espionage

Sonatype reports in a recent white paper on a noticeable increase in malware discoveries in open‑source artifacts. In the analysis »Sonatype uncovers global espionage campaign in open source ecosystems« on sonatype.com, the company details how many infected packages they counted. Between January and July 2025, Sonatype blocked 234 unique malware packages traced to Lazarus across npm and PyPI. These packages mimic popular developer tools but function as espionage implants, designed to steal secrets, profile hosts, and open persistent backdoors into critical infrastructure. The campaign reveals over 36,000 potential victims — and counting. ...

Ellen Nakashima, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Joseph Menn write in »Global hack on Microsoft product hits U.S., state agencies, researchers say« for washingtonpost.com What’s also alarming, researchers said, is that the hackers have gained access to keys that may allow them to regain entry even after a system is patched. Once again, a security vulnerability in Microsoft’s software was exploited. And of course: no system is completely secure. But when almost everyone uses the same software, a single flaw becomes a widespread risk. That’s exactly the case with Microsoft Office, SharePoint, or Windows. ...