Linux systems haven’t been targeted as broadly as Windows, and such rare incidence often go undetected by enterprises, as they aren’t always too severe to enjoy wide reportage by security researchers. But lately, Linux ecosystem has become crowded with DDoS botnets and crypto-mining malware, albeit it isn't very common to spot the trojans or backdoors in the wild.

The cybersecurity firm, Intezer reported a malware with sophisticated techniques, which utilizes the already available open source code, dubbed HiddenWasp. And the malware is marked as high risk and dangerous at the moment, more so as it has a zero detection rate in all the popular anti-malware systems.

HiddenWasp code reveals close tie with the various publicly available open-source malware, such as Mirai and Azazel rootkit, while there are more similarities between the malware and some Chinese malware variants, though the attribution is quite of low confidence.

Unlike malware on Windows, open-source ecosystem like Linux has a high ratio of publicly available code that can be duplicated by attackers, and the malware authors invest less effort in the rewriting of their implants.

The malware involves the running of the initial script for the deployment, which script user is named ‘sftp’ with a hardcoded password; it clears the system in order to get rid of older versions of malware in case the machine is already infected.

HiddenWasp isn't focused on DDoS activity or crypto-mining, as the Trojan is purely used in targeted remote control. And the researchers still hasn't unraveled the actual infection vector, rather it is suspected that the malware spreads in systems already controlled by the hackers, which could mean that HiddenWasp is used merely as a secondary payload.

Linux Machines targeted by the Sophisticated Malware, HiddenWasp



There are tons of transcription software, both speech-to-text and vice versa, for Windows which are very helpful in speech conversions, but certainly not all of the software can guarantee that your information is secure and encrypted, with quality transcripts delivery.

EasySpeech2Text.com is perhaps the best free speech recognition software, offering the simplest ways to convert speech into plain text, and even text-to-voice conversion at the same time, with your information fully secured and encrypted, supporting high-quality natural voice to improve work efficiency.

While the use case for voice-to-text software are quite numerous, ranging from the ease of using your voice to create documents instead typing, and expedite workflow, which makes is faster with improved efficiency. But before we delve right into how to setup EasySpeech2Text.com for guaranteed best free voice-to-text or dictation for content creation and productivity, let’s outline some unique features of the software.

Unique Features of EasySpeech2Text Software



  • Fully Automated process
  • Easy recognition of voice from audio to convert to text
  • Advanced ASR-TTS technology for guaranteed high-quality results
  • Non manual intervention for increased productivity
  • Ability to choose from any of the four available voice options


Easy Steps to Convert Text to Speech using EasySpeech2Text Software



First, you'll have to download and install EasySpeech2Text software on your Windows system, it currently supports Windows 10/8.1/8/7/XP/Vista (32/64 bit), with minimum memory requirements of 512MB or above (but 1GB is recommended), and NVIDIA GPU support. Once, you've successfully installed the software, launch the application and copy the text that you wish to convert into voice.



Then, paste the copied text and proceed to the next level by clicking on the "Play" button to start the conversion process. You have the options of choosing between four types of different voices on converting the text to audio.

Steps to Convert Speech to Text using EasySpeech2Text Software



Given that you've already downloaded and installed EasySpeech2Text Software on your system, simply follow the steps below for the mp3 to text conversion process.



Launch the program and once the application is opened, add your desired mp3 file which you wish to convert as text. Once the file has been added, now you can start the conversion process by clicking on the "Convert" button. That's it!

The conversion will start immediately and the final output will be shown as text. You can also find the output from the "Text" field area of the program interface.

Our Verdict!



The key advantage of EasySpeech2Text program remains that the text to audio (or voice to text) conversion process is very efficient and accurate, with no manual intervention.

EasySpeech2Text.com Review: Best Free Speech to text Software for Windows



Kali Linux NetHunter, the penetration testing platform with Android ROM overlay that was initially available for Nexus devices and OnePlus One, as well as Samsung models has been updated to include more mobile devices.

With Kali Linux 2019.2, which is the second update for 2019 of the Debian-derived Linux distribution designed for penetration testing and digital forensics, the most notable feature is the revamped Nethunter 2019.2 supporting over 50 new mobile devices, and fully capable of running on Android 4.4 (KitKat) to the latest version 9.0. for all supported devices.

Offensive Security had adopted a release model that rolls over a few years ago and has continuously kept up-to-date with existing Kali installations, with the first update for 2019 bringing a bevy of new features, which included support for Metasploit version 5.0, Linux kernel 4.19.13 and several bug fixes.

