# Vitaly Simonovich — Security Researcher

> Vulnerability Research · Threat Intelligence · AI Security
> Senior security researcher working across vulnerability research, threat intelligence, and AI security. I break systems the way real attackers do, from core internet infrastructure like DNS and glibc to browsers, web platforms, and LLMs, and turn those findings into practical defenses, threat reports, and education so organizations can stay ahead of attackers.

Last updated: October 9, 2026

## Links
- github: https://github.com/vitalysim
- linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/vitalysimonovich
- x: https://x.com/vitalysimx
- Location: Remote, available worldwide

## At a glance
- Years Experience: 10+
- CVEs Discovered: 29
- Public Speaking: 12
- Press Mentions: 75+

## Areas of expertise
- Vulnerability Research
- Threat Intelligence
- LLM & GenAI Security
- Jailbreaks & Prompt Injection
- Application Security
- Data Security
- Offensive Security & CTFs
- Security Education & Public Speaking

## Highlights (8)
Selected work, in the order it is presented on the site — the first entry is the featured item.

- **DEF CON 34 Main Track (talk, NEW)** — C(2)YA: Inside the Adversary's Inbox — six months of LLM-assisted research against five C2 frameworks (Havoc, Mythic, Sliver, Covenant, AdaptixC2) yielding 251 findings, 85 exploitable straight from the internet, and 28 takedown chains. (https://defcon.org/html/defcon-34/dc-34-speakers.html)
- **Cited by the UK AI Security Institute (press, Featured)** — Nytheon AI research cited by name in reference 26 of AISI's Frontier AI Trends Report, published on 18 December 2025. (https://www.aisi.gov.uk/frontier-ai-trends-report)
- **HashJack Research (research)** — First known indirect prompt injection technique weaponizing URL fragments to manipulate AI browser assistants. Covered by Forbes, The Register, and The Hacker News. (https://www.catonetworks.com/blog/cato-ctrl-hashjack-first-known-indirect-prompt-injection/)
- **Apple WebKit Vulnerabilities (cve)** — Three flaws in Apple WebKit (CVE-2026-28917, CVE-2026-28962, CVE-2026-43700): a memory-safety crash, an information disclosure issue, and a cross-origin leak of sensitive user data. (https://support.apple.com/en-us/127121)
- **NVIDIA TensorRT-LLM Vulnerabilities (cve)** — Two flaws in NVIDIA's LLM inference engine (CVE-2026-24226, CVE-2026-24234): improper control of code generation, and a server-side request forgery in multimodal media fetching. (https://www.nvidia.com/en-eu/product-security/acknowledgements/)
- **Operation Poisson (research)** — A 33-day French-speaking cybercrime operation captured command-by-command, revealing how a junior operator used Tailscale and OpenSSH to keep access after his C2 went offline. Covered by The Hacker News. (https://www.catonetworks.com/blog/cato-ctrl-operation-poisson-analyzing-a-cybercriminals-entire-operation/)
- **MongoDB Hall of Fame (cve, Hot)** — Pre-authentication denial of service in MongoDB Server (CVE-2026-25611, High severity) and induction into the MongoDB Security Researcher Hall of Fame.
- **Core Infrastructure CVEs (cve)** — A 2026 run of vulnerability discoveries across core infrastructure: BIND 9, PowerDNS, Jenkins, Apache Log4j, WordPress, Zabbix, and Google Chrome.

## Helped secure (19)
Vendors and projects whose products were hardened through disclosed vulnerabilities or published research.

- Microsoft Copilot — published research
- Apple WebKit — disclosed vulnerability
- Google Chrome — disclosed vulnerability
- Google Gemini — published research
- NVIDIA — disclosed vulnerability
- MongoDB — disclosed vulnerability
- Perplexity — published research
- Node.js — disclosed vulnerability
- Jenkins — disclosed vulnerability
- FreeRDP — disclosed vulnerability
- The GNU C Library — disclosed vulnerability
- ISC BIND 9 — disclosed vulnerability
- PowerDNS — disclosed vulnerability
- Zabbix — disclosed vulnerability
- Moodle — disclosed vulnerability
- TYPO3 — disclosed vulnerability
- Open WebUI — disclosed vulnerability
- Revive Adserver — disclosed vulnerability
- Apache Log4j — disclosed vulnerability

