Article
Largest Data Breach of All Time (So Far)
Arete Analysis
Cyber Threats
Threat Actors
On July 4th, 2024, a threat actor posted nearly ten billion unique passwords to a dark web forum. This was the second large dump of passwords from the threat actor calling themselves ObamaCare on the forum. Given that the threat actor’s first dump was in 2021 and contained 8.4 billion passwords, security researchers assess that the recent dump of 10 billion passwords simply contains only 1.5 billion new passwords.
What’s New and Notable
The threat actor claimed some of the passwords were stored encrypted, but they were able to decrypt those passwords using Nvidia’s RTX 4090 graphic cards. Security researchers previously warned in 2022 that threat actors could use 8 cards to crack 8-character passwords in 48 minutes. By combining old passwords and this password cracking technique, at least some of the passwords can now be used for credential stuffing attack against online login panels.
This is one of the largest password dumps to date, but the size of these dumps are only going to grow as each new iteration contains the previous passwords and as more data becomes available from compromises.
Analyst Comments
While these types of password dumps are very common, they are only likely to increase as more data becomes available. The recent compromises of Snowflake’s cloud data analytics instances provide both an example of the source and the repercussions of large password breaches. As companies retain more and more data in cloud environments to enable artificial intelligence models, the size and scale of data breaches is only going to grow. Additionally, large dumps of passwords provide useful resources for other threat actors. The threat actors compromising Snowflake instances are primarily using login and password combinations posted to the dark web.
In Arete’s dark web search and monitoring engagements, leaked credentials are the most common finding. Users’ tendency to reuse passwords means even third-party data breaches not directly pertaining to a user’s employer can still result in a compromise of the employer. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) consequently recommends monitoring for exposed credentials and changing passwords after a breach finding in order to prevent password dumps like this one from resulting in broader compromises.
Sources
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CMS Vulnerability Leads to ClickFix Campaign
Threat actors compromised at least 700 education and technology websites in a recent ClickFix campaign by exploiting a critical SQL injection flaw (CVE-2026-26980) in the Ghost content management system (CMS). Adversaries combined the vulnerability with the ClickFix social engineering tactic to steal admin keys and inject a malicious JavaScript that delivers a fake Cloudflare or CAPTCHA verification pop-up, tricking victims into copying and pasting a malicious command into their systems.
What’s Notable and Unique
Rather than targeting the end user first, this campaign is unique in its initial exploitation of the system, followed by social engineering attempts. This hybrid attack style is likely being leveraged to bypass traditional defenses.
This recent campaign also highlights how trusted web properties can be weaponized at scale and coupled with unpatched CMS vulnerabilities. Rather than using the CMS compromise to perpetrate a single attack, threat actors turned it into a supply-chain attack that ultimately affected over 700 trusted websites.
Analyst Comments
As network defenders and their tools enhance threat detection capabilities, adversaries increasingly seek methods to bypass these defenses. By combining vulnerability exploitation, social engineering techniques, and staging for ancillary attacks, this campaign successfully bypassed traditional defenses and inflicted significant impact. Defending against hybrid cyberattacks requires comprehensive security controls beyond simply patching vulnerabilities. Organizations should focus on limiting movement within the environment, detecting abuse of trusted applications, and preventing end-user manipulation.
Sources
700+ education and tech websites hijacked in huge ClickFix malware campaign
Under the engineering hood: Why Malwarebytes chose WordPress as its CMS
Think before you Click(Fix): Analyzing the ClickFix social engineering technique
Ghost CMS Vulnerability Exploited to Infect 700 Sites With ClickFix Malware
Article
Threat Actors Leverage Fake JPEG Files for Initial Access
In a recent campaign, researchers observed threat actors using fake JPEG image files as a delivery mechanism to initiate the deployment of additional malicious components. The false JPEG files are typically distributed via phishing emails or other social engineering-based lures, and are actually PowerShell-based malware that deploys a trojanized version of ConnectWise ScreenConnect to establish and maintain persistence in the compromised environment.
What’s Notable and Unique
This campaign leverages JPEG images as the initial lure, where the images are not merely decoys but part of the infection workflow. Victims are typically led to download or open an image that triggers hidden execution logic or redirects them to a payload-delivery sequence that initiates later stages of the intrusion chain.
The attack chain is designed to blend into legitimate environments, making detection more difficult. Execution typically relies on scripted or native Windows components, often including PowerShell or other living-off-the-land binaries, enabling fileless or near-fileless execution and reducing forensic artifacts on disk.
The multistage design ensures that the initial JPEG does not directly contain the full payload but instead triggers retrieval or decryption steps that progressively assemble the final malicious components in memory.
Analyst Comments
This campaign illustrates how threat actors continue to blur the line between legitimate file handling and malicious execution chains, indicating potential overlap with remote management or administrative tooling. The use of JPEG-based staging combined with script-based execution reflects a broader evolution toward a stealth-first intrusion design, in which file formats serve as triggers rather than payload containers.
Sources
OPERATION SILENTCANVAS : JPEG BASED MULTISTAGE POWERSHELL INTRUSION
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