Threat Roundup for October 13 to October 20

Today, Talos is publishing a glimpse into the most prevalent threats weve observed between Oct. 13 and Oct. 20. As with previous roundups, this post isnt meant to be an in-depth analysis. Instead, this post will summarize the threats weve observed by highlighting key behavioral characteristics,...

Korean Word Processor Scam Alert Orcus RAT Lurking in Cracked Versions

Threat Level Attack Report For a detailed threat advisory, download the pdf file here Summary Orcus RAT, formerly known as Schnorchel, first appeared in April 2016 and allows for remote control of infected systems. Intruders are attempting to deploy a variant of Orcus RAT along with XMRig...

Linux Malware Using SHC Compiler Installs CoinMiner and DDoS Bots

Threat Level Attack Report For a detailed threat advisory, download the pdf file here Summary A new strain of Linux malware, developed using the Shc compiler, has been found to install a CoinMiner on infected systems. It is believed that this malware is being spread through dictionary attacks on...

Emotet Botnet Distributing Self-Unlocking Password-Protected RAR Files to Drop Malware

The notorious Emotet botnet has been linked to a new wave of malspam campaigns that take advantage of password-protected archive files to drop CoinMiner and Quasar RAT on compromised systems. In an attack chain detected by Trustwave SpiderLabs researchers, an invoice-themed ZIP file lure was foun...

Crypto Miners Using Tox P2P Messenger as Command and Control Server

Threat actors have begun to use the Tox peer-to-peer instant messaging service as a command-and-control method, marking a shift from its earlier role as a contact method for ransomware negotiations. The findings from Uptycs, which analyzed an Executable and Linkable Format ELF artifact "72client"...

Latest Mac Coinminer Utilizes Open-Source Binaries and the I2P Network

A Mac coinminer has been spotted using open-source components in its routine and the I2P Network to hide its traffic. We dive into old iterations of this malware, and also analyze the newest version...

NPM Library (ua-parser-js) Hijacked: What You Need to Know

Last Update: October 27, 2021 For approximately 4 hours on Friday, October 22, 2021, a widely utilized NPM package, ua-parser-js, was embedded with a malicious script intended to install a coinminer and harvest user/credential information. This package is used “to detect Browser, Engine, OS, CPU,...

Proxylogon: A Coinminer, a Ransomware, and a Botnet Join the Party

Our telemetry showed three malware families taking advantage of the ProxyLogon vulnerability beginning in March: the coinminer LemonDuck was sighted first, quickly followed by the ransomware BlackKingdom, then the Prometei botnet...

Defending against cryptojacking with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and Intel TDT

Cryptocurrency mining—once considered no more than a nuisance, a relatively benign activity that was a drain on machine resources—has been on the rise in recent years. This increase in cryptocurrency mining activity is driven by the increasing value of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, the growth in...

Quarterly Report: Incident Response trends in Spring 2020

By David Liebenberg. Cisco Talos Incident Response CTIR engagements continue to be dominated by ransomware and commodity trojans. As alluded to in last quarter’s report, ransomware actors have begun threatening to release sensitive information from victims as a means of further compelling them to...

This Week in Security News: Exploring Common Threats to Cloud Security and Zoom Removes Meeting IDs from App Title Bar to Improve Privacy

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. This week, learn about why Zoom has released an update for its Linux, Mac, and Windows apps that removes the meeting ID from the app's title bar. Also,...

XBash Malware Packs Double Punch: Destroys Data and Mines for Crypto Coins

Researchers have discovered a new sophisticated malware family in the wild, which wrecks havoc on Windows and Linux systems with a combination of data destructive ransomware and malicious cryptomining. The malware, dubbed by Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 researchers who discovered it as Xbash, has...

Threat Roundup for August 10-17

Today, Talos is publishing a glimpse into the most prevalent threats we've observed between August 10 and August 17. As with previous round-ups, 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...