Latest news with #Copycat
Techday NZ
5 days ago
- Techday NZ
SquareX launches open-source toolkits to defend browsers
SquareX has released two open-source toolkits to support security teams in simulating and defending against browser-based attacks that can evade traditional enterprise security measures. The two new toolkits, developed by SquareX security researchers, are designed to enable red and blue teams to more effectively address attack techniques that specifically target web browsers. These methods often exploit the fact that many conventional network and endpoint security solutions have limited visibility into threats that operate solely within the browser environment, such as session hijacking and data exfiltration. The prevalence of web browsers as the interface through which corporate resources are accessed and sensitive data is managed has elevated the browser as a key attack vector for threat actors. Despite this, most existing security frameworks continue to focus on more traditional points of compromise, like endpoints and networks. The toolkits aim to bridge this gap by providing practical resources for offensive (red teams) and defensive (blue teams) security teams. Red teams can leverage the tools to create simulations of browser-based attacks, while blue teams can use them to learn to detect and respond to threats that might be otherwise overlooked by standard monitoring systems. Angry Magpie toolkit One of the new toolkits, Angry Magpie, was developed by SquareX researchers Jeswin Mathai, Pankaj Sharma and Xian Xiang Chang. It focuses on simulating data exfiltration attacks using data splicing techniques that target weaknesses in data loss prevention (DLP) systems. Angry Magpie demonstrates how attackers can employ data sharding, ciphering, transcoding, and smuggling to bypass both proxy-based and endpoint DLP solutions. These attacks can be executed through everyday browser operations such as copying to clipboard, file uploads, downloads, and printing. This approach sheds light on how insider threats might launch data exfiltration campaigns from within a browser, offering security teams a means to recognise and counter similar techniques. The toolkit provides methods to reveal these vulnerabilities and can help teams develop targeted defences. Copycat toolkit The second toolkit, Copycat, was created by SquareX security researchers Dakshitaa Babu, Tejeswar S Reddy, Pankaj Sharma and Albin Antony. Copycat is designed to simulate identity and authentication attacks that are initiated through malicious or compromised browser extensions. The toolkit contains ten modules, each illustrating a distinct technique for carrying out identity compromise at the browser level, such as silent account hijacking, credential theft, two-factor authentication interception, and manipulation of OAuth flows. The toolkit demonstrates how even browser extensions with minimal permissions - such as widely-used colour picker extensions with tabs and scripting access - can be used by attackers to compromise user identities and gain control over authenticated sessions. Recent campaigns by threat actor groups like Scattered Spider and Muddled Libra have utilised similar browser-based techniques as an entry point into enterprises. "Enterprise security solutions are struggling to keep pace with modern attack techniques that operate entirely within web browsers. While organizations have invested heavily in endpoint detection and network security, these traditional defenses have limited visibility into browser-based threats - particularly identity attacks and data exfiltration that occur within authenticated sessions." The release of Angry Magpie and Copycat toolkits highlights the need for enhanced collective understanding and preparedness. They intend to give security professionals both concrete attack examples and the detection mechanisms necessary for enterprise environments. This effort is part of SquareX's broader strategy, which previously saw the introduction of a browser detection and response solution designed to deliver visibility and control within browser sessions. The company's security researchers emphasise that providing these tools to the wider community can help teams stay informed about the latest attack vectors and develop appropriate strategies in response. "Through these toolkits, SquareX extends its impact beyond pioneering the Browser Detection and Response solution to enabling the entire security industry - ensuring teams understand actively exploited attack techniques and can build appropriate defenses." The toolkits are open-source and available to security teams for direct use and adaptation in enterprise environments. Live demonstrations of Angry Magpie and Copycat are being held at DEF CON, offering a practical showcase of how the tools can be integrated into existing security frameworks.
