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New Chaos Malware Variant Expands to Cloud Targets, Introduces Proxy Capability

  A newly observed version of the Chaos malware is now targeting poorly secured cloud environments, indicating a defining shift in how this ...

All the recent news you need to know
user data security
Apple Privacy cybersecurity risks Data protection Email Anonymity email encryption Hide My Email Law Enforcement Access Privacy user data security

Apple Reinforces Digital Privacy for Users Without Restricting Law Enforcement Oversight


 

The company has long positioned its privacy architecture as a defining aspect of its ecosystem, marketing it as more than a feature, but a fundamental right built into its products as well. However, the latest disclosures emerging from US legal proceedings suggest that privacy boundaries are neither absolute nor impermeable, and that a more nuanced reality emerges. 

It is the "Hide My Email" function that is under scrutiny, a tool designed to hide users' real email addresses from third-party apps and websites. Despite its success in minimizing commercial tracking and unsolicited exposure, recent legal revelations indicate that this layer of anonymity can be effectively reversed under lawful authority to ensure effectiveness. 

Moreover, the development highlights the important distinction between consumer privacy assurances and judicial obligations imposed by technology companies, reframing conditional anonymity as a controlled filter operating within clearly defined legal limits rather than as a cloak of invisibility. 

Subsequent disclosures from investigative proceedings provide additional insight into how this conditional anonymity works in practice. Apple has received a request from federal authorities, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, for subscriber information regarding a threatening communication directed at Alexis Wilkins, a person who was reported to have been associated with FBI Director Kash Patel.

According to the warrant application, Apple was able to correlate the anonymized "Hide My Email" alias to a specific user account by providing details on subscriber identification along with a wider dataset that contained over a hundred additional aliases created under the same profile. It was found that Homeland Security Investigations investigated an alleged identity fraud operation in a similar manner, in which multiple masked email identities were linked to Apple accounts under underlying identity fraud schemes, allowing investigators to consolidate disparate digital footprints into one framework for attribution. 

Collectively, these examples reveal an important structural aspect of Apple's ecosystem: while certain layers of iCloud services are protected by end-to-end encryption, a portion of account and communication information is still accessible under valid legal processes. Despite the fact that subscriber information, including names, billing credentials, and associated identifiers, remains within the compliance boundary rather than a cryptographic boundary, which does not contain end-to-end encryption of the content. 

The delineation reinforces an issue of broader significance to the industry, in which conventional email infrastructure is built without pervasive encryption safeguards, making it inherently vulnerable to lawful interception by its users. It is against this backdrop that privacy-conscious individuals are increasingly turning to platforms such as Signal, which offer default end-to-end encryption and minimal data retention. 

As for Apple, it has not responded directly to these developments, although the disclosures have prompted a review of how privacy assurances are communicated and understood within technologically advanced and legally obligated environments. A sustained increase in government access requests against major technology providers is reflective of the context in which these disclosures are made. 

According to Apple's transparency data, it processed more than 13,000 such requests for customer information during the first half of 2025, with email-related records contributing significantly to account attribution, threat analysis, and criminal investigations due to their evidentiary value. Nevertheless, this dynamic is not limited to Apple's ecosystem.

Similar constraints exist among providers such as Google and Microsoft, where legacy email protocols - architected in an era before modern encryption standards - continue to limit the amount of privacy protection inherent within their systems. Although niche services such as Proton have attempted to address this issue by implementing end-to-end encryption by design, their adoption remains marginal relative to the global email user base, which underscores the persistence of structurally exposed communication channels within this environment. 

Apple’s position is especially interesting in light of the divergence between its privacy-oriented messaging and its email infrastructure's technical realities. Hide My Email provides demonstrably reduced exposure to commercial tracking and data aggregation, however it does not alter the underlying compliance model governing lawful data access. 

