Threat Roundup for June 21 to June 28

Today, Talos is publishing a glimpse into the most prevalent threats we've observed between June 21 and June 28. As with previous roundups, this post isn't meant to be an in-depth analysis. Instead, this post will summarize the threats we've observed by highlighting key behavioral characteristics...

Who’s Behind the RevCode WebMonitor RAT?

The owner of a Swedish company behind a popular remote administration tool RAT implicated in thousands of malware attacks shares the same name as a Swedish man who pleaded guilty in 2015 to co-creating the Blackshades RAT, a similar product that was used to infect more than half a million compute...

BlackShades Strain of Ransomware Teases Researchers

Researchers who dig deep through the code of one of the latest strains of ransomware might be surprised and even a little irked at what they find. Hidden inside some of those strings of code are taunts aimed at them. According to Lawrence Abrams who runs BleepingComputer.com, the malware,...

Creator of Blackshades Malware Jailed 4 Years in New York

A Swedish man who was the mastermind behind the $40 BlackShades Remote Access Tool RAT that infected over half a million systems around the world was sentenced to almost five years in a U.S. prison on Tuesday. Alex Yücel, 25, owned and operated an organization called "BlackShades" that sold a...

56 Hackers Arrested in Cyber Crime 'Strike Week' Raids in UK

The United Kingdom's National Crime Agency NCA has arrested 56 suspected hackers in a campaign against cybercrime called "strike week." Law-enforcement officials conducted, in total, 25 separate operations across England, Scotland and Wales, and those arrested were suspected in a wide range of...

Alleged BlackShades Malware Co-Author pleads not Guilty

A Swedish man accused of being involved in the creation of the malicious software used to infect over half a million systems in more than dozens of countries, has pleaded not guilty in New York on Thursday to computer hacking charges brought against him. Alex Yucel, 24, who is the co-author of th...

Threatpost News Wrap, May 23, 2014

Dennis Fisher and Mike Mimoso discuss the US indictments of Chinese army officers for hacking, the Blackshades malware arrests, the new IE 8 zero day and the US prospects in the World Cup. Download: digitalunderground154.mp3 Music by Chris Gonsalves...

Blackshades RAT Takedown Leads to 90 Arrests

More than 90 arrests have been made in connection with development and sales of a remote access Trojan used worldwide to steal data and spy on victims, including Syrian dissidents. The FBI and the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office yesterday announced the takedown of the Blackshades operation...

FBI Arrests 100 Hackers linked to Blackshades Malware

On Friday, we reported about the large-scale operation of International raids launched by the FBI and other law enforcement officials in countries around the world to arrest the targeted customers of a popular Remote Administration Tool RAT called ‘Blackshades,’ which is designed to take over the...

FBI raids BlackShades RAT Malware Customers in Europe and Australia

When it comes to crime, whether it’s an online or offline, FBI doesn't spare anyone. According to the French media reports and various announcements on underground forums by hacking groups, the FBI has started a large-scale operation of International raids with the help of local law enforcement...

Blackshades RAT Pops Up in Attacks on Syrian Activists

They just do not stop having targeted malware attacks in Syria. Just a few days after the author of the Dark Comet RAT announced he was shutting down development and sales of the tool, partly because it was used in attacks by the Syrian government, experts have found that pro-government attackers...

Syrian Dissidents Hit By Another Wave of Targeted Attacks

One of the attackers who has been targeting Syrian anti-government activists with malware and surveillance tools has returned and upped the ante with the use of the BlackShades RAT, a remote-access tool that gives him the ability to spy on victims machines through keylogging and screenshots. The...