APT28-Linked HOOKEDGE Backdoor Targets European Government and Diplomatic Organizations
Cybersecurity researchers have flagged a fresh set of campaigns targeting government and diplomatic organizations in Romania, Spain, and Türkiye between late September 2025 and early April 2026. These campaigns, per Recorded Future Insikt Group, have led to the deployment of a previously undocumented backdoor dubbed HOOKEDGE, a lightweight Windows batch script that's distributed via
North Korean remote workers are expanding beyond traditional IT roles into sales, marketing, and medical positions, according to Huntress research. These actors present a distinctive threat vector by securing legitimate remote employment and performing their assigned duties rather than immediately compromising systems, making them difficult to detect through conventional security controls. The threat highlights how nation-state actors are diversifying their workforce infiltration strategies across multiple business functions.
US authorities have disrupted a Chinese hacking platform operated by a group named QTFY that provided offensive cyber services to the Chinese government and other clients. The platform was actively used to conduct attacks against military and critical infrastructure targets, according to the operation details.
The pro-Russian hacker group Server Killers claimed responsibility for the attack. The post Pro-Russian Hackers Claim Responsibility for Major Cyberattack on Norway’s Public Digital Services appeared first on SecurityWeek.
The Justice Department and FBI have seized domains associated with QScan and QTRouter, two hacking tools developed and operated by QTFY, a China-linked group tied to a Nanjing-based company. These tools were used in sustained attacks against U.S. government agencies including NASA, the Department of Justice, and the U.S. Senate, with QTFY reportedly selling hacking services to customers including China's Ministry of State Security. The domain seizure cuts off attacker access to malware that had targeted U.S. government entities for years.