Steganography in the Modern Attack Landscape

Steganography the hiding of data in other content types such as images, videos, network traffic etc. continues to play a role in modern attacks in several forms. Most uses of steganography in malware can be divided into two broad categories: concealing the actual malware contents and concealing t...

Google Play Boots Italian Spyware Apps That Infected Hundreds

Google has removed more than a dozen malicious apps harboring Android spyware from its Google Play marketplace. The spyware appears to have been developed by an Italian firm, which is now under investigation for its development. Researchers allege that the apps have infected several hundred – up ...

Threat Roundup for March 22 to March 29

Today, Talos is publishing a glimpse into the most prevalent threats we've observed between March 22 and March 29. 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...

Cybercriminals Have a Heyday with WinRAR Bug in Fresh Campaigns

A recently discovered vulnerability in the WinRAR file archival utility has been exploited in a slew of new campaigns, including one with a never-before-seen payload. The flurry of activity shows no sign of waning as cybercriminals continue to find success exploiting the bug. The campaigns take...

ASUS Patches Live Update Bug That Allowed APT to Infect Thousands of PCs

ASUS has expedited a patch for a major bug impacting thousands of PCs that allowed an advanced persistent threat group to launch a supply-chain attack dubbed “Operation ShadowHammer.” The vulnerability targeted a range of new ASUS PCs with a backdoor injection technique tied to the PC-maker’s...

Malware Payloads Hide in Images: Steganography Gets a Reboot

One of the challenges of cybersecurity is that overfocusing on one threat trend means that another one can sneak up on you. This is especially problematic as our networks and the attack surface expands. Beyond threat vectors, though, we also need to pay attention to the entire spectrum of threat...

GlitchPOS: New PoS malware for sale

Warren Mercer and Paul Rascagneres authored this post with contributions from Ben Baker. Executive summary Point-of-sale malware is popular among attackers, as it usually leads to them obtaining credit card numbers and immediately use that information for financial gain. This type of malware is...

Researchers Link 'Sharpshooter' Cyber Attacks to North Korean Hackers

Security researchers have finally, with "high confidence," linked a previously discovered global cyber espionage campaign targeting critical infrastructure around the world to a North Korean APT hacking group. Thanks to the new evidence collected by researchers after analyzing a command-and-contr...

RSAC 2019: New Operation Sharpshooter Data Reveals Higher Complexity, Scope

SAN FRANCISCO – An insidious reconnaissance campaign discovered in 2018, dubbed Operation Sharpshooter, is much more widespread than previously thought, researchers said. Operation Sharpshooter was first disclosed in December 2018, using a never-before-seen implant framework to infiltrate global...

New malware found using Google Drive as its command-and-control server

Since most security tools also keep an eye on the network traffic to detect malicious IP addresses, attackers are increasingly adopting infrastructure of legitimate services in their attacks to hide their malicious activities. Cybersecurity researchers have now spotted a new malware attack campai...

New malware found using Google Drive as its command-and-control server

Since most security tools also keep an eye on the network traffic to detect malicious IP addresses, attackers are increasingly adopting infrastructure of legitimate services in their attacks to hide their malicious activities. Cybersecurity researchers have now spotted a new malware attack campai...

TAU Threat Intelligence Notification – MongoLock Ransomware

Summary The new variant of MongoLock Ransomware will delete users’ files immediately instead of encrypting them. Upon execution, MongoLock will scan specific locations such as Desktop, Documents, or Recycle Bin Folders, then delete files and format the local disk drives. The following is the list...

Cryptomining Malware Uninstalls Cloud Security Products

Researchers say they have discovered a unique malware family capable of gaining admin rights on targeted systems by uninstalling cloud-security products. Instances of the malicious activity are tied to coin-mining malware targeting Linux servers. Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42, which published the...

TA505 Crime Gang Debuts Brand-New ServHelper Backdoor

A new backdoor named ServHelper has been spotted in the wild, acting as both a remote desktop agent as well as a downloader for a RAT called FlawedGrace. According to Proofpoint, the prolific cybercriminal gang known as TA505 developed ServHelper, which has two variants: one focused on remote...

PyLocky Ransomware Decryption Tool Released — Unlock Files For Free

If your computer has been infected with PyLocky Ransomware and you are searching for a free ransomware decryption tool to unlock or decrypt your files—your search might end here. Security researcher Mike Bautista at Cisco's Talos cyber intelligence unit have released a free decryption tool that...

Sofacy Russia-Linked APT Debuts Fresh Zebrocy Variant

The Zebrocy trojan – a custom downloader malware used by Russia-linked APT Sofacy a.k.a. APT28, Fancy Bear or Sednit – has a new variant. While it’s functionally much the same as its other versions, the new code was written using the Go programming language. The similarities between the new paylo...

New Malware Takes Commands From Memes Posted On Twitter

Security researchers have discovered yet another example of how cybercriminals disguise their malware activities as regular traffic by using legitimate cloud-based services. Trend Micro researchers have uncovered a new piece of malware that retrieves commands from memes posted on a Twitter accoun...

tRat Emerges as New Pet for APT Group TA505

A new modular malware written in Delphi dubbed tRat has scurried into the spotlight, after making its debut in large spam campaigns this fall. The remote-access trojan has yet to show all of its cards to researchers, and seems to be in a testing phase, but the fact that well-known APT group TA505...

IT threat evolution Q3 2018

Targeted attacks and malware campaigns Lazarus targets cryptocurrency exchange Lazarus is a well-established threat actor that has conducted cyber-espionage and cybersabotage campaigns since at least 2009. In recent years, the group has launched campaigns against financial organizations around th...

Threat Roundup for November 2 to November 9

Today, Talos is publishing a glimpse into the most prevalent threats we've observed between Nov. 02 and Nov. 09. 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...