Vulnerable ASP.NET Keys Used to Unlock PC Security

ASP.NET keys, malicious code, malicious ViewState, Microsoft, monitor applications, Ophtek, System Updates, , , , , ,
04
Mar 2025

Attackers are exploiting exposed ASP.NET keys to inject malicious code into web applications, leading to unauthorized access and potential data breaches.

Microsoft has announced that a major security issue has been identified where cybercriminals are taking advantage of publicly available ASP.NET machine keys. These keys, usually used to secure web applications, are being altered to insert harmful code, compromising the security of affected systems.

What is ASP.NET and How Does it Work?

ASP.NET is a free framework developed by Microsoft to help people build web applications and services. Part of this framework involves a feature called ViewState, used to help web pages remember user data and maintain this information across different sessions. To protect this data, ASP.NET uses machine keys such as ‘validationKey’ and ‘decryptionKey’ to ward off any malicious activities. These keys are used to encrypt and validate the data, ensuring it remains secure and confidential.

However, an investigation by Microsoft’s Threat Intelligence team has discovered that some developers are copying these machine keys from online sources, such as repositories, and using them in their own applications. This practice quickly becomes a risk when the same keys are reused across multiple applications or when they can easily be found. These scenarios allow threat actors to find these keys and use them to create malicious versions of ViewState data.

How has ViewState Been Compromised?

When a threat actor gets hold of a machine key used by a target application, they can create a malicious ViewState – this is a piece of data typically trusted by the application and won’t ring any alarm bells. The malicious ViewState is sent to the server through a POST request. As the ViewState is signed with the correct machine key, the receiving server believes it’s genuine. Once this data has been received and processed, the server unknowingly executes the malicious code embedded within the ViewState.

This method grants threat actors remote access to the compromised server and free rein to execute any processes they want. So, for example, the threat actors could download additional malware, steal sensitive information, and take full control of the server. In one case, the attackers used this technique to launch a cryptocurrency miner on a compromised server. This allowed the threat actors to take control of any PCs on the infected server and use their resources to generate digital currencies. This may sound harmless but it’s at the expense of the PCs performance.

Protecting Yourself from Malicious ViewState

ASP.NET is highly popular and is used by countless websites, so it’s important that we understand the best way to protect users of the framework. Here’s Ophtek’s three top tips for safe usage of ASP.NET:

  1. Use Unique and Secure Keys: Developers using ASP.NET should generate unique machine keys for each application. Always avoid copying keys from online sources or reusing them in other applications. This practice ensures that even if one application’s key is compromised, others remain secure.
  2. Regularly Update Systems: It’s paramount that, as with all software, your web applications and servers are up to date with the latest security patches. Regular updates help you address zero-day vulnerabilities and reduce the risk of your IT infrastructure being compromised.
  3. Monitor Application Activity: You should always use monitoring tools to keep an eye on application behavior. Unusual activities, such as unexpected POST requests or unauthorized installs, can be early indicators of a developing attack. By conducting regular audits, you can increase your chances of stopping an infection before it causes damage.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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Threat Actors Start Hiding Malware within Website Images

archive.org, generative AI, malicious code, Obj3tivityStealer, Ophtek, Phishing, VIP Keylogger, website images, , , , , , ,
11
Feb 2025

Cybercriminals are increasingly embedding malware within website images to evade detection and compromise IT systems.

Recent investigations have revealed a growing trend among threat actors: hiding malicious code within image files hosted on trusted websites. This approach allows the attackers to bypass traditional security measures, which tend to trust well-known and widely used websites. As ever, the attack begins with a phishing email designed to trick the victim into unleashing the malware. The phishing email in question has taken numerous forms such as invoices or purchase orders. Once opened, the file exploits a Microsoft Office vulnerability.

Emails are an essential part of business, so it’s crucial that you understand how this attack works to keep your IT infrastructure safe.

Unpacking the Image Attack

The vulnerability at the heart of the attack can be found in Microsoft Office’s Equation Editor (CVE-2017-11882). This vulnerability enables a malicious script to run, downloading an image file from a trusted website (such as archive.org). The image may, to the average PC user, look harmless, but hidden within its metadata is a malicious code. This is used to automatically install spyware and keyloggers such as VIP Keylogger and Obj3tivityStealer. These slices of malware allow the threat actors to monitor your systems, harvest sensitive data, and gain access to financial information.

