Tuesday , June 24 2025
AWS

Abusing AWS features: Ransomware Encrypting S3 Buckets

Executive Summary:

Native Resource Abuse: Threat actor dubbed Codefinger uses compromised AWS keys to encrypt S3 bucket data via SSE-C, leveraging AWS’s secure encryption infrastructure in a way that prevents recovery without their generated key.

OWASP AI Testing Guide Launched to Uncover Vulns in AI Systems

OWASP has released its AI Testing Guide, a framework to help organizations find and fix vulnerabilities specific to AI systems....
Read More
OWASP AI Testing Guide Launched to Uncover Vulns in AI Systems

Axentec Launches Bangladesh’s First Locally Hosted Tier-4 Cloud Platform

In a major milestone for the country’s digital infrastructure, Axentec PLC has officially launched Axentec Cloud, Bangladesh’s first Tier-4 cloud...
Read More
Axentec Launches Bangladesh’s First Locally Hosted Tier-4 Cloud Platform

Hackers Bypass Gmail MFA With App-Specific Password Reuse

A hacking group reportedly linked to Russian government has been discovered using a new phishing method that bypasses two-factor authentication...
Read More
Hackers Bypass Gmail MFA With App-Specific Password Reuse

Russia detects first SuperCard malware attacks via NFC

Russian cybersecurity experts discovered the first local data theft attacks using a modified version of legitimate near field communication (NFC)...
Read More
Russia detects first SuperCard malware attacks via NFC

Income Property Investments exposes 170,000+ Individuals record

Cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler discovered an unsecured database with 170,360 records belonging to a real estate company. It contained personal...
Read More
Income Property Investments exposes 170,000+ Individuals record

ALERT (CVE: 2023-28771)
Zyxel Firewalls Under Attack via CVE-2023-28771 by 244 IPs

GreyNoise found attempts to exploit CVE-2023-28771, a vulnerability in Zyxel's IKE affecting UDP port 500. The attack centers around CVE-2023-28771,...
Read More
ALERT (CVE: 2023-28771)  Zyxel Firewalls Under Attack via CVE-2023-28771 by 244 IPs

CISA Flags Active Exploits in Apple iOS and TP-Link Routers

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has recently included two high-risk vulnerabilities in its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV)...
Read More
CISA Flags Active Exploits in Apple iOS and TP-Link Routers

10K Records Allegedly from Mac Cloud Provider’s Customers Leaked Online

SafetyDetectives’ Cybersecurity Team discovered a public post on a clear web forum in which a threat actor claimed to have...
Read More
10K Records Allegedly from Mac Cloud Provider’s Customers Leaked Online

Canada 2nd largest airlines “WestJet” investigates cyberattack disrupting internal systems

WestJet, Canada's second-largest airline, is looking into a cyberattack that has affected some internal systems during its response to the...
Read More
Canada 2nd largest airlines “WestJet” investigates cyberattack disrupting internal systems

Paraguay 7.4 Million Citizen Records Leaked on Dark Web

Resecurity found 7.4 million records of Paraguayan citizens' personal information leaked on the dark web today. Last week, cybercriminals attempted...
Read More
Paraguay 7.4 Million Citizen Records Leaked on Dark Web

Irrecoverable Data Loss: AWS CloudTrail logs only an HMAC of the encryption key, which is insufficient for recovery or forensic analysis.

Urgent Ransom Tactics: Files are marked for deletion within seven days to pressure victims, with ransom notes providing payment details and warnings against altering account permissions.

A new ransomware campaign encrypts Amazon S3 buckets with AWS’s Server-Side Encryption using Customer Provided Keys (SSE-C) that only the attackers have. They are demanding ransoms in exchange for the decryption key.

Researchers from Halcyon found that hackers are targeting Amazon Web Services’ S3 bucket storage, using the company’s own encryption tools to block customers from accessing their data.

Halcyon has noted two incidents in December and named the group responsible for the attacks “Codefinger.”

“As they have only been observed in the two attacks noted in this report, Halcyon does not currently have any further intelligence on them, their origin, where they operate, or who they typically target,”a spokesperson told Recorded Future News. “Both victims were AWS native software developers.”

Hackers steal AWS account credentials and encryption keys, lock customers out, and demand ransom for the keys. Halcyon stated that the inability to recover data without paying the ransom marks a significant advancement in ransomware techniques.

Hackers demand ransoms by threatening to delete files within seven days. Ransom notes provide payment instructions and warn against changing AWS account permissions.

“By utilizing AWS native services, they achieve encryption in a way that is both secure and unrecoverable without their cooperation,” the researchers said.

“While SSE-C has been available since 2014, this appears to be a novel use of the feature by ransomware operators.”

An AWS spokesperson told media that whenever the company becomes aware of keys that have been leaked they notify affected customers and “thoroughly investigate all reports of exposed keys and quickly take any necessary actions, such as applying quarantine policies to minimize risks for customers without disrupting their IT environment.”

The company shared resources for concerned customers and encouraged those affected to reach out to AWS support. They also advised against storing credentials in source code or configuration files.

Halcyon cautioned that hackers’ tactics could become popular among other threat actors, urging AWS customers to take quick action for protection.

Cybercriminals often target S3 buckets since organizations frequently leave them open to everyone online, leading to significant data breaches.

$12.9 B Cybersecurity Boom Awaits India for 2030

Check Also

FortiGate

Hackers retain access to patched FortiGate VPNs using symlinks

Recent incidents continue to bring this into focus with active exploitations of known vulnerabilities as …

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *