The Manchester Airports Group data breach has been claimed by extortion group FulcrumSec, which told BleepingComputer that it stole approximately 86 GB of data. Samples reviewed by BleepingComputer contained information consistent with MAG's disclosure while indicating that the breach exposed considerably more detailed customer, booking, and travel information than initially revealed. Manchester Airports Group (MAG), the United Kingdom's largest airport operator, disclosed on August 27 that an unauthorized third party had stolen customer data related to Manchester, London Stansted, and East Midlands airports. The company said the affected information came from car park, lounge, and Fast Track bookings and in-airport Wi-Fi registrations. In emails to BleepingComputer, FulcrumSec claimed responsibility for the attack and shared samples of the allegedly stolen data as evidence.
Anthropic is warning some Claude users that infostealer malware on their PCs has stolen active Claude login sessions, allowing attackers to access accounts and consume their usage. The company is signing affected users out of Claude, removing saved payment methods, and refunding charges it identifies as unauthorized. "We have recently become aware of a bad actor that is using common infostealer malware to steal Claude login sessions from people's computers, then using those login sessions to access Claude accounts and consume their usage," Anthropic said in an email sent to an affected user, who shared it on Reddit. "If your usage limits looked like they refilled and then drained while you weren't using Claude, this was likely the cause," Anthropic warned. It is also worth noting that infostealers can copy an already authenticated browser session, which means the attacker may not need to go through the normal password and 2FA login process again.
Multiple extensions for Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge delivered a malware framework that deployed modules to steal cryptocurrency, sensitive data, and browser history, and to inject ClickFix lures. Researchers say all 16 malicious modules uncovered in the campaign serve distinct purposes and are designed to be "highly extensible." The operation was uncovered by application security company Socket, and the investigation indicates that it may have been active since early 2024. Socket says that when initially published on the Chrome Web Store, many of the extensions provided the advertised functionality and contained no malware. According to the researchers, five of the extensions were acquired from their original creators and injected with malware via updates delivered automatically. One example is the "Enable Right Click & Copy — Smart Unlock + OCR" extension, the only one in the campaign available for both Chrome and Edge, which had a Chrome user base of at least 70,000 when it turned malicious. The number of installs on Edge was 10,000 at the time.
The latest version of the Brave browser, 1.94, introduces a feature called ‘Email Aliases’ that allows users to generate disposable email addresses when signing up to a new service. Using an alias address keeps the user's real email address hidden from the website while still forwarding messages from the service. Brave already uses data isolation to prevent websites from inferring user identities based on cookie-based or cache correlations; however, email addresses are still stored on website servers, creating a privacy gap. Brave’s new feature addresses this risk by blocking cross-site identity matching, reducing spam, and protecting users from threats such as phishing attacks that can follow data breaches. “If a website you signed up for is hacked, your information can be leaked and end up with data brokers or worse,” explains Brave in the announcement.
An alleged Chinese-speaking actor breached Philippine nuclear and naval targets by exploiting known flaws, stealing sensitive data. A suspected Chinese-speaking operator targeted a Philippine nuclear research body and a marine engineering company that supports the Philippine Navy, using well-known vulnerabilities in internet-facing ownCloud and WordPress systems. The activity was uncovered after Hunt.io found an exposed server in Amsterdam that contained attack scripts, logs, offensive tooling and data taken from the two organisations. “Hunt.io Attack Capture discovered an open directory containing tooling which documented intrusion activity against two Philippine organizations.” reads the report published by Hunt.io. “A recovered CSV references roughly 9 GB of material stolen from the nuclear agency, most absent from the current directories contents, and a compromise of a project management application, indicating a possible third victim.” Hunt.io disclosed the findings to CERT-PH under the TLP:AMBER sharing standard and delayed publication until 25 August 2026 so the national response team could notify the affected organisations. The incident arrives amid sustained tensions in the South China Sea and continuing reports of suspected Chinese cyber activity against Philippine government, defence and critical-infrastructure targets. “On August 13, 2026, Hunt.io Attack Capture identified an open directory on the host 31.58.209[.]241. The server staged custom Python scripts, per-file transfer logs, open-source offensive security tooling, and exfiltrated data from two Philippine organizations. The scripts targeted an ownCloud instance operated by a nuclear research body, using pre-signed URLs generated with an empty signing secret, which allowed for the unauthenticated retrieval of files over WebDAV.” states the report.”A separate intrusion was observed exploiting a WordPress site operated by a Philippine marine engineering and shipbuilding company that provides services to the Philippine Navy.” The server was not a sophisticated hidden service. It exposed a Python SimpleHTTP directory on port 8000, along with SSH, a self-hosted ownCloud login page and other services. The directory contained 1,310 files in 86 folders, totaling 1.17 GB, including scripts, stolen data and tools such as Sliver, Metasploit and Mettle. Researchers gained a rare view of the attacker’s operations after finding tools, logs and stolen files left exposed on the server. The main entry point was likely the nuclear research body’s internet-facing ownCloud service, compromised by exploiting CVE-2023-49105, an authentication-bypass flaw in ownCloud versions before 10.13.1. In this condition, an attacker who knows a valid username can generate WebDAV requests that the server accepts as if they were made by that user. No