malware Archives - Page 6 of 20

LinkedIn Used to Spread DarkGate Malware

authenticator app, Corsair, DarkGate, Linkedin, malware, malware-as-a-service, Ophtekauthenticator app, Corsair, DarkGate, Linkedin, malware, malware-as-a-service, OphtekOphtek, LLC

Dec 2023

The threat of malware strikes the business world again, and this time it’s using LinkedIn to trick users into downloading the DarkGate malware.

LinkedIn is designed to help professionals connect with each other and build professional relationships. It’s proven to be wildly popular, with 950 million members currently registered on the platform.

But where there are huge numbers of users, there will also be large amounts of data. And this data is like catnip to threat actors. This is why fake LinkedIn posts have started appearing on the platform. These posts, as well as a campaign of direct messages, are far from informative for the users of LinkedIn. Instead, they are being used to trick LinkedIn users, primarily those who hold positions within the social media niche, to download malware.

Unveiling the Essentials of DarkGate on LinkedIn

Security experts have been aware of DarkGate since 2017, but it was considered a low-level threat due to its limited activity in the digital wild. However, this changed in June 2023, when its creator began selling it as Malware-as-a-Service package. Since then, a campaign using DarkGate has been launched by threat actors, believed to be working in Vietnam, which targets LinkedIn users.

Mostly, these users have consisted of social media managers operating in the US, the UK, and India. Using LinkedIn posts, or sending direct messages to targets, the threat actors propose that a job offer at Corsair is on the table. LinkedIn is a highly popular recruitment tool, so there’s nothing out of the ordinary with these initial contacts. However, the targets are encouraged into downloading malicious documents, such as a Word document containing a job description and a text file discussing salary details.

Within these documents are malicious links. Once clicked, these links lead to a series of scripts being launched which are used to build DarkGate. The malware’s first move is to start uninstalling security tools located on the infected system. DarkGate’s next step is to begin harvesting data from the compromised system. In particular, DarkGate appears to be targeting login credentials for Facebook business accounts, hence the focus on social media managers.

Protecting Your Credentials from DarkGate

If you’re a social media manager and regularly log on to LinkedIn, the advice is simple: stay away from any links relating to job offers for Corsair. Unfortunately, the threat actors are likely to change the details of their attack now that it’s started generating headlines. Nonetheless, you can still do the following to protect your credentials:

Never click unsolicited links: it’s important to be vigilant against unsolicited links, especially when they’re found in unsolicited direct messages. If you do receive direct messages, or even emails, containing unsolicited links, it’s best to delete them and block the sender.
Install all updates: clicking a malicious link can help threat actors exploit vulnerabilities within your PC, so you need to minimize the number of vulnerabilities which are present. The best way to achieve this is by always installing updates when prompted or making sure that automatic updates are activated.

Use an authenticator app: both LinkedIn and Facebook allow you to use an authenticator app to provide a further layer of security to your credentials. Most commonly, the sites in question will require you, after entering your login credentials, to enter a unique code generated by the app. This means that, if your login credentials are compromised, they will be next to useless to threat actors.

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

Safeguarding Your Business Against Social Engineering

complex passwords, malware, multi factor authentication, Ophtek, Phishing Email, Ransomware, social engineering, vulnerabilitycomplex passwords, malware, multi factor authentication, Ophtek, phishing, ransomware, social engineering, vulnerabilityOphtek, LLC

Dec 2023

One of the biggest threats to your organization’s IT comes in the form of social engineering attacks. Therefore, you need to keep your business protected.

In the digital age, there are many threats to your IT infrastructure. These can include ransomware, software vulnerabilities and malware. However, perhaps the most dangerous, and easiest to launch, attack involves social engineering. This attack relies on exploiting human psychology to gain a foothold within a targeted network. In many ways, it’s an age-old deception strategy from the physical world, but simply transferred over to the digital world. This article looks deep into the world of social engineering and should provide you with a better understanding of how to safeguard your business.

What is Social Engineering?

The main objective of social engineering, for a threat actor, is to convince individuals that divulging sensitive information or performing network actions is the right thing to do. Often, this strategy relies on phishing emails. These are emails which are sent to targets and claim to have been sent from someone they know e.g. a work colleague or a supplier. However, what the threat actor is trying to do here is either extract confidential information – such as login credentials – or encourage the target to click a malicious link.

Get Your Team to Recognize Social Engineering

Social engineering attacks will always be targeted at your employees, so this means that you need to invest in educating your employees. While an IT induction represents a good opportunity to warn them of the telltale signs of social engineering, the sheer range of social engineering strategies requires something more intensive. Accordingly, regular training courses which are followed up with refresher courses are highly recommended. Even better, sending randomised ‘spoof’ phishing emails internally can indicate which employees require tailored training.