7NEWS
01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- 7NEWS
WIN A TRIP TO BLUEY'S WORLD BRISBANE
Wackadoo! How would you like the chance to see the Heeler's house in real life!? Weekend Sunrise are giving 10 lucky families the chance to get to go and visit Bluey's World Brisbane scoring a family pass through their Bluey BONANZA! The immersive attraction has quickly become one of Brisbane's top family destinations - over 300,000 visitors since opening last November! Winners will get to see Bluey's house, where you can explore the living room, Bluey and Bingo's bedroom, playroom, kitchen, have a play in the backyard - and so much more! Located at the expansive 4,000sqm custom-built Northshore Pavilion in Brisbane, Queensland, Bluey's World offers a unique guided experience for families and fan alike! Now if you've been here before, there is even MORE to see and do and exciting ways to explore the Heeler family's home: - Fun new games added - Copycat, Floor is Lava, Musical Statues & more - Iconic Bluey episode reimagined inside a 360-degree dome experience - Lots of new friends to discover including Floppy, Polly Poppy and Bob Bilby! Now if this comp was made for you and your family we want to hear from you! Enter below and tell us in 25 words or less why your family deserves to go to Bluey's World Brisbane
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
This movie ruined my career and ended my dating life. 30 years later, it's seeing a resurgence on Netflix.
William McNamara opens up to Yahoo about "Copycat" — the film that derailed his career — and how it's suddenly finding a new life 30 years later, thanks to Netflix. In high school and into college, I watched my VHS copy of 1988's Stealing Home approximately 876 times. William McNamara, with his tousled hair and Hollywood-approved cheekbones, played a teen whose relationship with his childhood babysitter defined his coming of age. Back then, McNamara was on a path to leading man status. The heartthrob graced the pages of fan magazines, made a movie with the Coreys (Feldman and Haim), shared the screen with rising star Reese Witherspoon and was cast as golden-age icon Montgomery Clift. He even dated Brooke Shields. Everything was coming up Billy — and then he sort of vanished. Blame Copycat — or at least he does. In the 1995 psychological thriller starring Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter, McNamara played a clean-cut sociopath. Perhaps too well. 'It ruined my career,' he tells Yahoo. 'I was on the leading man trajectory — the good guy roles. All of a sudden … casting agents said, 'No, I saw Billy in Copycat. He's too edgy. He's too dark. He's too comfortable in that role. There's no acting. That had to be him.' After that, the parts McNamara got offered changed, and his leading man status faded. It also killed his dating life. Women 'saw the movie, and my character disturbed them,' he says. So you can imagine the whiplash he felt when, 30 years later, Copycat landed on Netflix and rocketed to the platform's global Top 10 the week of June 16, charting in 46 countries. The film that derailed his career was suddenly back. Stunned by its resurgence, McNamara talks to Yahoo about the film's surprise second life, the toll it took on his career and his hope for another shot. The comeback McNamara had no idea the Jon Amiel-directed film landed on Netflix until his social media started blowing up in June. 'I was getting 100 new Instagram followers a day and all these [direct] messages,' he says. 'I go on IMDbPro's STARmeter, and usually I'm between 5,000 to 10,000, which is not bad for a '90s star, by the way. I was (No.) 165, above Angelina Jolie. I thought it was a mistake. Then a couple of people started texting: 'Hey, Copycat is trending.' The whole thing 'blew my mind,' he says of Copycat getting 6 million views in a week on the streaming service. It also 'tells me that I make an impression on people. I have a supporting role in Copycat. For that many people to look me up [says something]. They should give me another shot today.' The killer role that changed everything McNamara was cast against type as Peter Foley — a soft-spoken, button-down shirt-wearing guy who's secretly mimicking infamous murderers. 'I didn't suspect at all that I would be asked to do a serial killer role,' he says. 'I thought he was interested in me for the detective role [that went to] Dermot Mulroney.' At his two meetings with the director, he didn't read lines. They talked, which McNamara says felt more like 'a psychiatric tour of my life' than an audition. Finally, an offer followed. 'My agent at the time said, 'They want you to play the serial killer,'' he recalls. 