38 Android Devices Infected with Malware Preinstalled in Supply Chain

Mobile devices manufactured by a diverse set of handset makers were discovered to be loaded with malware pre-installed somewhere along the supply chain. Check Point Software Technologies said that it found 38 Android handsets were infected with adware, information-stealing malware and ransomware,...

Introduction to Reverse Engineering Cocoa Applications

While not as common as Windows malware, there has been a steady stream of malware discovered over the years that runs on the OS X operating system, now rebranded as macOS. February saw three particularly interesting publications on the topic of macOS malware: a Trojan Cocoa application that sends...

Keys for Dharma Ransomware Released

Victims of the Dharma strain of ransomware can now get their files back, free of charge. Decryption keys for the ransomware were added to the Kaspersky Lab’s Rakhni decryptor tool Thursday morning. Dharma ransomware .dharma decryptor released pic.twitter.com/sIQorypOzj — Anton Ivanov @antonivanov...

Google Employees Help Thousands Of Open Source Projects Patch Critical ‘Mad Gadget Bug’

Last year Google employees took an initiative to help thousands of Open Source Projects patch a critical remote code execution vulnerability in a widely used Apache Commons Collections ACC library. Dubbed Operation Rosehub, the initiative was volunteered by some 50 Google employees, who utilized ...

0.2 BTC Strikes Back, Now Attacking MySQL Databases

In this post we will describe how GGSN detected a wide ransomware attack targeting MySQL databases and provide recommendations on how to protect your database...

Suspected Ransomware Dropzone

A remote attacker could send spam e-mails including a downloader and manipulate users to manually enable them. This would allow the malicious code to run and infect the target system. This behavior has been used, among others, by ransomwares such as BadRabbit...

SMTP STS Coming Soon to Gmail, Other Webmail Providers

Gmail users can expect the introduction of SMTP Strict Transport Security to the email service some time this year, bringing a measure of security similar to certificate pinning to one of the world’s biggest webmail services. Elie Bursztein, the head of Google’s anti-abuse research team, said at...

This Ransomware Malware Could Poison Your Water Supply If Not Paid

Ransomware has been around for a few years, but in last two years, it has become an albatross around everyone's neck, targeting businesses, hospitals, financial institutions and personal computers worldwide and extorting millions of dollars. Ransomware is a type of malware that infects computers...

Ransomware: A declining nuisance or an evolving menace?

Note: Read our latest comprehensive report on ransomware: Ransomware 1H 2017 review: Global outbreaks reinforce the value of security hygiene. The volume of ransomware encounters is on a downward trend. Are we seeing the beginning of the end of this vicious threat? Unfortunately, a look at the...

Open Databases a Juicy Extortion Target

Recent attacks against insecure MongoDB, Hadoop and CouchDB installations represent a new phase in online extortion, born from ransomware’s roots with the promise of becoming a nemesis for years to come. “These types of attacks have grown from ones of opportunity to full-scale automated and...

CryptoShield Infections from RIG EK Picking Up

The RIG Exploit Kit remains fairly active despite an overall decline in such activity, and of late, it’s been spreading a fairly new variant of ransomware called CryptoShield. The main culprit is an attack group known for using EITest to deliver malware; it has been infecting victims’ machines vi...

Locky Ransomware, Kovter Click-Fraud Malware Spreading in Same Campaigns

Researchers at Microsoft’s Malware Protection Center have spotted malicious email campaigns using .lnk attachments to spread Locky ransomware and the Kovter click-fraud Trojan, the first time criminals have simultaneously distributed both pieces of malware. According to Microsoft, the .lnk file n...

Improved scripts in .lnk files now deliver Kovter in addition to Locky

Cybercriminals are using a combination of improved script and well-maintained download sites to attempt installing Locky and Kovter on more computers. A few months ago, we reported an email campaign distributing .lnk files with a malicious script that delivered Locky ransomware. Opening the...

Two Arrested for Hacking Washington CCTV Cameras Before Trump Inauguration

Two suspected hackers have reportedly been arrested in London on suspicion of hacking 70 percent of the CCTV cameras in Washington with ransomware ahead of President Donald Trump's inauguration last month. The arrest took place on 20th January by the officers from the National Crime Agency NCA of...

Averting ransomware epidemics in corporate networks with Windows Defender ATP

Note: Read our latest comprehensive report on ransomware: Ransomware 1H 2017 review: Global outbreaks reinforce the value of security hygiene. Microsoft security researchers continue to observe ransomware campaigns blanketing the market and indiscriminately hitting potential targets...

Over 70% of Washington DC's CCTV Were Hacked Before Trump Inauguration

Just days before the inauguration of President Donald Trump, cyber criminals infected 70 percent of storage devices that record data from feds surveillance cameras in Washington D.C. in a cyber attack. Any guess, What kind of virus could have hit the storage devices? Once again, the culprit is...

Ransomware Hijacks Hotel Smart Keys to Lock Guests Out of their Rooms

What's the worst that could happen when a Ransomware hits a Hotel? Recently, hundreds of guests of a luxurious hotel in Austria were locked in or out of their rooms when ransomware hit the hotel's IT system, and the hotel had no choice left except paying the attackers. Today, we are living in a...

On the Star Wars Twitter Botnet, the Return of Lavabit, Ransomware and More

Mike Mimoso and Chris Brook discuss the news of the week, including the Star Wars Twitter botnet, the return of Lavabit, a critical Cisco Webex flaw, and the St. Louis Library ransomware story. Download: ThreatpostNewsWrapJanuary272017.mp3 Music by Chris Gonsalves...

Google to Block .js Attachments in Gmail

Spammers and cybercriminals have revived email-based attacks in the last year, giving new life to macro-based malware hidden in Word documents, and with greater intensity of late, .js files that run JavaScript on infected clients, largely to download malware from an attacker’s site. Google...

Half of Ransomware Victims Pay Criminals' Demands to Recover Data

A report on ransomware sheds new light on attacks in 2016, starting with the fact that 48 percent of businesses hit by ransomware said they paid the ransom. That’s in spite of pleas from cyber security experts and the FBI not to do so. Other insights include the average ransom payment was $2,500...