Latest news with #DarkNights
Thrill Geek
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Thrill Geek
Hersheypark Announces Halloween Partnership with Shaquille O'Neal
Hersheypark is taking its Halloween celebrations to the next level this year with a brand-new experience that combines thrills, flavor, and Shaquille O'Neal's larger-than-life personality. For the first time in the park's history, the popular indoor coaster Laff Trakk will receive a seasonal overlay, transforming into the Shaq-A-Licious Laff Trakk as part of Hersheypark Halloween and Dark Nights. The spooky seasonal fun runs for eight weekends, from September 12 through November 2, 2025. Inspired by the hit Shaq-A-Licious XL Gummies, introduced by The Hershey Company in fall 2024, this immersive ride experience brings Shaq's playful energy to life in a candy-coated adventure. Riders will be treated to glowing visuals, pumping audio, and bold graphic displays—all infused with Shaquille O'Neal's signature humor and voiceovers. 'We're taking the flavor and the fun of my Shaq-A-Licious XL Gummies and blowing it up into a larger-than-life adventure,' said O'Neal. 'From the second you step inside, this ride brings non-stop energy and laughs.' The partnership marks a first-of-its-kind coaster overlay at Pennsylvania's largest amusement park, blending Hersheypark's thrills with the sweet, over-the-top world of Shaq-A-Licious. Guests can expect glowing gummy-inspired theming, interactive surprises, and a soundtrack designed to keep the energy sky-high. 'We are thrilled to collaborate with Shaquille O'Neal on a one-of-a-kind ride experience you can only find at Hersheypark Halloween and Dark Nights,' said Vikki Hultquist, Vice President of Hersheypark and Entertainment Operations. 'Get ready for a bigger, bolder, XL ride through a Shaq-ified world of giant glowing gummies, bass-pumping beats, and over-the-top fruit-flavored mayhem.' In addition to the ride overlay, Hersheypark will extend the partnership with themed food, drinks, and exclusive merchandise throughout the Halloween season. About Laff Trakk Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2025, Laff Trakk is America's first indoor spinning glow coaster. The funhouse-inspired attraction spins riders through vibrant visuals, a hall of mirrors, and whimsical characters—delivering a brand-new experience with every ride. Clint Gamache is the owner of ThrillGeek. He started ThrillGeek to share his love of theme/amusement parks and pop culture with the world. You can find him at Halloween Horror Nights. Also, be sure to follow him on Twitter/X, Instagram @iamcg83
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Yahoo
ESET Research analyzes tools from the China-aligned TheWizards group, with targets across Asia and the Middle East
Geographical distribution of the victims ESET discovered and analyzed both Spellbinder and WizardNet, tools used by the China-aligned TheWizards APT group. Spellbinder is used by the TheWizards to conduct local adversary-in-the-middle attacks and to redirect traffic from updating applications to an attacker-controlled server. That server delivers WizardNet, TheWizards' signature backdoor, which is being deployed by legitimate Chinese software update mechanisms to victims' machines. ESET also details the links between TheWizards and the Chinese company Dianke Network Security Technology, also known as UPSEC. SAN DIEGO, April 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ESET researchers have analyzed Spellbinder, a lateral movement tool used to perform adversary-in-the-middle attacks by the China-aligned threat actor TheWizards. Spellbinder enables adversary-in-the-middle attacks through IPv6 stateless address autoconfiguration spoofing, which allows the attackers to redirect the update protocols of legitimate Chinese software to malicious servers. Then the legitimate software is tricked into downloading and executing the malicious components that launch the backdoor WizardNet. TheWizards has been constantly active since at least 2022 until the present and, according to ESET telemetry, targets individuals, gambling companies, and unknown entities in the Philippines, Cambodia, the United Arab Emirates, mainland China, and Hong Kong. 'We initially discovered and analyzed this tool in 2022, and observed a new version with a few changes that was deployed to compromised machines in 2023 and 2024,' says ESET researcher Facundo Muñoz, who analyzed Spellbinder and WizardNet. 'Our research led us to discover a tool used by the attackers that is designed to perform adversary-in-the-middle attacks using IPv6 SLAAC spoofing to intercept and reply to packets in a network, allowing the attackers to redirect traffic and serve malicious updates to legitimate Chinese software,' explains Muñoz. The final payload in the attack is a backdoor that we named WizardNet – a modular implant that connects to a remote controller to receive and execute .NET modules on the compromised machine. ESET researchers have focused on one of the latest cases, in 2024, in which the update of Tencent QQ software was hijacked. The malicious server that issues the update instructions is still active. This variant of WizardNet supports five commands, three of which allow it to execute .NET modules in memory, thus extending its functionality on the compromised system. TheWizards and the Chinese company Dianke Network Security Technology (also known as UPSEC) – supplier of the DarkNights backdoor (also known as DarkNimbus), appear to be linked. According to NCSC UK, this malicious backdoor also has Tibetan and Uyghur communities among its primary targets. While TheWizards uses a different backdoor – the WizardNet, the hijacking server is configured to serve DarkNights to updating applications running on Android devices. For a more detailed analysis and technical breakdown of TheWizards' tools, check out the latest ESET Research blogpost 'TheWizards APT group uses SLAAC spoofing to perform adversary-in-the-middle attacks' on Make sure to follow ESET Research on Twitter (today known as X), BlueSky, and Mastodon for the latest news from ESET Research. About ESET ESET® provides cutting-edge digital security to prevent attacks before they happen. By combining the power of AI and human expertise, ESET stays ahead of emerging global cyberthreats, both known and unknown — securing businesses, critical infrastructure and individuals. Whether it's endpoint, cloud or mobile protection, our AI-native, cloud-first solutions and services remain highly effective and easy to use. ESET technology includes robust detection and response, ultra-secure encryption and multifactor authentication. With 24/7 real-time defense and strong local support, we keep users safe and businesses running without interruption. The ever-evolving digital landscape demands a progressive approach to security: ESET is committed to world-class research and powerful threat intelligence, backed by R&D centers and a strong global partner network. For more information, visit or follow our social media, podcasts and blogs. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at CONTACT: Media contact: Jessica Beffa 720-413-4938
