CyberSecurity news
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@www.microsoft.com
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www.microsoft.com
Microsoft is aggressively integrating artificial intelligence across its products and services, striving to revolutionize the user experience. The company is focused on developing agentic systems that can work independently, proactively identify problems, suggest solutions, and maintain context across interactions. Microsoft envisions a future where AI agents will augment and amplify organizational capabilities, leading to significant transformations in various fields. To facilitate secure and flexible interactions, Microsoft is employing Model Context Protocol (MCP) to enable AI models to interact with external services.
As AI agents become more sophisticated and integrated into business processes, Microsoft recognizes the importance of evolving identity standards. The company is actively working on robust mechanisms to ensure agents can securely access data and act across connected systems, including APIs, code repositories, and enterprise systems. Microsoft emphasizes that industry collaboration on identity standards is crucial for the safe and effective deployment of AI agents. To aid organizations in safely adopting AI, Microsoft Deputy CISO Yonatan Zunger shares guidance for efficient implementation and defense against evolving identity attack techniques. Microsoft CVP Charles Lamanna offers an AI adoption playbook, emphasizing the importance of "customer obsession" and "extreme ownership" for both startups and large enterprises navigating the age of AI. Lamanna suggests focusing on a few high-impact AI projects instead of spreading resources thinly across numerous pilots. Recommended read:
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@cyble.com
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securityaffairs.com
, ciso2ciso.com
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A China-linked Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) group, known as UNC5221, has been actively exploiting critical vulnerabilities in Ivanti Endpoint Manager Mobile (EPMM) software. Researchers from EclecticIQ have observed this group chaining two specific flaws, identified as CVE-2025-4427 and CVE-2025-4428, to target organizations across Europe, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region. These vulnerabilities allow for unauthenticated remote code execution, potentially granting the attackers deep access to compromised systems.
The targeted sectors include critical infrastructure such as telecommunications, healthcare, government, defense, finance, and aviation. The exploitation of these flaws began shortly after their disclosure, highlighting the speed at which UNC5221 moved to take advantage of the vulnerabilities. CISA has added the Ivanti EPMM flaw, among others, to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, emphasizing the severity of the risk and urging organizations to apply necessary patches. The attacks facilitate further intrusion and data exfiltration, potentially leading to significant breaches and compromise of sensitive information. This campaign underscores the ongoing threat posed by state-sponsored cyberespionage and the importance of proactive security measures to defend against such attacks. Recommended read:
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info@thehackernews.com (The@The Hacker News
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A new cybersecurity threat, dubbed Hazy Hawk, has emerged, exploiting misconfigured DNS records to hijack abandoned cloud resources. Since at least December 2023, the threat actor has been using DNS CNAME hijacking to seize control of abandoned cloud endpoints belonging to reputable organizations, including Amazon S3 buckets and Microsoft Azure endpoints. By registering new cloud resources with the same names as the abandoned ones, Hazy Hawk redirects traffic to malicious sites, incorporating these hijacked domains into large-scale scam delivery and traffic distribution systems (TDS). This allows them to distribute scams, fake applications, and malware to unsuspecting users, leveraging the trust associated with the original domains.
Infoblox researchers first detected Hazy Hawk's activities in February 2025, when the group successfully took control of subdomains belonging to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Further investigation revealed that global government agencies, major universities, and international corporations such as Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers have also been targeted. Hazy Hawk scans for domains with CNAME records pointing to abandoned cloud endpoints, determining this through passive DNS data validation. They then register a new cloud resource with the same name, causing the original domain's subdomain to resolve to the attacker's controlled resource. The attack chains often involve cloning legitimate websites to appear trustworthy, and URL obfuscation techniques are employed to hide malicious destinations. Hazy Hawk uses hijacked domains to host malicious URLs that redirect users to scams and malware. What makes Hazy Hawk's operations particularly concerning is the use of trusted domains to serve malicious content, enabling them to bypass detection and exploit the reputation of high-profile entities. Cybersecurity experts advise organizations to diligently monitor and manage their DNS records, ensuring that CNAME records pointing to abandoned cloud resources are removed to prevent unauthorized domain hijacking. Recommended read:
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@securityonline.info
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The Play ransomware gang has been actively exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in the Windows Common Log File System (CLFS), identified as CVE-2025-29824. This high-severity flaw allows attackers to gain SYSTEM privileges on compromised systems, enabling them to deploy malware and carry out other malicious activities. The vulnerability was patched by Microsoft in April 2025; however, it was actively exploited in targeted attacks across various sectors before the patch was released.