## CVEs (29)
Severity breakdown: 12 High, 13 Medium, 4 Low.

- **CVE-2026-1199 · Zabbix · Medium** — Login lockout race condition. Race condition in the Zabbix Frontend and API login lockout mechanism, where simultaneous failed login requests are not all counted towards the block counter, letting an attacker make more password guesses than the lockout is meant to allow. Affects 6.0.0–6.0.46, 7.0.0–7.0.27 and 7.4.0–7.4.11; fixed in 6.0.47, 7.0.28 and 7.4.12. (https://www.zabbix.com/security_advisories?query=CVE-2026-1199)
- **CVE-2026-24234 · NVIDIA · Medium** — TensorRT-LLM multimodal SSRF. Server-side request forgery in the multimodal media fetching functions of NVIDIA TensorRT-LLM for Linux, where a network-accessible attacker can steer the inference server into issuing attacker-controlled requests, leading to information disclosure and denial of service. Affects TensorRT-LLM through v1.3.0 rc16. (https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-24234)
- **CVE-2026-24226 · NVIDIA · Medium** — TensorRT-LLM improper control of code generation. Improper control of code generation in NVIDIA TensorRT-LLM for Linux, where functionality is included from an untrusted control sphere; a successful exploit can lead to code execution, data tampering, and information disclosure. Affects TensorRT-LLM through v1.3.0 rc12. (https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-24226)
- **CVE-2026-48936 · Node.js · Low** — Permission model network bypass via Unix socket. Incomplete fix for CVE-2026-21636 in the Node.js Permission Model: a local server can be started over a Unix domain socket without the --allow-net permission, bypassing the intended network restrictions. Affects Node.js 26; fixed in 26.3.1. (https://nodejs.org/en/blog/vulnerability/june-2026-security-releases)
- **CVE-2026-55827 · FreeRDP · High** — RemoteFX heap buffer overflow. Heap buffer overflow in FreeRDP where the GDI layer passes desktop surface dimensions instead of bitmap dimensions as write bounds to the RemoteFX decoder, letting a malicious RDP server write past the allocated bitmap buffer with attacker-influenced content and potentially hijack execution. Affects 2.0.0 through 2.11.7 and 3.0.0 through 3.27.0; fixed in 3.27.1. (https://github.com/FreeRDP/FreeRDP/security/advisories/GHSA-c495-h83v-3prp)
- **CVE-2026-55564 · FreeRDP · Medium** — Glyph cache out-of-bounds read. Off-by-one error in FreeRDP's glyph_cache_get() bounds check lets a malicious RDP server trigger an out-of-bounds heap read via crafted glyph fragments, dereferencing one slot past the glyph cache array and potentially causing denial of service or information disclosure. Affects versions up to 3.26.0; fixed in 3.27.0. (https://github.com/FreeRDP/FreeRDP/security/advisories/GHSA-6xmj-pr98-cx4c)
- **CVE-2026-28917 · Apple WebKit · Medium** — Memory-safety process crash. Memory-safety issue in Apple WebKit where processing maliciously crafted web content can cause an unexpected process crash (denial of service). Fixed in Safari 26.5 on macOS Sonoma and macOS Sequoia. (https://support.apple.com/en-us/127121)
- **CVE-2026-28962 · Apple WebKit · Medium** — Information disclosure. Information disclosure vulnerability in Apple WebKit where processing maliciously crafted web content may reveal sensitive user information. Fixed in Safari 26.5 on macOS Sonoma and macOS Sequoia. (https://support.apple.com/en-us/127121)
- **CVE-2026-43700 · Apple WebKit · Medium** — Cross-origin information disclosure. Cross-origin issue in Apple WebKit where security origins were not tracked correctly, letting maliciously crafted web content disclose sensitive user information across origin boundaries. Fixed in Safari, iOS, iPadOS and macOS 26.5.2, and in tvOS, watchOS and visionOS 26.6. (https://support.apple.com/en-us/127685)
- **CVE-2026-5913 · Google Chrome · Low** — Out-of-bounds read in Blink. Out-of-bounds read in the Blink rendering engine in Google Chrome prior to 147.0.7727.55 allows a remote attacker to perform an out-of-bounds memory read via a crafted HTML page. Affects Chrome on Windows, Linux, and macOS. (https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-5913)
- **CVE-2026-33608 · PowerDNS · High** — Backend DoS via crafted NOTIFY. Incomplete domain name sanitization during Bind autosecondary zone transfer in PowerDNS Authoritative Server allows an attacker to send a notify request causing a secondary domain to be added with invalid configuration, rendering the Bind backend inoperable after restart. Affects versions up to 5.0.3 and 4.9.13. (https://docs.powerdns.com/authoritative/security-advisories/powerdns-advisory-2026-05.html)
- **CVE-2026-33257 · PowerDNS · Medium** — Webserver memory exhaustion. Insufficient input validation of the internal webserver in PowerDNS Authoritative Server and DNSdist allows an unauthenticated attacker to send crafted HTTP requests causing unlimited memory allocation and denial of service. Requires the web server feature to be enabled. Affects PowerDNS Authoritative 3.4.0–5.0.3 and DNSdist up to 2.0.3. (https://docs.powerdns.com/authoritative/security-advisories/powerdns-advisory-2026-05.html)
- **CVE-2026-42390 · PowerDNS · Medium** — Recursor ZONEMD validation bypass. ZONEMD verification bypass in the PowerDNS Recursor: the digest compare loop does not re-check scheme eligibility, so a zone carrying a reserved scheme=0 ZONEMD record with the correct digest passes validation even when the eligible record's digest is wrong. Relevant when Zone-to-Cache is configured with zonemd: require. Affects Recursor 5.4.0 through 5.4.2; fixed in 5.4.3. (https://docs.powerdns.com/recursor/security-advisories/powerdns-advisory-powerdns-2026-08.html)
- **CVE-2026-42004 · PowerDNS · Low** — DNSdist EDNS options smuggling. EDNS options smuggling in PowerDNS DNSdist: a crafted EDNS OPT record is ignored by DNSdist's filtering rules but rewritten as a valid OPT record when EDNS Client Subnet is inserted, so the backend receives EDNS options that DNSdist did not filter. Affects DNSdist up to 1.9.14 and 2.0.6; fixed in 1.9.15 and 2.0.7. (https://www.dnsdist.org/security-advisories/powerdns-advisory-for-dnsdist-2026-09.html#cve-2026-42004-edns-options-smuggling)
- **CVE-2026-3104 · ISC BIND 9 · High** — Resolver memory leak DoS. Memory leak in BIND 9 resolvers triggered by specially crafted domain queries, causing denial of service through resource exhaustion. Affects BIND 9.20.0–9.20.20 and 9.21.0–9.21.19. (https://kb.isc.org/docs/cve-2026-3104)
- **CVE-2026-3119 · ISC BIND 9 · Medium** — Crash via TKEY query. Authenticated query containing a TKEY record with a valid TSIG can cause the BIND named daemon to terminate unexpectedly. Affects BIND 9.20.0–9.20.20 and 9.21.0–9.21.19. (https://kb.isc.org/docs/cve-2026-3119)
- **CVE-2026-77692 · ISC BIND 9 · High** — Unauthenticated remote crash via DoH SIG(0) request. NULL pointer dereference in BIND 9 reachable with no authentication: a single DNS-over-HTTPS request carrying a cryptographically invalid SIG(0) record, followed by an abrupt close of the transport connection, crashes the named daemon. No workarounds are available. Affects 9.20.0–9.20.27, 9.21.0–9.21.25 and Supported Preview 9.20.9-S1–9.20.27-S1; fixed in 9.20.29, 9.21.26 and 9.20.29-S1. (https://kb.isc.org/docs/cve-2026-77692)
- **CVE-2026-33001 · Jenkins · High** — Arbitrary file write via symlinks. Link following vulnerability in Jenkins 2.554 and earlier, LTS 2.541.2 and earlier allows crafted .tar and .tar.gz archives to write files to arbitrary locations via symbolic links, enabling code execution by attackers with Item/Configure permission or control of agent processes. (https://www.jenkins.io/security/advisory/2026-03-18/)
- **CVE-2026-25611 · MongoDB · High** — Pre-auth memory exhaustion DoS. Pre-Authentication Memory Exhaustion Denial of Service in MongoDB Server. A series of specifically crafted, unauthenticated messages can exhaust available memory and crash a MongoDB server. (https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-25611)
- **CVE-2025-15281 · glibc · High** — Use-after-free in wordexp(). Use-After-Free vulnerability in glibc's wordexp() function when using WRDE_REUSE and WRDE_APPEND flags, allowing memory corruption and potential code execution via uninitialized memory access. (https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/20/3)
- **CVE-2026-0859 · TYPO3 · Medium** — Insecure deserialization in mailer. Insecure Deserialization vulnerability in TYPO3 CMS Mailer file spool allowing local users with write access to the spool directory to inject and execute arbitrary PHP code via crafted serialized files. (https://typo3.org/security/advisory/typo3-core-sa-2026-004)
- **CVE-2026-49740 · TYPO3 · Medium** — Insecure deserialization in Core API. Insecure deserialization in the TYPO3 CMS Core API (ext:core) where crafted serialized data can affect downstream components. Fixed across TYPO3 13.4.31 LTS, 14.3.3 LTS, and ELTS releases. (https://news.typo3.com/security/advisory/typo3-core-sa-2026-018)
- **CVE-2025-67849 · Moodle · High** — Stored XSS in AI Course Assist. Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Moodle's AI Course Assist via unsanitized HTML rendering in the response template, allowing authenticated users to execute arbitrary JavaScript and steal session tokens. (https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=471299#p1892201)
- **CVE-2025-64496 · Open WebUI · High** — Code injection via SSE. Code Injection vulnerability in Open WebUI via Server-Sent Events (SSE) in Direct Connections feature, allowing malicious external model servers to execute arbitrary JavaScript and steal authentication tokens. (https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-64496)
- **CVE-2025-52670 · Revive Adserver · High** — Authorization bypass (IDOR). Authorization Bypass (IDOR) vulnerability in Revive Adserver allowing authenticated users to delete banners owned by other accounts via improper ownership validation. (https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-52670)
- **CVE-2025-52668 · Revive Adserver · High** — Stored XSS. Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Revive Adserver's statistics-conversions.php script via tracker or campaign names, enabling session hijacking and information disclosure. (https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-52668)
- **CVE-2026-3039 · ISC BIND 9 · High** — GSS-API TKEY memory exhaustion. Excessive memory consumption during GSS-API TKEY negotiation can cause denial of service in BIND 9 deployments using TKEY-based authentication. ISC credits Vitaly Simonovich for the report. Fixed in 9.18.49, 9.20.23 and 9.21.22. Disclosed 2026-05-20. (https://kb.isc.org/docs/cve-2026-3039)
- **CVE-2026-34477 · Apache Log4j · Medium** — TLS hostname verification configuration ignored. Log4j Core silently ignores the verifyHostName attribute in TLS configuration for affected appenders, permitting interception of log traffic under the conditions described by Apache. Vitaly Simonovich is credited as an independent reporter alongside other researchers. Fixed in 2.25.4. (https://logging.apache.org/security.html#CVE-2026-34477)
- **CVE-2026-70430 · Jenkins · Low** — Overall/Manage configuration type restriction bypass. Users with Overall/Manage permission can instantiate configuration-related object types intended for administrators through the project naming strategy configuration. Jenkins credits Vitaly Simonovich for SECURITY-3916. Fixed in Jenkins 2.576 and LTS 2.568.2. Disclosed 2026-08-05. (https://www.jenkins.io/security/advisory/2026-08-05/#SECURITY-3916)

