Attackers typically try to pass off malware as legitimate applications or as potentially unwanted programs that users deliberately search for and download, such as cheats or cracks. They often rely on ad and affiliate networks to deliver their creations to victims’ devices. This post examines a less conventional case: a well-known backdoor distributed under the guise of adware. The attackers may have chosen this distribution method because the adware was signed by the developer. On top of that, users often manually add these apps to exclusions, so their useful features don’t get blocked.
Some time ago, a client asked us to analyze a file with the MD5 hash c24e99f9437feacaa63766a3cde3fe3d and add it to our detection database. We initially classified it as adware, but a cursory analysis turned up suspicious network activity, which prompted us to dig deeper. It turned out the sample did far more than serve ads. In fact, its advertising functionality doesn’t even work; instead, it triggers an infection chain that delivers the ValleyRAT backdoor.
Read more…
Source: Kaspersky
Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- Industrial computing systems at risk from “time bombs ” in malicious NuGet packages
November 10, 2025
Thousands of critical infrastructure organizations, as well as those working in other, equally important verticals, were targeted by a perfidious attack that sought to sabotage their industrial control devices (ICD) two years down the line, experts have discovered. Cybersecurity researchers Socket recently found nine packages on NuGet that contained sabotage payloads set to activate in 2027 ...
- Threat Landscape of the Building and Construction Sector: IA, Supply Chain, and IoT
November 7, 2025
In 2025, the construction industry stands at the crossroads of digital transformation and evolving cybersecurity risks, making it a prime target for threat actors. Cyber adversaries, including ransomware operators, organized cybercriminal networks, and state-sponsored APT groups from countries such as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, are increasingly focusing their attacks on the building and construction ...
- LANDFALL: New Commercial-Grade Android Spyware in Exploit Chain Targeting Samsung Devices
November 7, 2025
Unit 42 researchers have uncovered a previously unknown Android spyware family, which we have named LANDFALL. To deliver the spyware, attackers exploited a zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2025-21042) in Samsung’s Android image processing library. The specific flaw LANDFALL exploited, CVE-2025-21042, is not an isolated case but rather part of a broader pattern of similar issues found on multiple ...
- Hyundai IT services breach could put 2.7 million Hyundai, Kia owners in the US at risk
November 7, 2025
Hyundai AutoEver America (HAEA), the carmaker’s IT-services subsidiary servicing the North American region, has confirmed suffering a cyberattack and lost sensitive customer data as a result. In a data breach notification letter recently sent out to affected individuals, HAEA explained that the attack began on February 22, 2025, and lasted until March 2, when the attackers ...
- U.S. Congressional Budget Office confirms it was hacked
November 7, 2025
The U.S. Congressional Budget Office has confirmed it was hacked. Caitlin Emma, a spokesperson for CBO, told TechCrunch on Friday that the agency is investigating the breach and “has identified the security incident, has taken immediate action to contain it, and has implemented additional monitoring and new security controls to further protect the agency’s systems ...
- Cisco Releases Security Updates for Unified CCX
November 6, 2025
Cisco has released security updates to address two critical vulnerabilities in Unified Contact Center Express (Unified CCX). CVE-2025-20354 – Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability – CVSSv3 score: 9.8 CVE-2025-20358 – Authentication Bypass (unauthenticated to administrative privileges) vulnerability – CVSSv3 score: 9.4 Read more… Source: NHS Digital Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter The latest cyber security news and ...