AI-Powered Cyberattacks Targeting Critical Sectors Disrupted

Threat actors have begun using HexStrike AI to exploit Citrix vulnerabilities disclosed in August 2025. HexStrike AI, an AI-driven security platform, was designed to automate reconnaissance and vulnerability discovery for authorized red teaming operations, but it has been repurposed for malicious activities. The exploitation attempts target three Citrix vulnerabilities, with some threat actors offering access to vulnerable NetScaler instances for sale on darknet forums. The use of HexStrike AI by threat actors significantly reduces the time between vulnerability disclosure and exploitation, increasing the risk of widespread attacks. The tool's automation capabilities allow for continuous exploitation attempts, enhancing the likelihood of successful breaches. Security experts emphasize the urgency of patching and hardening affected systems to mitigate the risks posed by this AI-driven threat. HexStrike AI's client features a retry logic and recovery handling to mitigate the effects of failures in any individual step on its complex operations. HexStrike AI has been open-source and available on GitHub for the last month, where it has already garnered 1,800 stars and over 400 forks. Hackers started discussing HexStrike AI on hacking forums within hours of the Citrix vulnerabilities disclosure. HexStrike AI has been used to automate the exploitation chain, including scanning for vulnerable instances, crafting exploits, delivering payloads, and maintaining persistence. Check Point recommends defenders focus on early warning through threat intelligence, AI-driven defenses, and adaptive detection.

A supply chain attack on the nx build system compromised multiple npm packages, leading to the exfiltration of 2,349 GitHub, cloud, and AI credentials. The attack unfolded in three distinct phases, impacting 2,180 accounts and 7,200 repositories. The attack exploited a vulnerable workflow in the nx repository to publish malicious versions of the nx package and supporting plugins. The compromised packages scanned file systems for credentials and sent them to attacker-controlled GitHub repositories. The attack impacted over 1,346 repositories and affected Linux and macOS systems. The nx maintainers identified the root cause as a vulnerable workflow added on August 21, 2025, that allowed for the injection of executable code via a pull request title. The malicious packages were published on August 26, 2025, and have since been removed from the npm registry. The attackers leveraged the GITHUB_TOKEN to trigger the publish workflow and exfiltrate the npm token. The malicious postinstall script scanned systems for text files, collected credentials, and sent them to publicly accessible GitHub repositories. The script also modified .zshrc and .bashrc files to shut down the machine immediately upon user interaction. The nx maintainers have rotated npm and GitHub tokens, audited activities, and updated publish access to require two-factor authentication. Wiz researchers identified a second attack wave impacting over 190 users/organizations and over 3,000 repositories. The second wave involved making private repositories public and creating forks to preserve data. GitGuardian's analysis revealed that 33% of compromised systems had at least one LLM client installed, and 85% were running Apple macOS. The attack took approximately four hours from start to finish. AI-powered CLI tools were used to dynamically scan for high-value secrets. The malware created public repositories on GitHub to store stolen data. The attack impacted over 1,000 developers, exfiltrating around 20,000 sensitive files. The malware modified shell startup files to crash systems upon terminal access. The attack was detected by multiple cybersecurity vendors. The malicious packages were removed from npm at 2:44 a.m. UTC on August 27, 2025. GitHub disabled all singularity-repository instances by 9 a.m. UTC on August 27, 2025. Around 90% of leaked GitHub tokens remain active as of August 28, 2025.

Chinese state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actors, specifically the group known as Salt Typhoon, have been conducting a sustained campaign to gain long-term access to critical infrastructure networks worldwide. This campaign targets telecommunications, transportation, lodging, and military networks, exploiting vulnerabilities in routers and taking steps to evade detection and maintain persistent access. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), in coordination with the National Security Agency (NSA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and international partners, released a joint advisory detailing this ongoing malicious activity. The advisory provides actionable guidance and intelligence to help organizations defend against these sophisticated cyber threats. The advisory builds on previous reporting and incorporates updated threat intelligence from investigations conducted through August 2025, reflecting overlapping indicators with industry reporting on various Chinese state-sponsored threat groups. Salt Typhoon has been active since at least 2019, targeting at least 600 organizations, including 200 in the U.S., and 80 countries. The Czech Republic's National Cyber and Information Security Agency (NUKIB) issued a warning about data transfers to China, highlighting concerns over the transfer of system and user data to the PRC and the remote administration of technical assets. The Czech government previously accused China of targeting its critical infrastructure through APT 31, which began in 2022. China's offensive cyber activities include large-scale telco attacks by Salt Typhoon and positioning for potential destructive cyberattacks. The advisory tracks this cluster of activity to multiple advanced persistent threats (APTs), though it partially overlaps with Salt Typhoon. The advisory details how state-backed threat actors, including Salt Typhoon, penetrate networks around the world, as well as how defenders can protect their own environments. The Czech Republic's National Cyber and Information Security Agency (NUKIB) has assessed the risk of significant disruptions caused by China at a 'High' level, indicating a high probability of occurrence. NUKIB confirmed malicious activities of Chinese cyber-actors targeting the Czech Republic, including a recent APT31 campaign targeting the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Chinese government has access to data stored by private cloud service providers within the Czech Republic, ensuring that sensitive data is always within its reach. NUKIB warns about consumer devices, such as smartphones, IP cameras, electric cars, large language models, and even medical devices and photovoltaic converters manufactured by Chinese firms, as risky devices that can transfer potentially sensitive data to Chinese infrastructure. 45 previously unreported domains associated with Salt Typhoon and UNC4841 have been discovered, with the oldest domain registration activity dating back to May 2020.

A large-scale cybercrime campaign, codenamed ShadowCaptcha, has been exploiting over 100 compromised WordPress sites to distribute information stealers, ransomware, and cryptocurrency miners. The campaign, detected in August 2025, uses fake CAPTCHA verification pages and social engineering tactics to infect visitors. The primary objectives include credential harvesting, illicit cryptocurrency mining, and ransomware deployment. The attacks begin with malicious JavaScript code injected into compromised WordPress sites, redirecting visitors to fake CAPTCHA pages. From there, the attack chain forks into two paths: one utilizing the Windows Run dialog and another guiding victims to save and execute an HTML Application (HTA) file. The campaign employs anti-debugging techniques, DLL side-loading, and vulnerable drivers to maintain persistence and enhance mining efficiency. The infected sites span various sectors and are primarily located in Australia, Brazil, Italy, Canada, Colombia, and Israel.

A rapidly spreading phishing campaign targets Windows users worldwide, stealing credentials and deploying remote access trojans (RATs) via malicious scripts. The campaign is particularly impacting organizations in manufacturing, technology, healthcare, construction, and retail/hospitality sectors. The attack begins with socially engineered emails leading to personalized phishing pages, which deliver JavaScript files acting as droppers for UpCrypter malware. This malware deploys various RATs, including PureHVNC, DCRat, and Babylon RAT, providing long-term access to the compromised networks. The campaign has shown rapid growth, with detection counts doubling in just two weeks. The attack chain involves obfuscated scripts, personalized phishing pages, and sophisticated evasion techniques to avoid detection. The use of ready-made tools and phishing kits from underground sites contributes to the campaign's complexity and spread. Additionally, attackers are exploiting legitimate services like Google Classroom, Microsoft 365, and OneNote for phishing campaigns, and using client-side evasion techniques to bypass defenses. Defenders are advised to implement multi-layered defenses, including strong email filters, employee training, and up-to-date security tools.