password is needed. Hunt.io found five custom Python scripts implementing this technique, four focused on individual accounts and a fifth capable of enumerating directories and recording every attempted download. hunt “In vulnerable instances when no such key was configured, a default state on new installs, the signing routine still executed using an empty secret. An attacker with knowledge of valid usernames on the instance could construct signed WebDAV requests that would be accepted by the server as authentication action by that user, without ever supplying credentials.” continues the report. “A total of five custom Python scripts saved from the directory implement this exact technique described above. Four target a single account each; the fifth moves further to include directory enumeration and logging.” The attacker used random delays to make data collection less noticeable and avoid volume-based alerts. Scripts, logs and folders consistently used Simplified Chinese, including labels for nuclear, radiation-safety, finance and IT files. This suggests a Chinese-speaking operator, but does not prove links to a specific government or threat group. The stolen data included nuclear reactor component databases, fuel inventories, radiation-safety documents, incident records and authorised-user lists. It also included strategic plans, IT documents, staff records, CVs, passport and travel data, and financial disclosures from Philippine officials. The exposed server held 176 files, about 372 MB in total. However, a CSV created by the attacker referred to roughly 9 GB of stolen data. This gap suggests the server contained only part of the haul and that the attacker may have accessed much more than researchers could recover. The material also included a KeePass database, AxCrypt-encrypted files and a BitLocker recovery key. Those artefacts matter because they can support follow-on access: a data theft operation can become a credential-theft operation, and a credential-theft operation can become a longer-term intrusion. Researchers additionally recovered a 192 MB SQL dump from a ZKTeco BioTime attendance and personnel system. Such a database can link people to badge identifiers, departments and access records, enabling an attacker to build a picture of who works where, who may have sensitive access and which people are worth targeting next. The same server also contained evidence of a breach involving a Philippine marine engineering and shipbuilding company that works with the Philippine Navy. The attacker exploited CVE-2024-28000, a privilege-escalation flaw in the LiteSpeed Cache WordPress plugin. The flaw let attackers create a WordPress admin account without authentication by exploiting a predictable security hash through the REST API. Hunt.io found the exploit code, compiled tools and logs showing that the attacker successfully gained admin access. The attacker also used WordPress XML-RPC to test passwords for the admin account with the well-known rockyou.txt list. The logs show that this method also found valid credentials. That gave the operator redundancy. Even if one access path were closed, the attacker could retain an administrator account, a valid password or data such as WordPress hashes and secret values from the stolen site database. Redundant access is not glamorous. It is, unfortunately, effective. While examining the compromised WordPress site, Hunt.io also discovered an active EtherHiding-style injection that it believes may be unrelated to the Chinese-speaking operator. The malicious JavaScript used an Ethereum smart contract as a place to retrieve content, then displayed a fake Google verification page designed to push visitors into a ClickFix-style infection flow. The campaign used a service worker for persistence and collected visitor fingerprint data. Hunt.io found 174 unique IP addresses hosting pages with the same NoChain loader strings and smart-contract reference, but said the evidence did not link that activity to the operator who attacked the nuclear and naval-linked targets. That distinction matters. A compromised website can host multiple intrusions or payloads at once, often run by unrelated actors. Analysts should resist the temptation to treat every malicious artefact on one server as evidence of a single campaign. The technical lesson is blunt: old and known weaknesses still provide access to high-value targets. Organisations using ownCloud should upgrade to version 10.13.3 or later, apply the vendor’s relevant fixes and ensure that pre-signed URLs use a strong, non-empty signing key. Teams should also examine WebDAV logs for suspicious PROPFIND directory-enumeration requests, large volumes of file retrieval across multiple accounts, or recurring requests from a single source with artificial gaps between them. Low-and-slow collection is still collection. For WordPress, organisations should update LiteSpeed Cache to version 6.4 or later, remove or restrict XML-RPC when it is not needed, enforce strong unique administrator passwords and require multi-factor authentication. The XML-RPC compromise in this case succeeded against a password from a public wordlist, which is not a vulnerability in WordPress so much as an invitation nobody should leave on the doorstep. Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon Pierluigi Paganini (SecurityAffairs – hacking, Philippine nuclear and naval targets)
Multiple critical security flaws have been disclosed in WordPress plugins and themes, including WPMU DEV Dashboard, Avada, TranslatePress, Pods, and GiveWP, that could lead to authentication bypass, account takeover, and arbitrary code execution. The vulnerabilities, according to Wordfence and Patchstack, are listed below - CVE-2026-76581 (CVSS score: 9.8) - An authentication bypass flaw in
A maximum-severity vulnerability in the GiveWP plugin for WordPress allows an unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the hosting server. The security issue is identified as CVE-2026-82222 and affects GiveWP through version 4.16.7.1. It was reported by bug researcher Udin Chan on July 28 through the Patchstack vulnerability intelligence platform. The GiveWP plugin has more than 100,000 installs and allows collecting donations and managing fundraising campaigns. Patchstack researchers explain that exploiting the vulnerability is possible by chaining three distinct issues: Successful exploitation depends on the attacker having an account on the target site. However, Patchstack says that an exposed unauthenticated registration action allows creating an account even if registration is disabled.