'I was like, 'Really? I don't know if I could do that.' He said, 'This is an important film. … It's Warner Bros. You need to do this.' I thought, It seems difficult, but at the time, I was not a superstar. The money was very good, and [so was the opportunity to work] on a big studio movie with Sigourney and Holly and Dermot and Harry Connick Jr. … It was like, 'OK, I gotta do it. I gotta just figure this out.'' McNamara prepared extensively for the role, working with forensic psychiatrist Park Dietz, who consulted on the highest-profile criminal cases like Jeffrey Dahmer, and FBI profiler Robert Ressler, paying them out of his own pocket. 'I did an interesting, definitely unique portrayal of a serial killer, and everybody liked it,' he says. 'I got letters from Warner Bros. and [Regency Enterprises founder] Arnon Milchan, so it seemed everything was good and my career was taking off. Then I was walking through [L.A.'s] Westwood … and two UCLA girls recognized me: 'Hey, we just saw your movie.' I thought they meant Stealing Home, my big movie everybody recognized me from, but they said, 'No, Copycat.' It turns out they had participated in a test screening of the yet-to-be-released film. 'I said, 'How was the movie?' and they replied, 'Not too good. You didn't score well,' he says. He thought it was a joke until the next day, when his agent called. 'He said, 'I've got good news and bad news,'' McNamara says. 'Good news: They're not going to fire you. Bad news: Your movie didn't test well. But it's not just you. … They've hired Frank Darabont to rewrite the script, and you're going to reshoot for 21 days.' A surprise acting coach and men in black Being told reshoots are needed is something 'no actor wants to hear,' McNamara says. But, 'it wasn't really all my fault.' McNamara says he based his character on what he learned through his research, but his performance wasn't 'Hollywood' enough. 'Most serial killers are not movie stars or wildly entertaining people,' he says. 'They're cerebral and very introverted. It wouldn't be exciting to follow the real Jeffrey Dahmer around. You need Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs. … It didn't translate. It was unique — nobody had done this particular portrayal of a serial killer — but it was not Hollywood. I learned that lesson.' Leading up to the reshoots, McNamara was feeling 'panicked.' His mentor, actor Roddy McDowall, offered to have 'my friend Tony coach you' on the script. 'Tony' turned out to be Anthony Hopkins. 'I brought all my research,' McNamara says. 'I handed it to [Hopkins], and he throws it away. He said, 'That got in your way. No more research. You want to keep it simple, stupid. We're going to memorize your lines backward and forward, and then we're just going to make it a joyous occasion. You're not a serial killer. This is a comedy, and you want to have fun.' It changed my whole perspective on acting.' While he was Hopkins-trained, the pressure was on. The first day back on the set, McNamara arrived, and there were seven or eight men in black suits with their arms crossed. ''They're here for you,'' he says Amiel told him of the FBI look-alikes who turned out to be studio execs, including then-Warner Bros. chairman Terry Semel. 'If you don't knock it out of the ballpark today, they have somebody waiting [to replace you].' McNamara delivered, but when the film was released to largely positive reviews, he immediately felt a shift in the roles he was offered. 'Before Copycat, I had done a lot of movies playing the leading man, the straight and narrow guy,' he says. 'My agent would [try to get me] edgier roles, and it was, 'No … he's too soft. He's too boy next door. He doesn't have any edge.'' When Copycat came out, 'All of a sudden, I'm not on the leading man track anymore because of this dark, edgy guy I played,' he says. 'I started being offered not B movies but [also] not A+ movies to play the bad guy. But for lots of money. I had two mortgages. I had a house on the beach in Malibu. I took the money, basically.' McNamara's career path veered from the high-profile good-guy leading man roles to more supporting turns in film and television. However, 'I continued to work,' he says. 'I work all the time. I'm very lucky.' His professional life wasn't his only disappointment. McNamara's romantic life suffered too. 'I was a single bachelor and did well with the girls back then,' he says. 