The Play ransomware gang's attack methodology is sophisticated, employing custom tools and techniques such as dual extortion. A key tool used is the Grixba infostealer, which scans networks and steals information. In addition to the Grixba infostealer, the group uses a payload injection technique where a malicious payload is injected into the winlogon.exe process. This allows them to inject the Sysinternals procdump.exe tool into various processes for malicious purposes. The Symantec Threat Hunter Team identified this zero-day vulnerability being actively exploited, including an attack targeting an unnamed organization in the United States. The attackers likely used a public-facing Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) as an entry point. During the execution of the exploit, batch files are created to escalate privileges, dump the SAM, SYSTEM, and SECURITY Registry hives, create a new user, and clean up traces of exploitation. The exploitation of CVE-2025-29824 highlights the trend of ransomware actors using zero-days to infiltrate targets, underscoring the importance of prompt patching and robust security measures. Recommended read:
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@blog.google
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Google is enhancing its security operations by integrating agentic AI into Google Unified Security, aiming to empower security teams and business leaders in the AI era. This initiative incorporates AI-driven agents designed to collaborate with human analysts, automating routine tasks and enhancing decision-making processes. The vision is to evolve towards an autonomous Security Operations Center (SOC) where AI agents handle routine tasks, freeing up analysts to concentrate on more complex and critical threats. These advancements seek to proactively combat evolving threats by giving defenders an advantage over threat actors.
Google's enhancements include incorporating threat intelligence from Mandiant’s M-Trends 2025 report to improve threat detection and simplify security workflows. This report provides data, analysis, and learnings drawn from Mandiant's threat intelligence findings and over 450,000 hours of incident investigations. Key findings from M-Trends 2025 reveal that attackers are exploiting various opportunities, from using infostealer malware to targeting unsecured data repositories and exploiting cloud migration risks, with financial sector being the top target. The most common initial infection vector was exploit (33%), followed by stolen credentials (16%), and email phishing (14%). Gemini AI is also being integrated to enhance threat detection with real-time insights, powering malware analysis and triage AI agents. This integration also includes curated detections and threat intelligence rule packs for M-Trends 2025 findings, shifting organizations from reactive to preemptive security measures. Throughout 2024, Google Cloud Security customers have already benefited from threat intelligence and insights now publicly released in the M-Trends 2025 report through expert-crafted threat intelligence, enhanced detections, and Mandiant security assessments. Recommended read:
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@www.bigdatawire.com
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www.bigdatawire.com
, The Last Watchdog
AI is rapidly changing the cybersecurity landscape, introducing both powerful tools and significant vulnerabilities. While companies have struggled to secure their data even before the advent of generative AI (GenAI), the arrival of these technologies has intensified existing challenges and created new avenues for attacks. These include tactics like slopsquatting, where attackers spread malware through hallucinated software development libraries recommended by GenAI, taking advantage of the technology's tendency to create things out of whole cloth.
One of the key concerns highlighted is the potential for GenAI to recommend non-existent or malicious software libraries. For example, a security researcher discovered that Alibaba recommended users install a fake version of a legitimate library. Research indicates that GenAI models can hallucinate software packages a significant percentage of the time, posing a risk to developers and organizations relying on these recommendations. This "slopsquatting" phenomenon is just one example of how AI's inherent limitations can be exploited to weaken cybersecurity defenses. The industry is adapting to these new threats with some cybersecurity firms developing AI tools for defense. Smaller security teams are adopting vendor-curated AI solutions, while large enterprises are building tailored large language models (LLMs). There's growing evidence that LLMs, when carefully managed and human-vetted, can outperform junior analysts in producing incident reports. Simultaneously, adversaries are using AI to craft malware and orchestrate attacks at speeds that outpace human capabilities, requiring defenders to adapt and learn to wield AI at a similar tempo. This highlights the need for a new kind of intuition in cybersecurity: knowing when to trust AI's output, when to double-check it, and when to prioritize caution. Recommended read:
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Iain Thomson@The Register - Security
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DataBreaches.Net
, The Register - Security
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The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued alerts concerning critical vulnerabilities affecting SonicWall SMA 100 series appliances and legacy Oracle Cloud environments. The alerts highlight potential risks to organizations and individuals stemming from exploited vulnerabilities and data theft. CISA is urging affected users to take immediate steps to mitigate potential cyberattacks, including resetting passwords, monitoring authentication logs, and implementing multi-factor authentication. These actions aim to prevent unauthorized access and escalation of privileges within enterprise environments.