The Kali Linux NetHunter project was the first Open Source Android penetration testing platform, created in 2014 as a joint effort between the Kali community member “BinkyBear” and Offensive Security, the company behind the Kali Linux distribution.

While the announcement of Kali Linux Nethunter 2019.2 specifically mentioned 13 images for new Android versions for popular devices like Nexus 6, OnePlus 2, and Samsung Galaxy Tab S4, other latest images for supported Android devices are listed on the NetHunter page.

Kali NetHunter - Pen Testing Platform for Android gets support for more devices



Before now, it was only possible to access Tor via Orbot/Orfox on Android smartphone, with the Tor capabilities hugely limited as the browser wasn't fully integrated to the network.

Almost eight months in testing, the Tor Project has finally launched the first stable release for the Tor browser (v8.5) on the Play Store, with the new Android browser bringing the full Tor capabilities directly to a mobile standalone browser, including the routing of web traffic through the Tor network — a network of encrypted computers spread around the world.

The Tor browser for Android bypasses geographic restrictions to provide access to contents or sites blocked in the given region, with traffic bouncing between several nodes on the network before arriving at the destination for full anonymity and privacy.

It is based on Firefox v60, which makes the UI pretty familiar to those who are used to the Mozilla browser, with conveniences like tabbed browsing, albeit it doesn't quite connect directly to sites. Instead, it relies on a network of encrypted servers that requests multiple intermediate links, while hiding your IP address and identity.

According to the official Tor Project blog, there are some feature gaps between the Android Tor Browser and the desktop version, but still, Tor Browser for Android provides essentially the same protections that's available on desktop platforms.

The Tor Browser is useful for activists or journalists to avoid government surveillance, as it makes it harder to track its users and also helps to bypass geographical blocking. But using the browser isn't entirely hassle-free, since many other folks are also using the servers.

And currently, there isn't any version of Tor Browser for iOS because Apple has apparently blocked the process as it requires all browser meant for the platform to run WebKit, its own browser engine. So, it is recommended that iOS device users should turn to the Onion Browser for iPhone and iPad instead.

Tor Browser for Android: Full Proxy bypass and first-party Isolation comes to the smartphone



GitHub Sponsors is a new program launched by the popular web-based Git hosting service, to allow anyone to support the open source developers or contributors through a new ‘Sponsor Me‘ button on their repositories to receive funding.

While the ‘Sponsor Me‘ button is available only to the open source developers, there will be no charges by GitHub for supporting the work of the developers, for the first year of participation; GitHub will also cover the payment processing for all the payments made via the platform.

The Microsoft owned web service, GitHub intends to help circulate funding amongst the developers with the new tool by allowing recurring payments to other members of the community, much like a crowdfunding service, and whenever a developer solves issues or answers queries on your repository, you can visit their profile by hovering over their username to make a donation.

GitHub will match up about $5,000 in contributions for each sponsored developer, for the first year, but the company won't be taking any cut of the funds paid out through the service, at least for now.

What this means is that 100% of the sponsorship funds will go to the developer, with GitHub Sponsors payouts spread across every country where the GitHub service is supported.

Albeit, there's likely to be a problem of keeping track of where all the code in a given application comes from, as libraries often rely on others, but GitHub will be adding new features to make it easier to see who contributes to the software, and then be able to sponsor the projects developer.

The company also announced some other new features that will make it easier for developers to keep track of all the open source projects they've contributed or rely on and to be able to incorporate security fixes.

GitHub Sponsors: Open source devs gets new ‘Sponsor Me‘ button to receive funding



The risks associated with using unsecured public Wi-Fi are enormous, ranging from the danger of third-parties intercepting your emails, even encrypted messages and login information are not spared. And it could be possible for a cyber-criminal to use the login details to access your other accounts as well.

Nowadays, Wi-Fi access are available in more places than ever, enabling everyone to keep in touch or surf the Web from wherever they happen to be, but definitely, getting online via public Wi-Fi hotspots isn't as safe, as it is simple.

