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:
- Assessing the impact of protection from web miners
September 17, 2019
Kaspersky Lab present the results of evaluating the positive economic and environmental impact of blocking web miners with Kaspersky products. The total power saving can be calculated with known accuracy using the formula <w>·N, where <w> is the average value of the increase in power consumption of the user device during web mining, and N is ...
- The Legend of Adwind: A Commodity RAT Saga in Eight Parts
September 17, 2019
In early 2012, a developer started selling the first of the Adwind family, Java-based remote access tools (RATs), called “Frutas.” In the ensuing years, it has been rebranded at least seven times. Its other names have included Adwind, UnReCoM, Alien Spy, JSocket, JBifrost, UnknownRat, and JConnectPro. The Adwind RAT family remains prevalent in the wild. Palo ...
- Astaroth Spy Trojan Uses Facebook, YouTube Profiles to Cover Tracks
September 13, 2019
Facebook and YouTube profiles are at the heart of an ongoing phishing campaign spreading the Astaroth trojan, bent on the eventual exfiltration of sensitive information. The attack is sophisticated in that it uses normally trusted sources as cover for malicious activities – thus evading usually effective email and network security layers. The attack starts with an ...
- Hacking LED Wristbands: A ‘Lightning’ Recap of RF Security Basics
September 13, 2019
Early this year, we published a security analysis of industrial radio remote controllers. In that research, we examined different vulnerabilities in the implementation of radio frequency (RF) communication and the possible impact of an attack on these weaknesses. We believe that RF security research is of great importance especially in light of the realization that a growing ...
- Threats to macOS users
September 11, 2019
The belief that there are no threats for the macOS operating system (or at least no serious threats) has been bandied about for decades. The owners of MacBooks and iMacs are only rivaled by Linux users in terms of the level of confidence in their own security, and we must admit that they are right ...
- Intel CPUs Vulnerable to Sensitive Data Leakage in NetCAT Attack
September 11, 2019
Researchers have identified a new side-channel attack impacting all modern Intel server processors made since 2012. The vulnerability could allow bad actors to sniff out encrypted passwords as they are being typed into a secure shell session (SSH); but, luckily, such an attack would be difficult to launch. The attack, disclosed on Tuesday and dubbed NetCAT (short for Network Cache ...