New step in the Apex Accelerator npm malware campaign

The campaign uses fake AI tools in npm, a source of code packages, to put malware on computers. In July 2026, SafeDep detailed 3 other packages of the same operation.

Elastic Security Labs researchers Jia Yu Chan and Daniel Stepanic say that a fake Web3 accelerator, Apex Accelerator, pushes malware through 2 npm packages. The packages offer free AI credits for Claude and Gemini, code tools and security audits. Elastic tracks the operation as REF8801. It targets cryptocurrency startups and founders. The packages are not available at this time.

How it works

Founders get an offer of investment and an instruction to operate the tool @apexacc/cli. The package then drops a loader. On Windows, a chain of programs gets data from wallets and browsers and sends it through Telegram. On macOS, the backdoor CloudSyncD asks for the login password with a fake prompt.

The proof

Elastic says that the 18 tools in @apexacc/audit make incorrect results. The score test in @apexacc/cli gives a result with no proof for a fictitious project. Elastic also says the group repackaged a legitimate coding agent to send AI traffic through its services. The group went to TOKEN2049 in Singapore to get trust.

What is not known

The source gives no number of victims and no loss figure. Jamf Threat Labs found CloudSyncD in September 2026, in a fake Zoom installer.

Insight: AI accounts are both bait and target for attackers

Apex uses free Claude and Gemini credits as bait. Symantec says the Aoki malware gets credentials for Claude, Codex, Cursor and Gemini. Bitsight says a seller scans with AI keys of other persons, and the owner of each key pays. It seems that attackers use AI accounts of developers as they use cloud credentials. A developer who tries a fake AI tool can give an attacker the keys.