What’s interesting – or disturbing, depending on your perspective – about the attack is that it appears to harness the power of AI. Cybercriminals are increasingly turning to generative AI to create convincing phishing emails, malicious scripts, and even HTML web pages which can host malicious payloads. This is making attacks much easier to launch while also lowering the barriers to entry around your IT networks.

Keeping Your IT Systems Secure

No business wants keyloggers and spyware downloaded onto their IT infrastructure, so it’s vital that you keep it secure and protected. It’s impossible to keep it 100% safe, but you can optimize its strength by following these three tips:

  1. Regularly Update Your Software: make sure all your software, especially Microsoft Office applications, is up to date. Software developers release regular updates to patch vulnerabilities – like CVE-2017-11882 – which attackers seek to exploit. As well as enabling automatic updates, schedule regular checks for patches to ensure that critical updates are not missed. And remember, this applies to all software on your networks.
  2. Use Advanced Email Security: always utilize email filtering tools to automatically block phishing emails before they reach your staff. These highly effective solutions can scan all incoming messages for suspicious links, attachments, or blacklisted senders to prevent them from reaching your employee inboxes. Also, make sure your team are educated on the danger signs of a phishing email. Regular training and refresher sessions can help maximize the security of your first-line defenses.
  3. Monitor Network Activity: Use network monitoring tools to detect unusual activities, such as unexpected downloads or unauthorized connections. These tools can indicate potential threats early, allowing you to respond quickly before threat actors secure a foothold within your systems. Make sure that you establish a program of regular reviews for your activity logs, this approach will enable you to spot anomalies and take action.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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Financial Firms Targeted by JsOutProx Malware

JavaScript Malware, JsOutProx Malware, malicious code, Ophtek, Phishing Email, ScriptSafe for Chrome, , , , ,
07
May 2024

A new phishing campaign, launched in March 2024, has been targeting financial firms all over the world with the JsOutProx banking trojan.

The JsOutProx malware campaign was first detected by Visa, with their Payment Fraud Disruption team sending out security alerts to stakeholders about the threat. So far, the targets of the attack have been based in Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East. The identity of the threat actors behind the attack are currently unknown, but it’s speculated they may be China-based or receiving support from China.

Financial malware always has the potential to cause great damage to organizations and individuals, so it’s important you understand the threat posed by JsOutProx.

The Lowdown on JsOutProx

First detected online in 2019, JsOutProx provides remote access to infected PCs by way of a JavaScript backdoor. This foothold allows threat actors to carry out numerous malicious attacks within the infected system. These include downloading further malware, data harvesting, taking screenshots, executing files, and embedding itself deep within the target. Plugins are utilized to launch these attack methods, an indicator this is a sophisticated piece of malware.

JsOutProx relies on JavaScript to carry out its attacks, and this method has been employed to deceive targets. Whereas many PC users understand the threat of a specific file type – such as a Word document or .exe file – they’re less likely to have knowledge of the threat posed by JavaScript code. Additionally, JavaScript coding is unintelligible to many anti-malware tools, so it has the potential to go undetected by software expected to keep PCs secure.

How is the JsOutProx Attack Launched?

Using phishing email techniques, JsOutProx is distributed through emails purporting to be related to MoneyGram or SWIFT payment notifications. However, far from being from genuine financial institutions, the senders behind these emails only have malicious intentions. Once recipients have fallen for the bait in the phishing emails, the JsOutProx code is activated and allows the threat actors to position themselves within the infected PC. Once installed, JsOutProx adopts a number of functionalities to enhance its position, such as changing DNS settings, editing proxy settings, and bypassing User Account Control detection.

Protect Your PCs from JsOutProx

A significant proportion of internet users have access to online banking services, and this is why JsOutProx has maximized its chances of snaring victims. Thankfully, you don’t have to fall victim to JsOutProx and compromise the security of your PC. All you have to do is make sure you practice the following:

  • Protect your browsers from scripts: many malware attacks such as JsOutProx rely on scripts to launch their attack within browsers. Therefore, it makes sense to protect your browsers from malicious scripts. Luckily, this is a relatively simple task thanks to ready-made browser plugins such as ScriptSafe for Chrome. These browser extensions protect you by blocking unwanted content and providing alerts against blacklisted sites which are malicious.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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The Dangers of Malware on GitHub

GitHub, malicious code, malware, Open Source Malware, Ophtek, , , ,
05
Mar 2024

GitHub is a wildly popular website for developers to create, share, and store their code, but it’s also being increasingly used to spread malware.