The alert regarding Oracle Cloud addresses the compromise of legacy Oracle Cloud servers earlier in the year. CISA warns that the nature of the reported activity presents a potential risk, especially where credential material may be exposed, reused across separate systems, or embedded within scripts and applications. Compromised credentials, including usernames, emails, passwords, authentication tokens, and encryption keys, can significantly impact enterprise security. The agency has specifically emphasized the danger of embedded credentials, which are difficult to detect and remove, potentially enabling long-term unauthorized access. CISA has also added CVE-2021-20035, a high-severity OS command-injection vulnerability in SonicWall SMA100 remote-access appliances, to its known exploited vulnerabilities catalog. SonicWall initially disclosed and patched the vulnerability in September 2021, later raising its severity score. The vulnerability allows a threat actor to remotely inject arbitrary commands, potentially leading to code execution. Federal civilian executive branch agencies have been directed to patch their SonicWall appliances by May 7 or discontinue use of the product. SonicWall is actively investigating the scope of the exploitation and urges customers to upgrade to the latest firmware. Recommended read:
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@nvd.nist.gov
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Cyble Research and Intelligence Labs (CRIL) has uncovered a new ransomware operation dubbed "DOGE BIG BALLS Ransomware." This campaign uses a finance-themed ZIP file named "Pay Adjustment.zip" to trick users into executing malicious shortcut files. These files then trigger multi-stage PowerShell scripts, ultimately delivering custom payloads that include a kernel-mode exploit tool and reconnaissance modules. The ransomware itself is a modified version of Fog, further customized with a provocative name that references a known public figure.
The attention-grabbing name is likely a deliberate attempt to misdirect attention and create confusion, potentially questioning the effectiveness of governmental cybersecurity efforts. Despite the name's provocative nature, the attack mechanism is relatively simple. The ransomware is typically distributed via a compressed ZIP file, sometimes disguised as a PDF document. Once opened, the malicious payload bypasses traditional security defenses using obfuscation and anti-detection techniques. The DOGE Big Balls ransomware attack highlights the evolving tactics of cybercriminals, blending technical sophistication with psychological manipulation. It also demonstrates the increasing trend of ransomware attacks targeting the healthcare sector, as seen with the recent attack on DaVita, a Denver-based dialysis firm. This incident underscores the critical need for organizations to bolster their cybersecurity defenses and incident response capabilities to protect sensitive data and maintain operational continuity. Recommended read:
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CyberNewswire@hackread.com
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SpyCloud has released new research indicating a significant gap in the effectiveness of endpoint detection and response (EDR) and antivirus (AV) solutions. According to their analysis of recaptured darknet data, a staggering 66% of malware infections occur on devices that already have endpoint security solutions installed. This highlights the increasing ability of threat actors to bypass traditional security measures.
The report emphasizes that modern infostealer malware employs sophisticated tactics to evade detection, even by EDR solutions with advanced AI and telemetry analysis. These tactics include polymorphic malware, memory-only execution, and exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities or outdated software. Data from 2024 showed that nearly one in two corporate users were victims of malware infections, and in the prior year, malware was the cause of 61% of all breaches. Damon Fleury, Chief Product Officer at SpyCloud, stated that the consequences of undetected malware infections can be "catastrophic." He emphasized the ongoing "arms race" where attackers constantly evolve their techniques to avoid detection. SpyCloud aims to provide a crucial line of defense by uncovering infostealer infections that slip past EDR and AV solutions, detecting when stolen data surfaces in the criminal underground, and automatically feeding this intelligence back to EDRs to facilitate quarantine and remediation. Recommended read:
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Sergiu Gatlan@BleepingComputer
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The Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) group Hunters International has reportedly shifted its focus from ransomware to data extortion, rebranding itself as "World Leaks" on January 1, 2025. This change in tactics signals a new era in cybercrime, driven by the declining profitability of ransomware and increased scrutiny from law enforcement and governments worldwide. Group-IB researchers revealed that the group's senior personnel decided ransomware was becoming too "unpromising, low-converting, and extremely risky," leading to the development of an extortion-only operation.