## Awards & recognition (11)
- Security Advisory Credit, Apache Logging Services (2026): Credited as an independent reporter of CVE-2026-34477 in Apache Log4j Core, a TLS hostname-verification configuration issue, alongside other researchers. (https://logging.apache.org/security.html#CVE-2026-34477)
- Security Advisory Credit, Zabbix (2026): Credited for reporting a login lockout race condition in the Zabbix Frontend and API, disclosed through the HackerOne bug bounty program. (https://support.zabbix.com/browse/ZBX-28076)
- Security Research Acknowledgement, Apple (2026): Recognized in Apple's security advisories for WebKit and WebKit Storage research, alongside credited WebKit vulnerabilities. (https://support.apple.com/en-us/127121)
- Product Security Acknowledgement, NVIDIA (2026): Credited on NVIDIA's Product Security Acknowledgements page for reporting two vulnerabilities in TensorRT-LLM. (https://www.nvidia.com/en-gb/product-security/acknowledgements/)
- Security Vulnerability Credit, WordPress (2026): Credited for reporting an AJAX query-attachments authorization bypass, fixed in WordPress 6.9.2. (https://wordpress.org/documentation/wordpress-version/version-6-2-9/)
- Security Vulnerability Credit, ISC (BIND9) (2026): Credited across BIND 9 security advisories for DNSSEC proof preparation, TKEY query handling, GSS-API TKEY memory exhaustion (CVE-2026-3039), and a DNS-over-HTTPS crash, alongside QP-trie cache research. (https://kb.isc.org/docs/cve-2026-3039)
- Security Advisory Credit, Jenkins (2026): Credited for independent discovery of the Jenkins link-following vulnerability (CVE-2026-33001) and for the Overall/Manage configuration type restriction bypass (CVE-2026-70430), reported through the Jenkins Bug Bounty Program sponsored by the European Commission. (https://www.jenkins.io/security/advisory/2026-08-05/)
  - March 2026 advisory: https://www.jenkins.io/security/advisory/2026-03-18/
  - August 2026 advisory: https://www.jenkins.io/security/advisory/2026-08-05/
- Security Researcher Hall of Fame, MongoDB (2026): Recognized for responsibly disclosing a security vulnerability in MongoDB products. (https://www.mongodb.com/company/contact/mongodb-vulnerability-disclosure-policy)
- Frontier AI Trends Report Citation, UK AI Security Institute (AISI) (2025): Cited by name in reference 26 of AISI's Frontier AI Trends Report, published on 18 December 2025, for Cato CTRL research uncovering Nytheon AI, a platform of uncensored LLMs. (https://www.aisi.gov.uk/frontier-ai-trends-report)
- AI Safety - Immersive world jailbreak, Microsoft (2025): Awarded for discovering the 'Immersive world' jailbreak in Microsoft's copilot.
- AI Security - Edge browser prompt injection, Microsoft (2025): Indirect prompt injection vulnerability found in Microsoft's edge browser.

## Citations & acknowledgments (18)
Academic and technical references, distribution acknowledgments, and partner content are classified separately from press reporting and vulnerability discoveries.

