In a twist more bizarre than a soap opera plot, cybersecurity experts are sounding the alarms over a double act that’s giving traditional botnets a run for their money: GeoServer vulnerabilities and unruly Redis servers. It’s the kind of cybersecurity mash-up only the internet could serve, with hackers leveraging CVE-2024-36401 like it’s the hottest new app on the market.

But don’t just blame the hackers—Redis, that innocent-looking open-source darling, is now the go-to for cybercriminals who fancy a spot of cryptocurrency mining in their downtime. It’s as if Redis decided to take up a side hustle, offering its once-benign services for residential proxies and IoT botnets. Because why should ransomware have all the fun?

Meanwhile, the security community is left shaking their heads, wondering how they ended up in a world where ‘Gayfemboy’ isn’t a new social media platform but rather part of the never-ending saga of digital chaos. As they frantically patch vulnerabilities, one can’t help but picture cybercriminals laughing maniacally, petting their virtual white cats, and planning their next heist.