This week, the SonicWall Capture Labs threat research team analyzed a ransomware that not only encrypts files but also accuses the victim of harboring explicit content on their computer and then threatens to turn it over to authorities if ransom is not paid.
Extortion attacks often come as unsolicited emails, and GoZone has stooped to pretending to find explicit content on victims’ machines to extract payment. This ransomware is written in Go. It is apparent that it uses Chacha20 and RSA encryption packages as evidenced by its strings.
Read more…
Source: SonicWall Capture Labs
Related:
- Massive Malspam Campaign Targets Unpatched Systems
February 27, 2018
Cybercriminals are leveraging a recently patched critical Adobe Flash Player vulnerability in a massive spam campaign targeting unpatched computers. According to the research firm Morphisec, cybercriminals are blasting spam messages that urge recipients to click a link to download a Word document. And when a victim opens the document and enables macros, malware attempts to exploit an ...
- Ransomware: Get ready for the next wave of destructive cyberattacks
February 26, 2018
It might look to be out of the limelight compared to 2017, but it would be foolish to write ransomware off yet, as more attacks using the file-encrypting malware are ahead. High profile incidents like WannaCry, NotPetya and Bad Rabbit made ransomeware infamous last year. WannaCry and NotPetya have since both been attributed to be the work of nation-states – the former to North ...
- Hackers are selling legitimate code-signing certificates to evade malware detection
February 22, 2018
Security researchers have found that hackers are using code-signing certificates more to make it easier to bypass security appliances and infect their victims. New research by Recorded Future’s Insikt Group found that hackers and malicious actors are obtaining legitimate certificates from issuing authorities in order to sign malicious code. Read more… Source: ZDNet
- Global economy loses more than half a trillion dollars through cybercrime
February 22, 2018
The global economy loses roughly $600 billion every year due to cybercrime, experts have warned. A new worldwide study from McAfee added that global losses are also set to increase more and more going forward, given that in 2014, the damage stood at $445 billion. “Crime is more efficient, less risky, more profitable and has never been easier to ...
- Bot and drone misuse could lead to cybercrime explosion
February 21, 2018
The rapid development of drones and artificial intelligence is a “game-changer” that will present a serious threat to national security if it isn’t addressed. The assessment, made by 26 experts from institutions including Cambridge and Oxford Universities, warns of the potential for malicious use of artificial intelligence (AI) by rogue states, criminals, and terrorists. The panel forecast ...
- Year-Old Coldroot RAT Targets MacOS, Still Evades Detection
February 20, 2018
Researchers are warning users about the Coldroot remote access Trojan that is going undetected by AV engines and targets MacOS computers. The RAT is cross-platform and capable of planting a keylogger on MacOS systems prior to the OS High Sierra and is designed to steal banking credentials. Coldroot was found by researcher Patrick Wardle, chief research ...