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:
- As Maze retires, clients turn to Sekhmet ransomware spin-off Egregor
November 4, 2020
As the developers of the Maze ransomware announce their exit from the malware scene, clients are now thought to be turning to Egregor as a substitute. The Maze group has been a devastating force for companies that have fallen victim to the cybercriminals over the past year. What has separated Maze in the past from many other ...
- Ransomware-as-a-Service Becomes Increasingly Accessible via Social Media and Open Sources
November 4, 2020
Hackers need not search the dark web for access to their very own ransomware platforms these days. Cybercriminals are continually finding new ways to promote their underground businesses and gain the attention of new customers and novice hackers. Several threat actors have recently taken to popular social media and open sources like YouTube, Vimeo, and Sellix ...
- GrowDiaries Exposes Emails, Passwords of 1.4M Cannabis Growers
November 4, 2020
A database linked to GrowDiaries, an online community of cannabis growers, has exposed more than a million users’ email addresses, passwords, IP address records and posts. GrowDiaries is a robust online community of cannabis growing enthusiasts from around the world, where they can share tips, tricks and pictures of their progress. On Oct. 10, researcher Volodymyr ...
- REvil ransomware gang ‘acquires’ KPOT malware
November 4, 2020
The operators of the REvil ransomware strain have “acquired” the source code of the KPOT trojan in an auction held on a hacker forum last month. The sale took place after the KPOT malware author decided to auction off the code, desiring to move off to other projects. The sale was organized as a public auction on ...
- Healthcare system facing ‘increased and imminent’ cyber threat
November 3, 2020
Federal agencies warn that cybercriminals are escalating their extortion attempts against the healthcare sector even as hospitals are facing a nationwide surge in Covid-19 cases. In a joint alert, the FBI and two federal agencies warned that they had “credible information of an increased and imminent cybercrime threat to US hospitals and healthcare providers”. The alert ...
- Cybersecurity: One in three attacks are coronavirus-related
November 3, 2020
The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is ‘stepping up support’ for the National Health Service to help protect UK hospitals and other healthcare organisations against cyberattacks. The NCSC’s Annual Review 2020 reveals that the cyber arm of GCHQ has handled more 200 cyber incidents related to coronavirus during the course of this year – almost ...