The 47th annual Fall Clayfolk Show and Sale will be held from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 18-19, and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20, at the Medford Armory, 1701 S. Pacific Highway, Medford. Look for everything from functional housewares to jewelry and sculpture created by more than 60 artists from throughout the Pacific Northwest. Also look for day demonstrations by ceramic artists. Admission is free. A portion of sales go towards annual scholarships for ceramics artists enrolled at a college or art school, as well as ceramics books and videos donated to Jackson and Josephine county libraries. See clayfolk.org.

Spanish Language Group: English speakers with at least an intermediate knowledge of Spanish can meet at 11 a.m. Fridays, at the Santos Community Center, 701 N. Columbus Ave., Medford. Look for casual, supportive conversation and interpretation. Native speakers are welcome to help. Call 541-499-6646.

Medford Garden Club: The club will meet at 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18, at Ascension Lutheran Church, 675 Black Oak Drive, Medford. The guest speaker will be Marsha Waite, local Master Garden Association expert and Plant Clinic leader, who will present “Controlling Your Least Favorite Garden Pests.” This presentation will review a few of the worst garden insect pests in our area and how to control them, using mechanical and organic means. See Medford Oregon Garden Club on Facebook or call 541-773-6884.

Adult Crafternoon: Adults 18 and older can meet to learn how to personalize a set of cloth napkins for fall with a leaf print, using locally-gathered leaves at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18, at the Talent library, 101 Home St. All materials will be provided. For further details see jcls.org and click on Programs & Events and then JCLS Calendar or call 541-535-4163.

Gold Hill Book Club: The Gold Hill Library Book Club…

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