Cybercrime & Darknet - Red Hot Cyber

Red Hot Cyber

Cybersecurity is about sharing. Recognize the risk, combat it, share your experiences, and encourage others to do better than you.

Category: Cybercrime and Darknet

Meta AI WhatsApp Investigation

Redazione RHC 05/12/2025

Nine months after its implementation in Europe, Meta’s conversational artificial intelligence (AI) tool, integrated directly into WhatsApp, will be investigated by the European Commission . Two officials from the Brussels institution told the British newspaper The Financial Times . The news has not yet been officially confirmed, but it could be in the coming days, according to the same sources. Antitrust regulations at play The government will have to determine whether Meta violated European antitrust regulations by integrating its artificial intelligence into its messaging service. Represented by a blue and purple circle in the app, this feature is described as “an optional

Gulf States’ Digital Transformation: A New Era of Innovation and Security

Matteo Giada 05/12/2025

It is a time of great geopolitical changes in the Gulf. It has been evident for some time that the dynamics between the major Middle Eastern players are indeed undergoing profound changes. Factors to consider in this evolving equation naturally include relations with Israel and the Palestinian cause, but they’re not limited to them. The rush to digitalization and AI, the development of new technological ecosystems, combined with the security concerns of the Gulf monarchies, are creating a certain divergence between the models and strategic objectives of state actors in the Arab region. Among them, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and

Neurodivergence in Cybersecurity: A Hidden Competitive Advantage

Fabrizio Saviano 05/12/2025

Personal growth manuals sell hyperfocus as the secret to success. Routines as the key to productivity. Stepping out of your comfort zone as a universal panacea. But Jeff Bezos ( ADHD ), Elon Musk ( Asperger’s ) and Richard Branson ( dyslexic ) didn’t discover hyperfocus by reading a self-help book: they were born with it. Thomas Edison was obsessive and unable to concentrate on a single task for long, yet he invented the light bulb. Leonardo da Vinci left works unfinished because his mind was racing in too many directions. Einstein learned to read, write, and speak late. Today, they would

Leroy Merlin Cyberattack Exposes Personal Data of French Customers

Redazione RHC 04/12/2025

A cyberattack has affected Leroy Merlin, involving the personal data of numerous customers in France, impacting hundreds of thousands of individuals. Leroy Merlin assures that “additional security measures have been implemented” with enhanced surveillance. “Data protection is a top priority for the brand,” adds the management, specifying that the CNIL (National Commission for Information Technology and Civil Liberties) has also been informed of the situation. The stolen data primarily includes contact information, such as dates of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, names, addresses, and loyalty program information. This information is enough to support highly credible phishing campaigns, tailored frauds, and social engineering

Anonymity for Sale: Russian SIM Card Market Thrives Amid Regulations

Redazione RHC 04/12/2025

Efforts by legislators and law enforcement to combat money laundering and more complex SIM card verification procedures have not significantly weakened the position of anonymous number dealers. This conclusion emerges from a study of supply in Moscow’s electronics markets. Despite the introduction of new SIM card registration procedures in the Russian Federation, obtaining an anonymous number remains simple, including the option to reinstate it later. To circumvent these requirements, vendors use corporate SIM cards registered with fictitious companies. As Izvestia found out, such a SIM card can be purchased without any particular obstacles. Advertisements for sale are usually found on social media

Hackers Compromise 120k IP Cameras for Pornographic Videos

Redazione RHC 04/12/2025

South Korean police have reported the arrest of four individuals who, presumably independently, compromised over 120,000 IP cameras. According to investigators, at least two of them did so to steal video from places like gynecological practices. They then edited the footage into pornographic videos and sold them online. According to local media , two of the four suspects (whose names have been withheld) were office workers, while the others were listed as unemployed or self-employed. Just two of those arrested were responsible for the majority of the cyberattacks: approximately 63,000 and 70,000 compromised devices, installed in private homes and commercial properties. Adult

Microsoft Fixes Old Windows LNK Vulnerability Exploited in Attacks

Redazione RHC 04/12/2025

Microsoft has quietly patched a long-standing Windows vulnerability that has been exploited in real-world attacks for several years. The update was released on November’s Patch Tuesday, despite the company having previously been slow to address the issue. This information was revealed by 0patch , which indicated that the flaw had been actively exploited by various groups since 2017. The issue, designated CVE-2025-9491, affects Windows’ handling of LNK shortcuts. A user interface error caused part of the command embedded in the shortcut to remain hidden when viewing its properties. This allowed malicious code to run as a harmless file . Experts observed that

Critical React Server Vulnerability: Update Now to Prevent RCE Attacks

Redazione RHC 04/12/2025

Developers and administrators around the world are urgently updating their servers following the discovery of a critical vulnerability in React Server, which allows attackers to remotely execute unauthenticated code with a single HTTP request. The exploit is now publicly available , and the issue has received the highest severity rating, 10 out of 10, on CVSS. React is actively used on servers to accelerate JavaScript and content rendering: instead of completely reloading the page with each request, it only redraws the modified parts of the interface. This significantly saves resources and improves application performance. React is estimated to be used by approximately

Critical Vulnerability in King Addons for Elementor Exploited

Redazione RHC 04/12/2025

During the registration process, a critical security flaw (CVE-2025-8489) in the King Addons WordPress Elementor plugin was exploited by attackers, allowing them to gain administrative privileges via a privilege escalation vulnerability. A third-party add-on called King Addons extends the functionality of Elementor , a popular visual web page builder plugin for WordPress sites. Estimated to be used on approximately 10,000 websites, it provides a range of widgets, templates, and additional features. Threat activity began on October 31, just one day after the issue was disclosed. So far, the Wordfence security scanner from Defiant, a company that provides security services for WordPress websites,

Google Discover AI Headlines: Revolutionizing News Feed or Clickbait Nightmare?

Redazione RHC 04/12/2025

Google is testing AI-generated headlines in its Discover feed, replacing original news headlines with original ones. Sean Hollister, editor-in-chief of The Verge, reported this , noting that short and often misleading AI-generated headlines had begun appearing in his smartphone feed instead of newspaper headlines. The experiment involved the Google Discover news feed on Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel smartphones. Hollister noted that the system attempts to reduce the meaning of a post to a few words, but the results are often skewed. Posts about Baldur’s Gate 3 are receiving headlines accusing players of child exploitation, while articles about the Qi2 standard are