Daily Edition · Page 5

THE DAILY INDEX

Technology, AI, software, security, crypto and business

ATTACKS & VULNERABILITIES

TLDR InfoSec

EVALUATING AI AGENTS IN SECURITY OPERATIONS

Cotool tested an AI agent's ability to solve security operations tasks using the Splunk BOTSv3 dataset and frontier models from Claude, OpenAI, and Gemini. Cotool found that while GPT-5.1 and Opus 4.5 achieved the top accuracy at 63%, Opus was 3x more expensive than GPT-5.1 but also completed tasks in half the wall-clock time of any other model. The Gemini models performed notably poorly on the tasks and failed to complete several tasks.

THE EXPLOITATION OF LEGITIMATE REMOTE ACCESS TOOLS IN MODERN RANSOMWARE CAMPAIGNS

Ransomware operators often use remote access tools such as AnyDesk and UltraViewer to maintain persistence, execute remote tasks, and transfer files while avoiding detection. Their typical attack involves using stolen credentials to compromise an employee, then either hijacking existing tools or installing legitimate remote access software, followed by establishing persistence, escalating privileges, and disabling security tools. Subsequently, they deploy payloads, move laterally within the network, and finally execute their ransomware attack.

SMILE, YOU'RE ON CAMERA: A LIVE STREAM FROM INSIDE LAZARUS GROUP'S IT WORKERS SCHEME

Researchers trapped North Korean operatives from Lazarus Group's Famous Chollima division inside an extended ANY.RUN sandbox environments, documenting their full operational workflow for infiltrating Western companies as remote IT workers. The operators recruit developers via GitHub spam. They offer 20-35% salary cuts in exchange for using victims' identities and laptops for job applications, relying on AI interview tools, AstrillVPN, and remote access software rather than malware. Poor operational security allowed researchers to delay, monitor, and ultimately expose the scheme targeting the finance, crypto, and healthcare sectors.

GOLDFACTORY HITS SOUTHEAST ASIA WITH MODIFIED BANKING APPS DRIVING 11,000+ INFECTIONS

GoldFactory is a cybercrime group targeting Android users in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam with tampered banking apps that still appear legitimate while secretly installing remote-access malware. The malware abuses accessibility services and hooking frameworks to bypass security checks, hide its presence, control devices in real time, and steal banking data at scale. At least 11,000 infections have been identified so far.

ARIZONA ATTORNEY GENERAL SUES CHINESE ONLINE RETAILER TEMU OVER DATA THEFT CLAIMS

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has joined several other states in suing Temu and its parent company over allegations that the online retailer is stealing customers' data. Mayes stated that the app collects a startling amount of data without users' consent, specifically citing GPS location and a list of other apps on users' phones. Mayes also expressed concerns over the quality of products sold on Temu and whether the retailer has “ripped off” other businesses.

FRONTIER AI MODELS DEMONSTRATE HUMAN-LEVEL CAPABILITY IN SMART CONTRACT EXPLOITS

Anthropic evaluated ten frontier models on a dataset of 405 historical smart contract exploits and found that the agents produced working attacks against 207 of them, totaling $550M in simulated stolen funds. Anthropic measured the model's current capabilities by plotting each model's total exploit revenue against its release date. The models also discovered two previously undisclosed zero-days.

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