- Threat Spotlight: Neshta File Infector Endures
November 1, 2019
Neshta is an older file infector that is still prevalent in the wild. It was initially observed in 2003 and has been previously associated with BlackPOS malware. It prepends malicious code to infected files. This threat is commonly introduced into an environment through unintentional downloading or by other malware. It infects Windows executable files and ...
- Calypso APT Emerges from the Shadows to Target Governments
October 31, 2019
A newly discovered APT group, dubbed Calypso after a custom malware RAT that it uses, has been targeting state institutions in six different countries since 2016. Government organizations in India (34 percent), Brazil and Kazakhstan (18 percent respectively), Russia and Thailand (12 percent respectively) and Turkey (6 percent) have all been successfully infiltrated at some point, ...
- ICS Attackers Set To Inflict More Damage With Evolving Tactics
October 31, 2019
Future attacks on industrial control system (ICS) networks may inflict even more damage in the long run, according to new research. Analysts expect them to evolve from attacks that have immediate, direct impact to those with multiple stages and attack vectors that are more stealthy. While it remains extraordinarily difficult to mount successful attacks on critical ...
- Xhelper: Persistent Android dropper app infects 45K devices in past 6 months
October 29, 2019
Symantec has observed a surge in detections for a malicious Android application that can hide itself from users, download additional malicious apps, and display advertisements. The app, called Xhelper, is persistent. It is able reinstall itself after users uninstall it and is designed to stay hidden by not appearing on the system’s launcher. The app ...
- Mobile Malware and APT Espionage: Prolific, Pervasive, and Cross-Platform
October 23, 2019
Until now, the public’s exposure to mobile phone malware has been dominated by news about the privately run “greyware” vendors who have made headlines for being purveyors of spyware tools. These commercial smartphone spyware tools reportedly end up in the hands of autocrats who use it to hamper free speech, quash dissent, or worse. Consumers ...
- Major Airport Malware Attack Shines a Light on OT Security
October 18, 2019
A cryptomining infection managed to spread to half of all workstations at a major international airport in Europe – shining a spotlight on security for operational tech and IT convergence. Researchers at Cyberbit found the XMRig Monero mining malware, which was a known strain called “Playerz,” but which skated by antivirus solutions on the endpoints by adding a ...
- Graboid: First-Ever Cryptojacking Worm Found in Images on Docker Hub
October 16, 2019
Unit 42 researchers identified a new cryptojacking worm we’ve named Graboid that’s spread to more than 2,000 unsecured Docker hosts. We derived the name by paying homage to the 1990’s movie “Tremors,” since this worm behaves similarly to the sandworms in the movie, in that it moves in short bursts of speed, but overall is ...
- WAV audio files are now being used to hide malicious code
October 16, 2019
Two reports published in the last few months show that malware operators are experimenting with using WAV audio files to hide malicious code. The technique is known as steganography — the art of hiding information in plain sight, in another data medium. In the software field, steganography — also referred to as stego — is used to describe the ...
- Cybercrime Tool Prices Bump Up in Dark Web Markets
October 16, 2019
Prices have been rising in the last two years for longstanding tools available on the Dark Web to help bad actors commit cyber attacks and fraud, alongside newer innovations that are emerging to bolster crimes like ransomware and SIM swapping, new research has found. Keeping track of these trends in dark-web markets for the tools and ...
- Blackremote: Money Money Money – A Swedish Actor Peddles an Expensive New RAT
October 15, 2019
While researching prevalent commodity Remote Access Tools (RATs), Unit 42 researchers discovered a new, undocumented RAT in September, which had almost 50 samples observed in more than 2,200 attack sessions within the first month it was sold. In this report, we document the RAT manager/builder, client malware, and profile the Swedish actor behind this together ...