The group is reportedly leveraging custom-built exfiltration tools to automate data theft from victim networks, enhancing their ability to carry out extortion-only attacks. Cybersecurity researchers have also linked Hunters International to the infamous Hive ransomware group. There are suggestions that they acquired Hive’s source code and operational tools. While Hunters International denies being a direct continuation of Hive, evidence suggests that they acquired Hive’s source code and operational tools. The group targets various industries, including healthcare, real estate, and professional services, across North America, Europe, and Asia. Recommended read:
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@cyble.com
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EvilCorp, a Russia-based cybercriminal enterprise already under sanctions, has been linked to the RansomHub ransomware operation, indicating a concerning level of cooperation between the two groups. Intelligence sources confirm that EvilCorp and RansomHub are actively sharing intrusion methods, indicators of compromise (IOCs), and tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs). This collaboration poses a significant threat as it combines the capabilities of a sanctioned entity known for large-scale financial cyberattacks with a prominent ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation. RansomHub, active since February 2024 and reportedly run by Russian-speaking cybercriminals, has become increasingly popular among former affiliates of other RaaS platforms such as ALPHV/BlackCat and LockBit.
One of EvilCorp's signature TTPs involves the use of SocGholish JavaScript malware, also known as FAKEUPDATES, to gain initial access to systems. This malware employs drive-by downloads disguised as web browser software updates. Once a system is infected with SocGholish, EvilCorp affiliates can then deploy the RansomHub ransomware. Given the sanctions imposed on EvilCorp since 2019, organizations that fall victim to this attack face a difficult dilemma: paying the ransom is illegal and can lead to substantial fines from the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. This situation is further complicated by the fact that EvilCorp affiliates are known to rebrand their ransomware and become affiliates of other RaaS operations. The partnership between EvilCorp and RansomHub highlights the evolving and increasingly complex nature of the cybercrime landscape. Maksim Yakubets, a figure reportedly at the helm of EvilCorp, has a long-standing involvement in high-profile hacking campaigns and has been connected to the LockBit ransomware and the Dridex Banking Trojan. The use of Microsoft Teams and other tools to spread malware via vishing scams further demonstrates the diverse range of tactics employed by these threat actors. Cybersecurity experts advise organizations to be vigilant, monitor for PowerShell commands in Teams messages, and investigate any unusual use of Quick Assist or signed binaries running from unexpected locations. Recommended read:
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Bill Mann@CyberInsider
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CISA, along with the NSA, FBI, and international cybersecurity partners, has issued a joint advisory regarding the increasing use of the "fast flux" technique by cybercriminals and nation-state actors. This DNS evasion method allows attackers to rapidly change the DNS records associated with their malicious servers, making it difficult to track and block their activities. This tactic is used to obfuscate the location of malicious servers, enabling them to create resilient and highly available command and control infrastructures while concealing malicious operations.
Fast flux, characterized by quickly changing IP addresses linked to a single domain, exploits weaknesses in network defenses. The advisory, titled 'Fast Flux: A National Security Threat,' urges organizations, internet service providers (ISPs), and security firms to strengthen their defenses against these attacks. Service providers, especially Protective DNS providers (PDNS), are urged to track, share information, and block fast flux activity to safeguard critical infrastructure and national security. Recommended read:
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Nazy Fouladirad@AI Accelerator Institute
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hiddenlayer.com
, AI Accelerator Institute
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As generative AI adoption rapidly increases, securing investments in these technologies has become a paramount concern for organizations. Companies are beginning to understand the critical need to validate and secure the underlying large language models (LLMs) that power their Gen AI products. Failing to address these security vulnerabilities can expose systems to exploitation by malicious actors, emphasizing the importance of proactive security measures.
