Menu

  • Alerts
  • Incidents
  • News
  • APTs
  • Cyber Decoded
  • Cyber Hygiene
  • Cyber Review
  • Cyber Tips
  • Definitions
  • Malware
  • Threat Actors
  • Tutorials

Useful Tools

  • Password generator
  • Report an incident
  • Report to authorities
No Result
View All Result
CTF Hack Havoc
CyberMaterial
  • Education
    • Cyber Decoded
    • Definitions
  • Information
    • Alerts
    • Incidents
    • News
  • Insights
    • Cyber Hygiene
    • Cyber Review
    • Tips
    • Tutorials
  • Support
    • Contact Us
    • Report an incident
  • About
    • About Us
    • Advertise with us
Get Help
Hall of Hacks
  • Education
    • Cyber Decoded
    • Definitions
  • Information
    • Alerts
    • Incidents
    • News
  • Insights
    • Cyber Hygiene
    • Cyber Review
    • Tips
    • Tutorials
  • Support
    • Contact Us
    • Report an incident
  • About
    • About Us
    • Advertise with us
Get Help
No Result
View All Result
Hall of Hacks
CyberMaterial
No Result
View All Result
Home Alerts

Cyberattack Kits Boost RAT Surge

November 2, 2023
Reading Time: 9 mins read
in Alerts

The criminal underground is witnessing a proliferation of remote access Trojan (RAT) attacks fueled by the broader availability of turnkey cyberattack kits. Malware “meal kits” priced at under $100 are contributing to the surge in RAT campaigns, often concealed within seemingly legitimate Excel and PowerPoint files delivered via email. HP Wolf Security’s “Q3 2023 Threat Insights Report” highlights a significant increase in Excel files containing DLLs infected with the Parallax RAT, which appears as legitimate invoices to recipients but delivers malware upon clicking. These Parallax RAT malware kits are accessible for $65 a month on hacking forums.

HP’s report also identifies instances where aspiring attackers have been targeted with malware kits, such as XWorm, hosted on ostensibly legitimate repositories like GitHub. Additionally, new RATs, such as DiscordRAT 2.0, have recently emerged.

Notably, 80% of the threats observed during the quarter were email-based, and the report reveals an intriguing development: some cybercriminals are now targeting inexperienced individuals in RAT campaigns.

The HP report shows a significant rise in the use of Parallax RAT as it jumped from the 46th most popular payload in the second quarter of 2023 to seventh in the following quarter. A unique “Jekyll and Hyde” attack pattern has been observed in one Parallax RAT campaign, involving two threads that run when a user opens a scanned invoice template.

While one thread opens the file, the other runs malware in the background, making it challenging for users to detect the attack’s progress. RATs have increasingly become a threat in 2023, with researchers noting upticks in RAT activity.

HP has highlighted the rise of RATs like Houdini and Parallax, but the long-term impact may be limited due to Microsoft’s plan to deprecate VBScript, which both RATs rely on. This announcement may encourage attackers to shift to formats that will continue to be supported on Windows, such as PowerShell and Bash, and develop innovative obfuscation techniques to bypass endpoint security.

Reference:
  • HP Wolf Security Threat Insights Report Q3 2023
Tags: AttackersCyber AlertCyber Alerts 2023CyberattackCybersecurityMalwareNovember 2023Remote Access TrojanTrojan
ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

Glibc Flaw Gives Linux Root Access Risk

Mozilla Urgent Firefox Patch Fixes RCE Flaws

May 19, 2025
Fileless Remcos RAT Delivery Via LNK Files

ModiLoader Malware Targets Windows Users

May 19, 2025
Glibc Flaw Gives Linux Root Access Risk

Glibc Flaw Gives Linux Root Access Risk

May 19, 2025
Fileless Remcos RAT Delivery Via LNK Files

APT28 RoundPress Webmail Hack Steals Emails

May 16, 2025
Fileless Remcos RAT Delivery Via LNK Files

FBI Warns of AI Voice Phishing Scams

May 16, 2025
Fileless Remcos RAT Delivery Via LNK Files

Fileless Remcos RAT Delivery Via LNK Files

May 16, 2025

Latest Alerts

Mozilla Urgent Firefox Patch Fixes RCE Flaws

ModiLoader Malware Targets Windows Users

Glibc Flaw Gives Linux Root Access Risk

Fileless Remcos RAT Delivery Via LNK Files

FBI Warns of AI Voice Phishing Scams

APT28 RoundPress Webmail Hack Steals Emails

Subscribe to our newsletter

    Latest Incidents

    Massive DDoS Hits Poland’s Civic Platform

    Arla Plant Cyberattack Halts Operations

    Georgia’s Harbin Clinic Hit by Data Breach

    Hackers Target Swiss Reserve Power Plant

    Coinbase Insider Attack Exposed User Data

    Cyberattack Hits J Batista Group

    CyberMaterial Logo
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Jobs
    • Legal and Privacy Policy
    • Site Map

    © 2025 | CyberMaterial | All rights reserved

    Welcome Back!

    Login to your account below

    Forgotten Password?

    Retrieve your password

    Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

    Log In

    Add New Playlist

    No Result
    View All Result
    • Alerts
    • Incidents
    • News
    • Cyber Decoded
    • Cyber Hygiene
    • Cyber Review
    • Definitions
    • Malware
    • Cyber Tips
    • Tutorials
    • Advanced Persistent Threats
    • Threat Actors
    • Report an incident
    • Password Generator
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with us

    Copyright © 2025 CyberMaterial