Apple Developing Fix For Flashback Malware

Apple is planning to release a software fix that will find and remove the Flashback malware that has been haunting Mac users for several months now. The latest version of Flashback has built a botnet that at times has included more than 600,000 infected machines. Apple said on Tuesday that it was...

Ryan Naraine and Costin Raiu on Flashback and Mac Security

Dennis Fisher talks with Ryan Naraine and Costin Raiu about the Flashback Mac botnet, why Apple is reluctant to let third parties update software on Macs and the future outlook for the security of Macs. Podcast audio courtesy of sykboy65 Subscribe to the Digital Underground podcast on...

Java: The OSX and Cross-Platform Nightmare

By Roel Schouwenberg For a few days now I’ve been asking myself the following question: Which is more important: The fact we had a 500k-strong OSX botnet fly under the radar or the culprit that enabled the malware to infect so many machines? Every time the answer is clear – Java has become an...

Researchers Confirm 600K-Strong Flashback Botnet Is Mostly Mac

Kaspersky Lab researchers say that analysis of the Flashfake botnet confirms the size of the malicious network and that it consists mostly of Mac OS X machines. Researchers at Kaspersky wrote on Friday that they were able to reverse engineer the domain generation algorithm used by the botnet, the...

Questions Abound On Size and Makeup of Flashback Botnet

The botnet assembled by the Flashback Trojan that’s been infecting Macs in recent months is turning out to be a rather difficult one to pin down. Researchers have said that the network of compromised machines may be upwards of 600,000, while newere estimates say that it’s more likely in the...

More than 600000 Macs system infected with Flashback Botnet

More than 600000 Macs system infected with Flashback Botnet The computer security industry is buzzing with warnings that more than half a million Macintosh computers may have been infected with a virus targeting Apple machines. Dr. Web originally reported Wednesday that 550,000 Macintosh computer...

Flashback Mac Trojan Hits More than 500K Machines

The Flashback Trojan that has been infecting Mac OSX machines of late appears to have become the most successful piece of Mac-based malware in the short history of such things. Researchers say that there have been upwards of 500,000 Macs infected by the malware, and that number may still rise...

Active Zeus C&Cs Remain Following Microsoft Takedown

It appears that Microsoft’s recent Zeus takedown attempt left some bots behind. Days after the company announced it had sinkholed the troublesome botnet, researchers say that there are still some C&C domains active. FireEye Malware Intelligence Lab’s Atif Mushtaq is reporting that, despite a...

POC Android botnet - Command and Control Channel over SMS

POC Android botnet - Command and Control Channel over SMS To avoid detection, this proof-of-concept code utilizes the Short Messaging Service SMS as a command & control channel. This adds fault tolerance because, if a smartphone is not available on the GSM network due to being powered off or out...

Kelihos Returns: Same Botnet or New Version?

The twice-shut-down Kelihos botnet remains active and continues spamming with a new variant, despite yesterday’s efforts by Kaspersky Lab and CrowdStrike that knocked offline and sinkholed the most recent version of the botnet. According to a Seculert report, the indomitable botnet is using a...

Kelihos Botnet with 110,000 PCs take down finally

Kelihos Botnet with 110,000 PCs take down finally Botnets are particularly insidious, using thousands of virus-infected computers which their owners are unaware are being used for sending out spam, launching denial-of-service attacks and stealing data.But taking down a botnet poses challenges. Th...

Kaspersky Knocks Down Kelihos Botnet Again, But Expects Return

For the second time in six months, researchers from the Russian antivirus company, Kaspersky Lab, carried out an operation to take down the newest iteration of the Kelihos botnet, also known as “Hlux.” Microsoft and Kaspersky worked together in September, 2011, on the first Kelihos take-down. The...

Richard Boscovich on the Zeus Botnet Takedown

Dennis Fisher talks with Richard Boscovich of the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit about the operation to take down the Zeus botnet, how the company works with partners and law enforcement on these operations and the importance of getting the word out to consumers about the danger of botnets. Podcas...

Microsoft, Financial Groups Execute Takedown of Zeus Botnet Servers

Microsoft has gone after another botnet, this time targeting some of the command-and-control infrastructure behind the Zeus network with a takedown effort that included seizing two IP addresses used for C&C servers and filing suit against 39 unnamed defendants. The action against Zeus is the late...

THOR : Another P2P Botnet in development with extra stealth features

THOR : Another P2P Botnet in development with extra stealth features The research community is now focusing on the integration of peer-to-peer P2P concepts as incremental improvements to distributed malicious software networks now generically referred to as botnets. Because "botnets" can be used...

Variant of Zeusbot/Spyeye Botnet uses p2p network model

Variant of Zeusbot/Spyeye Botnet uses p2p network model Cybercriminals are using a modified version of the Zeusbot/Spyeye, which is using a peer-to-peer P2P network architecture, rather than a simple bot to command-and-control C&C server system, making the botnet much harder to take down, Symante...

Researchers Discover Android Mobile Botnet 100k Strong

A newly discovered malicious application circulating on third party Android markets in China has created a botnet that contains more than 100,000 compromised devices, researchers report. Researchers from North Carolina State University and Symantec say the malware, dubbed RootStrap NC State...

Android.Bmaster Exploits root access to connect to Botnet

Android.Bmaster Exploits root access to connect to Botnet A new piece of Android malware named Android.Bmaster, first highlighted by researcher Xuxian Jiang at North Carolina State University, was uncovered on a third-party marketplace and is bundled with a legitimate application for configuring...

Kelihos Botnet Resurfaces

UPDATE–The Kelihos botnet, which researchers at Kaspersky Lab and Microsoft disrupted last fall by sinkholing the control channel, has sprung back to life and is using only slightly different versions of the original malware and controller list. The rejuvenation of the botnet illustrates the...

Attackers Moving Zeus Servers to Former Soviet Union TLD

The groups of attackers that employ the Zeus toolkit for their scams and malware campaigns have long used sites in the .ru Russian TLD as homes for their botnet controllers. Security researchers and law enforcement agencies have had a difficult time making headway in getting these domains taken...