ngCERT has detected an increase in ransomware attacks by the Phobos ransomware group, specifically targeting critical cloud service providers within our national cyberspace. We are actively collaborating with vulnerable and affected organizations to swiftly resolve these incidents and prevent further escalation.

Security researchers identified zero-day exploitation of a vulnerability found within the GlobalProtect feature of Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS. The vulnerability allows the threat actor to remotely exploit the firewall device, create a reverse shell, and download further tools onto the device. The attacker focused on exporting configuration data from the devices, and then leveraging it as an entry point to move laterally within the victim organizations. Accordingly, users of Palo Alto products in Nigeria are advised to upgrade their products to the latest versions as recommended.

Cybercriminals are continuously looking for and developing new ways to disseminate malware, with the most recent option being through malicious advertisements. These malicious advertising, or malvertising campaign are used to spread .NET loaders, known as MalVirt, that deploy information-stealing malware unto unsuspecting devices. Malvertising is a relatively recent hacking strategy that embeds harmful malware in digital advertisements. Almost every internet user is vulnerable to infection.

Security researchers uncovered a new technique used by cyber criminals to hack into people' Google accounts without requiring their passwords. Google accounts are potentially exposed due to authentication cookies that bypass two-factor authentication. In this hack, criminals employ malware to gain access to Google accounts without requiring any passwords. According to the findings, the malware uses third-party cookies to gain access to private information from affected accounts.