Top 5 Risks associated with Public Wi-Fi hotspots



  • Man-in-the-middle (MITM) Attacks: In this attack scenario, an attacker secretly relays or possibly alters a supposed communications between two parties who believe they are communicating directly with each other. And this is mostly possible via public Wi-Fi, because hackers can leverage the unsecure connection to position themselves between the person who is using the Wi-Fi and the connection point.
  • Malware over unsecured Wi-Fi: With unsecured Wi-Fi connection, hackers are able to distribute malware easily, and having infected software on your device can be crippling for your business.
  • Snooping: This is the act of cybercriminals trying to access everything you are doing online, potentially monitoring all your activities and able to capture login credentials or even hijack your accounts.
  • Attacks via ad hocs: Peer-to-peer networks that connect two computers directly are known as ad hocs, and when used over a public Wi-Fi network, the machines are likely to be compromised making it possible for hackers to directly connect to them.
  • Exposure to other attack vectors: Asides malware, viruses can wreak havoc all by themselves, especially when connected to a public Wi-Fi.


How to ensure you are protected over Public Wi-Fi Hotspots



While it is generally recommended that businesses should switch their sites and applications to the more secure HTTPS, as HTTPS-enabled websites provide the more critical security and protection against personal information theft.

But making use of a VPN (Virtual Private Network) is the sure thing for individual users, as VPN acts like a tunnel that keeps out prying eyes from interloping into your online activities. It affords you a secure connection to the network, of course, at the same time shielding your activity from cybercriminals on public Wi-Fi hotspots.

What is Ivacy VPN?



Ivacy VPN is a one-size-fits-all solution, that allows you to skip all the hassles associated with finding more than one VPN for the type of experience you crave. It guarantees maximum protection with advanced 256-bit encryption to protect you from hackers, snoopers and even government surveillance.



It offers the most diverse of servers across 50 countries, numbering over 1000 servers in 100+ locations to make your activities undetectable and to access restricted content without any hassles. It comes as a premium software, though there is a free test version, while the premium is pretty cheap, as low as $1.33 per month (for 5 years activation) or $2.25 (for a two year activation).

And the best part, Ivacy has a strict ZERO LOG policy, giving you the total online freedom you've always desired!

What Steps are necessary to Protect You On Public Wi-Fi Hotspots?



WebRender, also known as Quantum Render, is a GPU-based renderer for the web which promises performance increase for the given components, built using the programming language, Rust.

Mozilla has been tinkering with the new web technology, and has finally began the rollout to select Firefox users, running version 67 of the browser, which feature was supposed to launch with Firefox Quantum, but the WebRender technology wasn't ready at the time.

While Firefox Quantum brought many performance improvements, including the Servo super fast CSS engine, albeit the big piece of Servo technology, WebRender was omitted in Firefox Quantum, with Mozilla promising that it is coming soon, which is now being added to Firefox as part of Quantum Render project.

According to Lin Clark, a programmer at Mozilla, WebRender runs at a silky smooth 60 frames per second (FPS) or better no matter how big the display is or how much of the page is changing from frame to frame, and pages that chug along at 15 FPS in Chrome or today’s Firefox run at 60 FPS with WebRender.

Firefox 67 beta release notes has it that the WebRender feature is only been tested for desktops equipped with an NVIDIA GPU, and running on Windows 10, but it's not clear whether the feature will be coming to other platforms or even to older versions of Windows.

Mozilla begins the push of WebRender (Quantum Render) to users on Firefox 67



There is a vulnerability on WhatsApp that could allow hackers to send spyware to mobile phones, which is exploitable in the audio call feature of the app. The spyware is called ‘Pegasus’ - traced to the Israeli cyber-intelligence company, NSO, and its fully capable of infiltrating all mobile phones, including iOS and Android devices, with the messaging app.

It was specifically targeted at a London lawyer involved in lawsuits that accused the Israeli Group of providing tools to hack the mobile phones of Omar Abdulaziz, a Saudi dissident in Canada; and also a group of Mexican activists, which according to the researchers, made up the list of the initial targets.

The vulnerability in WhatsApp aided the group to insert malicious code that steal data from the target phone by simply placing a call through the messaging app, and it is even portent when the target fails to pick up the call.

According to WhatsApp researchers, the NSO Group operated the spyware in secret for years, and it was only discovered in 2016 on the iPhone of a now-jailed human-rights activist in the UAE through an undisclosed Apple security vulnerabilities. WhatsApp had promptly responded by issuing a fix as soon as they discovered the flaw, and have recommended that its users should update to the latest version of the messaging app.

The company had also alerted the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) about the attack, which was as a result of the WhatsApp flaw first reported by The Financial Times.

How WhatsApp Flaw could allow Hackers to Send Spyware Via Voice Call



Java Development Kit (JDK) 13 has been scheduled for September 17 release, with the release candidate stages beginning in the coming months. While Java 12 launched without the much anticipated Raw String Literals, it is a no-brainer that the supposedly enhancement to ease Java development will be coming with the Java Development Kit (JDK) 13.