- Open Technical Problems in Open-Weight AI Model Risk Management — Transactions on Machine Learning Research / arXiv, 2026. Academic citation. Cites Vitaly Simonovich’s Nytheon AI research in its discussion of open-weight models adapted for harmful uses. (https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.07514)
  - Citation location: Section 2 and bibliography
- ChatGPhish: When the AI Assistant Becomes the Phishing Vector — Cloud Security Alliance, 2026-05-31. Technical research reference. CSA AI Safety Initiative research note on prompt-injection phishing that credits Cato CTRL's HashJack in its comparison of indirect prompt injection techniques. (https://labs.cloudsecurityalliance.org/research/csa-research-note-chatgphish-ai-prompt-injection-phishing-20/)
- USN-8293-1: Bind vulnerabilities — Ubuntu / Canonical, 2026-05-21. Distribution acknowledgment. Ubuntu’s security notice names Vitaly Simonovich as the discoverer of CVE-2026-3039, the BIND 9 GSS-API TKEY memory-exhaustion vulnerability. This is a downstream acknowledgment of the same ISC disclosure. (https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8293-1)
- LAMEHUG, Software S9035 — MITRE ATT&CK, Created 2026-04-21. Threat knowledge base. The LAMEHUG software entry cites Vitaly Simonovich’s Cato CTRL analysis in its APT28 attribution and technique mapping. (https://attack.mitre.org/software/S9035/)
  - Citation location: Software S9035, reference 3
- AI Browser Extensions: Shadow AI’s Hidden Attack Surface — Cloud Security Alliance, 2026-04-10. Technical research reference. CSA’s AI Safety Initiative research note references Cato CTRL’s HashJack research in its discussion of browser-extension risks. (https://labs.cloudsecurityalliance.org/research/csa-research-note-ai-browser-extension-attack-surface-202604/)
  - Citation location: Reference 6
- USN-8124-1: Bind vulnerabilities — Ubuntu Security, 2026-03-25. Distribution acknowledgment. Ubuntu security notice crediting Vitaly Simonovich for discovering the ISC BIND vulnerabilities he reported (CVE-2026-3104 and CVE-2026-3119). (https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8124-1)
- Fooling AI Agents: Web-Based Indirect Prompt Injection Observed in the Wild — Unit 42 (Palo Alto Networks), 2026-03-03. Technical research reference. Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 analysis of web-based indirect prompt injection seen in the wild, citing Cato CTRL's HashJack technique. (https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/ai-agent-prompt-injection/)
- Frontier AI Trends Report — UK AI Security Institute (AISI), 2025-12-18. Policy report citation. The UK AI Security Institute's inaugural Frontier AI Trends Report cites Vitaly Simonovich by name in reference 26 for his Cato CTRL research on Nytheon AI, a platform of uncensored LLMs. (https://www.aisi.gov.uk/frontier-ai-trends-report)
- APT28 Cyber Threat Profile and Detailed TTPs — Picus Security, Updated 2025-12-10. Technical research reference. Picus’s APT28 threat profile cites Vitaly Simonovich’s LAMEHUG analysis as reference 8. (https://www.picussecurity.com/resource/blog/apt28-cyber-threat-profile-and-detailed-ttps)
  - Citation location: Reference 8
- HashJack Attack Targets AI Browsers and Agentic AI Systems — F5 Labs, 2025-12-05. Technical research reference. Technical analysis of HashJack vulnerability with enterprise security recommendations for AI agents and agentic systems. (https://www.f5.com/labs/articles/hashjack-attack-targets-ai-browsers-and-agentic-ai-systems)
- CS 419: Computer Security, authentication lecture slides — Rutgers University — CS 419, 2025-09-29. Teaching reference. Paul Krzyzanowski’s authentication lecture uses coverage of Vitaly Simonovich’s Immersive World research as an AI security example. (https://people.cs.rutgers.edu/~pxk/assets/files/classes-419-notes/04-auth.pdf)
  - Citation location: Slide 59
- Tipping the Scales: Emerging AI Capabilities and the Cyber Offense-Defense Balance — Center for a New American Security, 2025-09-23. Policy report citation. Caleb Withers’s report cites Vitaly Simonovich’s LAMEHUG analysis in its discussion of AI capabilities and cyber offense and defense. (https://www.cnas.org/publications/reports/tipping-the-scales)
  - Citation location: Endnote 43
- From Misuse to Abuse: AI Risks and Attacks — The Hacker News, 2024-10-16. Partner content. Partner content featuring Vitaly Simonovich’s commentary on AI risks and attacks. The page’s byline is The Hacker News; this is recorded as participation rather than personal authorship or independent reporting. (https://thehackernews.com/2024/10/from-misuse-to-abuse-ai-risks-and.html)
- Neural networks based domain name generation — Journal of Information Security and Applications / Elsevier, 2021-09-01. Academic citation. Journal article by Zheng Wang and Yang Guo that includes a reference to Vitaly Simonovich’s research. NIST provides the publication metadata. (https://www.nist.gov/publications/neural-networks-based-domain-name-generation)
  - Citation location: Bibliography
  - Publisher citation listing: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214212621001629
- Intrusion Detection System for IoT Networks for Detection of DDoS Attacks — Newcastle University, 2021-02. Academic citation. Monika Roopak’s doctoral thesis cites Vitaly Simonovich’s Imperva application-layer DDoS research. (https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/bitstream/10443/5422/1/Roopak%20M%202021.pdf)
  - Citation location: Reference 10
- Application-Layer DDoS Defense with Reinforcement Learning — IEEE/ACM IWQoS, 2020. Academic citation. Cites Vitaly Simonovich’s Imperva research on a 13-day, 292,000 requests-per-second application-layer DDoS attack. (https://yebof.github.io/assets/pdf/feng2020iwqos.pdf)
  - Citation location: Reference 3
- An Anomaly Mitigation Framework for IoT Using Fog Computing — Electronics / UEA Digital Repository, 2020-09-24. Academic citation. Cites Vitaly Simonovich’s Imperva application-layer DDoS research as background for IoT anomaly mitigation. (https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/85252/)
  - Citation location: Reference 6
- LAMEHUG malware-family entry — Fraunhofer FKIE / Malpedia, Undated. Threat knowledge base. Malpedia’s LAMEHUG entry lists Vitaly Simonovich by name and links his Cato CTRL analysis in its references. (https://malpedia.caad.fkie.fraunhofer.de/details/py.lamehug)
  - Citation location: References

## Research (21)
- Cato CTRL Threat Research: Operation Poisson - Analyzing a Cybercriminal's Entire Operation — Cato Networks Blog, 2026-06-16. Post-incident analysis of Operation Poisson, a 33-day campaign by a junior French-speaking threat actor against four individuals and a French automotive business. Captured command-by-command after the operator left SSH keys and a playbook in an open bucket, it shows how free-tier Havoc C2, a Python keylogger, and Tailscale plus OpenSSH built persistence that survived the C2 going offline. (https://www.catonetworks.com/blog/cato-ctrl-operation-poisson-analyzing-a-cybercriminals-entire-operation/)
- Cato CTRL Threat Research: New MongoDB Vulnerability Allows Instant Remote Server Takedown (CVE-2026-25611) — Cato Networks Blog, 2026-03-04. Discovery of CVE-2026-25611 (CVSS 7.5), an unauthenticated denial-of-service flaw in MongoDB 3.4 and later with compression enabled, where crafted compressed packets force excessive memory allocation before validation and crash the server. (https://www.catonetworks.com/blog/cato-ctrl-new-mongodb-vulnerability-cve-2026-25611/)
- Cato CTRL Threat Research: When OpenClaw, Your AI Personal Assistant, Becomes the Backdoor — Cato Networks Blog, 2026-02-25. Investigation of a dark-web listing selling root-shell access to a CEO's computer bundled with their OpenClaw AI assistant for $25,000, showing how an agentic assistant accumulates databases, API keys, and financial data that turn it into a high-value backdoor. (https://www.catonetworks.com/blog/cato-ctrl-when-openclaw-ai-personal-assistant-becomes-backdoor/)
- Cato CTRL Threat Research: Stuck in the Past – How Hackers Exploit Years-Old CVEs for Cryptojacking — Cato Networks Blog, 2025. Your analysis of cryptojacking campaigns abusing old CVEs, with remediation guidance for Cato customers. (https://www.catonetworks.com/blog/how-hackers-exploit-years-old-cve-for-profit/)
- Cato CTRL Threat Research: WormGPT Variants Powered by Grok and Mixtral — Cato Networks Blog, 2025. Your blog exposing WormGPT clones that wrap xAI's Grok and Mistral's Mixtral behind uncensored system prompts. (https://www.catonetworks.com/blog/cato-ctrl-wormgpt-variants-powered-by-grok-and-mixtral/)
- Cato CTRL Threat Actor Profile: IntelBroker — Cato Networks Blog, 2025. Your threat actor profile detailing IntelBroker's real identity, tooling, and data-broker operations. (https://www.catonetworks.com/blog/cato-ctrl-threat-actor-profile-intelbroker/)
- Cato CTRL Threat Research: Analyzing LAMEHUG – First Known LLM-Powered Malware with Links to APT28 (Fancy Bear) — Cato Networks Blog, 2025. Your deep dive into LAMEHUG, an APT28 malware family integrating LLM APIs via stolen Hugging Face tokens. (https://www.catonetworks.com/blog/cato-ctrl-threat-research-analyzing-lamehug/)
- 2025 Cato CTRL Threat Report – The Rise of the Zero-Knowledge Threat Actor — Cato Networks, 2025. Flagship threat report where you introduce the Immersive World jailbreak and zero-knowledge threat actor concept. (https://www.catonetworks.com/resources/2025-cato-ctrl-threat-report-rise-of-zero-knowledge-threat-actor/)
- The Rise of the Zero-Knowledge Threat Actor — Cato Networks News, 2025. News article announcing your Immersive World jailbreak and quoting you as a threat intelligence researcher at Cato Networks. (https://www.catonetworks.com/news/the-rise-of-the-zero-knowledge-threat-actor/)
- Cato CTRL Threat Research: HashJack - First Known Indirect Prompt Injection Against AI Browser Assistants — Cato Networks Blog, 2025-11-25. Novel indirect prompt injection technique that weaponizes URL fragments to manipulate AI browser assistants like Copilot, Gemini, and Comet. (https://www.catonetworks.com/blog/cato-ctrl-hashjack-first-known-indirect-prompt-injection/)
- Cato CTRL Threat Research: Uncovering Nytheon AI – A New Platform of Uncensored LLMs — Cato Networks Blog, 2025-06-11. Investigation into Nytheon AI, a Tor-hosted platform bundling uncensored LLMs for malicious use. Cited by name in reference 26 of the UK AI Security Institute's Frontier AI Trends Report, published on 18 December 2025. (https://www.catonetworks.com/blog/cato-ctrl-nytheon-ai-a-new-platform-of-uncensored-llms/)
- Cato CTRL Issues New SASE Threat Report — Cato Networks Blog, 2024. Coauthored post (Etay Maor, Vitaly Simonovich) introducing the Cato CTRL SASE threat report series. (https://www.catonetworks.com/blog/cato-ctrl-issues-new-sase-threat-report/)
- Highlights from Q2 2024 Cato CTRL SASE Threat Report — Cato Networks Blog, 2024. Threat report highlights coauthored by Etay Maor and Vitaly Simonovich, covering Cato CTRL findings over billions of flows. (https://www.catonetworks.com/blog/highlights-from-q2-2024-cato-ctrl-sase-threat-report/)
- Highlights from Q3 2024 Cato CTRL SASE Threat Report — Cato Networks Blog, 2024. Q3 SASE threat trends, coauthored by Etay Maor and Vitaly Simonovich, based on Cato CTRL analysis of 1.46T network flows. (https://www.catonetworks.com/blog/highlights-from-q3-2024-cato-ctrl-sase-threat-report/)
- Log4Shell log4j Remote Code Execution – The COVID of the Internet — Imperva Blog, 2022. Coauthored blog (Vitaly, Daniel, Nathan) analyzing the Log4Shell vulnerability and 102M+ blocked exploit attempts. (https://www.imperva.com/blog/log4shell-log4j-remote-code-execution-the-covid-of-the-internet/)
- Never Leave Your Cloud Database Publicly Accessible — Imperva Blog, 2020. Coauthored research (Vitaly Simonovich, Sarit Yerushalmi) on exposed cloud databases and attack patterns. (https://www.imperva.com/blog/never-leave-your-cloud-database-publicly-accessible/)
- Bug hunting for a quick buck using WebLogic vulnerability (CVE-2020–14882) — Imperva Blog, 2020-11. Your analysis of real-world exploitation of Oracle WebLogic CVE-2020-14882 by both attackers and bug hunters. (https://www.imperva.com/blog/bug-hunting-for-a-quick-buck-using-weblogic-vulnerability-cve-2020-14882/)
- Remote File Inclusion (RFI) – Detecting the Undetectable — Imperva Blog, 2020-03. Your research article on detecting large-scale RFI attacks using Imperva data and custom detectors. (https://www.imperva.com/blog/remote-file-inclusion-rfi-detecting-the-undetectable/)
- Imperva Blocks Our Largest DDoS L7/Brute Force Attack Ever (Peaking at 292,000 RPS) — Imperva Blog, 2019-07. Your case study of Imperva's largest recorded Layer-7 DDoS attack and how it was mitigated. (https://www.imperva.com/blog/imperva-blocks-our-largest-ddos-l7-brute-force-attack-ever-peaking-at-292000-rps/)
- The Ping is the Thing: Popular HTML5 Feature Used to Trick Chinese Mobile Users into Joining Latest DDoS Attack — Imperva Blog, 2019-04. Coauthored blog (Vitaly Simonovich, Dima Bekerman) showing how HTML5 ping was weaponized for large-scale browser-based DDoS. (https://www.imperva.com/blog/the-ping-is-the-thing-popular-html5-feature-used-to-trick-chinese-mobile-users-into-joining-latest-ddos-attack/)
- Hundreds of Vulnerable Docker Hosts Exploited by Cryptocurrency Miners — Imperva Blog, 2019-03. Your research into thousands of exposed Docker daemons abused for cryptomining and other misuse. (https://www.imperva.com/blog/hundreds-of-vulnerable-docker-hosts-exploited-by-cryptocurrency-miners/)

