Attackers are increasingly exploiting Windows shortcut (LNK) files for malware delivery. Palo Alto Unit 42 telemetry revealed 21,098 malicious LNK samples in 2023, which surged to 68,392 in 2024.
In this article, Unit 42 researchers present an in-depth investigation of LNK malware, based on analysis of 30,000 recent samples. Windows shortcut files use the .lnk file extension and function as a virtual link that allows people to easily access other files without having to navigate through multiple folders on a Windows host. The flexibility of LNK files makes them a powerful tool for attackers, as they can both execute malicious content and masquerade as legitimate files to deceive victims into unintentionally launching malware.
Read more…
Source: Palo Alto Unit 42
Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox.
Related:
- FireEye, Microsoft create kill switch for SolarWinds backdoor
December 17, 2020
Microsoft, FireEye, and GoDaddy have collaborated to create a kill switch for the SolarWinds Sunburst backdoor that forces the malware to terminate itself. This past weekend it was revealed that Russian state-sponsored hackers breached SolarWinds and added malicious code to a Windows DLL file used by their Orion IT monitoring platform. This malicious DLL is a backdoor ...
- This ‘off the shelf’ Tor backdoor malware is now a firm favorite with ransomware operators
December 17, 2020
A Remote Access Trojan (RAT) on sale in underground forums has evolved to abuse Tor when maintaining persistence on infected machines. On Thursday, Sophos Labs’ Sivagnanam Gn and Sean Gallagher revealed ongoing research into the malware, which has been in the wild since 2019. Dubbed SystemBC, the RAT has evolved from acting as a virtual private network ...
- New Goontact spyware discovered targeting Android and iOS users
December 16, 2020
Security researchers have discovered a new malware strain with spying and surveillance capabilities —also known as spyware— that is currently available in both Android and iOS versions. Named Goontact, this malware has the ability to collect from infected victims data such as phone identifiers, contacts, SMS messages, photos, and location information. Detected by mobile security firm Lookout, ...
- HPE discloses critical zero-day in server management software
December 16, 2020
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has disclosed a zero-day bug in the latest versions of its proprietary HPE Systems Insight Manager (SIM) software for Windows and Linux. While security updates are not yet available for this remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability, HPE has provided Windows mitigation info and is working on addressing the zero-day. Zero-days are publicly disclosed ...
- Firefox Patches Critical Mystery Bug, Also Impacting Google Chrome
December 15, 2020
A Mozilla Foundation update to the Firefox web browser, released Tuesday, tackles one critical vulnerability and a handful of high-severity bugs. The update, released as Firefox version 84, is also billed by Mozilla as boosting the browser’s performance and adding native support for macOS hardware running on its own Apple processors. In total, six high-severity flaws ...
- Gitpaste-12 Worm Widens Set of Exploits in New Attacks
December 15, 2020
The Gitpaste-12 worm has returned in new attacks targeting web applications, IP cameras and routers, this time with an expanded set of exploits for initially compromising devices. First discovered in a round of late-October attacks that targeted Linux-based servers and internet-of-things (IoT) devices, the botnet utilizes GitHub and Pastebin for housing malicious component code, has at ...