An FBI forensic analysis reveals how the Global Device Identifier (GDID) embedded in Windows, combined with cross-referenced social media photos and IP data, unraveled a sophisticated social‑engineering attack by the Scattered Spider group, exposing the limits of VPNs, MAC spoofing, and legitimate tunneling tools.
Storm‑Breaker is an open‑source red‑team framework built with PHP and Python that provides device information harvesting, real‑time location tracking, remote camera and microphone access via deceptive web pages, offers a visual web panel, supports multiple deployment platforms (Kali, macOS, Android/Termux, self‑hosted), and includes installation commands, default credentials, and legal usage guidelines.
In April‑May 2026, the suspected North Korean hacker group UNK_DeadDrop sent more than 250 phishing emails to software developers, posing as recruitment or code‑review requests and linking to malicious GitHub/GitLab repositories that automatically execute payloads in VS Code or Cursor, emptying cryptocurrency wallets and stealing credentials.
A sophisticated phishing campaign abused Apple’s account‑change notification template, injecting malicious content into a legitimately signed email, which bypassed SPF, DKIM and DMARC checks and achieved near‑100% delivery, while also evolving into a “telephone‑oriented” social‑engineering variant.
A 2.43 billion‑dollar Bitcoin heist was unraveled not by hacking code but by exploiting human psychology, as the investigator detailed the four‑step social‑engineering ploy, traced the perpetrators across multiple exchanges, and documented their eventual arrests worldwide.
A recent GitHub issue reveals that attackers used AI‑assisted social engineering—posing as a company founder, creating a fake Slack workspace, arranging Microsoft Teams meetings, and tricking the maintainer into installing a malicious npm package—to inject a trojan into the widely used Axios library, bypassing 2FA and publishing malicious code.
The article examines the March 2026 breach of FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal Gmail by the Iranian Handala Hack Team, detailing the low‑tech social‑engineering tactics, the group’s strategic aim to embarrass and destabilize U.S. officials, historical precedents, defensive shortcomings, and potential future escalation.
A 2025‑2026 deep‑fake attack on Arup’s finance team used publicly gathered intelligence to create a real‑time, AI‑generated video of the CFO and colleagues, resulting in a $25 million transfer and exposing the economic asymmetry that makes video‑call authentication unreliable, prompting a shift to multi‑channel, zero‑trust verification.
The FBI and CISA have issued an urgent alert that Russian-linked threat actors are conducting large‑scale phishing campaigns against WhatsApp and Signal users, using social‑engineering tricks such as fake support messages, code‑request scams, and malicious links to hijack accounts and monitor communications.
This article provides a comprehensive glossary of 27 common hacking terms—from black‑hat and backdoor to zero‑day exploits and dark‑web concepts—explaining each technique, malware type, and security threat in clear, concise English for anyone interested in cybersecurity fundamentals.
Chrome DevTools now shows a Self‑XSS warning when an inexperienced user tries to paste code, using a simple heuristic that checks for at least five console‑history entries, requiring the user to type “allow pasting” before execution, to protect against social‑engineered attacks that could steal data or hijack accounts.
The article explains how C‑suite executives become prime targets for hackers through data broker profiles, insecure home networks, personal accounts, ransomware, and family members, and provides practical steps to reduce their personal attack surface and improve overall security.
Kevin Mitnick, once dubbed the world’s most famous hacker and the first to be pursued by the FBI, transformed from a teenage social‑engineering prodigy into a celebrated information‑security consultant, author, and founder of Mitnick Security, leaving a lasting impact on computer security after his 2023 death.
This article explains how phishing exploits human psychology, outlines common phishing variants such as email, spear, whaling, business email compromise, smishing, vishing, social‑media, pharming and evil‑twin attacks, and provides practical measures to recognize and defend against them.
This article demonstrates a practical OSINT workflow that combines social‑engineering clues, railway route research, terrain assessment, and feature‑based image analysis to pinpoint the exact shooting spot of a travel photograph taken on a train in northern China.
The article provides a comprehensive overview of phishing as a social‑engineering attack, detailing its various techniques—including email deception, spear‑phishing, whaling, malware‑based lures, domain spoofing, vishing, SMS and QR‑code scams—and offers practical defense measures such as anti‑phishing tools, multi‑factor authentication, content filtering, and security standards.
GoodWill ransomware, discovered by CloudSEK in Mumbai, encrypts all files and demands victims complete three charitable acts and post a personal essay on social media before providing a decryption key, blending malware tactics with forced philanthropy while employing .NET, UPX packing, AES encryption, and location detection.
The GoodWill ransomware, discovered by CloudSEK in Mumbai, forces victims to perform three charitable acts, document them, and post a personal essay before providing a decryption key, while employing .NET, UPX packing, AES encryption, and location‑tracking techniques.
The GoodWill ransomware, discovered by CloudSEK, encrypts victims' files and demands they perform three charitable acts—helping the homeless, feeding poor children, and financially assisting patients—while recording the process, revealing a bizarre blend of extortion and social engineering.
The author recounts a step‑by‑step penetration test against a fraudulent reseller, detailing OSINT gathering, port scanning, FTP brute‑forcing, JavaScript injection, location tracking, domain hijacking, and the deployment of custom Python scripts for each stage.
A detailed OSINT investigation reveals how a victim's plea led to uncovering a hidden gambling website, exposing its server location, associated accounts, personal identities, and ultimately forcing the operator to return the stolen funds and shut down the site.
A personal account describes how the author used IP‑lookup services, a short‑link trick, and a self‑made Android APK to extract his girlfriend’s location, call logs, and contacts, ultimately uncovering her infidelity through a series of social‑engineering steps.
The article explains a new Chrome‑targeted phishing method that uses fullscreen mode and a carefully placed JPEG image to mimic the browser’s address bar and pop‑up dialogs, detailing the technique, visual cues, and security implications for users and researchers.
This article surveys seven modern hacking tricks—from fake Wi‑Fi hotspots and cookie theft to file‑name deception, path hijacking, hosts‑file redirection, watering‑hole attacks, and bait‑replacement—explaining how they work, why they succeed, and practical defenses for users and developers.