The distinction has re-ignited an ongoing policy debate around encryption, a controversy Apple has previously encountered with the use of iMessage and other Apple services. Regulations and law enforcement agencies contend that inaccessible communications impede legitimate investigations, and extending comparable end-to-end encryption to iCloud Mail may result in renewed friction.

In contrast, privacy advocates contend that any lowering of encryption standards introduces systemic security risks. Thus, email privacy remains a compromise governed both by legal frameworks as well as engineering decisions at present. 

It is common for users seeking stronger privacy to rely on specialized encryption platforms, but such platforms present usability constraints and interoperability challenges with the larger email ecosystem. There is an important distinction to be drawn from recent federal requests: privacy controls designed to limit the visibility of corporate data do not automatically ensure that government access is restricted. 

The implementation of Apple's products is within this boundary, balancing user expectations with statutory obligations. However, there remains a considerable gap between perceptions and operational realities that calls for reevaluation. It is unclear if the company will extend its end-to-end encryption model to email services, particularly in light of the political and regulatory implications of such a shift. 

It is important to note that privacy is not a binary guarantee, but rather a layered construct that is shaped by both technical design and legal jurisdiction as a result of the developments. As such, organizations and individuals alike should reassess their threat models, identifying clearly between protections required for sensitive communications as opposed to protections against commercial data exposure. 

In cases where confidentiality is extremely important, standard email services may be insufficient, which necessitates selective adoption of stronger encryption techniques, secure communication channels, and disciplined data handling procedures. As a result of clear, and often misunderstood, boundaries within which privacy features operate, informed usage remains the most reliable safeguard in an environment where privacy features operate within clearly defined boundaries.
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Technology
AI ChatGPT Duck.ai DuckDuckGo Gemini GenAI Google Technology

How Duck.ai Offer Better Privacy Compared to Commercial Chatbots


Better privacy with DuckDuckGo's AI bot

Privacy issues have always bothered users and business organizations. With the rapid adoption of AI, the threats are also rising. DuckDuckGo’s Duck.ai chatbot benefits from this.

The latest report from Similarweb revealed that traffic to Duck.ai increased rapidly last month. The traffic recorded 11.1 million visits in February 2026, 300% more than January. 

Duck.ai's sudden traffic jump

The statistics seem small when compared with the most popular chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. 

Similarweb estimates that ChatGPT recorded 5.4 billion visits in February 2026, and Google’s Gemini recorded 2.1 billion, whereas Claude recorded 290.3 million. 

For DuckDuckGo, the numbers show a good sign, as the bot was launched as beta in 2025, and has shown a sharp rise in visits. 

DuckDuckGo browser is known for its privacy, and the company aims to apply the same principle to its AI bot. Duck.ai doesn't run a bespoke LLM, it uses frontier models from Meta, Anthropic, and OpenAI, but it doesn't expose your IP address and personal data. 

Duck.ai's privacy policy reads, "In addition, we have agreements in place with all model providers that further limit how they can use data from these anonymous requests, including not using Prompts and Outputs to develop or improve their models, as well as deleting all information received once it is no longer necessary to provide Outputs (at most within 30 days, with limited exceptions for safety and legal compliance),”

Duck.ai is famous now

What is the reason for this sudden surge? The bot has two advantages over individual commercial bots like ChatGPT and Gemini, it offers an option to toggle between multiple models and better privacy security. The privacy aspect sets it apart. Users on Reddit have praised Duck.ai, one person noting "it's way better than Google's," which means Gemini. 

Privacy concerns in AI bots

In March, Anthropic rejected a few applications of its technology for mass surveillance and weapons submitted by the Department of Defense. The DoD retaliated by breaking the contract. Soon after, OpenAI stepped in. 

The incident stirred controversies around privacy concerns and ethical AI use. This explains why users may prefer chatbots like Duck.ai that safeguard user data from both the government and the big tech. 

