Backdoor.LV Samples On the Rise

A strain of malware called Backdoor.LV that uses a custom protocol over port 80 to communicate with its command and control server has been consistently increasing its reach since May, according to a report from FireEye. The security firm observed Backdoor.LV determining its host’s NetBIOS name,...

Iran still on target of 'Mahdi' malware after detection

In JULY Kaspersky Lab and Seculert revealed the presence of a new cyber-espionage weapon known targeting users in the Middle East. Despite the recent uncovering of the 'Madhi' malware that has infected several hundred computers in the Middle East, researchers say the virus is continuing to spread...

Oracle Releases Fix For Java CVE-2012-4681 Flaw

Oracle on Thursday released a new version of Java that included a fix for the CVE-2012-4681 vulnerability that has been used in limited targeted attacks in the last couple of weeks. The release of Java 7 update 7 comes about four days after the Java flaw was publicly disclosed, but several months...

Use of Java Zero-Day Flaws Tied to Nitro Attack Crew

Researchers say that one of the attack groups using the two new Java zero-day vulnerabilities is the same group that was behind an earlier targeted attack campaign from 2011. That group was traced back to China and was essentially running a spear-phishing campaign, but now the crew, known as Nitr...

Security Firm Reveals Flaw in Dirt Jumper Bot

A team of researchers has discovered a weakness in the command-and-control infrastructure of one of the major DDoS toolkits, Dirt Jumper, that enables them to stop attacks that are in progress. The command and control C&C servers of the Dirt Jumper DDoS toolkit can be compromised and, in principl...

MyAgent Trojan Targets Defense and Aerospace Industries

FireEye Security experts are analyzing a targeted trojan that leverages emailed PDF files to gain access to systems and deliver its payload to specified networks in the aerospace, chemical, defense and tech industries. "We have seen different versions of this malware arriving as an exe inside a...

Researchers Release Detection Tool For Gauss Malware's Palida Narrow Font

One of the many mysteries around the discovery of the Gauss malware is why the tool installs a new font called Palida Narrow on infected machines. Researchers have been unable to figure out yet what the purpose of the font is, but as its presence on a PC is a good indicator of a Gauss infection,...

Report: Stealthy New Banking Malware Tilon Emerges

A new type of financial malware has surfaced that’s targeting information submitted through banking forms via the “Man in the Browser” MITB technique and proving difficult to detect, according to research published by computer security firm Trusteer today. A blog entry by the company’s Chief...

Zeus malware targeting BlackBerry and Android devices

Security researchers at Kaspersky Lab have discovered five new samples of the ZeuS-in-the-Mobile ZitMo malware package, targeting Android and BlackBerry devices. Zitmo Zeus in the mobile is the name given to the mobile versions of Zeus, and it's been around for a couple of years already, mostly...

Alleged Mariposa Botmaster in Court

One of the men authorities allege to have been behind the massive–and now dead–Mariposa botnet, has gone on trial in Slovenia, more than two years after the initial arrests and takedown of the network. Mariposa was one of the first handful of botnets that authorities and security researchers work...

New OpFake Android Malware Entices Users With Opera Mini Browser

There is a new variant of the OpFake mobile malware making the rounds, and this version comes bundled with a version of the legitimate Opera Mini mobile browser. The malware targets Android phones and steals money from victims by sending SMS messages without the user’s knowledge to premium-rate...

Religious 'Madi' Spyware Spies on Critical Infrastructure in Middle East

A new variety of spyware has been targeting users in Iran, Israel and the Middle East for the last eight months according to joint research from Israeli security software firm Seculert and Kaspersky Lab. The new malware is using a variety of odd techniques and misdirection to entice users to...

Three Baltic Men Jailed After Using SpyEye Malware

Two men found using the SpyEye Trojan to swindle users out of their banking information were jailed last week after violating the United Kingdom’s Computer Misuse Act. Pavel Cyganok, 28, a Lithuanian, along with Ilja Zakrevski, 26, an Estonian, were jailed for four years while a third man, Latvia...

BlackHole Exploit Kit Gets New Domain-Generation Algorithm

Nothing is more frustrating than spending days or weeks compromising dozens of Web sites and setting up your network of malicious redirects and then finding out that someone has screwed it all up by taking down one of your infected sites. Luckily, the crew behind the BlackHole exploit kit has...

Mac OS X, Windows Backdoors Used in New APT Attacks

A new Mac OS X backdoor variant has begun making the rounds online, targeting a Turkic ethnic group in central Asia, according to a post on Securelist’s blog earlier today. Researchers intercepted an advanced persistent threat APT campaign earlier this week that was targeting Uyghur Mac users,...

Zemra Botnet Leaked, Cyber Criminals performing DDoS Attacks

Zemra Botnet Leaked, Cyber Criminals performing DDoS Attacks The Zemra DDoS Bot is currently sold in various forums for about 100 € and detected by Symantec as Backdoor.Zemra. Zemra first appeared on underground forums in May 2012. This crimeware pack is similar to other crime packs, such as Zeus...

New Crimeware Bot Zemra behind DDoS Attacks

Zemra, a new crimeware bot that shares traits with the banking Trojans Zeus and SpyEye has been making the rounds lately, according to a recent post on Symantec’s Security Response blog. In the post, Symantec’s Alan Neville claims Zemra has been seen executing distributed denial of service attack...

The Hidden Security Risks of P2P Traffic

For years enterprises have been trying to control peer-to-peer P2P technologies inside their networks, and for good reason. The efficiency with which P2P technology move large files have made P2P networks key enablers of the Internet grey market by acting as the distribution mechanism of choice f...

Attacks Targeting US Defense Contractors and Universities Tied to China

UPDATE: Researchers have identified an ongoing series of attacks, possibly emanating from China, that are targeting a number of high-profile organizations, including SCADA security companies, universities and defense contractors. The attacks are using highly customized malicious files to entice...

Attackers Can Use 'Self-Destruct' Feature to Kill Flame

The attackers behind Flame can easily clean up compromised computers, according to research by security firm Symantec who found that some attackers have been able to use command-and-control C&C servers to completely remove the malware from certain machines. According to a post on Symantec’s...