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:
- Top US hedge funds targeted by major vishing campaign
August 9, 2026
Some of the biggest US hedge funds and law firms have been targeted by a highly sophisticated data breach and extortion campaign, conducted by a group of criminals previously known as BlackFile, experts have warned. BlackFile (or Redact, as the group is now calling itself) has a relatively simple modus operandi, also used by ShinyHunters – ...
- Ransomware gangs skip the CEO, head straight for the 40-something IT manager
August 9, 2026
Turns out the fastest way to get a company to consider paying a ransom isn’t calling the CEO – it’s targeting the 46-year-old IT manager. That’s according to Zscaler, whose ThreatLabz researchers tracked 351 victims across 334 organizations caught up in a single ransomware campaign over the course of a month. The data suggests today’s ransomware crews have ...
- Security researchers scanned the Polish web and found courts, hospitals, and airports at risk of hacks
August 7, 2026
Two Polish security researchers wanted to find out how vulnerable their country’s internet was to potential cyberattacks and quickly found that thousands of public agencies and websites were at risk of being hacked. At the Def Con cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas on Friday, security researchers Robert Kruczek and Kamil Szczurowski said they wanted to understand ...
- Swiss government says SharePoint-linked data breach affected hundreds of accounts
August 7, 2026
Cybercriminals broke into the IT network of the Swiss government and stole data from roughly 200 accounts. As a result, the Swiss government disconnected some of its servers from the wider internet and launched an investigation. In an announcement, the Swiss government said that on July 28 2026 its security specialists noticed “abnormalities” in the Federal ...
- Buggy microcontrollers making up some of the world’s most important servers can be easily backdoored
August 6, 2026
Security researchers have discovered more than a dozen new vulnerabilities in Baseboard management controllers (BMC), hardware components found in thousands of the world’s most popular enterprise servers. BMCs are specialized chips built into servers that allow administrators to remotely monitor and manage hardware regardless of the operating system, and even when the hardware is turned off. They provide ...
- Apple’s Private Relay tool can leak users’ IP addresses
August 6, 2026
WebKit, Apple’s engine that powers all web browsers in its ecosystem, contained multiple flaws that helped leak the IP addresses of users who paid to keep them hidden. This is according to security researchers Talal Haj Bakry and Tommy Mysk who noted they had found “three WebKit features that bypass the proxy configuration and send traffic directly from the ...