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Malware attacks
ClickFix ClickFix Attack Cyber Attacks data security Data Theft Infostealer Infostealer Malware leaked sensitive data Mac OS Malware attacks

Infiniti Stealer Targets Mac Users with ClickFix Social Engineering Attack

 

Not stopping at typical malware tricks, Infiniti Stealer targets Macs using clever social manipulation instead of system flaws. Security firm Malwarebytes uncovered the operation, highlighting how it dodges standard protection tools. Once inside, the software slips under the radar easily. What stands out is its reliance on tricking users, not breaking through digital walls. 

Starting off, attackers rely on a technique called ClickFix, tricking people into running harmful software without realizing it. Instead of clear warnings, users land on fake websites designed to look real - usually through deceptive emails or infected links. These pages imitate trusted security checks used by Cloudflare, copying their layout closely. A common "I am not a robot" checkbox shows up first. Then comes misleading directions hidden inside what seems like normal steps. Though simple at glance, each piece nudges victims toward unintended actions.  

Spotlight pops up when users start the process, guiding them toward finding Terminal. Once there, they run an unfamiliar line of code by pasting it directly. What seems like a small task hides its real intent - execution happens under human control, so security tools often stand down. The trick works because actions led by people rarely trigger alarms, even if those actions carry risk. Hidden behind normal behavior, the command slips through defenses without raising flags. 

Execution triggers installation of Infiniti Stealer onto the system. Though built in Python, it becomes a standalone macOS executable through compilation with Nuitka. Because of this conversion, detection by security software weakens. Analysis grows more difficult when facing such repackaged threats instead of standard interpreted scripts. Stealth improves simply by changing how the code runs.  

Once installed, it starts pulling private details from the compromised device. Things like stored login credentials, web history including cookies, snapshots of screens appear among what gets gathered. From there, the data flows toward remote machines managed by hackers - opening doors to hijacked accounts or stolen identities. What leaves the machine often fuels more invasive misuse downstream. What stands out is how this campaign signals a change in the way attackers operate. 

Moving away from technical flaws or harmful file attachments, they now lean heavily on manipulating people’s actions - especially by abusing their confidence in everyday website features such as CAPTCHA challenges. When unsure, steer clear of directions from unknown online sources - particularly if they involve running Terminal commands. Real authentication processes never ask people to enter scripts into core system utilities. 

When signs of infection appear, stop using the device without delay. Security professionals suggest changing credentials through an unaffected system right away. Access tokens tied to the infected hardware should be invalidated promptly. A different machine must handle these updates to prevent further exposure.
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Vulnerabilities and Exploits
EMS Platform Fortinet FortiClient SQL Vulnerabilities and Exploits

Critical Fortinet FortiClient EMS Flaw Now Actively Exploited in Cyberattacks

 

A critical vulnerability in Fortinet’s FortiClient EMS platform is now being actively exploited in real‑world attacks, according to threat‑intelligence firm Defused. Tracked as CVE‑2026‑21643, this SQL injection bug affects FortiClient EMS version 7.4.4 and allows unauthenticated attackers to run arbitrary code or commands through the platform’s web interface. The flaw can be triggered by specially crafted HTTP requests that smuggle malicious SQL statements via the Site header, giving an attacker a powerful foothold on unpatched systems. 

Modus operandi 

The vulnerability lives in the FortiClient EMS GUI, which organizations use to manage and deploy Forticlient endpoints across their networks. By manipulating the Site header in an HTTP request, an attacker can inject SQL code into the back‑end database, bypassing authentication entirely. This “low‑complexity” attack vector means that even unsophisticated adversaries can weaponize the bug if they can reach the exposed web interface. Because the flaw is critical, it can lead to full system compromise, data theft, or a springboard into a broader corporate network. 

Defused reported that it observed the first exploitation of CVE‑2026‑21643 just four days after the initial vulnerability disclosures. The firm noted that over 900 FortiClient EMS instances are publicly exposed on the internet according to Shodan data, giving attackers a large pool of potential targets. Meanwhile, Internet‑security watchdog Shadowserver is tracking more than 2,000 exposed FortiClient EMS web interfaces, with over 1,400 IPs located in the United States and Europe. Despite this, Fortinet has not yet updated its advisory to mark the bug as “exploited in the wild,” even though a local media outlet reached out to confirm active attacks. 

