- LokiBot Gains New Persistence Mechanism, Uses Steganography to Hide Its Tracks
August 6, 2019
First advertised as an information stealer and keylogger when it first appeared in underground forums, LokiBot has added various capabilities over the years. Recent activity has seen the malware family abusing Windows Installer for its installation and introducing a new delivery method that involves spam mails containing malicious ISO file attachments. Our analysis of a new LokiBot variant shows that ...
- Latest Trickbot Campaign Delivered via Highly Obfuscated JS File
August 5, 2019
We have been tracking Trickbot banking trojan activity and recently discovered a variant of the malware (detected by Trend Micro as TrojanSpy.Win32.TRICKBOT.TIGOCDC) from distributed spam emails that contain a Microsoft Word document with enabled macro. Once the document is clicked, it drops a heavily obfuscated JS file (JavaScript) that downloads Trickbot as its payload. This malware ...
- Nation-State APTs Target U.S. Utilities With Dangerous Malware
August 2, 2019
Researchers believe that nation-state actors are behind several spearphishing campaigns targeting U.S. utility companies with a newly-identified malware, which has the capabilities to view system data and reboot machines. Lure emails were sent to three U.S. utilities companies between July 19 and 25. They purported to be from a U.S.-based engineering licensing board, but actually contained ...
- GermanWiper ransomware hits Germany hard, destroys files, asks for ransom
August 2, 2019
For the past week, a new ransomware strain has been wreaking havoc across Germany. Named GermanWiper, this ransomware doesn’t encrypt files but instead it rewrites their content with zeroes, permanently destroying users’ data. As a result, any users who get infected by this ransomware should be aware that paying the ransom demand will not help them ...
- Keeping a Hidden Identity: Mirai C&Cs in Tor Network
July 31, 2019
With its notoriety for being one of the most active internet of things (IoT) malware families, Mirai is one malware family system administrators consistently keep their eye on to make sure systems and devices are protected. Despite all the attention that the malware has received, it seems cybercriminals are still continually developing and using this malware. Barely a ...
- Inside Malware Markets: Current Trends and Competitive Forces
July 30, 2019
Regardless of location, legitimacy, or legality, markets of all kinds act in accordance with a prevailing set of forces. Made famous by business management guru Michael Porter, his eponymous Five Forces generally dictate how markets will operate — that includes markets for malware. Porter’s Five Forces Rivalry Among Existing Competitors Bargaining Power of Suppliers Bargaining Power of Buyers Threat of ...
- Unique Monokle Android Spyware Self-Signs Certificates
July 24, 2019
A never-before-publicized mobile spy tool, a mobile surveillanceware remote access trojan (RAT) for Android called Monokle, has been spotted using novel techniques to exfiltrate data. According to the Lookout researchers who discovered Monokle in the wild, the malware has the ability to self-sign trusted certificates to intercept encrypted SSL traffic. It can also record a phone’s ...
- StrongPity APT Returns with Retooled Spyware
July 17, 2019
The APT group behind the sophisticated malware known as StrongPity (a.k.a. Promethium) has mounted a fresh spyware campaign that is still ongoing as of July 2019. The group has retooled with new malware to control compromised machines, according to researchers. “The new malware samples have been unreported and generally appear to ...
- Why Cities Are a Low-Hanging Fruit For Ransomware
July 15, 2019
Ransomware attacks against local governments and cities are repeatedly making headlines, with crippling results on city operations and budgets. Last month, the Florida city of Riviera Beach paid hackers $600,000 after being hit by a ransomware attack that downed its computer systems for three weeks. In 2018, several Atlanta city systems were crippled after a ransomware attack extorted ...
- Turla APT Returns with New Malware, Anti-Censorship Angle
July 15, 2019
The Turla APT has revamped its arsenal in 2019, creating new weapons and tools for targeting government entities. It’s now using booby-trapped anti-internet censorship software as an initial infection vector, suggesting Turla is going after dissident or other civil-society targets. The Russian-speaking actors believed behind Turla named the dropper “Topinambour,” which is another word for the ...