Cyber Security
FortiGuard Detects Long-Term Cyberattack on ME Infrastructure

A recent investigation by the FortiGuard Incident Response (FGIR) team has brought to light a persistent and deeply embedded cyber intrusion targeting critical national infrastructure (CNI) in the Middle East. The operation, attributed to a state-sponsored threat group, appears to have been driven by espionage and long-term strategic intent.
A Breach That Spanned Years
The intrusion spanned nearly two years, from May 2023 to February 2025, with signs of compromise dating back as far as May 2021. The attack unfolded in four distinct phases:
- May 2023 – April 2024 – Establishing a Foothold and Initial Operations: The adversary gained entry using stolen credentials and set up a presence within the organization’s systems. They installed backdoor programs and exploited publicly accessible servers to ensure they could return whenever needed. Once inside, they expanded their access by collecting additional credentials and moving across systems using the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and PsExec – a legitimate tool that allows users to run programs on remote systems for troubleshooting, deploying software updates and patches, and executing commands and scripts on multiple systems simultaneously.
- April 2024 – November 2024- Consolidating the Foothold: After establishing a foothold, the attackers strengthened their position by using tools to bypass security barriers and began gathering targeted email data. They extended their activities into systems supporting virtual environments, signalling a growing interest in more sensitive areas.
- November 2024 – December 2024 – Initial Remediation and Adversary Response: Once the victim organization became aware of the breach, it began taking steps to contain the threat. The attackers responded aggressively by deploying new tools in an attempt to regain control. This included deeper infiltration into key CNI network segments.
- December 2024 – Present – Intrusion Containment and Final Adversary Response: The organization eventually succeeded in locking out the attackers, but attackers attempted to re-enter via vulnerabilities in web applications and launched targeted phishing campaigns to steal credentials. Eventually, their multiple failed access attempts were detected and blocked.
The Network and Attack Path
The victim organization had a well-structured and highly segmented network, including a restricted and tightly controlled Operational Technology (OT) environment. While no confirmed disruption to OT systems was found, FortiGuard investigators found evidence of targeted reconnaissance and credential harvesting, indicating that the attackers were actively exploring the systems, suggesting they had future plans in mind.
Tools of Intrusion
The attackers used a mix of custom-built tools and stealthy techniques to avoid providers or platforms that could raise suspicion. They relied on VPS-hosted infrastructure, while avoiding U.S.-based providers. Notable malware variants used include:
- HanifNet – .NET-based backdoor for persistent access. The tool helps attackers maintain silent access.
- HXLibrary – Malicious IIS module used to gain deeper system control.
- NeoExpressRAT – Golang-based backdoor with hardcoded C2 communication. It is a program used to receive remote instructions.
- RemoteInjector – Loader for executing Havoc backdoors via scheduled tasks. It is used to reactivate dormant backdoors on command.
Lessons Learned and Defensive Recommendations
This incident is a stark reminder that state-sponsored cyber adversaries continue to target and compromise critical infrastructure. CNI remains a top target for advanced cyber attackers, and organizations should prioritize the following defensive measures:
- Enhance credential security by enforcing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for VPN and privileged accounts and implementing strict password policies with regular credential rotation.
- Strengthen network segmentation and monitoring to restrict lateral movement and implement zero-trust architecture with layered access controls.
- Improve endpoint and web security by conducting routine integrity checks on web-facing services and implementing application allowlisting to prevent unauthorized execution.
- Deploy behavioral analytics and EDR solutions to detect anomalies in real-time and conduct regular penetration testing and third-party security reviews.
- Ensure incident response preparedness by developing and testing cybersecurity playbooks for state-sponsored threats and deploying rapid detection and containment capabilities.
Strategic Implications
This investigation highlights the persistent and evolving nature of state-backed cyber threats targeting Middle Eastern CNIs. The attackers demonstrated advanced tactics to deeply embed themselves, evade detection, and sustain long-term access.
Despite containment efforts, the attacker has continued efforts to regain access, indicating a long-term strategic interest in this environment. Organizations must remain vigilant, continuously refining their detection and response strategies to defend against sophisticated, state-sponsored cyber campaigns.
Cloud
SentinelOne Simplifies Secure Cloud Migrations on AWS

SentinelOne today announced its participation in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Workload Migration Program. This initiative supports AWS Partner Network (APN) members with SaaS offerings on AWS to accelerate and streamline workload migrations.
Through the program, SentinelOne will provide AWS customers with accelerated, secure cloud migration support, leveraging modern AI-powered CNAPP capabilities to ensure rapid and protected transitions. With access to AWS funding, technical resources, and go-to-market support, SentinelOne will help organizations reduce migration timelines and costs while maintaining robust security.
SentinelOne’s Singularity Cloud Security delivers real-time visibility and protection throughout the migration journey—whether from on-premises or another cloud—enabling a secure, seamless transition to AWS.
“Through our participation in the AWS ISV Workload Migration Program, SentinelOne is helping customers accelerate secure cloud migrations with end-to-end protection and visibility,” said Ric Smith, President of Product, Technology, and Operations at SentinelOne. “Whether moving from on-prem or another cloud to AWS, organizations can count on us to deliver the security they need throughout their journey—realizing the performance, speed, agility, and cost benefits of the cloud.”
Singularity Cloud Security combines agentless and agent-based protection for deep visibility, continuous posture management, and real-time threat detection across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. By collaborating with AWS and ecosystem partners, SentinelOne ensures seamless integration into migration projects, helping customers move faster, reduce risk, and scale confidently in the cloud.
Availability: SentinelOne’s solutions are available globally.
Cyber Security
Beyond Blocklists: How Behavioural Intent Analysis Can Safeguard Middle East Businesses from Rising AI-Driven Bot Threats