Trump targets foreign-made power grid equipment, citing cyber, sabotage and supply-chain risks to U.S. national security. Executive Order 14420, signed on August 26, targets equipment and technologies that could expose the power grid to sabotage, unauthorized access, malicious remote activity or supply-chain disruption. The timing matters. The White House points to the rapid expansion of data centers, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing and defense production as reasons why the United States now depends even more heavily on reliable electricity. A disruption that might once have been treated primarily as an energy problem can now affect defense operations, critical infrastructure, emergency services and large parts of the economy. The order frames the problem in two ways. Foreign-made equipment can introduce a direct cybersecurity risk, including the possibility of hidden digital access mechanisms, while dependence on overseas suppliers can create a second vulnerability if geopolitical tensions or trade disruptions suddenly cut off critical components. The White House’s language is unusually broad when describing the scope of the concern. “NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, find that the situation with respect to the foreign supply of bulk-power system electric equipment constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States, to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States and hereby declare a national emergency with respect to that threat.” reads the Executive Order 14420. “This threat exists both in the case of individual transactions and when transactions are considered as a class. To deal with this threat, additional steps are required to protect the security, integrity, and reliability of bulk-power system electric equipment used in the United States.” That definition matters because the order isn’t aimed only at a specific piece of hardware from a specific country. It creates a framework under which the Energy Secretary can determine whether particular foreign entities, suppliers, countries or equipment present an unacceptable risk and then restrict transactions involving them. The restrictions apply to the acquisition, importation, transfer or installation of foreign-produced bulk-power equipment when the relevant transaction involves a designated Covered Foreign Entity and meets one of the risk conditions set out in the order. Those conditions include the possibility of sabotage, subversion, unauthorized access, malicious remote action or disruption of the power system and its supply chain. The order also reaches beyond the physical equipment itself. Its scope includes critical components, software, firmware, digital services, maintenance services and remote-access capabilities associated with covered equipment. “the transaction involves bulk-power system electric equipment — or any critical component, software, firmware, digital service, maintenance service, or remote-access capability associated with such equipment — designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a Covered Foreign Entity; and” continues the order. In practical terms, the government isn’t treating a transformer, an industrial controller and the software that manages it as completely separate security questions. That is particularly relevant to industrial control systems. The definition of covered equipment includes remote terminal units, programmable logic controllers, intelligent electronic devices, distributed control systems and safety instrumented systems, alongside transformers, generators, inverters, battery storage systems, protective relays, metering equipment and high-voltage circuit breakers. The order also allows agencies to consider software, firmware, remote access, update mechanisms and other supply-chain dependencies when deciding whether equipment falls within its security concerns. The geographical scope is also worth noting. The order defines the bulk-power system around interconnected transmission infrastructure and generation resources needed for grid reliability, including transmission lines rated at 69 kV or higher. Local electricity distribution facilities fall outside that definition. This isn’t only about equipment that companies might buy tomorrow. The Energy Secretary can also impose conditions on foreign-manufactured or foreign-operated equipment already installed before the order took effect. Depending on the risk, those measures could require operators to identify, isolate, monitor, secure, disconnect, replace or remove equipment. The order specifically requires officials to consider reliability, safety, the availability of secure replacements and continuity of essential services before demanding isolation or replacement. That last point is important because securing a power grid isn’t as simple as unplugging a suspicious device. Removing a component without a suitable replacement can itself create an operational problem. The order therefore leaves room for phased compliance and negotiated mitigation measures rather than assuming that every risky component can disappear overnight. The government also wants to avoid turning security screening into a permanent procurement bottleneck. The Energy Secretary can establish criteria for pre-qualified equipment and vendors, creating a list of products and suppliers that can receive exemptions from the baseline