The OpenJDK reference page for Java Development Kit (JDK) 13 doesn't however list new features for the upgraded standard Java, albeit some few proposals covering packages, unused heap memory, and application class-data sharing, are cited as being targeted for the new release.

Along with the Raw String Literals, JDK 13 has been slated to come with a tool for packaging self-contained Java apps, which tool is called jpackage and would be based on JavaFX javapackager toolkit with support for native packaging formats that give users natural installation experience. It will also allow for launch-time parameters specification at packaging time, which can be invoked programmatically through the ToolProvider or directly from the command line.

Although, most applications will need to be installed natively on a “first-class” way instead of being placed on the class or module path. And the packaging tool is able to fill gaps left by the Java Web Start technologies, which were removed ostensibly as part of JavaFX from JDK 11.

JDK Enhancement Proposals also include, the extending of application-class data sharing (AppCDS) which enables dynamic archiving of classes at the application execution. With archived classes comprising all library classes not present in the default, base-layer CDS archive and loaded applications. The proposal, however is still in the early stage, and intended to improve the usability of AppCDS by eliminating the need for users to run trials in creating a class list for application.

Admittedly, the ZGC (Z Garbage Collector) enhancement to restore unused memory to the operating system, which proposal is cited as integrated into JDK 13, billed as a scalable, low-latency collector, currently doesn't restore unused memory even when the memory has been unused in a long period.

However, this is not optimal for most applications and environment, as those where memory footprint is really a concern, like containers or environment where applications are idle for a long period or are sharing or competing with other resources.

What new features are coming to the Java Development Kit (JDK) 13?



The newly introduced GitHub Package Registry, is package management integrated right into GitHub to allow developers to publish privately for their team, or publicly for the open source community alongside their own source code.

While GitHub Package Registry supports most other package management tools like Maven, Docker, NPM and NuGet; the multiple package types can be hosted in a single registry, devops workflow includes code and deployment solutions, coupled with APIs, and for workflow automation, GitHub Actions and webhooks.

It provide downloads backed by global CDN powering GitHub, though Packages can be hosted publicly or privately, and also used as dependencies in other projects.

The integration with GitHub will enable developers to utilize the familiar GitHub UI to work on public packages from the site or private packages within the organization.

And the full API and webhooks support, means that you can extend your workflows to work with GitHub Package Registry, and packages inherit the permissions of the repository, and no longer need third party solutions to manage and sync permissions across systems.

To start publishing your packages to GitHub, simply sign up for the beta waitlist, and be among the first to use the GitHub Package Registry. You can also check out the documentation to get a head up on what to expect.

GitHub Package Registry to enable developers to publish packages alongside source code



Podcast (also known as Netcast), is a series of digital audio files or videos which can be downloaded in order to listen, or the single component of such a series. While podcasting which often requires a subscription model, is whereby new episodes of podcasts are automatically downloaded and syndicated to users mobile apps or media player.

Google has made it possible to play podcasts in search results so that users can listen to their favorite podcasts without the need for any standalone podcast app. The podcast access on Google search is now live for both desktop and mobile search, with a search of relevant podcast surfacing a card of the most recent three episodes.

The Podcasts experience is possible without even signing in to Google account, though logging in will allow you to sync your playback across all your devices, but there is no dedicated page to view your subscriptions, unlike what is obtainable on the Podcasts app. For the best podcast recommendations from your friends, check out Friendspire.

Steps to access and play podcasts on Google search results





Simply search for a podcast, and you will be presented with a card of the most recent three episodes. Then click the ‘play’ button, the podcasts can be played right on the search result. But if you tap on the link, it will take you to podcasts.google.com, with offerings of a feed for all the episodes.

And selecting ‘play’ bring up a basic audio player, with available controls to play/pause, rewind/forward, and adjust playback speed.

Albeit, to access your subscribed podcasts for the time being is only through the Google search bar. The podcasts in search will mostly benefit iOS users who use Google Assistant from the platform, as Google has not launched any standalone Podcasts app for iOS.

Google had earlier given a means to discover and listen to podcasts with Google Play, whereby people can have access to a wider variety of podcast apps, but the company eventually released Google Podcasts, which was rather a back stab at podcasting services.

How to replay your Favorite Podcasts directly on Google Search



Workplace by Facebook, the collaboration platform launched in 2016, that offer both standard chat functions and ability to share files, like photos, videos, voice clips, emoji and GIFs, between employees within an organization has undergone a revamp, making it quicker and easier for employees to communicate.