Fortinet vulnerabilities have repeatedly been abused in ransomware and cyber‑espionage campaigns, often as zero‑days while patches are still rolling out. In the case of FortiClient EMS, prior SQL injection flaws were exploited in ransomware attacks and by state‑sponsored groups such as China’s “Salt Typhoon” to breach telecom providers. CISA has already flagged 24 Fortinet vulnerabilities as known‑exploited, 13 of which were tied directly to ransomware. That history makes this new FortiClient EMS bug a high‑priority item for organizations relying on Fortinet for endpoint security.

Mitigation tips 

Fortinet recommends upgrading affected FortiClient EMS systems to version 7.4.5 or later to close the CVE‑2026‑21643 vulnerability. Organizations should also review their internet‑exposed EMS interfaces and, where possible, restrict access behind VPNs or firewalls instead of leaving the GUI wide open online. In parallel, IT and security teams should hunt for anomalous database or system‑level activity that might indicate prior exploitation, such as unexpected command execution or lateral movement from the EMS server. Given Fortinet’s track record as a prime target for ransomware actors, patching this flaw quickly and validating exposure can significantly reduce the risk of a major breach.
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Malware attacks
Atomic macOS Malware Crypto Theft Cyber Attacks Info Stealer Info Stealing Malware leaked sensitive data Mac OS Malware attacks

Infinity Stealer Targets macOS Using ClickFix Trick and Python-Based Malware

 

A newly identified information-stealing malware, dubbed Infinity Stealer, is targeting macOS users through a sophisticated attack chain that blends social engineering with advanced evasion techniques. Security researchers at Malwarebytes report that this is the first known campaign combining the ClickFix technique with a Python-based payload compiled using the Nuitka compiler. The attack begins with a deceptive prompt designed to resemble a legitimate human verification step from Cloudflare. Victims are presented with a fake CAPTCHA and instructed to paste a command into the macOS Terminal to complete the verification. This method, known as ClickFix, tricks users into bypassing built-in operating system protections by executing malicious commands themselves. 

Once the command is executed, it decodes a hidden script that downloads and launches the next stage of the malware. The payload is compiled into a native macOS binary using Nuitka, which converts Python code into C-based executables. This approach makes the malware significantly harder to detect and analyze compared to traditional Python-based threats that rely on bytecode packaging tools. The infection chain unfolds in multiple stages. After the initial script runs, it installs a loader that extracts the final malware payload. Before initiating its malicious activities, the malware performs checks to determine whether it is running in a virtual or sandboxed environment, helping it evade detection by security tools.  

Once active, Infinity Stealer begins harvesting sensitive information from the infected system. This includes login credentials stored in Chromium-based browsers and Firefox, entries from the macOS Keychain, cryptocurrency wallet data, and plaintext secrets found in developer files such as .env configurations. It can also capture screenshots, adding another layer of data collection. The stolen information is then transmitted to attacker-controlled servers via HTTP requests. 

Additionally, notifications are sent through Telegram to alert threat actors when data exfiltration is complete, enabling real-time monitoring of compromised systems. Researchers warn that this campaign highlights the growing sophistication of threats targeting macOS, a platform often perceived as more secure. The use of social engineering combined with advanced compilation techniques demonstrates how attackers are evolving their methods to bypass traditional defenses. Users are strongly advised to avoid executing unknown commands in Terminal, especially those obtained from untrusted sources, as such actions can directly compromise system security.
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Omnistealer
Developers GitHub malware North Korea Omnistealer

Malware Hidden in Blockchain Networks Is Quietly Targeting Developers Worldwide



A new investigation has uncovered a cyberattack method that uses blockchain networks to quietly distribute malware, raising concerns among security researchers about how difficult it may be to stop once it spreads further.