Strengthen Your Authentication Processes

If you want to add an extra layer of defense to your IT infrastructure, strengthening your authentication processes is an excellent way of achieving this. Not only will this thwart social engineering campaigns, but it will also protect you against almost all other security threats. Therefore, make sure you focus on the following:

Integrate password rules which require your employees to create complex passwords e.g. using a mixture of case types, numbers and symbols.

Bring in multi-factor authentication to help protect your employees’ existing login credentials and place a further obstacle in the way of unauthorized access.
Put a time limit on passwords and ensure that they have to be updated within a set time e.g. every two months.

Secure Your Communication Channels

Applications such as Microsoft Outlook and Teams have revolutionized the way that businesses communicate, but they also represent a rich source of data. With this in mind, you need to secure these communication channels against the threat of social engineering. Encrypting data flowing in and out of these applications is paramount to protect the type of data that social engineering is hungry for. So, use VPN’s where possible and make sure your employees avoid using their devices on public Wi-Fi.

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

A Remote Access Trojan (RAT) is one of the most common forms of malware you are likely to encounter, and it’s crucial you understand what they are.

It’s important for all organizations to be aware of the danger posed by a RAT in terms of cybersecurity. After all, a RAT could easily take down your entire IT infrastructure or compromise your business data. And all it takes is one mistake for your team to fall victim to a RAT. Due to the severity posed by RATs, we’re going to define what a RAT is, how they work, and the best way to defend and protect against this threat.

The Basics of a RAT

A RAT is a strain of malware which is designed to give threat actors unauthorized access and control over a victim’s PC from a remote location. This is always completed without the victim’s consent, a fact made possible by the stealthy nature of a RAT.

For a RAT to succeed, it first needs to infect the victim’s PC, and this can be achieved in the following ways:

Phishing emails may be used to send malicious attachments which, once opened, activate the RAT and allow it to access the PC it is on.
Malicious downloads may be activated by unsuspecting users who are downloading them from illegal file sharing websites.
If hardware and software is not updated regularly, there is a chance that vulnerabilities may be discovered which a RAT can exploit.

RATs are stealthy types of malware and this cloak of invisibility is put in place by changes that the RAT makes to system settings and registry entries. With this deception in place, a RAT is then able to communicate to a command and control (C&C) server located in a remote location. This C&C server allows the RAT to transmit stolen data and, at the same time, gives the threat actor the opportunity to send commands directly to the RAT.

Some notable examples of RATs are ZuroRat from 2022, NginRAT from 2021 and, more recently, the QwixxRAT attack. All of these examples share one key thing in common: their main objective is to cause digital chaos for all those who fall victim. Accordingly, your organization needs to understand how to defend themselves against these threats.

Detecting and Protecting Against RATs

Protecting your IT infrastructure is far from difficult. In fact, as long as you implement the following measures, it’s relatively easy:

Always update your antivirus and anti-malware software. These security suites have the potential to put a strong barrier in place and detect any incoming malware. However, they also rely on regular updates to keep up to date on the latest threats. Therefore, you need to make sure these are put in place to maximize your defenses.
Make sure that network monitoring solutions are implemented to combat unauthorized network access. This means that your IT team will be able to identify unusual network traffic patterns and take actions to shut this down.

Email and web filtering can seriously reduce your risk of falling victim to a RAT. These excellent pieces of software will analyze and block any malicious attachments before they have a chance to reach your email inbox.

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

HiatusRAT Malware Returns with a Vengeance

HiatusRAT, malware, network, Ophtek, Security, Updateseducate, HiatusRAT, malware, network, Ophtek, security, updatesOphtek, LLC

Oct 2023

The HiatusRAT malware has re-emerged from its slumber to prove how resilient it is by targeting multiple organizations in Taiwan and the US.

As with most malware which is deemed successful in terms of its longevity, the threat actors launching HiatusRAT have ensured that it’s more powerful than ever. And, to strengthen its attack, they have redesigned it to escape detection. So far, the majority of the organizations targeted by this latest version of HiatusRAT have been based in Taiwan, but at least one US-based military system has also been attacked. And, with HiatusRAT seemingly operating at full throttle, it’s likely to spread even further.

Due to the potential danger contained within HiatusRAT, we’re going to take you through how it operates and how you can protect your organization.