'After Copycat came out, [it changed]. [I'd ask a woman], 'Hey, can I get your number?' And she's like, 'Yeah, um, I don't know. I just don't get a good vibe about you.'' He recalled telling his therapist, 'Something really weird is going on. Every girl is rejecting me. She said, 'Do you think it might be your role?'' They deduced that Copycat viewers didn't consciously recognize McNamara from the film because his role was supporting, but they subconsciously associated him with his creepy character who drugged drinks and kidnapped and tortured his victims. Luckily, he was able to turn the 'Billy McNamara charm' back around. (For the record, he's never married, but is currently in a relationship.) Coming soon: His dream role With new fans discovering his old movies, McNamara says he'd love to see Stealing Home, 'which didn't get the right amount of attention at the time,' and the 'zany and funny' 1994 film Chasers get their due. As for his future dream role, it's one 'I created for myself,' he says. McNamara wrote, directed and produced 10 episodes of The Trouble With Billy, a comedy series in which he also stars, about an exaggerated version of himself. It's about a former '90s heartthrob's quest to finance his dog's life-saving heart transplant. (McNamara's an animal activist, making headlines for his efforts.) The series, which is being shopped around, was created 'out of desperation because for years, I've always wanted to do comedy [but was told], 'You're not funny. You're a dramatic actor,'' he says. He's had fun leaning into the washed-up actor vibe. "[I was told], 'Don't ever show [the series] to a girl you're interested in because it portrays you in a very bad light, like a loser.' But I've never been homeless. I've never lived in my car. They don't do heart transplants on dogs. I have not been abducted by aliens,' he laughs. 'I'm proud of it. It's pretty good.' Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
This movie ruined my career and ended my dating life. 30 years later, it's seeing a resurgence on Netflix.
William McNamara opens up to Yahoo about "Copycat" — the film that derailed his career — and how it's suddenly finding a new life 30 years later, thanks to Netflix. In high school and into college, I watched my VHS copy of 1988's Stealing Home approximately 876 times. William McNamara, with his tousled hair and Hollywood-approved cheekbones, played a teen whose relationship with his childhood babysitter defined his coming of age. Back then, McNamara was on a path to leading man status. The heartthrob graced the pages of fan magazines, made a movie with the Coreys, shared the screen with rising star Reese Witherspoon and was cast as golden-age icon Montgomery Clift. He even dated Brooke Shields. Everything was coming up Billy — and then he sort of vanished. Blame Copycat — or at least he does. In the 1995 psychological thriller starring Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter, McNamara played a clean-cut sociopath. Perhaps too well. 'It ruined my career,' he tells Yahoo. 'I was on the leading man trajectory — the good guy roles. All of a sudden … casting agents said, 'No, I saw Billy in Copycat. He's too edgy. He's too dark. He's too comfortable in that role. There's no acting. That had to be him.' After that, the parts McNamara got offered changed, and his leading man status faded. It also killed his dating life. Women 'saw the movie and my character disturbed them,' he says. So you can imagine the whiplash he felt when, 30 years later, Copycat landed on Netflix and rocketed to the platform's global Top 10 the week of June 16, charting in 46 countries. The film that derailed his career was suddenly back. Stunned by its resurgence, McNamara talks to Yahoo about the film's surprise second life, the toll it took on his career and his hope for another shot. The comeback McNamara had no idea the Jon Amiel-directed film landed on Netflix until his social media started blowing up in June. 'I was getting 100 new Instagram followers a day and all these [direct] messages,' he says. 'I go on IMDbPro's STARmeter and usually I'm between 5,000 to 10,000, which is not bad for a '90s star, by the way. I was (No.) 165, above Angelina Jolie. I thought it was a mistake. Then a couple of people started texting: 'Hey, Copycat is trending.' The whole thing 'blew my mind,' he says of Copycat getting 6 million views in a week on the streaming service. It also 'tells me that I make an impression on people. I have a supporting role in Copycat. For that many people to look me up [says something]. They should give me another shot today.' The killer role that changed everything McNamara was cast against type as Peter Foley — a soft-spoken, button-down shirt-wearing guy who's secretly mimicking infamous murderers. 'I didn't suspect at all that I would be asked to do a serial killer role,' he says. 