Hackers have weaponized Microsoft Teams—once a trusted corporate collaboration tool—into a vector for extortion, ransomware, and social engineering.
Groups like Octo Tempest infiltrate organizations by hijacking multi-factor authentication (MFA) credentials through social engineering. Once inside, they send threatening messages directly to defenders and incident-response teams to pressure for ransom payments.
Microsoft warned that Teams abuse is part of a wider attack chain targeting sensitive data and financial systems. Experts recommend tightening identity protection, reinforcing endpoint security, and restricting Teams client permissions to blunt this trend.
From Crypto Heists to AI Propaganda
Meanwhile, North Korean hackers are suspected of stealing more than $2 billion (₹16,700 crore) in cryptocurrencies this year—the largest total ever recorded. Analysts say the regime’s cyber-operations now fund nuclear programs and rely on fake résumés, deepfakes, and remote-work infiltration to gain access to global firms.
In another corner of cyberspace, The Citizen Lab exposed an Israeli-linked AI disinformation campaign—code-named PRISONBREAK—which used deepfakes to push propaganda in Iran. The effort highlights how AI-generated misinformation is becoming a geopolitical weapon.
FCRF Launches CCLP Program to Train India’s Next Generation of Cyber Law Practitioners
Apple, Tesla, and IoT Devices Under Scrutiny
France has opened an investigation into Apple over claims that Siri recordings captured intimate conversations, raising fresh privacy concerns.
Separately, researchers discovered a Tesla telematics unit vulnerability that could allow attackers to execute code with root privileges, while flaws in the YoLink Smart Hub could let hackers unlock smart doors or access home Wi-Fi credentials in plaintext.
Adding to the growing list of IoT risks, a Chrome extension malware campaign called BlackStink is draining bank accounts in Latin America by taking remote control of browser sessions.
The “Mic-E-Mouse” Attack: When a Mouse Listens
Perhaps the most surreal revelation this week came from UC Irvine researchers, who turned an optical gaming mouse into a microphone capable of recording speech vibrations with 61 percent accuracy.
The exploit—nicknamed “Mic-E-Mouse”—can capture conversations in air-gapped environments by converting tiny surface vibrations into audio signals, which are then reconstructed by an AI model.
The researchers warn that open-source creative software and gaming platforms could be ideal carriers for such exploits, reminding defenders that even a $35 mouse can become a listening device in the wrong hands.
