HP warns customers of emerging cybersecurity threats
HP Inc. has sounded the alarm over a new cybersecurity threat uncovered by its security researchers.
In its latest HP threat insight report, HP highlights the rising usage of fake Captcha verification tests used to trick users into infecting themselves with malware, noting that other notable threats include attackers using obfuscated Python scripts to install the malware and malware that could enable attackers to access and control users’ webcams and microphones.
According to HP, the trend shows that attackers are capitalising on people’s increasing familiarity with completing multiple authentication steps online, a trend HP calls ‘click tolerance’.
HP said, “With analysis of real-world cyberattacks, the HP threat insights report helps organisations to keep up with the latest techniques cyber criminals are using to evade detection and breach PCs.
“Based on data from millions of endpoints running HP Wolf Security1, notable campaigns identified by HP threat researchers include:
“Captcha me if you can: As bots get better at bypassing Captchas, authentication has grown more elaborate – meaning users have become more accustomed to jumping through hoops to prove they are human. HP threat researchers identified multiple campaigns where attackers crafted malicious Captchas.
“Users were directed to attacker-controlled sites and prompted to complete a range of fake authentication challenges. Victims were tricked into running a malicious PowerShell command on their PC that ultimately installed the Lumma Stealer remote access trojan (RAT).
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“Attackers capable of accessing end-users webcams and microphones to spy on victims: A second campaign saw attackers spreading an open source RAT, XenoRAT, with advanced surveillance features such as microphone and webcam capture. Using social engineering techniques to convince users to enable macros in Word and Excel documents, attackers could control devices, exfiltrate data, and log keystrokes – showing that Word and Excel still present a risk for malware deployment.
“Python scripts used for Scalable Vector Graphic smuggling: Another notable campaign shows how attackers are delivering malicious JavaScript code inside SVG images to evade detection. These images are opened by default in web browsers and execute the embedded code to deploy seven payloads—including RATs and infostealers—offering redundancy and monetisation opportunities for the attacker.
“As part of the infection chain, the attackers also used obfuscated Python scripts to install the malware. Python’s popularity – which is being further boosted by rising interest in AI and data science – means it is an increasingly attractive language for attackers to write malware, as its interpreter is widely installed.
The Principal Threat Researcher, HP Security Lab, Patrick Schläpfer, said a common thread across these campaigns is the use of obfuscation and anti-analysis techniques to slow down investigations.
“Even simple but effective defence evasion techniques can delay the detection and response of security operations teams, making it harder to contain an intrusion. By using methods like direct system calls, attackers make it tougher for security tools to catch malicious activity, giving them more time to operate undetected – and compromise victims’ endpoints.
“By isolating threats that have evaded detection tools on PCs – but still allowing malware to detonate safely inside secure containers, HP Wolf Security has specific insight into the latest techniques used by cybercriminals.
“To date, HP Wolf Security customers have clicked on more than 65 billion email attachments, web pages, and downloaded files with no reported breaches,” Schläpfer noted.
The report, which examines data from calendar Q4 2024, details how cybercriminals continue to diversify attack methods to bypass security tools that rely on detection, adding that at least 11 per cent of email threats identified by HP sure click bypassed one or more email gateway scanners.
On his part, the Global Head of Security for Personal Systems at HP Inc., Dr Ian Pratt, said the multi-step authentication is now the norm, which is increasing its ‘click tolerance.
The research shows users will take multiple steps along an infection chain, really underscoring the shortcomings of cyber awareness training. Organisations are in an arms race with attackers—one that AI will only accelerate.
“To combat increasingly unpredictable threats, organisations should focus on shrinking their attack surface by isolating risky actions, such as clicking on things that could harm them. That way, they don’t need to predict the next attack; they’re already protected,” Pratt advised.
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