Facebook announced the update to the platform at its F8 Conference; the redesigned interface makes it less cluttered, and offers a faster and easier navigation, with greater focus on chat and group elements for Workplace’s users.

Albeit, the first major update to Workplace, is allowing users to interact with external partners, suppliers and agencies, along with the possibility of 50 participants to interact via text, voice and video in one-to-one or group conversations within the application.

Workplace new UI adds the ability to jump between notifications, groups and Workplace Chats more quickly, with shortcuts on left-hand navigation bar. The changes in user interface made the Workplace platform look like a refresh from the old design and more akin to the main Facebook platform.

The groups feature had been moved to the right hand side of the application, which is more prominently placed, to help users keep track of their groups. It is now possible to collapse the left and right-hand navigation bars for better focus on contents, like items on News Feed and group posts.

Additionally, the Workplace admin panel, is now easily accessible from the left-hand navigation bar, with a People tab to manage users, including adding and deactivation. Workplace already boasts of about two million paid users, according to the latest statistics from the company, with customers including: Telefonica and Virgin Atlantic.

Workplace by Facebook: Gets a revamp for quicker and easier Navigation with group chats



Microsoft's virtual assistant, Cortana has already found its way to the smart home, as core to a smart speaker from Harman Kardon. But Satya Nadella, the company's CEO, is also looking at how Cortana can leverage the voice recognition, speech synthesis, and natural language processing (NLP) to power the office.

At Microsoft Build developer conference, the company offered a glimpse of Cortana's inroad to the workplace, with the virtual assistant support for more fluid, back-and-forth conversations.

The keynote was a demo of an office worker managing calendar via a mobile device powered by Cortana. While Cortana provided answers to numerous questions and was also able to carry out specific actions in continuous interaction that lasted for over 30 “turns” - including a view of upcoming plans, schedules and rescheduling of meetings, checking for availability and booking of rooms.

It isn't coming as a surprise, as Gartner Research has predicted that 25 percent of digital workers will be using virtual assistants on daily basis in 2021; this will provide an opportunity for SMBs to use virtual assistant technology to take care of more auxiliary office processes, which in turn will give customers more time to attend to other issues, as it will reduce delays in office communications.

Cortana's ability to engage in complex and dynamic interactions has greatly improved following Microsoft’s acquisition of Semantic Machines, a conversational AI startup which has lend to keeping track of context on iterations.

Semantic Machines input helped Microsoft to push forward to the boundaries of what is possible in natural language interfaces, and further expanding in conversational AI with its digital assistant Cortana, while using machine learning to enable users to discover and access information and services in a much more natural way, with less effort.

Microsoft is in a vantage position to win the race for Office dominance, as it already boasts of the most popular business apps with Office 365. But Microsoft will still need to prove it can deliver on the promise of more natural conversations.

Microsoft offers a glimpse of the virtual assistant, Cortana in the workplace



Mozilla’s bug tracker, Bugzilla first suggested the sudden failure in the code signing certificate built into the Firefox browser, which lapsed just after midnight on May 4, causing the re-installation of extensions to fail — with users getting different error messages.

While the company neglected to renew the certificate, Firefox browser treated the extensions as no longer trusted and potentially a malicious program, so disabled any already installed add-on on the browser for that same reason.

The resultant effect was that the extension is listed as a “legacy” extension, with warning that it “could not be verified for use in Firefox and has been disabled” for security reasons.

Mozilla, however promptly crafted a temporary fix for the desktop versions of Firefox and pushed out the patch to the browser using the Studies system. It uses Studies to push out test code to a subsection of the Firefox user base, and also to collect data on users' reactions to its sponsored content.

The issue has now been fixed in the standard desktop version of the browser, though some versions (like Firefox for Android) will still require a separate update. And the patch will be automatically applied in the background with no active steps needed to be taken from the users to make add-ons work again. Albeit, it is recommended that users should not delete and/or re-install any add-ons in attempt to fix the issue.

It is worth to mention that Firefox gained a full percentage point this past April, ending the month with 10.2% user share, the highest since March 2018 and the first above 10 points since mid last year. This is nearly two years since Firefox has had a sustained period of rise (about five months, from March to July 2017).

Mozilla fixes the lapsed Certificate issue that affected Firefox extensions



Mozilla has something to cheer about, as Firefox browser has recorded what is perhaps its biggest rise in user share per month for a year, even when the browser vendor has held its own, when all others, including Microsoft have opted for Chromium.