Microsoft is addressing these concerns through innovations in Microsoft Purview, which offers a comprehensive set of solutions aimed at helping customers seamlessly secure and confidently activate data in the AI era. Complementing these efforts, Fiddler AI is focusing on building trust into AI systems through its AI Observability platform. This platform emphasizes explainability and transparency. They are helping enterprise AI teams deliver responsible AI applications, and also ensure people interacting with AI receive fair, safe, and trustworthy responses. This involves continuous monitoring, robust security measures, and strong governance practices to establish long-term responsible AI strategies across all products. The emergence of agentic AI, which can plan, reason, and take autonomous action to achieve complex goals, further underscores the need for enhanced security measures. Agentic AI systems extend the capabilities of LLMs by adding memory, tool access, and task management, allowing them to operate more like intelligent agents than simple chatbots. Organizations must ensure security and oversight are essential to safe deployment. Gartner research indicates a significant portion of organizations plan to pursue agentic AI initiatives, making it crucial to address potential security risks associated with these systems. Recommended read:
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Matt Kapko@CyberScoop
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Threats | CyberScoop
, SiliconANGLE
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A new report from Cisco Talos reveals that identity-based attacks were the dominant form of cyber incident in 2024, accounting for 60% of all incidents. Cybercriminals are increasingly relying on compromised user accounts and credentials rather than sophisticated malware or zero-day exploits. This shift highlights a significant weakness in enterprise security, with attackers finding it easier and safer to log in using stolen credentials than to deploy more complex attack methods. These attacks targeted Active Directory in 44% of cases and leveraged cloud application programming interfaces in 20% of attacks.
This trend is further exacerbated by weaknesses in multi-factor authentication (MFA). Common MFA failures observed included the absence of MFA on virtual private networks, MFA exhaustion/push fatigue, and improper enrollment monitoring. The primary motivations behind these identity-based attacks were ransomware (50%), credential harvesting and resale (32%), espionage (10%), and financial fraud (8%). These incidents underscore the critical need for organizations to bolster their identity and access management strategies, including stronger password policies, robust MFA implementations, and enhanced monitoring of Active Directory environments. Recommended read:
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@itpro.com
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Cybersecurity firm Resecurity successfully infiltrated the BlackLock ransomware gang's network by exploiting a local file inclusion vulnerability on their data leak site (DLS). This vulnerability, a misconfiguration in the site, allowed Resecurity to access the gang's network infrastructure, configuration files, and even account credentials. By gaining access, Resecurity could observe the gang's operations, identify potential victims, and alert both the victims and authorities, providing valuable insights into the gang's modus operandi.
Resecurity's actions have provided law enforcement with crucial information about BlackLock, also known as El Dorado, which had successfully attacked at least 46 organizations worldwide. The compromised DLS revealed that the gang was actively recruiting affiliates to spread the ransomware further. By uncovering the gang's methods and infrastructure, Resecurity has potentially disrupted BlackLock's operations and protected numerous organizations from falling victim to their attacks. Recommended read:
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Microsoft Threat@Microsoft Security Blog
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Microsoft Security Blog
, Schneier on Security
The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted 12 Chinese individuals for over a decade of global hacking intrusions, including a breach of the U.S. Treasury last year. The individuals include eight staffers for the contractor i-Soon, two officials at China’s Ministry of Public Security, and two other alleged hackers belonging to the APT27 group, also known as Silk Typhoon. The group is accused of targeting U.S. state and federal agencies, foreign ministries across Asia, Chinese dissidents, and U.S.-based media outlets critical of the Chinese government.
Microsoft Threat Intelligence has detected a new variant of XCSSET, a macOS malware targeting Xcode projects, since 2022. This variant features enhanced obfuscation, updated persistence mechanisms, and new infection strategies. It steals and exfiltrates files and system/user information, including digital wallet data and notes. The malware's modular approach and encoded payloads make detection and removal challenging, even allowing it to remain fileless. Recommended read:
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Andy Greenberg@Security Latest
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The US Justice Department has charged 12 Chinese nationals, including government officials and alleged hackers, in connection with a broad cyberespionage campaign. The individuals are accused of participating in a decade-long wave of cyberattacks around the globe, including a breach of the US Treasury Department. The charges highlight the existence of a "hackers for hire" system, allegedly supported by the Chinese government, to carry out digital intrusions worldwide.
Silk Typhoon, identified as the Chinese hacker group APT27, is among those implicated in the US Treasury breach. This group is a Chinese state actor focused on espionage campaigns targeting a wide range of industries in the US and throughout the world. Microsoft Threat Intelligence has tracked Silk Typhoon's ongoing attacks since late 2024, revealing their preferred method of breaking into victims' environments using stolen API keys and cloud credentials, particularly targeting IT companies and government agencies. Recommended read:
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