Heroes, thanks for staying on post. Here's a detailed look at the current cybersecurity landscape for August 24, 2025.
CRITICAL ITEMSDate & Time: 2025-08-24T08:36:38
FortiGuard Labs is tracking a new campaign by the resurfaced Mirai-based Gayfemboy botnet, which has evolved to target IoT systems worldwide. This resurgence poses a significant threat to unpatched and poorly secured IoT devices, which can be co-opted for large-scale DDoS attacks and further network intrusion. Organizations should prioritize patching and network segmentation for all IoT assets.
CVE Details: n/a
Source: Security Affairs
Date & Time: 2025-08-24T08:00:06
The latest malware roundup from Security Affairs features an analysis of the ERMAC V3.0 banking trojan, based on research from Hunt.io. This malware family continues to evolve, posing a persistent threat to financial data and user credentials on compromised systems. The continued development of such trojans underscores the importance of endpoint protection and user awareness against phishing and malicious downloads.
CVE Details: n/a
Source: Security Affairs
Date & Time: 2025-08-23T15:00:00
Security Boulevard is highlighting video content from the BSidesSF 2025 conference. Recently published talks include "How To Tame Your Dragon: Productionizing Agentic Apps Reliably And Securely" and "Versus Killnet," providing valuable insights from recent security research into AI security and hacktivist groups.
Source: Security Boulevard (Agentic Apps), Security Boulevard (Killnet)
EXECUTIVE INSIGHTSDate & Time: 2025-08-23T21:00:00
Security leaders are urged to re-evaluate traditional, human-centric security measures in the face of proliferating non-human identities (NHIs) like machine identities and service accounts. Effective security now requires robust secrets scanning and automated secrets rotation to mitigate the risks posed by these NHIs. This strategic shift is critical for maintaining data integrity and preventing breaches originating from compromised machine identities.
Source: Entro Security (Adapting to NHIs), Entro Security (Secrets Rotation), Entro Security (Secrets Scanning)
VENDOR SPOTLIGHTSpotlight Rationale: Fortinet's FortiGuard Labs was the primary source identifying the resurgence of the Gayfemboy IoT botnet, a critical threat in today's rundown.
Threat Context: IoT under siege: The return of the Mirai-based Gayfemboy Botnet
Platform Focus: Fortinet (FortiGuard Labs, FortiGate, FortiNAC)
Fortinet's integrated security fabric provides multiple layers of defense against IoT threats like the Gayfemboy botnet. FortiGuard Labs provides the threat intelligence to identify new variants and attack vectors. FortiGate firewalls can use this intelligence to block C2 traffic and prevent exploitation of known vulnerabilities, while FortiNAC offers network access control to identify, segment, and enforce policies on IoT devices as they connect to the network, limiting the potential attack surface.
Actionable Platform Guidance: Implement IoT-specific firewall policies on FortiGate devices to restrict outbound traffic to only necessary services. Utilize FortiNAC to create device profiles for all connected IoT devices, automatically placing unknown or non-compliant devices into a quarantined VLAN until they can be remediated. Ensure FortiGuard IoT Security Service subscriptions are active to receive the latest signatures for botnets and exploits.
Source: Security Affairs
DETECTION & RESPONSE KIT⚠️ Disclaimer: Test all detection logic in non-production environments before deployment.
1. YARA Rule for Mirai-based Botnets
rule SUSP_Mirai_Gayfemboy_Variant {
meta:
description = "Detects common characteristics of Mirai-based botnets like Gayfemboy, including scanner strings and initial setup commands."
author = "Threat Rundown"
date = "2025-08-24"
reference = "https://securityaffairs.com/?p=181480"
strings:
$busybox = "/bin/busybox"
$scanner_str1 = "GET / HTTP/1.0"
$c2_cmd1 = "ECCHI"
$elf_header = { 7f 45 4c 46 } // ELF file header
condition:
$elf_header at 0 and all of ($busybox, $scanner_str1, $c2_cmd1)
}2. SIEM Query — IoT Botnet Beaconing
// Splunk Search
`network_traffic` dest_port IN (23, 2323, 443, 80, 5555)
| stats dc(dest_ip) as unique_destinations, values(dest_ip) as destinations by src_ip
| where unique_destinations > 20
| `comment("This query identifies internal source IPs making connections to a high number of unique external IPs on common botnet C2 or scanning ports, which may indicate infection.")`3. PowerShell Script — Local Network Vulnerable Port Scan
# Scans a local subnet for common IoT management ports often targeted by malware.
$subnet = "192.168.1." # IMPORTANT: Change to your local subnet
$ports = 22, 23, 80, 443, 8080, 2323
Write-Host "Scanning subnet $subnet* for open ports: $ports"
for ($i = 1; $i -lt 255; $i++) {
$ip = $subnet + $i
foreach ($port in $ports) {
$result = Test-NetConnection -ComputerName $ip -Port $port -WarningAction SilentlyContinue -InformationLevel Quiet
if ($result.TcpTestSucceeded) {
Write-Host "[ALERT] Open port found on $ip`:$port" -ForegroundColor Red
}
}
}
Write-Host "Scan complete."This rundown should provide a solid overview of the current threat landscape. Thank you to all our cyberheroes for your diligence and hard work. Stay vigilant!