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:
- REvil ransomware’s new Linux encryptor targets ESXi virtual machines
June 28, 2021
The REvil ransomware operation is now using a Linux encryptor that targets and encrypts Vmware ESXi virtual machines. With the enterprise moving to virtual machines for easier backups, device management, and efficient use of resources, ransomware gangs increasingly create their own tools to mass encrypt storage used by VMs. In May, Advanced Intel’s Yelisey Boguslavskiy shared a ...
- Analyzing CVE-2021-1665 – Remote Code Execution Vulnerability in Windows GDI+
June 28, 2021
Microsoft Windows Graphics Device Interface+, also known as GDI+, allows various applications to use different graphics functionality on video displays as well as printers. Windows applications don’t directly access graphics hardware such as device drivers, but they interact with GDI, which in turn then interacts with device drivers. In this way, there is an abstraction ...
- Nefilim Ransomware Attack Through a MITRE Att&ck Lens
June 28, 2021
Nefilim is among a new breed of ransomware families that use advanced techniques for a more targeted and virulent attack. It is operated by a group that we track under the intrusion set “Water Roc”. This group combines advanced techniques with legitimate tools to make them significantly harder to detect and respond before it is ...
- Cisco ASA vulnerability actively exploited after exploit released
June 27, 2021
Hackers are scanning for and actively exploiting a vulnerability in Cisco ASA devices after a PoC exploit was published on Twitter. This Cisco ASA vulnerability is cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability that is tracked as CVE-2020-3580. Cisco first disclosed the vulnerability and issued a fix in October 2020. However, the initial patch for CVE-2020-3580 was incomplete, and a ...
- Nobelium hackers accessed Microsoft customer support tools
June 26, 2021
Microsoft says they have discovered new attacks conducted by the Russian state-sponsored Nobelium hacking group, including a hacked Microsoft support agent’s computer that exposed customer’s subscription information. Nobelium is Microsoft’s name for a state-sponsored hacking group believed to be operating out of Russia responsible for the SolarWinds supply-chain attacks. In a new blog post published Friday night, ...
- Sophisticated hackers are targeting these Zyxel firewalls and VPNs
June 25, 2021
Zyxel, a manufacturer of enterprise routers and VPN devices, has issued an alert that attackers are targeting its devices and changing configurations to gain remote access to a network. In a new support note, the company said that a “sophisticated threat actor” was targeting Zyxel security appliances with remote management or SSL VPN enabled. Read more… Source: ZDNet