'I thought he was interested in me for the detective role [that went to] Dermot Mulroney.' At his two meetings with the director, he didn't read lines. They talked, which McNamara says felt more like 'a psychiatric tour of my life' than an audition. Finally, an offer followed. 'My agent at the time said, 'They want you to play the serial killer,'' he recalls. 'I was like, 'Really? I don't know if I could do that.' He said, 'This is an important film… It's Warner Bros. You need to do this.' I thought: It seems difficult, but at the time, I was not a superstar. The money was very good, and [so was the opportunity to work] on a big studio movie with Sigourney and Holly and Dermot and Harry Connick Jr. … It was like: 'OK, I gotta do it. I gotta just figure this out.'' McNamara prepared extensively for the role, working with forensic psychiatrist Park Dietz, who consulted on the highest-profile criminal cases like Jeffrey Dahmer and FBI profiler Robert Ressler, paying them out of his own pocket. 'I did an interesting, definitely unique portrayal of a serial killer and everybody liked it,' he says. 'I got letters from Warner Bros. and [Regency Enterprises founder] Arnon Milchan, so it seemed everything was good and my career was taking off. Then I was walking through [L.A.'s] Westwood … and two UCLA girls recognized me: 'Hey, we just saw your movie.' I thought they meant Stealing Home, my big movie everybody recognized me from, but they said, 'No, Copycat.' It turns out they had participated in a test screening of the yet-to-be-released film. 'I said, 'How was the movie?' and they replied, 'Not too good. You didn't score well,' he says. He thought it was a joke until the next day, when his agent called. 'He said, I've got good news and bad news,'' McNamara says. 'Good news: They're not going to fire you. Bad news: Your movie didn't test well. But it's not just you… They've hired Frank Darabont to rewrite the script, and you're going to reshoot for 21 days.' A surprise acting coach and men in black Being told reshoots are needed is something 'no actor wants to hear,' McNamara says. But,'it wasn't really all my fault.' McNamara says he based his character on what he learned through his research, but his performance wasn't 'Hollywood' enough. 'Most serial killers are not movie stars or wildly entertaining people,' he says. 'They're cerebral and very introverted. It wouldn't be exciting to follow the real Jeffrey Dahmer around. You need Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs… It didn't translate. It was unique — nobody had done this particular portrayal of a serial killer — but it was not Hollywood. I learned that lesson.' Leading up to the reshoots, McNamara was feeling 'panicked.' His mentor, actor Roddy McDowall, offered to have ''my friend Tony coach you'' on the script. 'Tony' turned out to be Anthony Hopkins. 'I brought all my research,' McNamara says. 'I handed it to [Hopkins] and he throws it away. He said, 'That got in your way. No more research. You want to keep it simple, stupid. We're going to memorize your lines backward and forward, and then we're just going to make it a joyous occasion. You're not a serial killer. This is a comedy, and you want to have fun.' It changed my whole perspective on acting.' While he was Hopkins-trained, the pressure was on. The first day back on the set, McNamara arrived and there were seven or eight men in black suits with their arms crossed. ''They're here for you,'' he says Amiel told him of the FBI look-alikes who turned out to be studio execs, including then-Warner Bros. chairman Terry Semel. 'If you don't knock it out of the ballpark today, they have somebody waiting [to replace you].' McNamara delivered, but when the film was released to largely positive reviews, he immediately felt a shift in the roles he was offered. 'Before Copycat, I had done a lot of movies playing the leading man, the straight and narrow guy,' he says. 'My agent would [try to get me] edgier roles and it was: 'No … He's too soft. He's too boy next door. He doesn't have any edge.'' When Copycat came out, 'All of a sudden, I'm not on the leading man track anymore because of this dark, edgy guy I played,' he says. 'I started being offered not B movies but [also] not A+ movies to play the bad guy. But for lots of money. I had two mortgages. I had a house on the beach in Malibu. I took the money basically.' McNamara's career path veered from the high-profile good guy leading man roles to more supporting turns in film and television. However, 'I continued to work,' he says. 'I work all the time. I'm very lucky.' His professional life wasn't his only disappointment. McNamara's romantic life suffered, too. 