## Speaking (12)
- C(2)YA: Inside the Adversary's Inbox — DEF CON 34, 2026-08-08, Las Vegas, NV, USA. (https://defcon.org/html/defcon-34/dc-34-speakers.html)
- HashJack: Exploiting URL Fragments to Hijack AI Browser Assistants — Ekoparty Security Conference, 2026-05-22, Miami, FL, USA. (https://www.catonetworks.com/news/cato-present-fragment-based-prompt-injection-technique-at-ekoparty-security/)
- Agentic Security: Past, Present, and Future — SASEfy 2026, 2026-05, Virtual. (https://www.catonetworks.com/resources/sasefy-2026/)
- The Anatomy of Criminal Failure: Analyzing OpSec Flaws in Major Takedowns — RSA Conference 2026, 2026-03-23, San Francisco, CA, USA. (https://path.rsaconference.com/flow/rsac/us26/FullAgenda/page/catalog/session/1753960859633001zmRj)
- Vibe Hunting: Turning AI Coding Agents into Autonomous Vulnerability Researchers — RootedCON Madrid 2026, 2026-03, Madrid, Spain. (https://rootedcon.com/agenda/madrid-2026/)
- The Dark Side Of LLMs — BSidesTLV AI Hacking Village, 2025-12-11, Tel Aviv, Israel. (https://aihackingvillage.com/)
- The Dark Mirror of LLMs — APAC Partner Summit, 2025-09-15, Bangkok, Thailand.
- The Black Mirror of LLMs: How AI Powers the Adversary — HackAPrompt Webinar, 2025-07-28.
- 2025 Cato CTRL™ Threat Report — Cato Networks APJ Customer & Partner Event, 2025-05-20, Tokyo, Japan.
- From Assistants to Adversaries: The LLM Threat Landscape — Qubit 2025 Conference, 2025-05-15, Prague, Czech Republic. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/vitalysimonovich_qubit-qubitconference-qubitconferenceprague-activity-7327964170492993537-ozxl)
- Skyfall - Threats in the Cloud — Cato Networks x Porsche Event, 2024-11-15, Stuttgart, Germany.
- Warning! Botnet Is In Your House… — Botconf 2022, 2022-04-26, Nantes, France. (https://www.botconf.eu/past-editions/botconf-2022/)

## Writing (12)
- glibc wordexp() Memory Initialization Flaw - CVE-2025-15281 — BreachLogic, 2026-01-20. (https://breachlogic.ai/en/research/glibc-wordexp-uaf)
- Threat Actors Don't Care About Your Fucking Scope — LinkedIn, 2025-12-25. (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/threat-actors-dont-care-your-fucking-scope-vitaly-simonovich--ihusf/)
- Guilty as Charged: How I Contributed to CVE Slop — LinkedIn, 2025-12-18. (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/guilty-charged-how-i-contributed-cve-slop-vitaly-simonovich--p0t7e/)
- Jailbreaking the Supply Chain: Why Your AI Scanner Thinks Malware is Safe — LinkedIn, 2025-12-04. (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/jailbreaking-supply-chain-why-your-ai-scanner-thinks-simonovich--fh1mf/)
- HashJack: Why This AI Browser Attack Is Unlike Anything We've Seen in 2025 — LinkedIn, 2025-11-27. (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/hashjack-why-ai-browser-attack-unlike-anything-weve-simonovich--1jybf)
- IDOR in Banner Deletion: When Parent Validation Isn't Enough — BreachLogic, 2025-10. (https://breachlogic.ai/en/research/revive-adserver-idor-banner-delete)
- TryHackMe: Capture! — Medium (@vitalysimx), 2023. (https://medium.com/@vitalysimx/tryhackme-capture-a5ec27a9e94)
- AI-Powered Trainer: Revolutionizing Cybersecurity Training — Medium (@vitalysimx), 2023. (https://medium.com/@vitalysimx/ai-powered-trainer-revolutionizing-cybersecurity-training-27d77c2bebdc)
- The Future of AI Security, 2023-12-01. (https://vitalysim.com/blog/future-of-ai-security)
- Unveiling Out-Of-Band Vulnerabilities: Using NameCheap and Interactsh for Your Server Setup — Medium (@vitalysimx), 2023-06-28. (https://medium.com/@vitalysimx/unveiling-out-of-band-vulnerabilities-using-namecheap-and-interactsh-for-your-server-setup-5ea2c3dde936)
- Leveraging AI in CTF Challenges: Where to Draw the Line — Medium (@vitalysimx), 2023-06-08. (https://medium.com/@vitalysimx/leveraging-ai-in-ctf-challenges-where-to-draw-the-line-be5db66a602e)
- Revealed: the criminal ecosystem behind a DDoS attack — LinkedIn, 2016. (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/revealed-criminal-ecosystem-behind-ddos-attack-vitaly-simonovich)

