Alphabet Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) cybersecurity teams have identified an ongoing cyber extortion campaign targeting Oracle Corp's (NYSE:ORCL) PeopleSoft software, attributing the activity to the hacking group ShinyHunters.
Zero-Day Exploit Targets Enterprise Systems
On Thursday, researchers at Google Threat Intelligence Group and Mandiant said that the campaign, active between May 27 and June 9, exploited a previously unknown vulnerability in Oracle's enterprise resource planning platform.
Since Oracle had not yet released a patch at the time, attackers were able to exploit the vulnerability as a zero-day, gaining access to exposed systems.
PeopleSoft is widely used by organizations to manage human resources, finance and supply-chain operations, making it a high-value target for cybercriminals.
Custom Malware And Stealth Techniques
Researchers said the attackers deployed customized MeshCentral agents disguised as legitimate cloud services.
These tools allowed them to execute administrative commands and maintain covert access to compromised environments.
Google said it notified more than 100 organizations whose systems appeared vulnerable, with most based in the U.S. About 68% of the affected entities were in the higher education sector.
Oracle Advisory Issued After Attacks
The exploitation occurred before Oracle released a security advisory on June 10, meaning organizations had no available fix during the attack window.
ShinyHunters, known for previous extortion campaigns against global firms, recently targeted education software provider Instructure in a separate incident, Reuters reported.
In April, ShinyHunters took responsibility for stealing nearly 80 million records from Rockstar Games, the studio behind Grand Theft Auto, by exploiting a third-party security flaw tied to cloud platform Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW) and analytics firm Anodot.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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