It was a pretty bad month for Google Chrome, losing a record amount of user share, which is a measurement of user activity for one month, with month-over-month user share hitting an all time low, according to internet analytics vendor, Net Applications.

Chrome recorded a fall of 2.2 percentage points in April to end on 65.6%, which is its lowest percentage point since October, 2018. And that's half a point more than the August 2013 record, when the browser accounted for only 16% of all user share; whilst Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) still held sway, as the leading browsers with 57.6% user share.

For last 12 months, Chrome went up four percentage points, been the highest of any browser by far. As the last previous times Chrome lost user share, it did add a percentage point more to its total the following month, which erased the earlier decline.

Mozilla Firefox gained a full percentage point this April, ending the month with 10.2% user share, the highest since March 2018 and the first above 10 points since mid last year. This is nearly two years since Firefox has had a sustained period of rise (about five months, from March to July 2017).

Also, Microsoft's browsers, IE and Edge recorded a rise, hitting 1.4 points to end at 14%. The increase is the largest-ever for Microsoft in nearly 12 years, and the current month-end record was the highest since September, 2018.

Microsoft's brightest spot, however remains Edge, which it has already concluded plans to switch to Chromium rendering engine. Albeit, it isn't only did the browser gain user share, about three-tenths of a percentage point rise in April, ending at 5.5% user share, but it rose in share for all Windows 10 PCs.

Browser Wars: Google Chrome drops in user share; Firefox records a leap



Facebook Dating matches up users on the platform who opted for the service, and connect them by common events; while also allowing the users to see other “daters” who unlocked the same event.

The dating service was first announced at the Facebook's F8 annual conference last year, with initial five countries. But at this year event, Mark Zuckerberg announced that the dating service will be coming to 14 additional countries, bringing the number of supported countries to 19, though still not supported in the United States.

Facebook also added a feature to the dating service, called Secret Crush, that will help users to express what they feel if perhaps they are having a crush on a friend, and don't know how to go about wooing the person.

The feature allows a user to select up to 9 people on the “Secret Crush” list, with each member of the list sent a notification that someone has a crush for them; the idea is that you’ll have somethings in common with the person to match, and you are able to chat with anyone of your “crush” via a text-only messaging within the Facebook Dating app.

Albeit, the messaging feature only work if the selected crush has also activated his/her dating profile, note that the service is different from the regular Facebook profile. But you can add Facebook friends to your crush list even when they are yet to join the dating service.

And the messages sent on the dating service will not open via Messenger, rather there is a new messaging section expressly for Facebook Dating.

Facebook is making a Join Group button to embed on websites so people can easily join from outside the social network. Perhaps, Facebook Dating is a way to woo more young people unto the platform, even as it is only available to users above 18 years of age, and on the mobile app.

Facebook Dating extended to 14 more countries, with new ‘Secret Crush’ Feature



Oracle WebLogic Server was reported to have been actively exploited to distribute a new strain of ransomware, dubbed "Sodinokibi" which can trigger the deserialization of code to allow attackers to run arbitrary commands remotely on affected servers by sending a specially crafted HTTP request, without authorization.

While hackers are taking advantage of the newly discovered flaw, making it the primary attack vectors, to carry out cyber crimes like cryptomining, phishing, and ransomware attacks, as the ‘Sodinokibi’ ransomware attempts to encrypt all data in a directory.

Sodinokibi ransomware variant is more dangerous because it doesn't only encrypt files and ask for ransom, but also delete all backups from the system to prevent the victim from recovering their data. And other ransomware require some form of interaction from the user such as clicking on a malicious link, or downloading and running the malicious code to infect the system, Sodinokibi requires no form of interaction from the user to infect a system.



According to the researchers, after about eight hours of deploying Sodinokibi on a system, the attackers leverage the same WebLogic Server vulnerability to install a second piece of ransomware known as GandCrab.

The ransomware encrypts the target systems, showing a ransom note demanding about $2,500 in Bitcoin before granting the user access to their data. If the ransom isn't paid within a specified number of days, which timeline varies between 2 to 6 days, it then doubles the amount to $5,000.

The vulnerability marked as CVE-2019-2725, which affected all versions of the WebLogic software was given a severity score of 9.8 out of 10, but Oracle has now rolled out an out-of-band security update, just a day after it was made public. It is recommended that all organizations using the Oracle WebLogic Server should update their installations to the latest version of the software.

WebLogic RCE Flaw triggers the deserialization of code to Spread Ransomware