TrendAI™ Research tracked a sustained malvertising campaign that abused Google Ads to deliver ClickFix social engineering attacks disguised as popular AI developer tools. The campaign impersonated at least six legitimate brand names, including ChatGPT Codex, Perplexity, Cursor IDE, JetBrains, Claude AI, and claude.ai, and simultaneously ran Mac utility scam lures.
By leveraging paid search ads targeting users actively seeking AI development tools, the attackers were able to target technically proficient users who are more likely to interact with command-line instructions without suspicion. This marks a sophisticated evolution of the ClickFix social engineering technique, where victims are tricked into manually executing malicious commands, typically by copying and pasting PowerShell or terminal commands under the guise of “fixing” a problem or completing a software installation.
Read more…
Source: Trend Micro
Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- Hackers abuse Windows error reporting tool to deploy malware
January 4, 2023
Hackers are abusing the Windows Problem Reporting (WerFault.exe) error reporting tool for Windows to load malware into a compromised system’s memory using a DLL sideloading technique. The use of this Windows executable is to stealthy infect devices without raising any alarms on the breached system by launching the malware through a legitimate Windows executable. The new campaign ...
- Rackspace confirms Play ransomware was behind recent cyberattack
January 4, 2023
Texas-based cloud computing provider Rackspace has confirmed that the Play ransomware operation was behind a recent cyberattack that took down the company’s hosted Microsoft Exchange environments. This follows a report last month by cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike, which detailed a new exploit used by the ransomware group to compromise Microsoft Exchange servers and gain access to a ...
- Ransomware gang apologizes, gives SickKids hospital free decryptor
January 1, 2023
The LockBit ransomware gang has released a free decryptor for the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), saying one of its members violated rules by attacking the healthcare organization. SickKids is a teaching and research hospital in Toronto that focuses on providing healthcare to sick children. On December 18th, the hospital suffered a ransomware attack that impacted internal ...
- Cyber attack leaves six North Carolina counties locked out of their online records
December 30, 2022
They’re responsible for keeping and protecting your most important records, but Thursday, a company that works with local governments across North Carolina has been paralyzed by a cyber attack with no end in sight. Cott Systems said they work with 300 local offices in 21 states, but right now that work is on hold and local ...
- LockBit ransomware claims attack on Port of Lisbon in Portugal
December 30, 2022
A cyberattack hitting the Port of Lisbon Administration (APL), the third-largest port in Portugal, on Christmas day, has been claimed by the LockBit ransomware gang. The Port of Lisbon is part of the critical infrastructure in Portugal’s capital city, being one of the most accessed ports in Europe, due to its strategic location, and serving container ...
- Canadian mining firm shuts down mill after ransomware attack
December 30, 2022
The Canadian Copper Mountain Mining Corporation (CMMC) in British Columbia has announced that it was the target of a ransomware attack that impacted its operations. CMMC, partly owned by Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, is an 18,000-acre claim that produces an average of 100 million pounds of copper per year and has an estimated mineral reserve capacity for ...