Recently, our team exposed sophisticated scam kits designed to steal sensitive data and trick consumers. But underground marketplaces are not just for malware and stolen passwords. They also offer services designed to manipulate your opinion of the products and services you buy every day.
In our latest research, we examined cybercrime forums where sellers advertise illicit “reputation management” services. For the right price, these underground operators offer to flood a product with glowing, five-star ratings or remove negative reviews. This shadowy industry works both ways—artificially boosting reputations and deliberately hiding legitimate complaints.
A major shift we are seeing in this space is the adoption of new technology. We also found that cybercriminals are using AI to automate these fake review campaigns. This could allow them to quickly generate realistic, human-sounding feedback in large volumes without much manual effort.
Read more…
Source: Malwarebytes Labs
Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- Hackers exploiting popular social engineering ‘toolkits’ to refine cyber attacks
September 4, 2019
Hackers are regularly using highly customisable online resources to add social engineering components to render their attacks more effective, according to new research from Malwarebytes. One website identified by the team features an expansive toolkit that has drawn more than 100,000 visits in the past few weeks, offering design and framework support to attackers. The resource, dubbed Domen, is built ...
- BRATA Android RAT Steals Banking Info in Real Time
September 4, 2019
The RAT targets users via fake WhatsApp updates in Google Play. A powerful Android remote access tool (RAT) family dubbed BRATA is proliferating, with at least 20 different variants cropping up since it was first spotted in January. The majority of the binaries have been found in the official Google Play store, masquerading as updates for ...
- ‘USBAnywhere’ Bugs Open Supermicro Servers to Remote Attackers
September 3, 2019
Trivial-to-exploit authentication flaws can give an unsophisticated remote attacker ‘omnipotent’ control over a server and its contents. Authentication vulnerabilities in the baseboard management controllers (BMCs) of Supermicro X9-X11 servers have been discovered that allow a remote attacker to easily connect to a server and mount any virtual USB device of their choosing. The bugs, collectively dubbed USBAnywhere, ...
- Android Zero-Days Now Worth More Than iPhone Exploits
September 3, 2019
Exploit broker Zerodium has implemented a $2.5 million price tag for a zero-click 0-day in Android. An Android zero-day exploit is now worth more than one for the iPhone on the global cyberweapons market. Exploit acquisition vendor Zerodium said Tuesday that it is willing to pay a whopping $2.5 million for a zero-click Android zero-day with persistence. ...
- Fraudsters use AI voice manipulation to steal £200,000
September 2, 2019
Cyber criminals have used artificial intelligence (AI) and voice technology to impersonate a UK business owner, resulting in the fraudulent transfer of $243,000 (£201,000). In March this year, what is believed to be an unknown hacker group is said to have exploited AI-powered software to mimic the prominent business leader’s voice to fool his subordinate, the CEO of ...
- Russian police take down malware gang that infected 800,000+ Android smartphones
August 29, 2019
Russian authorities have arrested members of the TipTop cybercrime group, believed to have infected more than 800,000 Android smartphones with malware since 2015. The group operated by renting Android banking trojans from underground hacking forums, which they later hid inside Android apps distributed via search engine ads and third-party app stores. TipTop has been active since 2015, ...