A new ad posted on an underground forum was recently spotted by researchers at the Dark Lab threat intelligence laboratory , clearly demonstrating how active and dangerous the black market for access to sensitive computer systems still is. User “nixploiter” , with an already established profile in the underground community ( gigabyte level, with over 150 posts), recently put up for sale access to more than 1000 POS (Point of Sale) machines located between the USA and the UK . Disclaimer: This report includes screenshots and/or text from publicly available sources. The information provided is for threat intelligence and cybersecurity risk awareness

A critical vulnerability has affected the popular WordPress theme Service Finder , allowing attackers to access any website account, including administrative ones, without authorization . The issue affected the integrated Service Finder Bookings plugin, used for bookings and included in the theme . The vulnerability bypasses the authentication mechanism, allowing attackers to take control of the website and abuse its functionality. The vulnerability has been assigned the identifier CVE-2025-5947 and has a critical CVSS score of 9.8 . The bug was caused by an error in the service_finder_switch_back() function, responsible for switching between accounts. The plugin incorrectly validated the cookie value, allowing

Three major ransomware groups— DragonForce, Qilin, and LockBit —have announced an alliance. This is essentially an attempt to coordinate the activities of several major ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operators; analysts warn that such consolidation could increase the reach and effectiveness of attacks. DragonForce has initiated the merger. In early September, almost simultaneously with the release of LockBit 5.0, DragonForce representatives publicly proposed to their “colleagues” that they end their internal squabbles and agree on “market rules”: a level playing field, a stop to public insults, and mutual support. LockBit responded positively, and DragonForce subsequently officially announced the alliance between the three gangs, inviting other

A widespread outage of Microsoft 365 services affected thousands of users worldwide on the evening of Wednesday, October 8, 2025, temporarily rendering key platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Exchange Online, and the Microsoft 365 admin portal inaccessible. The outage, reported starting late in the day, impacted the ability of numerous organizations to use critical communication and business management tools. Microsoft quickly confirmed the anomaly , launching a high-priority investigation to identify the cause of the problem and restore full system functionality. Around 10:56 PM (GMT+5:30), the company identified a possible anomaly in directory operations within a section of its infrastructure. The error,

Millions of people use mobile VPNs to hide their traffic, bypass blocks, and browse the web securely. Research by Zimperium zLabs revealed that a significant number of free apps not only fail to provide effective protection, but also create new risks . The team analyzed nearly 800 free VPNs for Android and iOS and observed consistent behavior across many apps. They offer little privacy, require unnecessary and dangerous permissions, leak data, and use outdated code. With BYOD policies, this is no longer a common occurrence, but a corporate security vulnerability , as even a popular client can become a weak link and

Microsoft has fixed several bugs that prevented Windows 11 from being installed without internet access or creating a profile on the company’s website. While the company explains that this poses a security concern for users, the rest of the world agrees that no security issues were found in previous versions of Windows. Microsoft has significantly complicated the Windows 11 installation process for users who want to install the operating system without a Microsoft account or an internet connection. According to industry portal Windows Central, Microsoft has fixed several common flaws in the installer that allowed users to install the operating system the

American Nick Ray , who suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, described spending three days controlling his robotic arm (ARA) using the Neuralink neural interface. He described it as one of the most incredible experiences of his life. Ray observed that, for the first time in many years, he was able to wear a hat, heat food, eat, open the refrigerator and close the lids on jars. He even tried his hand at wheelchair operation and set personal records: he moved 39 cylinders in five minutes and performed five precise movements in a dexterity test. He promised to post a video of his

Beginning on October 7, 2025, there was a large-scale intensification of targeted attacks against Palo Alto Networks’ GlobalProtect access portals, PAN-OS . Over 2,200 unique IP addresses were targeted in reconnaissance efforts. A significant increase has been detected from the initial 1,300 IP addresses detected just a few days earlier . According to GreyNoise Intelligence monitoring, this represents the most intense scanning activity in the last 90 days. On October 3, 2025, a significant 500% spike in scanning activity marked the start of the reconnaissance campaign. On that day, approximately 1,300 unique IP addresses were detected exploring Palo Alto login portals .

Qualcomm announced on Tuesday the acquisition of Arduino , an Italian company known for producing low-cost programmable printed circuit boards. The company, which will become an independent subsidiary of the U.S. giant, represents a strategic step in Qualcomm’s plan to strengthen its presence in the robotics and Internet of Things (IoT) sectors. The economic value of the transaction has not been made public. The acquisition allows Qualcomm to gain direct access to the grassroots community of makers, hobbyists, and robotics startups. Arduino products, while not intended for commercial use, are essential tools for prototyping and experimenting with new ideas due to their

A North Korean-linked hacking network stole over $2 billion in cryptocurrency in the first nine months of 2025. Elliptic analysts call this the largest amount ever recorded, with three months remaining in the year. The total amount stolen is estimated to have exceeded $6 billion , and according to the United Nations and several government agencies, these funds finance North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons programs. According to Elliptic, the actual figure could be higher, as it’s difficult to attribute specific thefts to Pyongyang, a task that requires blockchain analysis, money laundering investigations, and intelligence activities. In some cases, the incidents only