## Press coverage (75)
### 2026
- 2026-10-07 — TechRound: ASOS Customers Received A "Hacked" Alert In Their App – What Should Businesses Do When Attackers Go Public? (https://techround.co.uk/cybersecurity/asos-customers-received-a-hacked-alert-in-their-app-what-should-businesses-do-when-attackers-go-public/)
- 2026-09-17 — The Hacker News: BIND 9 Update Fixes 14 Flaws, Including an Unauthenticated Crash Over DNS-over-HTTPS (https://thehackernews.com/2026/09/bind-9-update-fixes-14-flaws-including.html)
- 2026-06-18 — BankInfoSecurity: Breach Roundup: ShinyHunters Leaks 26M MSG Records (https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/breach-roundup-shinyhunters-leaks-26m-msg-records-a-32019)
- 2026-06-18 — CyberExperts: Cato Networks analyse une cyberattaque en France capable de survivre à la disparition de son serveur C2 (https://www.cyberexperts.tech/cato-networks-analyse-une-cyberattaque-en-france-capable-de-survivre-a-la-disparition-de-son-serveur-c2/)
- 2026-06-18 — Actu DSI: Cato Networks révèle comment une attaque 'amateur' peut piéger une PME pendant des semaines (https://www.actu-dsi.fr/cato-networks-revele-comment-une-attaque-amateur-peut-pieger-une-pme-pendant-des-semaines/)
- 2026-06-18 — Telco Infra News: Cato Networks alerte sur l'usage détourné des VPN maillés dans les cyberattaques (https://www.telco-infra-news.fr/cato-networks-alerte-sur-lusage-detourne-des-vpn-mailles-dans-les-cyberattaques/)
- 2026-06-18 — CyberVeille: Operation Poisson : analyse complète d'une opération cybercriminelle francophone sur 33 jours (https://cyberveille.ch/posts/2026-06-18-operation-poisson-analyse-complete-d-une-operation-cybercriminelle-francophone-sur-33-jours/)
- 2026-06-17 — SC Media: Attacker establishes persistent access to French business using OpenSSH and Tailscale (https://www.scworld.com/brief/attacker-establishes-persistent-access-to-french-business-using-openssh-and-tailscale)
- 2026-06-17 — SOC Prime: Opération Poisson révèle une chaîne de vol de données d'identification résiliente (https://socprime.com/fr/active-threats/operation-poisson-decomposer-une-operation-cybercriminelle-entiere/)
- 2026-06-16 — The Hacker News: Junior Hacker Used Tailscale and OpenSSH to Keep Access After His C2 Went Offline (https://thehackernews.com/2026/06/junior-hacker-used-tailscale-and.html)
- 2026-06-16 — IBM X-Force Exchange: Operation Poisson: Analyzing a Cybercriminal's Entire Operation (https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/osint/guid:d865bd215f4445e5b4b2ada2ccd410fb)
- 2026-05-14 — MacTrast: Safari 26.5 Fixes Numerous WebKit Security Holes (https://www.mactrast.com/2026/05/safari-26-5-fixes-numerous-webkit-security-holes/)
- 2026-05-13 — 9to5Mac: Safari 26.5 fixes WebKit bugs that could crash Safari or expose user data (https://9to5mac.com/2026/05/13/safari-26-5-fixes-webkit-bugs-that-could-crash-safari-or-expose-user-data/)
- 2026-03-31 — VentureBeat: OpenClaw has 500,000 instances and no enterprise kill switch (https://venturebeat.com/security/openclaw-500000-instances-no-enterprise-kill-switch)
- 2026-03-30 — VentureBeat: RSAC 2026: Agent identity frameworks and three gaps all of them miss (https://venturebeat.com/security/rsac-2026-agent-identity-frameworks-three-gaps)
- 2026-03-07 — InfoQ China: OpenClaw 安全危机：Cato CTRL 揭示 AI 助手如何沦为后门 (https://www.infoq.cn/article/wZ6OLl08OyezbYDCLrQT)
- 2026-03-05 — GBHackers: New MongoDB Vulnerability Allows Attackers to Crash Servers, Exposing Critical Data (https://gbhackers.com/new-mongodb-vulnerability-allows-attackers-to-crash-servers/)
- 2026-03-05 — CyberPress: New MongoDB Vulnerability Allows Attackers to Crash Any Server (https://cyberpress.org/mongodb-vulnerability/)
- 2026-03-05 — TechBooky: MongoDB Vulnerability Lets Attackers Crash Servers Remotely (https://www.techbooky.com/mongodb-vulnerability-lets-attackers-crash-servers-remotely/)
- 2026-03-05 — CybersecurityNews: New MongoDB Vulnerability Lets Hackers Crash Any MongoDB Server (https://cybersecuritynews.com/mongodb-vulnerability-crash-server/)
- 2026-01-06 — SC Media: Open WebUI account takeover flaw could lead to remote code execution (https://www.scworld.com/news/open-webui-account-takeover-flaw-could-lead-to-remote-code-execution)
- 2026-01-06 — TechRadar: This WebUI vulnerability allows remote code execution - here's how to stay safe (https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/this-webui-vulnerability-allows-remote-code-execution-heres-how-to-stay-safe)