The Middle East is facing an unprecedented surge in AI-driven bot attacks, with malicious automation now outpacing traditional defenses. Mohammad Ismail, Vice President for EMEA at Cequence Security, warns that legacy tools like IP blocklists and rate limiting are no match for today’s sophisticated threats (more…)
Cyber Security
Sophos Boosts Firewall with New Protection and Incident Response Features

Sophos has announced a significant update to its Sophos Firewall software, introducing enhanced protection and incident response capabilities. This update notably includes Sophos NDR Essential, a new feature now available free of charge to all customers holding an XStream Protection license for Sophos Firewall.
This integration empowers Sophos Firewall with two dedicated artificial intelligence (AI) engines specifically designed to detect both malware communications and those utilizing algorithmically generated domain names. This advanced functionality, derived from the Sophos Network Detection and Response (NDR) probe, aims to identify sophisticated malware communications even if they are previously unknown or not yet indexed. It serves as a powerful complement to the Active Threat Response capabilities already embedded within Sophos firewalls.

Chris McCormack, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Sophos
Addressing the technical demands of such advanced detection, Chris McCormack, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Sophos, explained the strategic approach, “NDR traffic analysis requires substantial processing power. That’s why we’ve adopted a new approach by deploying an NDR solution in Sophos Cloud to offload the heaviest tasks from the firewall.” This cloud-centric design ensures optimal performance without burdening the firewall’s on-device resources.
Beyond network detection, the update also brings significant improvements to connectivity and user authentication. Sophos Connect now integrates EntraID for Single Sign-On (SSO). This new feature for the VPN client, bundled with Sophos Firewall, is set to enhance both the security and user experience for SSL and IPsec VPN connections. The integration with EntraID (Azure AD) enables users to authenticate and leverage multi-factor authentication for both Sophos Connect and access to the user portal hosted by the firewall, streamlining secure access.
Further VPN-related enhancements include:
- Improved user interface and usability: Connection types have been renamed for greater clarity, with “site-to-site” now referred to as “policy-based” and tunnel interfaces as “route-based,” making configurations more intuitive.
- Dynamic validation of the IP address pool: For VPN connections (SSL VPN, IPsec, L2TP, and PPTP), the system now dynamically validates the allocated IP address pool, helping to better resolve potential IP address conflicts.
- Strict profile enforcement: IPsec profiles now exclude default values to ensure algorithm synchronization, effectively eliminating potential fragmentation of session negotiation packets that could otherwise prevent site-to-site VPN tunnels from being established.
- Route-based VPN and SD-RED scalability: The system has been optimized to support up to 3,000 simultaneously established tunnels. Specifically, Sophos Firewall solutions can now manage up to 1,000 SD-RED site-to-site tunnels and connect up to 650 concurrent SD-RED devices.
Additional management improvements enhance administrative flexibility and search capabilities:
- More flexible DHCP Prefix Delegation (IPv6 DHCP-PD): The system now supports a broader range of prefixes, from /48 to /64, improving compatibility with various internet service providers.
- Router Advertisement (RA) and DHCPv6 server: These features are now enabled by default, simplifying IPv6 network setup.
- Resizable table columns: The web admin interface continues its adaptation for ultra-wide screens, with many configuration pages now allowing users to resize columns as needed for improved usability.
- Enhanced object search functionality: The search field within the SD-WAN routing configuration screen now supports more granular criteria, including route name, ID, objects, and object values like IP addresses and domains. Similarly, local ACL rules now also support object name and value searches, extending to content-based searches for more precise results.
- Default configuration changes: To streamline initial setups, default firewall rules and rule groups previously created during new firewall deployments have been removed. The initial configuration now only includes the default network rule and MTA rules. Furthermore, the default firewall rule group and the default gateway probe for custom gateways are now set to “None” by default.
Sophos continues its commitment to cybersecurity through a “Secure by Design” approach, enhancing the intrinsic security of its firewalls. This methodology involves the containerization of specific features and rigorous integrity checks on critical operating system files using mathematical checksums. Any detected checksum mismatch triggers a potential compromise alert, enabling monitoring teams to proactively identify possible security incidents affecting the firewall OS integrity. This proactive detection allows incident response and development teams to react swiftly to critical security events.
This update is now available for manual download and deployment by customers with any Sophos Firewall equipped with a valid license.
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