According to Infosecurity Magazine, cybersecurity firm Proofpoint has identified active malicious campaigns where hackers are targeting North American trucking and logistics companies to facilitate cargo theft for organized crime groups. The threat cluster has been active since at least June 2025, with evidence suggesting campaigns may have begun as early as January 2025. Attackers use social engineering emails containing URLs that lead to executable files installing remote monitoring management tools, granting full control of compromised systems. The researchers noted that threat actors create domains impersonating legitimate transportation brands to enhance believability, deploying tools including ScreenConnect, SimpleHelp, and LogMeIn Resolve, sometimes in combination. This emerging threat represents a dangerous convergence of digital and physical crime that demands immediate industry attention.
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The Convergence Threat Goes Mainstream
What we’re witnessing is the maturation of a trend that security professionals have warned about for years: the convergence of cyber and physical security threats. While previous incidents involved relatively simple coordination between digital and physical criminals, this campaign represents a sophisticated, integrated operation. The attackers aren’t just stealing data—they’re using digital access to enable large-scale physical theft. This evolution suggests we’re entering an era where traditional criminal enterprises have fully embraced digital tools, creating hybrid threats that most companies aren’t prepared to defend against. The transportation industry’s digital transformation, while improving efficiency, has created new attack surfaces that organized crime is now exploiting systematically.
Systemic Supply Chain Vulnerabilities
The choice of transportation targets reveals deeper systemic issues in our global supply chains. Trucking and logistics companies often operate with thin margins and limited cybersecurity budgets, making them attractive targets. More concerning is the interconnected nature of modern logistics—once attackers compromise one company, they potentially gain visibility into entire supply networks. The Proofpoint research indicates attackers are conducting reconnaissance to “deepen access within targeted environments,” suggesting they’re not just after single shipments but seeking persistent access to logistics ecosystems. This approach could enable much larger heists by allowing criminals to track high-value shipments across multiple carriers and plan coordinated physical interventions.
Legitimate Tools Turned Weapons
The use of legitimate remote access tools represents a particularly clever adaptation by threat actors. Tools like ScreenConnect and SimpleHelp are essential for IT support in distributed organizations like trucking companies, making their presence less suspicious than traditional malware. This “living off the land” approach allows attackers to maintain access while evading detection by security software that might flag more conventional malicious tools. The implications extend beyond cargo theft—this technique could be adapted for industrial espionage, critical infrastructure attacks, or even nation-state operations. As remote work becomes permanent across industries, the security implications of these essential tools demand urgent reassessment.
The Coming Wave of Hybrid Crime
Looking ahead 12-24 months, this campaign likely represents just the beginning of a broader trend. We should expect to see similar hybrid attacks targeting pharmaceutical shipments, electronics, luxury goods, and even critical components like semiconductors. The success of these operations will encourage copycats and potentially lead to specialized criminal marketplaces offering “cargo theft as a service.” More sophisticated attackers might combine these techniques with GPS spoofing, automated vehicle location system manipulation, or even compromising warehouse management systems to create completely undetectable theft opportunities. The transportation industry needs to develop integrated security operations that bridge the traditional divide between physical security teams and cybersecurity professionals.
Necessary Defensive Evolution
The defense against these hybrid threats requires fundamental changes in how we approach security. Traditional segmentation between physical and digital security teams creates vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit. Companies need integrated security operations centers that monitor both cyber threats and physical asset tracking in real-time. Employee training must evolve beyond basic phishing awareness to include specific social engineering scenarios targeting logistics personnel. Perhaps most importantly, the industry needs to develop shared threat intelligence platforms that allow rapid information sharing about emerging tactics. The alternative—allowing criminal innovation to outpace defensive measures—could undermine the reliability of global supply chains at a time when they’re already under unprecedented stress.
