US Offers $10 Million Reward for Iranian IRGC Cyber Commander Amir Yaryab

North Korean WaterPlum Group Infects 30,000 Computers Across 100 Countries via Fake Coding Tests

The North Korean-linked group WaterPlum, also known as Contagious Interview, has infected at least 30,000 computers in more than 100 countries between December 2025 and July 2026. According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), the operation moved at least $10.7 million in cryptocurrency to North Korea and compromised more than 7,000 wallets. Attackers pose as recruiters on social media and freelance platforms, luring software developers with nonexistent job offers that require downloading malicious files disguised as coding tests. The malware arsenal includes BeaverTail, InvisibleFerret, OtterCookie, OtterCandy, and StoatWaffle, with the latter hiding inside blockchain-themed projects and abusing Visual Studio Code configurations. Developers are specifically targeted because they often store production keys, wallets, and credentials on the same machines used for testing third-party code. Japanese authorities have dismantled laptop farms connected to the scheme that helped maintain the attackers' operational cover.

APT28 Expands Espionage with New HOOKEDGE Backdoor Targeting European Organizations

The Russian-linked APT28 group, also known as BlueDelta, has deployed a new lightweight backdoor called HOOKEDGE as part of a cyber-espionage campaign against strategic European entities. The attacks, assessed with moderate confidence, targeted government, diplomatic, and defense manufacturing organizations in Romania, Spain, and Turkey between September 2025 and April 2026. Infection begins with spear-phishing emails delivering Microsoft Word documents containing malicious macros that mimic official Spanish government materials. Upon execution, the macros drop files, establish persistence via scheduled tasks, and deploy the HOOKEDGE backdoor written in batch scripts. The malware uses hidden Microsoft Edge instances and the legitimate webhook.site service to blend command-and-control traffic with normal web activity. In high-value victims, operators installed a second HOOKEDGE instance with five-minute check-ins for faster control and data collection. The backdoor shows strong code similarities to the older HEADLACE implant previously attributed to the same group.

Iran-Linked Cyber Attack Leaves Small UK Power Plant Offline for Four Days

A cyber attack attributed to hackers with suspected ties to Iran took a small-scale UK power generation facility offline for approximately four days in July 2026. The incident affected a roughly 15 MW generator used to support peak demand periods, yet caused no customer outages or disruption to the national electricity grid. British authorities have not issued an official attribution, and investigators have not publicly identified the malware, vulnerability, or initial access vector used in the operation. Recovery required four days of extensive validation across controllers, configurations, security systems, and remote access points to ensure no residual risks remained. The case highlights the operational challenges of restoring industrial control environments after suspected nation-state activity. In response, UK authorities have strengthened guidance for the energy sector and are considering additional protective measures for critical infrastructure suppliers.