A week in security (December 8 – December 14)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: The US digital doxxing of H-1B applicants is a massive privacy misstep Google ads funnel Mac users to poisoned AI chats that spread the AMOS infostealer How private is your VPN? DroidLock malware locks you out of your Android device and demands ransom Malwarebytes...

DroidLock malware locks you out of your Android device and demands ransom

Researchers have analyzed a new threat campaign actively targeting Android users. The malware, named DroidLock, takes over a device and then holds it for ransom. The campaign to date has primarily targeted Spanish-speaking users, but researchers warn it could spread. DroidLock is delivered via...

TangleBot Malware Reaches Deep into Android Device Functions

An Android malware called TangleBot has weaved its way onto the cyber-scene: One that researchers said can perform a bouquet of malicious actions, including stealing personal info and controlling apps and device functions. According to Cloudmark researchers, the newly discovered mobile malware is...

Watch Out — Microsoft Warns Android Users About A New Ransomware

Microsoft has warned about a new strain of mobile ransomware that takes advantage of incoming call notifications and Android's Home button to lock the device behind a ransom note. The findings concern a variant of a known Android ransomware family dubbed "MalLocker.B" which has now resurfaced wit...

Sophisticated Android Ransomware Executes with the Home Button

A fresh variant of a sophisticated Android ransomware known as MalLocker locks up mobile devices – surfacing its ransom note when a user hits the Home button. According to research from Microsoft, MalLocker is spreading via malicious website downloads disguised as popular apps, cracked games or...

‘Black Rose Lucy’ is Back, Now Pushing Ransomware

Cybercriminals behind the Android-based dropper malware Black Rose Lucy have shifted attacks from info-stealing to ransomware – with a sextortion twist. The malware family, operated by the Lucy Gang, encrypts targeted Android devices and delivers a spoofed FBI message. The ransom note claims the...

New Ransomware Not Just Encrypts Your Android But Also Changes PIN Lock

DoubleLocker—as the name suggests, it locks device twice. Security researchers from Slovakia-based security software maker ESET have discovered a new Android ransomware that not just encrypts users’ data, but also locks them out of their devices by changing lock screen PIN. On top of that:...

Fake Pornography App Infecting Devices with Android Ransomware

By Jahanzaib Hassan Lukas Stefanko, a researcher at ESET security, recently discovered a ransomware that goes by the name of Koler to be affecting Android users based in the US through adult-themed websites and a fake PornHub app. Not a new threat The ransomware is not new, and according...

New Android Ransomware Communicates over XMPP

A new strain of Android ransomware disguised as a video player app uses a means of communication unseen in other similar malware. Most of the victims are in the United States and the mobile crypto-ransomware scam seems to be profitable according to researchers at Check Point Software Technologies...