This Week in Security News

Welcome to our weekly roundup, where we share what you need to know about the cybersecurity news and events that happened over the past few days. Below you’ll find a quick recap of topics followed by links to news articles and/or our blog posts providing additional insight. Be sure to check back...

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:...

A week in security (September 11 – September 17)

Last week, we dug into phishing campaigns done via Linkedin accounts, remediation versus prevention, issues with smart syringe pumps, and advised you to go patch against a Word 0day. We had some tips regarding identity theft protection, explored crowdsourced fraud, and explained YARA rules...

Fraudulent Donations Lead to Disbanding of Hutchins Legal Defense Fund

A legal defense fund established to ease Marcus Hutchins’ attorney costs has been disbanded after a sizable number of fraudulent donations were discovered. Hutchins, known as Malware Tech, is facing six counts for his alleged involvement in creating and distributing the Kronos banking malware. Th...

Marcus Hutchins (MalwareTech) Gets $30,000 Bail, But Can't Leave United States

Marcus Hutchins, the malware analyst who helped stop global Wannacry menace, has reportedly pleaded not guilty to charges of creating and distributing the infamous Kronos banking malware and is set to release on $30,000 bail on Monday. Hutchins, the 23-year-old who operates under the alias...

WannaCry Hero Arrested, One of Two Charged with Distribution of Kronos Malware

Marcus Hutchins, the researcher hailed for his work in blunting the WannaCry ransomware outbreak in May, was arrested Wednesday in Las Vegas and charged with creating and distributing the Kronos banking malware. Hutchins, known online as Malwaretech, is a U.K. citizen and arrived in Las Vegas las...

Beware! Don't Fall for FireFox "HoeflerText Font Wasn't Found" Banking Malware Scam

The malicious scam campaign, "The 'HoeflerText' font wasn't found," is back, which was previously targeting Google Chrome users to trick them into installing Spora ransomware on their computers. This time the campaign has been re-designed to target Mozilla Firefox users with a banking trojan,...

Spammer's Arrest Puts End to Kelihos Botnet

The alleged Russian botmaster behind the Kelihos botnet was arrested while on vacation in Spain, putting an end to a seven-year cybercrime operation that foisted hundreds of millions of spam messages on consumers, as well as a dangerous array of banking malware and ransomware. Pyotr Levashov, als...

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...

New Wave of Hailstorm Spam Pelts Inboxes

Spammers are turning to an old technique known as hailstorm to slip past anti-spam and anti-malware filters. Researchers say that hailstorm spam, first spotted in 2008, has been improved and is once again being used, only this time to spread Dridex banking malware and Locky ransomware. “Hailstorm...

Zeus Variant 'Floki Bot' Targets PoS Data

Researchers have observed an uptick in attacks using the banking malware Floki Bot against U.S., Canadian and Brazilian banks, and insurance firms. Floki Bot, which uses code from the once notorious Zeus banking Trojan, has evolved and unlike its predecessor, is targeting point-of-sale systems vi...

Phony Android Flash Player Installs Banking Malware

Security researchers warn that a bogus Flash Player app aimed at Android mobile devices has surfaced and is luring victims to download and install banking malware that steals credit card information and can defeat two-factor identification schemes. Wells Fargo, Discovery Financial and Chase...

Exploit Kits Attacking Adobe Flash Player Zero Day

Update Exploits for the most recent Adobe Flash Player zero-day vulnerability have been integrated into the Angler, Neutrino and Magnitude exploit kits, and are leading compromised computers to different ransomware strains, banking malware, and a credential-stealing Trojan. A French researcher wh...

GozNym Trojan Attackers Set Sights on Europe, Poland

The banking malware GozNym has legs; only a few weeks after the hybrid Trojan was discovered, it has reportedly spread into Europe and begun plaguing banking customers in Poland with redirection attacks. The malware has started targeting corporate, SMB, investment banking and consumer accounts at...

ZeuS Banking Trojan Resurfaces As Atmos Variant

Old nemeses die hard, especially when you’re banking malware named ZeuS. According to Denmark-based Heimdal Security, the potent 9-year-old malware ZeuS has morphed into the up-and-coming Atmos malware – now targeting banks in France. Researchers are warning that the criminals behind Atmos have...

Attackers Dropping Kasidet Bot via Office Macros

It’s well documented that attackers have reignited their love affair with the Office macro, using it as a vector for spreading banking malware and even the BlackEnergy Trojan as of late. According to researchers at the San Jose security company zScaler, the bot Kasidet, also known as Neutrino, ha...

Spy Banker Banking Malware Hosted on Google Cloud Server

A new run of Spy Banker banking malware infections has been targeting Portuguese-speaking victims in Brazil. While Spy Banker is an old threat, dating back to 2009 according to some security companies, the latest wrinkle attackers are taking is a new one. The campaign, spotted by researchers at...

Dridex Banking Malware Takedown

Once word circulated of the arrest of a Moldovan man allegedly connected with the development and distribution of the Dridex banking malware, it was a matter of time before the operation was put out of business for good. The FBI, Department of Justice, the U.K.’s National Crime Agency and a numbe...

Gozi Co-Author Pleads Guilty As Authors Behind Citadel, Dridex Arrested

The author behind one strain of banking malware, Gozi, has plead guilty and is awaiting sentencing while two other men, who allegedly had a hand in developing the banking malware Citadel and Dridex, were recently apprehended. Latvian Deniss Calovskis, 30, acknowledged in a federal court in New Yo...

Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities Identified in Banking Vendors

In hopes of bolstering security, banks in New York over the next several weeks want to enact new regulations for any third party vendors they do business with. A report released last week pointed out that one in three N.Y. banks don’t require their vendors to notify them in the event they...