restrictions. At the same time, the order makes clear that pre-qualification doesn’t prevent the government from scrutinizing or restricting a transaction later if circumstances warrant it. The order doesn’t name a specific country as the target. Instead, it defines a Covered Foreign Entity broadly enough to include governments under certain U.S. arms embargoes or sanctions regimes, as well as entities that the relevant U.S. authorities determine are engaged in conduct detrimental to national security or foreign policy. SecurityWeek also noted that the structure resembles earlier Trump-era restrictions on foreign bulk-power equipment, including measures that previously focused on entities associated with China. The order does not mention any country by name. However, its structure is very similar to a 2020 Trump-era order on the U.S. power grid, which later led the Department of Energy to ban companies linked to China. The next phase will be regulatory rather than rhetorical. Within 120 days, the Energy Secretary is expected to issue rules or regulations needed to implement the order, including procedures for identifying covered entities, equipment and countries and for licensing transactions that would otherwise be prohibited. The administration also wants recommendations for changes to federal procurement rules that would give greater weight to national security risks and favor U.S.-manufactured energy infrastructure. Those procurement changes have their own timetable. The Energy Secretary has 180 days to develop recommendations for revisions to the Federal Acquisition Regulation, while the FAR Council would then have 90 days to consider proposing corresponding amendments for public comment. The policy fits into a wider push by the administration to reduce dependence on foreign supply chains for strategically important infrastructure. The Department of Energy said earlier this month that it is working to increase domestic production and availability of critical grid components, pointing to rapid growth in electricity demand and the need to strengthen the grid supply chain. For cybersecurity professionals, however, the most interesting part of the order isn’t the preference for domestic manufacturing. It’s the decision to treat supply-chain exposure, remote access and embedded technology as part of the attack surface of the power grid. That changes the question organizations need to ask about critical equipment. It’s no longer enough to know whether a device has a vulnerability today; operators also need to understand who made it, who controls the supplier, where critical software and firmware come from, who can remotely access the equipment, how updates reach it and what happens if that supply chain suddenly becomes unavailable. The uncomfortable reality is that a power grid compromise doesn’t necessarily begin with someone breaking through the perimeter of a utility network. It can begin much earlier, when an organization buys a component it can’t fully inspect, relies on a remote maintenance channel it doesn’t control, or becomes dependent on a supplier it can’t replace quickly. That’s the security problem Executive Order 14420 is trying to address. The White House has effectively moved part of the grid’s cyber defense line back into procurement, manufacturing and supply-chain decisions. And for critical infrastructure operators, that’s a much harder problem to solve than simply finding another firewall. Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon Pierluigi Paganini (SecurityAffairs – hacking, power grid)
A 68-year-old has been sentenced in the U.K. to more than six years in prison for operating an illegal IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) service that generated £980,812 ($1.3 million) over three years. An investigation by the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at the City of London Police found that Milan Ibrahim ran a "sophisticated operation" that provided illegal IPTV services to users in the UK and abroad. According to PIPCU, Ibrahim sold illegal broadcasts from major rights holders such as the BBC, ITV, Sky, the Premier League and the Motion Picture Association. The police seized and shut down all servers they found during the operation, disrupting the illegal streams that users of the IPTV service received. “The investigation revealed that the business operated on 80 servers from premises in Chorley and generated £980,812 over a three-year period,” announced the City of London Police.
Over 8,300 Internet-exposed Gitea instances are still unpatched against a critical security flaw exploited in ongoing remote code execution attacks, according to cybersecurity watchdog Shadowserver. The code injection vulnerability (CVE-2026-60004) targeted in these attacks was reported by Salesforce security researcher Shai Rod, and it allows authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary shell commands with the privileges of the Gitea service account by submitting malicious patches via the diffpatch API endpoint. While successful exploitation requires repository write access to repositories hosted on vulnerable servers, Gitea comes with self-registration enabled by default, allowing unauthenticated attackers to register an account, create a new repository, and trigger the vulnerability without prior credentials.
Confirm this action.
Leaving now will discard your changes.