The threat first surfaced when a senior engineering executive at Crystal Intelligence received a freelance opportunity through LinkedIn. The message appeared routine, asking him to review and run code hosted on GitHub. However, the request resembled a known tactic used by a North Korean-linked group often referred to as Contagious Interview, which relies on fake job offers to target developers.

Instead of proceeding, the executive examined the code and found something unusual. Hidden within it was the beginning of a multi-step attack designed to look harmless. A developer following normal instructions would likely execute it without noticing anything suspicious.

Once activated, the code connects to blockchain networks such as TRON and Aptos, which are commonly used because of their low transaction costs. These networks do not contain the malware itself but instead store information that directs the program to another blockchain, Binance Smart Chain. From there, the final malicious payload is retrieved and executed.

Researchers say this last stage installs a powerful data-stealing tool known as “Omnistealer.” According to analysts working with Ransom-ISAC, the malware is designed to extract a wide range of sensitive data. It can access more than 60 cryptocurrency wallet extensions, including MetaMask and Coinbase Wallet, as well as over 10 password managers such as LastPass. It also targets major browsers like Chrome and Firefox and can pull data from cloud storage services like Google Drive. This means attackers are not just stealing cryptocurrency, but also login credentials and internal access to company systems.

What initially looked like a simple phishing attempt turned out to be far more layered. By placing parts of the attack inside blockchain transactions, the attackers have created a system that is extremely difficult to dismantle. Data stored on blockchains cannot easily be removed, which means parts of this malware infrastructure could remain accessible for years.

Researchers believe the scale of this operation could grow rapidly. Some have compared its potential reach to the WannaCry ransomware attack, which disrupted hundreds of thousands of systems worldwide. In this case, however, the method is quieter and more flexible, which may allow it to spread further before being detected. At the same time, investigators are still unsure what the attackers ultimately intend to do with the access they gain.

Further analysis has revealed possible links to North Korean cyber actors. Investigators traced parts of the activity to an IP address in Vladivostok, a location that has previously appeared in investigations involving North Korean operations. Research cited by NATO has noted that North Korea expanded its internet routing through Russia several years ago. Additional findings from Trend Micro connect similar infrastructure to earlier campaigns involving fake recruiters.

The number of affected victims is already significant. Researchers estimate that around 300,000 credentials have been exposed so far, although they believe the real figure could be much higher. Impacted organizations include cybersecurity firms, defense contractors, financial companies, and government entities in countries such as the United States and Bangladesh.

The attackers rely heavily on deception to gain access. In some cases, they pose as recruiters and convince developers to run infected code as part of a hiring process. In others, they present themselves as freelance developers and introduce malicious code directly into company systems through platforms like GitHub.

Developers in rapidly growing tech ecosystems appear to be a key focus. India, for example, has seen a surge in new contributors on GitHub and ranks among the top countries for cryptocurrency adoption. Researchers suggest that a combination of high developer activity and economic incentives may make such regions more vulnerable to these tactics.

Initial contact is typically made through platforms such as LinkedIn, Upwork, Telegram, and Discord. Representatives from these platforms have advised users to be cautious, particularly when asked to download files or execute unfamiliar code outside controlled environments.

Not all targeted organizations appear strategically important, which suggests the attackers may be casting a wide net. However, the presence of defense and security-related entities among the victims raises more serious concerns about potential intelligence-gathering objectives.

Security experts say this campaign reflects a broader shift in how attacks are being designed. Instead of relying on a single point of failure, attackers are combining social engineering, publicly accessible code platforms, and decentralized infrastructure. The use of blockchain in particular adds a layer of persistence that traditional security tools are not designed to handle.

As investigations continue, researchers warn that this may only be an early stage of a much larger problem. The combination of hidden delivery methods, long-term persistence, and unclear intent makes this campaign especially difficult to predict and contain.

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