Cybercriminals
The strange tale of ischhfd83: When cybercriminals eat their own
At Sophos X-Ops, we often get queries from our customers asking if they’re protected against certain malware variants. At first glance, a recent question seemed no different. A customer wanted to know if we had protections for ‘Sakura RAT,’ an open-source malware project hosted on GitHub, because of media claims that it had “sophisticated anti-detection…
Don’t let dormant accounts become a doorway for cybercriminals
Do you have online accounts you haven’t used in years? If so, a bit of digital spring cleaning might be in order. 02 Jun 2025 • , 5 min. read The longer our digital lives, the more online accounts we’re likely to accrue. Can you even remember all the services you’ve signed up to over…
Separating hype from reality: How cybercriminals are actually using AI
From boardroom conversations to industry events, “artificial intelligence” is the buzz phrase that’s reshaping how we collectively view the future of security. The perspectives are diverse, to say the least. Some insist that AI is a long overdue silver bullet, while others believe it will gradually destroy digital society as we know it. When it…
Beyond the kill chain: What cybercriminals do with their money (Part 5)
Content warning: Because of the nature of some of the activities we discovered, this series of articles contains content that some readers may find upsetting. This includes profanity and references to drugs, drug addiction, gambling, pornography, violence, arson, and sex work. These references are textual only and do not include images or videos. Having explored…
Update: Cybercriminals still not fully on board the AI train (yet)
In November 2023, Sophos X-Ops published research exploring threat actors’ attitudes towards generative AI, focusing on discussions on selected cybercrime forums. While we did note a limited amount of innovation and aspiration in these discussions, there was also a lot of skepticism. Given the pace at which generative AI is evolving, we thought we’d take…
AI is becoming the weapon of choice for cybercriminals – Help Net Security
This article highlights key findings from 2024 reports on AI and GenAI technologies, focusing on their potential and major challenges. Overreliance on GenAI to develop software compromises security 96% of security and software development professionals report that their companies use GenAI-based solutions for building or delivering applications. Among these respondents, 79% report that all or…
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How Nation-State Cybercriminals Are Targeting the Enterprise
COMMENTARY Cyber warfare often mirrors traditional conflict, but as global geopolitical tensions continue to rise, the landscape of nation-state cyber-threat actors has shifted significantly. Recent events have spurred altered tactics, targets, and patterns of state-sponsored cyberattacks. While historically these threat actors focused primarily on critical infrastructure and government entities like energy grids and transportation, today’s nation-state threat actors…