The Lowdown on the Latest HiatusRAT Campaign

HiatusRAT was first detected back in March 2023, when it was discovered infecting the routers of various organizations in Europe and North and South America. This attack involved stealing data by hijacking email channels as well as installing a remote-access Trojan (RAT) on infected routers. It was an attack which led to significant data loss, but the malware’s activity soon dropped off. However, during this downtime, HiatusRAT has been refined and reconfigured.

Again, HiatusRAT appears to be targeting routers and similar networking devices. By redesigning HiatusRAT to target ARM and Intel hardware, the threat actors – who are currently unknown – have managed to enhance the potency of their malware. Operating with two types of servers – Tier 1 and Tier 2 – they have been able to use multiple IP addresses to transmit data to remote sources. As the attack has targeted at least one military system, it’s suspected that there may be a nation-state involved with the attack. However, as of now, security researchers have been unable to pinpoint the true motives outside of data theft.

Protecting Your Organization from HiatusRAT

You may not run an organization in the military industry, but RAT-based malware doesn’t tend to discriminate. Therefore, you need to be on your guard against HiatusRAT and other similar attacks. Remaining vigilant is crucial, and you can strengthen this vigilance by practicing the following:

Always install updates: many malware attacks are the result of an unpatched vulnerability giving threat actors free access to your IT systems. This means that installing updates, for every piece of software and hardware you use, is vital. It may feel like a time-consuming task in the short-term, but ultimately it could save your organization from data breaches and significant disruption.

Monitor network activity: HiatusRAT was observed to be transmitting data to a remote server for around two hours, and this is why monitoring network activity is so important. Occasionally, there can be a surge in network activity, but this is most often related to identifiable reasons and directed towards known destinations. However, anything out of the ordinary – such as unusual destinations and IP addresses – should immediately be investigated.
Educate your employees: one of the surest ways for malware to breach your IT infrastructure is through your employees. This means that strong IT induction programs need to be implemented and regular refresher courses conducted to solidify this knowledge.

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

IcedID Malware Evolves to Become More Dangerous Than Ever

banking trojan, email attachments, IcedID, malicious payloads, malware, Ophtekbanking trojan, email attachments, IcedID, malicious payloads, malware, OphtekOphtek, LLC

Oct 2023

The only thing worse than a powerful piece of malware, is a powerful piece of malware which has evolved into something more dangerous, just like IcedID.

IcedID first emerged onto the digital landscape in 2017, when it was classed as a banking trojan and started targeting financial institutions in the US, Canada, and UK. IcedID’s main objective, in 2017, was to steal sensitive data such as credit card details. However, the very best threat actors are those that regularly update and repurpose their malware to evade detection and become more effective. And that’s exactly what they have done with IcedID, turning it from a banking trojan into something much more complex.

What is IcedID’s New Strategy?

IcedID has evolved, but what exactly has it evolved in to? Well, the objective of retrieving sensitive financial details appears to have been removed. However, IcedID is now concentrating its efforts on delivering further malicious payloads to compromised systems. Essentially, it’s opening your IT systems up to a whole new world of pain.

Using the BackConnect module, IcedID communicates with a command-and-control server which allows the transfer of commands and files to the infected system. Originally, this attack was easy to detect as IcedID used TCP port 8080 to transfer data and communications. However, the threat actors behind this new wave of attacks, quickly changed their approach and began to compromise TCP port 443, which is much harder for security software to detect as it usually only handles encrypted data.

At least 20 command-and-control servers have been detected since April 2023, indicating that the threat actors behind IcedID are keen to not only disguise their tracks, but also keep security experts guessing. IcedID appears to compromise its victims by carrying out a sustained campaign of data harvesting and using them as a connection point in spamming campaigns, which are used to spread IcedID even further.

Staying Safe from IcedID

The exact point at which this current IcedID campaign infects a host is currently unknown, but earlier variants of IcedID from 2023 used malicious email attachments. Therefore, it’s important for all your PC users to remain vigilant against the threat of infected emails arriving in their inbox. In particular, make sure they look out for the following:

Check email address and domain: always make sure that the sender’s email is genuine, without misspellings or unusual domain extensions that resemble well-known entities e.g. G00glemail. And when it comes to unfamiliar addresses, especially those that claim to be official sources, scrutinize them closely.
Content and language: pay attention to language inconsistencies and an urgent tone, especially one which urges you to take immediate action. Unexpected attachments and links, particularly from unknown senders, should always be checked by an IT professional as the risk of malware in these instances is high.
Requests for personal information: it’s vital that you treat requests for sensitive data, such as passwords or financial details, with suspicion. Legitimate organizations typically won’t ask for this information via email. Verify such requests directly through secure channels such as face-to-face or via telephone before responding.

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

« Previous 1 … 4 5 6 7 8 … 20 Next »

Category Archives: malware