### 2025
- 2025-12-07 — SlashGear: AI Browsers Face A New Kind Of Attack, And It Puts Your Privacy At Risk (https://www.slashgear.com/2043009/ai-browsers-prompt-injection-attack-privacy-risk/)
- 2025-12-05 — The Hacker News: Zero-Click Agentic Browser Attack Can Delete Entire Google Drive Using Crafted Emails (https://thehackernews.com/2025/12/zero-click-agentic-browser-attack-can.html)
- 2025-12-02 — IT Brew: 'HashJack' demo hides malicious instructions in URL (https://www.itbrew.com/stories/2025/12/02/hashjack-demo-hides-malicious-instructions-in-url)
- 2025-11-29 — Hackread: HashJack Attack Uses URL '#' to Control AI Browser Behavior (https://hackread.com/hashjack-attack-url-control-ai-browser-behavior/)
- 2025-11-29 — SecurityWeek: In Other News: HashJack AI Browser Attack, Charming Kitten Leak, Hacker Unmasked (https://www.securityweek.com/in-other-news-hashjack-ai-browser-attack-charming-kitten-leak-hacker-unmasked/)
- 2025-11-28 — TechRadar: AI browsers can be hacked with a simple hashtag, experts warn (https://www.techradar.com/pro/thats-not-very-trendy-of-them-ai-browsers-can-be-hacked-with-a-simple-hashtag-experts-warn)
- 2025-11-26 — Infosecurity Magazine: HashJack Indirect Prompt Injection Weaponizes Websites (https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/hashjack-indirect-prompt-injection/)
- 2025-11-26 — Help Net Security: New 'HashJack' Attack Can Hijack AI Browsers and Assistants (https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2025/11/26/hashjack-hijack-ai-assistants-browsers/)
- 2025-11-26 — CybersecurityNews: HashJack: New Attack Technique Tricks AI Browsers Using a Simple '#' (https://cybersecuritynews.com/hashjack-new-attack-technique-tricks-ai-browsers-using-a-simple/)
- 2025-11-26 — GBHackers: HashJack: A Novel Exploit Leveraging URL Fragments To Deceive AI Browsers (https://gbhackers.com/hashjack-ai-browser-exploit/)
- 2025-11-26 — Israel Hayom: Israeli tech firm finds AI vulnerability – Gemini susceptible (https://www.israelhayom.com/2025/11/26/ai-browser-security-flaw-cato-networks-gemini-copilot/)
- 2025-11-26 — Forbes: Password-Stealing AI HashJack Threat To Web Browsers Confirmed (https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinder/2025/11/26/password-stealing-ai-hashjack-threat-to-web-browsers-confirmed/)
- 2025-11-26 — SC World: AI browser assistants vulnerable to HashJack prompt injection technique (https://www.scworld.com/brief/ai-browser-assistants-vulnerable-to-hashjack-prompt-injection-technique)
- 2025-11-26 — CyberPress: HashJack: A New Attack That Fools AI Browsers With a Simple '#' (https://cyberpress.org/hashjack-a-new-attack/)
- 2025-11-26 — Xakep.ru: ИИ-браузеры можно обмануть с помощью символа «#» (https://xakep.ru/2025/11/26/hashjack/)
- 2025-11-26 — SecurityLab.ru: HashJack: новая атака через символ # обманывает ИИ-браузеры (https://www.securitylab.ru/news/566546.php)
- 2025-11-26 — CSO Online: AI browsers can be tricked with malicious prompts hidden in URL fragments (https://www.csoonline.com/article/4097087/ai-browsers-can-be-tricked-with-malicious-prompts-hidden-in-url-fragments.html)
- 2025-11-25 — SiliconANGLE: New 'HashJack' technique lets attackers manipulate AI assistants in Comet, Copilot and Gemini (https://siliconangle.com/2025/11/25/new-hashjack-technique-lets-attackers-manipulate-ai-assistants-comet-copilot-gemini/)
- 2025-11-25 — The Register: HashJack attack shows AI browsers can be fooled with a simple '#' (https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/25/hashjack_attack_ai_browser_hashtag)
- 2025-09-16 — ISOEH: Vibe Hacking: When AI Turns Beginners into Cybercriminals (https://www.isoeh.com/exclusive-blog-details-vibe-hacking-when-ai-turns-beginners-into-cybercriminals.html)
- 2025-09-02 — AFP (via Digital Journal): 'Vibe hacking' puts chatbots to work for cybercriminals (https://www.digitaljournal.com/article/vibe-hacking-puts-chatbots-to-work-for-cybercriminals/)
- 2025-08-19 — The Economist: How AI-powered hackers are stealing billions (https://www.economist.com/business/2025/08/19/how-ai-powered-hackers-are-stealing-billions)
- 2025-08-12 — VentureBeat: The end of perimeter defense: When your own AI tools become the threat actor (https://venturebeat.com/business/black-hat-2025-chatgpt-copilot-deepseek-now-create-malware)
- 2025-08-03 — Resilience Media: Ukraine warns of AI-powered malware targeting the defence sector (https://www.resiliencemedia.co/p/ukraine-warns-of-ai-powered-malware)
- 2025-07-18 — The Hacker News: CERT-UA Discovers LAMEHUG Malware Linked to APT28, Using LLM for Phishing Campaign (https://thehackernews.com/2025/07/cert-ua-discovers-lamehug-malware.html)
- 2025-06-23 — The Record: Researchers say cybercriminals are using jailbroken AI tools from Mistral and xAI (https://therecord.media/uncensored-llms-cybercrime-breachforums-grok-mixtral)
- 2025-06-18 — TechRepublic: Two WormGPT Clones That Use Grok and Mixtral Found in Underground Forum (https://www.techrepublic.com/article/news-wormgpt-variants-ai-models-grok-mixtral/)
- 2025-06-18 — CSO Online: WormGPT returns: New malicious AI variants built on Grok and Mixtral uncovered (https://www.csoonline.com/article/4008912/wormgpt-returns-new-malicious-ai-variants-built-on-grok-and-mixtral-uncovered.html)
- 2025-06-18 — SC Media: AI hacking tools developed via commercial LLMs, report finds (https://www.scworld.com/brief/ai-hacking-tools-developed-via-commercial-llms-report-finds)
- 2025-06-17 — CyberScoop: Researchers say AI hacking tools sold online were powered by Grok, Mixtral (https://cyberscoop.com/uncensored-ai-tool-traced-to-mistral-xai-grok/)
- 2025-04-08 — 63sats: When Fiction Becomes a Cyber Weapon: How AI Was Tricked into Writing Malware (https://63sats.com/blog/when-fiction-becomes-a-cyber-weapon-how-ai-was-tricked-into-writing-malware)
- 2025-04-04 — IT Brew: Want to hack an LLM? It’s a long story (https://www.itbrew.com/stories/2025/04/04/want-to-hack-an-llm-it-s-a-long-story)
- 2025-04-03 — GreaterFool.ca: Into the storm (https://www.greaterfool.ca/2025/04/03/into-the-storm/)
- 2025-03-27 — Security MEA: Cato Networks Discovers New LLM Jailbreak Technique (https://securitymea.com/2025/03/27/cato-networks-discovers-new-llm-jailbreak-technique/)
- 2025-03-26 — ControlF5 Software: AI Chatbots: The New Target For Zero-Knowledge Hackers (https://ctrlf5.software/blog/ai-chatbots-the-new-target-for-zero-knowledge-hackers/)
- 2025-03-22 — Business Insider: How do you get ChatGPT to create malware strong enough to breach Google's password manager? Just play pretend. (https://www.businessinsider.com/roleplay-pretend-chatgpt-writes-password-stealing-malware-google-chrome-2025-3)
- 2025-03-21 — Forbes: Google Chrome Passwords Alert: Beware The Rise Of The AI Infostealers (https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinder/2025/03/21/google-chrome-passwords-alert-beware-the-rise-of-the-ai-infostealers/)
- 2025-03-18 — PR Newswire: The Rise of the Zero-Knowledge Threat Actor: New LLM Jailbreak Technique Discovered by Cato Networks Enables Easy Creation of Password-Stealing Malware (https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/the-rise-of-the-zero-knowledge-threat-actor-new-llm-jailbreak-technique-discovered-by-cato-networks-enables-easy-creation-of-password-stealing-malware-302403671.html)
- 2025-03-18 — Infosecurity Magazine: Security Researcher Proves GenAI Tools Can Develop Google Chrome Infostealers (https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/security-researcher-llm/)
- 2025-03-18 — TechNewsWorld: AI Chatbots Can Be Easy Prey for 'Zero-Knowledge' Hackers (https://www.technewsworld.com/story/ai-chatbots-can-be-easy-prey-for-zero-knowledge-hackers-179652.html)
- 2025-01-20 — IT Pro: AI-generated code risks: What CISOs need to know (https://www.itpro.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/ai-generated-code-risks-what-cisos-need-to-know)

