VerdantBamboo

Trojanized Build Pipelines and Blind-Spot Appliances Redefine the Perimeter Attackers are bypassing traditional network defenses by compromising the tools developers use to build software and the AI assistants they rely on to write code. Campaigns like Mini Shai-Hulud and Miasma - The Spreading Blight flooded package registries with malicious code that steals cloud credentials and CI/CD tokens, while researchers proved that public AI agent skill marketplaces are completely ineffective at catching malicious add-ons. Nation-state actors and cybercriminals are simultaneously shifting their focus to blind spots in corporate networks and trusted platforms. The VerdantBamboo group exploited firewalls to bypass conditional access, while UNC3753 used IT impersonation to trick law firm employees into installing remote access tools, and Kali365 expanded its phishing infrastructure to steal multi-factor authentication tokens. Defenders must shift their focus from perimeter email filtering to securing the software build pipeline and monitoring edge appliances for anomalous traffic. Hunt for unexpected connections to cloud storage APIs and review developer environments for compromised packages or AI skills.

VerdantBamboo, a Chinese threat actor, compromised edge appliances including Egnyte Storage Sync, pfSense firewalls, and Synology NAS devices to deploy custom malware (BRICKSTORM, PLENET, AGENTPSD). The attackers exploited a compromised MSP and local privilege escalation misconfigurations to maintain long-term persistence, using the compromised devices to proxy traffic and bypass Microsoft 365 Conditional Access policies.