Facebook Ads Used to Deliver NodeStealer Malware 

block social media, Facebook Ads, malware, NodeStealer, Ophtek, Phishing, Suspicious links, , , , , ,
26
Dec 2023

Threat actors have turned to Facebook ads to unleash NodeStealer on unsuspecting victims, and they’re using scantily clad women to achieve this. 

Facebook is no stranger to finding its ad network compromised to spread malware, but what’s interesting about this latest campaign is that it primarily targets males. At the core of this attack is NodeStealer, a strain of malware which has been active for several months. However, NodeStealer has changed. At the start of its existence, it was designed in JavaScript, but it’s now being coded with the Python programming language. 

NodeStealer is part of a wider campaign, believed to have its origins in Vietnam, to steal sensitive data, and it’s more than worthy of your attention. 

How Does NodeStealer Target its Victims? 

Using marketing strategies almost as old as time, the threat actors behind NodeStealer have used the provocative lure of female flesh to entice their victims. Taking advantage of the massive reach of Facebook’s ad network, these threat actors have created adverts which contain revealing photos of young women. The objective of these adverts is to encourage people to click on them, a process which will download an archive of malicious files. 

One of these files is called Photo Album.exe but, far from containing any photos, it simply downloads a further executable file which unleashes NodeStealer. With NodeStealer running rampant on an infected system, it will begin harvesting login credentials and, in particular, it will attempt to take control of Facebook business accounts. With further business accounts compromised, NodeStealer can launch even more malicious ad campaigns and spread itself further. 

Stay Safe from the Threat of NodeStealer 

NodeStealer is a classic example of malware deceiving its victims to achieve its goal. And it’s not surprising to hear that the 18 – 65 male demographic have made up the majority of its victims. Regardless of the bait, however, NodeStealer provides us with a number of interesting lessons to learn. The most important takeaways should be: 

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

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Striped Fly Malware Infected 1 Million Hosts in 5 Years 

install updates, malware, network security, Ophtek, screen attachments, secure firewall, Striped Fly, , , , ,
19
Dec 2023

Malware and flies share one thing in common: they’re pesky. However, while flies help the ecosystem, the Striped Fly malware is nothing but trouble. 

Striped Fly has recently hit the headlines, but Kaspersky has revealed they’ve found evidence of its malicious activity dating back to 2017. Unfortunately, no one had been aware of its true identity until now. This means Striped Fly has enjoyed a five-year campaign where not even a single security researcher knew of its existence. And Kaspersky estimate that this invisibility has allowed it to infect over one million Windows and Linux hosts.  

In 2017, Striped Fly was mistakenly labelled as a cryptocurrency miner, falling under the Monero trojan family. Subsequent findings, however, have revealed that Striped Fly is much more sophisticated. 

What is Striped Fly?

Striped Fly’s exact mechanism is not fully understood at present, but researchers believe they know how it operates. It’s suspected that the threat actors exploited an EternalBlue SMBv1 exploit to gain a foothold in internet facing PCs. After discovering evidence of Striped Fly within the WININIT.exe application – used to help load subsystems within Windows – Kaspersky determined that it then downloads further files. 

These files typically come from online software depositories such as GitHub and BitBucket. These are used to build the final Striped Fly payload. Cleverly, Striped Fly comes with Tor network capabilities to encrypt its communications. Tor, of course, is an internet router service used to encrypt data transferred over its network. And this is part of the reason why Striped Fly remained hidden for so long. 

The main talking point about Striped Fly is its sophistication and wide range of functions. Striped Fly is capable of harvesting login credentials, taking unauthorized screenshots of infected devices, stealing Wi-Fi network configuration details, transferring files to remote sources, and recording microphone output. Clearly, it poses a significant threat to all PC users. 

Swatting Striped Fly Away 

Striped Fly’s half-decade long campaign has proved to be highly successful. Accordingly, your organization needs to be on its guard against Striped Fly and any similar threats. Kaspersky hasn’t revealed a specific fix for Striped Fly but, as ever, vigilance and good security practices are key. So, make sure the following is part of your established cybersecurity strategy: 

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

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Safeguarding Your Business Against Social Engineering 

complex passwords, malware, multi factor authentication, Ophtek, Phishing Email, Ransomware, social engineering, vulnerability, , , , , , ,
05
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. 

