New JinxLoader Targeting Users with Formbook and XLoader Malware

A new Go-based malware loader called JinxLoader is being used by threat actors to deliver next-stage payloads such as Formbook and its successor XLoader. The disclosure comes from cybersecurity firms Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 and Symantec, both of which highlighted multi-step attack sequences th...

Hackers Exploiting MS Excel Vulnerability to Spread Agent Tesla Malware

Attackers are weaponizing an old Microsoft Office vulnerability as part of phishing campaigns to distribute a strain of malware called Agent Tesla. The infection chains leverage decoy Excel documents attached in invoice-themed messages to trick potential targets into opening them and activate the...

PikaBot distributed via malicious search ads

During this past year, we have seen an increase in the use of malicious ads malvertising and specifically those via search engines, to drop malware targeting businesses. In fact, browser-based attacks overall have been a lot more common if we include social engineering campaigns. Criminals have...

The Lethal Advancement of DarkGate Malware-as-a-Service

Summary: DarkGate, a formidable Remote Access Trojan RAT, functions as a Malware-as-a-Service MaaS and is masterminded by the elusive RastaFarEye within the underground cybercrime landscape. The latest iteration, DarkGate 5.0.19, advances upon its predecessors with sophisticated evasion technique...

The Continued Evolution of the DarkGate Malware-as-a-Service

The Continued Evolution of the DarkGate Malware-as-a-Service By Ernesto Fernández Provecho, Pham Duy Phuc, Ciana Driscoll and Vinoo Thomas · November 21, 2023 On September 2023, the Trellix Security Operations Center SOC successfully detected and stopped an attack against Musarubra, the holding...

The Continued Evolution of the DarkGate Malware-as-a-Service

The Continued Evolution of the DarkGate Malware-as-a-Service By Ernesto Fernández Provecho, Pham Duy Phuc, Ciana Driscoll and Vinoo Thomas · November 21, 2023 On September 2023, the Trellix Security Operations Center SOC successfully detected and stopped an attack against Musarubra, the holding...

DarkGate and PikaBot Malware Resurrect QakBot's Tactics in New Phishing Attacks

Phishing campaigns delivering malware families such as DarkGate and PikaBot are following the same tactics previously used in attacks leveraging the now-defunct QakBot trojan. "These include hijacked email threads as the initial infection, URLs with unique patterns that limit user access, and an...

New Malvertising Campaign Uses Fake Windows News Portal to Distribute Malicious Installers

A new malvertising campaign has been found to employ fake sites that masquerade as legitimate Windows news portal to propagate a malicious installer for a popular system profiling tool called CPU-Z. "This incident is a part of a larger malvertising campaign that targets other utilities like...

A week in security (October 23 – October 29)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Malvertising via Dynamic Search Ads delivers malware bonanza Octo Tempest cybercriminal group is "a growing concern"—Microsoft Update now! Apple patches a raft of vulnerabilities Patch…later? Safari iLeakage bug not fixed Update vCenter Server now! VMWare fixes...

Battling a new DarkGate malware campaign with Malwarebytes MDR

First publicly reported in 2018, DarkGate is a Windows-based malware with a wide-range of capabilities including credential stealing and remote access to victim endpoints. Until recently, it was only seen being delivered through traditional email malspam campaigns. In late August 2023, however,...

Vietnamese DarkGate Malware Targets META Accounts in the UK, USA, India

By Deeba Ahmed The cybersecurity researchers at WithSecure have identified a connection between Vietnamese DuckTail infostealer and DarkGate malware. KEY FINDINGS… This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: Vietnamese DarkGate Malware Targets META Accounts in the UK, USA, India...

Vietnamese Hackers Target U.K., U.S., and India with DarkGate Malware

Attacks leveraging the DarkGate commodity malware targeting entities in the U.K., the U.S., and India have been linked to Vietnamese actors associated with the use of the infamous Ducktail stealer. "The overlap of tools and campaigns is very likely due to the effects of a cybercrime marketplace,"...

Revealing DarkGate’s Incursion Across Continents

Threat Level Attack Report For a detailed threat advisory, download the pdf file here Summary A potential threat actor has been using compromised Skype and Microsoft Teams accounts to distribute DarkGate, a problematic loader campaign primarily targeting the Americas region. To receive real-time...

DarkGate Malware Spreading via Messaging Services Posing as PDF Files

A piece of malware known as DarkGate has been observed being spread via instant messaging platforms such as Skype and Microsoft Teams. In these attacks, the messaging apps are used to deliver a Visual Basic for Applications VBA loader script that masquerades as a PDF document, which, when opened,...

DarkGate Opens Organizations for Attack via Skype, Teams

We detail an ongoing campaign abusing messaging platforms Skype and Teams to distribute the DarkGate malware to targeted organizations. We also discovered that once DarkGate is installed on the victim’s system, additional payloads were introduced to the environment...

Microsoft Teams used to deliver DarkGate Loader malware

Researchers have found a new method by which cybercriminals are spreading the DarkGate Loader malware. Until now, DarkGate was typically distributed via phishing emails. The malspam campaign used stolen email threads to lure victims into clicking a hyperlink, which downloaded the malware. But...

DarkGate Malware Activity Spikes as Developer Rents Out Malware to Affiliates

A new malspam campaign has been observed deploying an off-the-shelf malware called DarkGate. "The current spike in DarkGate malware activity is plausible given the fact that the developer of the malware has recently started to rent out the malware to a limited number of affiliates," Telekom...

DarkGate reloaded via malvertising and SEO poisoning campaigns

In July 2023, we observed a malvertising campaign that lured potential victims to a fraudulent site for a Windows IT management tool. Unlike previous similar attacks, the final payload was packaged differently and not immediately recognizable. The decoy file came as an MSI installer containing an...

What’s happening in the world of crimeware: Emotet, DarkGate and LokiBot

Introduction The malware landscape keeps evolving. New families are born, while others disappear. Some families are short-lived, while others remain active for quite a long time. In order to follow this evolution, we rely both on samples that we detect and our monitoring efforts, which cover...

DarkGate: New password stealer & cryptomining malware hits Windows devices

By Waqas "DarkGate" malware uses Akamai, AWS DNS records and multiple payloads for cryptomining, credential theft and endpoint takeover. A sophisticated malware campaign has been identified by an enSilo researcher that hasn’t been detected before and is quite advanced than many of the malware...