Launched in 2008, GitHub quickly became the number one destination for developers. Packed full of features – such as hosting open source code, bug tracking tools, and software requests – GitHub is the perfect one-stop shop for developers looking to collaborate and enhance their software. However, where there’s code, there’s also potential for malware to rear its ugly head. And, in the last few years, GitHub has been exploited by numerous threat actors.

How does GitHub Work?

GitHub is an online repository where developers can come together to pool resources and knowledge to improve their software builds. It may not be something that most of your staff are likely to log on to, but your IT team are likely to use it to manage projects they’re working on. The objective of GitHub is to create a community of friendly developers, but the open membership policy means this doesn’t always go to plan.

Why is GitHub Dangerous?

Threat actors can easily sign up for membership within a matter of minutes, and then they can begin uploading their malicious code under the pretense of being an innocent software project. Quite often, threat actors will sign up with a username previously used by another developer, this is to trick other developers into thinking this is a reputable account. The GitHub community will believe that any repositories uploaded to this account are safe, and they will download them without thinking. And this is when malware can be unknowingly unleashed on unsuspecting networks.

Threat actors are also using GitHub to host command and control servers, which allow attackers to create communication channels into infected devices. Usually, this would be indicated by an unusual domain address in your network traffic. But with GitHub’s credentials being used, this would look less suspicious, especially if you team access GitHub. It’s also convenient, for the threat actors, to use a public service where launching a command control server is much easier than building an infrastructure from scratch.

Finally, GitHub is being used as a storage space for malware, as demonstrated in this fake proof-of-concept software attack. This particular attack allowed the threat actors to exploit a known vulnerability within the Linux operating system, which is commonly used by developers working on GitHub. These attacks can even catch out the security experts, so they underline just how dangerous GitHub can be if you’re not vigilant.

How Can You Work Safely with GitHub?

Threat actors are essentially turning certain parts of GitHub into a malicious website, so it’s crucial you know how to manage this threat. The most effective step you can take is to block access to GitHub on your organization’s network. Your staff are highly unlikely to need to access GitHub anyway, so this makes sense. However, some of your IT staff, and any developers you employ, may still require access to complete their job.

GitHub, of course, isn’t the only legitimate website to be harboring malware. Huge sites such as Dropbox and Google Drive are all capable of delivering malware to unsuspecting members. Therefore, you should only ever download from trusted sources.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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5 Forms of Hacking Which You May Not Be Familiar With

Free WiFi, Hacking, malicious code, malicious extensions, malicious links, malicious websites, Ophtek, , , , , ,
21
Jun 2022

All organizations are at risk of being hacked, and that’s why we’re familiar with the most common forms of hacking. But what about the lesser-known hacks?

With 300,000 new strains of malware being created every day, it comes as no surprise to discover that some of these are less familiar than others to PC users. And it’s this lack of familiarity which makes them so dangerous. Not only is it harder to be on your guard against them, but there’s also the small problem of not knowing how to remove them from an infected system. However, a little bit of education goes a long way. And that’s why we’re going to give you the lowdown on 5 forms of hacking which you may not be familiar with.

The Hacks You Need to Know About

Attack strategies such as phishing and ransomware are well known, so it’s time to learn about the lesser known cyberattacks you need to be prepared for:

  1. SQL Injection Attacks: SQL is a common coding language used to design and manage databases, many of which are connected to a public facing website. Typically, these databases will hold significant amounts of secure data e.g. personal details and financial information. As a result, these are highly attractive targets for hackers. Attacks are made on these databases by injecting malicious SQL code and manipulating the server’s responses in numerous ways. This strategy allows hackers to gain access to unauthorized information and steal it.
  • Fake Public Wi-Fi: hackers will go as far as setting up a fake public Wi-Fi which uses your company’s name or one that sounds similar. For example, a visitor to a Starbucks café, may detect a wireless network with a name such as “St@rbucks Free Wi-Fi” and assume it’s genuine. However, connecting to a public connection such as this opens a whole world of potential trouble. And, don’t forget, your own employees are also at risk of connecting their work devices to a fake Wi-Fi network, the result of which will expose your genuine network.

As with the most common forms of hacking, understanding the basics of good IT security is the most effective way to minimize the chances of these rarer attacks.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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