'I was a single bachelor and did well with the girls back then,' he says. 'After Copycat came out, [it changed]. [I'd ask a woman], 'Hey, can I get your number?' And she's like: 'Yeah, um, I don't know. I just don't get a good vibe about you.'' He recalled telling his therapist, ''Something really weird is going on. Every girl is rejecting me.' She said: 'Do you think it might be your role?'' They deduced that Copycat viewers didn't consciously recognize McNamara from the film, because his role was supporting, but they subconsciously associated him with his creepy character who drugged drinks and kidnapped and tortured his victims. Luckily, he was able to turn the 'Billy McNamara charm' back around. Coming soon: His dream role With new fans discovering his old movies, McNamara says he'd love to see Stealing Home, 'which didn't get the right amount of attention at the time' and the 'zany and funny' 1994 film Chasers, get their due. As for his future dream role, it's one 'I created for myself,' he says. ' he says. McNamara wrote, directed and produced 10 episodes of The Trouble With Billy, a comedy series in which he also stars, about an exaggerated version of himself. It's about a former '90s heartthrob's quest to finance his dog's life-saving heart transplant. (McNamara's an animal activist, making headlines for his efforts.) The series, which is being shopped around, was created 'out of desperation because for years, I've always wanted to do comedy [but was told], 'You're not funny. You're a dramatic actor,'' he says. He's had fun leaning into the washed-up actor vibe. "[I was told]: 'Don't ever show [the series] to a girl you're interested in because it portrays you in a very bad light, like a loser.' But I've never been homeless. I've never lived in my car. They don't do heart transplants on dogs. I have not been abducted by aliens,' he laughs. 'I'm proud of it. It's pretty good.' Solve the daily Crossword
Daily Mirror
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Netflix fans only just discovering 'most underrated' film that has left them 'traumatised'
An 'underrated' thriller on Netflix has found a new lease of life 30 years since its initial release Movie fans are just now discovering a seriously intense thriller on Netflix that has left them 'traumatised'. Originally released back in 1995, psychological thriller Copycat, stars Sigourney Weaver as Dr Helen Hudson, a criminal psychologist who is struggling with agoraphobia. The renowned expert became a recluse after a traumatic attack that saw her nearly get murdered by killer Daryll Lee Cullum (Harry Connick Jr). Years later, Helen is recruited by San Francisco police officer Detective M.J. Monahan (Holly Hunter) to try and hunt down a serial killer replicating the methods of infamous murderers. Although she fears the outside world, Helen uses her knowledge and expertise to try and catch the person behind the copycat killings while working with M.J. The cast of the film - which developed a cult following in the decades since its release -also includes stars like Dermot Mulroney, William McNamara and Will Patton. As well as Copycat doing pretty well at the box office - grossing $79 million from a $27 million budget - the critical response was positive too. On Rotten Tomatoes, it was given a 76% rating. Copycat was released on UK's Netflix last month - and it's fair to say the film has found a new lease of life 30 years since its initial release. On Facebook, Netflix uploaded the opening scene of Copycat in which Helen is attacked by Daryll in a public toilet. Reacting to a 'traumatising' clip, one person said: 'Man! This scene made me afraid to use public bathrooms. I mean, even to this day I'm still on high alert at rest stops.' Someone else added: 'I remember seeing this in theaters. I was freaked out in public restrooms for months!' A third chimed in: 'This scene TRAUMATISED me when I saw it as a teenager, for years and years. I'd always be looking up when using the public bathroom to make sure it didn't happen to me.' Meanwhile, others praised the film as a whole, with someone declaring: 'I really liked this, one of the most underrated movies out there.' Another agreed: 'Great movie, it holds up and I agree no one really talks about it.' It wasn't just the audience that Harry Connick Jr creeped out thanks to his portrayal of killer Daryll Lee Cullum. In 2024, he revealed that Sigourney Weaver was so freaked out by his performance that 'she wouldn't talk to him' on set. 'Every time I came around, she went the other way,. She was like, 'I don't want to be around that guy!'' he told SiriusXM's The Jess Cagle Show with Julia Cunningham.