### 2022
- 2022-04-29 — /dev/random — Xavier Mertens: Botconf Day 2 Wrap-Up (https://blog.rootshell.be/2022/04/29/botconf-day-2-wrap-up/)
- 2022-04-28 — Botconf 2022: Warning! Botnet is in your house... (https://www.botconf.eu/wp-content/uploads/formidable/2/Botconf2022-01-YerushalmiSimonovich-2.pdf)

### 2021
- 2021-06-26 — Infosecurity Magazine: The Rise of DDoS: Flooded Networks, Downtime and How to Bolster Protection (https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/magazine-features/ddos-flooded-networks-downtime/)

### 2019
- 2019-07-26 — BankInfoSecurity: Massive Botnet Attack Used More Than 400000 IoT Devices (https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/massive-botnet-attack-used-more-than-400000-iot-devices-a-12841)
- 2019-07-25 — BleepingComputer: Streaming Service Suffers 13-Day DDoS Siege by IoT Botnet (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/streaming-service-suffers-13-day-ddos-siege-by-iot-botnet/)
- 2019-07-24 — Dark Reading: Mirai-Like Botnet Wages Massive Application-Layer DDoS Attack (https://www.darkreading.com/cyberattacks-data-breaches/mirai-like-botnet-wages-massive-application-layer-ddos-attack)
- 2019-04-16 — IsraelDefense: Imperva Discovers New DDoS Attack that Abuses HTML5 Ping-Based Hyperlink Auditing Feature (https://www.israeldefense.co.il/en/node/38168)
- 2019-04-15 — SecurityWeek: Large-scale DDoS Attack Abuses HTML's Hyperlink Audit Ping Facility (https://www.securityweek.com/large-scale-ddos-attack-abuses-htmls-hyperlink-audit-ping-facility/)
- 2019-04-11 — eWEEK: How HTML5 Ping Is Used in DDoS Attacks (https://www.eweek.com/security/how-html5-ping-is-used-in-ddos-attacks/)
- 2019-03-06 — SDxCentral: Imperva Researchers Find Hundreds of Vulnerable Docker Hosts Exploited by Cryptominers (https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/imperva-researchers-find-hundreds-of-vulnerable-docker-hosts-exploited-by-cryptominers/)
- 2019-03-05 — SC Media: Docker API vulnerability allows hackers to mine Monero (https://www.scworld.com/news/docker-api-vulnerability-allows-hackers-to-mine-monero)
- 2019-03-04 — BleepingComputer: Vulnerable Docker Hosts Actively Abused in Cryptojacking Campaigns (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/vulnerable-docker-hosts-actively-abused-in-cryptojacking-campaigns/)

## Syndicated coverage (11)
Reprints and translations retain their original source attribution; they are not additional independent reporting.
- How AI-powered hackers are stealing billions — Mint / The Economist, 2025-11-07. Original source: The Economist. A later Mint republication of The Economist’s reporting featuring Vitaly Simonovich’s AI security research. (https://www.livemint.com/global/how-ai-powered-hackers-are-stealing-billions-11762506268036.html)
- How AI-enhanced hackers are stealing billions — Mint / The Economist, 2025-08-20. Original source: The Economist. English syndication of The Economist’s reporting on Vitaly Simonovich’s Immersive World research and AI-assisted cybercrime. (https://www.livemint.com/global/how-ai-enhanced-hackers-are-stealing-billions/amp-11755655127897.html)
- Cómo los hackers con inteligencia artificial roban miles de millones de dólares — Infobae / The Economist, 2025-08-20. Original source: The Economist. Spanish-language syndication of The Economist’s coverage of Vitaly Simonovich’s research into AI-assisted cybercrime. (https://www.infobae.com/economist/2025/08/20/como-los-hackers-con-inteligencia-artificial-roban-miles-de-millones-de-dolares/)
- ChatGPTでパスワードマネージャーを突破できるほど強力なマルウェアを作成することは可能？ — Business Insider Japan, 2025-03-27. Original source: Business Insider. Japanese translation of Business Insider’s interview about Vitaly Simonovich’s Immersive World research. (https://www.businessinsider.jp/article/2503-roleplay-pretend-chatgpt-writes-password-stealing-malware-google-chrome/)
- How do you get ChatGPT to create malware strong enough to breach Google's password manager? Just play pretend. — AOL / Business Insider, 2025-03-22. Original source: Business Insider. Syndicated Business Insider interview about Vitaly Simonovich’s Immersive World research. (https://www.aol.com/chatgpt-create-malware-strong-enough-113802509.html)
- Never Leave Your Cloud Database Publicly Accessible — Imperva Research Labs – Medium, 2020. Original source: Imperva Blog. Medium republication of your cloud DB exposure research, credited to you and Sarit Yerushalmi. (https://impervaresearchlabs.medium.com/never-leave-your-cloud-database-publicly-accessible-8e33ebc58a6a)
- Bug hunting for a quick buck using WebLogic vulnerability (CVE-2020–14882) — Security Boulevard, 2020-11. Original source: Imperva Blog. Syndicated version of your WebLogic CVE analysis, credited to Vitaly Simonovich. (https://securityboulevard.com/2020/11/bug-hunting-for-a-quick-buck-using-weblogic-vulnerability-cve-2020-14882/)
- Remote File Inclusion (RFI) – Detecting the Undetectable — Security Boulevard, 2020-03. Original source: Imperva Blog. Syndicated copy of your RFI blog, credited to Vitaly Simonovich. (https://securityboulevard.com/2020/03/remote-file-inclusion-rfi-detecting-the-undetectable/)
- Imperva Blocks Our Largest DDoS L7/Brute Force Attack Ever (Peaking at 292,000 RPS) — Security Boulevard, 2019-07-24. Original source: Imperva Blog. Syndicated version of your L7 DDoS blog, credited by Vitaly Simonovich. (https://securityboulevard.com/2019/07/imperva-blocks-our-largest-ddos-l7-brute-force-attack-ever-peaking-at-292000-rps/)
- The Ping Is The Thing: Popular HTML5 Feature Used To Trick Chinese Mobile Users Into Joining Latest DDoS Attack — IT Security Guru, 2019-04. Original source: Imperva Blog. Repost of the Imperva article, credited to Vitaly Simonovich and Dima Bekerman. (https://www.itsecurityguru.org/2019/04/18/the-ping-is-the-thing-popular-html5-feature-used-to-trick-chinese-mobile-users-into-joining-latest-ddos-attack/)
  - Date note: URL contains 2019-04-18; supplied evidence report records a displayed date of 2019-11-12. Publication date remains unresolved.
- Hundreds of Vulnerable Docker Hosts Exploited by Cryptocurrency Miners — Security Boulevard, 2019-03. Original source: Imperva Blog. Syndicated copy of your Docker cryptominer research, credited by Vitaly Simonovich. (https://securityboulevard.com/2019/03/hundreds-of-vulnerable-docker-hosts-exploited-by-cryptocurrency-miners/)