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Latin America Banks Targeted by BBTok Malware Variant

anti malware, antivirus software, banking malware, banking trojan, BBTok Malware, firewall, Ophtek, Phishing Email, , , , , , ,
21
Nov 2023

Back in 2020, a new banking trojan by the name of BBTok emerged into the digital landscape and was responsible for numerous attacks. And now it’s back.

Banks in Brazil and Mexico appear to be the main targets of BBTok’s new campaign, and it’s a variant which is far more powerful than any of its previous incarnations. Its main deceptive threat is that it is able to spoof the interfaces of 40 different banks in Brazil and Mexico. This means that it’s perfectly placed to harvest sensitive data. In particular, this new strain of BBTok is deceiving victims into disclosing their credit card details and authentication codes. This gives the campaign a financial angle and highlights the serious threat it poses.

How Does BBTok Launch Its Attacks?

BBTok’s latest strategy begins with a phishing email, one that contains a malicious link which kickstarts the attack by launching the malware alongside a dummy document. BBTok is particularly successful as it has been coded to deal with multiple versions of Windows, and it also tailors the content of the attack to both the victim’s country and operating system. BBTok also allows the threat actors behind it to execute remote commands and steal data without the victim being aware.

Most notably, however, is the way in which BBTok replicates the interface of numerous banking websites – such as Citibank and HSBC – to truly deceive the victim. Appearing to be genuine at first glance, these interfaces are used to trick victims into entering security codes and passwords associated with their accounts. This gives the threat actors full access to their financial data and, more disturbingly, full control over their finances. This means that unauthorized payments and bank transfers can quickly land the victim in severe financial trouble.

How to Stay Safe from Banking Malware

In an increasingly digital world, where we all make numerous financial transactions online every week, it’s important to remain guarded against banking malware. As well as the financial damage that malware such as BBTok can cause, it can also create a foothold for threat actors to delve deep into your networks. And this represents a major threat to the security of both your data and your customer’s data. Accordingly, you need to stay safe, and here are some crucial tips to help you:

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

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Major US Casinos Hit by Ransomware 

BlackCat, educate team, MGM, Ophtek, Phishing, protection, Ransomware-as-a-Service, social engineering, , , , , , ,
14
Nov 2023

A major ransomware attack on the MGM brand of casinos has led to the firm’s IT systems having to be shut down. 

The ransomware-as-a-service hacking group BlackCat has taken responsibility for the attack, and it’s an attack which has caused major issues for MGM. IT systems responsible for processing electronic payments, digital key cards, parking systems and ATMs have all been impacted by this attack. While the attack is considered major, it was executed by the simplest of means. As ever, this attack on MGM contains some important lessons for organizations to learn and enforce. 

How Were the MGM Casinos Hacked? 

The MGM attack was made possible by the use of social engineering techniques. In particular, BlackCat identified an MGM employee by scouring related profiles on LinkedIn. With this information at their disposal, the threat actors contacted the MGM help desk and used this employee’s details as their way into the system. The exact nature of the breach, for security reasons, has not been disclosed, but it’s believed that it only took 10 minutes for BlackCat’s strategy to be successful. 

BlackCat, with full access to MGM’s IT infrastructure, set about issuing demands to MGM through a secure communication channel they had put in place. However, MGM refused to pay any of the ransom fees demanded by BlackCat. Instead, on the recommendations of their security team, MGM began shutting their Okta servers – used for authorization processes – down. 

However, BlackCat were able to remain active on the network due to the administrator privileges that they had gained during the attack. And, in response, BlackCat set about compromising over 100 hypervisors – applications which are used to manage virtual machines located on a PC – and encrypting the data contained on them.  

BlackCat, again, brought their ransom demand to the table and also threatened to launch further attacks if this was not met. 

How Could MGM Have Protected Their IT Systems? 

As a thriving, world-famous organization, MGM could have done without the headlines relating to the attack by BlackCat. And, as with all social engineering attacks, this could have easily been avoided if MGM had practiced the following: 

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

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