RIG exploit kit distributes Princess ransomware

We have identified a new drive-by download campaign that distributes the Princess ransomware AKA PrincessLocker, leveraging compromised websites and the RIG exploit kit. This is somewhat of a change for those tracking malvertising campaigns and their payloads. We had analyzed the PrincessLocker...

BSides Manchester: Malvertising – under the hood

I've talked about malvertising a fair bit at security events down the years and I was lucky enough to be able to add to the tally at this month's BSides Manchester conference. Whether your preferred variety is desktop, mobile, or even virtual/augmented reality, there's hopefully something here fo...

Hiking Club Malvertisements Drop Monero Miners Via Neptune Exploit Kit

Exploit kit EK activity has been on the decline ever since Angler Exploit Kit was shut down in 2016. Fewer people using Internet Explorer and a drop in browser support for Adobe Flash – two primary targets of many exploit kits – have also contributed to this decline. Additionally, some popular...

Hiking Club Malvertisements Drop Monero Miners Via Neptune Exploit Kit

Exploit kit EK activity has been on the decline ever since Angler Exploit Kit was shut down in 2016. Fewer people using Internet Explorer and a drop in browser support for Adobe Flash – two primary targets of many exploit kits – have also contributed to this decline. Additionally, some popular...

Hiking Club Malvertisements Drop Monero Miners Via Neptune Exploit Kit

Exploit kit EK activity has been on the decline ever since Angler Exploit Kit was shut down in 2016. Fewer people using Internet Explorer and a drop in browser support for Adobe Flash – two primary targets of many exploit kits – have also contributed to this decline. Additionally, some popular...

This Week in Security News

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. Below you’ll find a quick recap of topics followed by links to news articles and/or our blog posts providing additional insight. Be sure to check back...

VulnCheck KEV: CVE-2017-20202

Web Developer for Chrome v0.4.9 contained malicious code that generated a domain via a DGA and fetched a remote script. The fetched script conditionally loaded follow-on modules that performed extensive ad substitution and malvertising, displayed fake “repair” alerts that redirected users to...

This Week in Security News

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. Below you’ll find a quick recap of topics followed by links to news articles and/or our blog posts providing additional insight. Be sure to check back...

A week in security (July 03 – July 09)

Last week, we released our second quarter Cybercrime Tactics & Techniques report, where we revealed that ransomware outbreaks were dominant during this quarter. You can read the full report on the post below: Report: Second quarter dominated by ransomware outbreaks Our researchers continue to sha...

Report: Second quarter dominated by ransomware outbreaks

The second quarter of 2017 brought ransomware to unprecedented levels with worldwide outbreaks that went almost out of control. In scenarios reminiscent of yesteryears worms, WannaCry created global panic as it used a critical vulnerability in the SMBv1 protocol to propagate like wildfire. Within...

AdGholas malvertising thrives in the shadows of ransomware outbreaks

The latest wave of ransomware following the WannaCry outbreak has kept everyone very busy and been the topic of many conversations. In the meantime, other threat actors have been quite active and perhaps even enjoyed this complimentary diversion. This is certainly true for the most prolific...

This Week in Security News

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. Below you’ll find a quick recap of topics followed by links to news articles and/or our blog posts providing additional insight. Be sure to check back...

UCL Ransomware Linked to AdGholas Malvertising Group

A ransomware attack that closed off access to personal and shared drives at University College London last week has been linked to a malvertising campaign spreading Mole, a variant of CryptoMix ransomware. Kafeine, a white-hat who works for Proofpoint and is known for his research into exploit...

The numeric tech support scam campaign

There are many different tech support scam TSS campaigns active at any given moment, the majority of them are fueled by malicious adverts the browser lockers, or bundled software the screen lockers. Something interesting happened recently, where legitimate - but hacked - websites would redirect t...

Still Getting Served: A Look at Recent Malvertising Campaigns Involving Exploit Kits

Malvertising occurs when an online advertising network knowingly or unknowingly serves up malicious advertisements on a website. Malvertisements are a type of “drive-by” threat that tend to result in users being infected with malware for simply visiting a website. The victims of this threat are...

Still Getting Served: A Look at Recent Malvertising Campaigns Involving Exploit Kits

Malvertising occurs when an online advertising network knowingly or unknowingly serves up malicious advertisements on a website. Malvertisements are a type of “drive-by” threat that tend to result in users being infected with malware for simply visiting a website. The victims of this threat are...

Still Getting Served: A Look at Recent Malvertising Campaigns Involving Exploit Kits

Malvertising occurs when an online advertising network knowingly or unknowingly serves up malicious advertisements on a website. Malvertisements are a type of “drive-by” threat that tend to result in users being infected with malware for simply visiting a website. The victims of this threat are...

Suspicious Malvertising Redirection

Campaigns of malvertising, redirecting to malicious web pages, have been identified. Successful exploitation could result in remote code execution on the target system once the malicious page is loaded...

CryptoShield Infections from RIG EK Picking Up

The RIG Exploit Kit remains fairly active despite an overall decline in such activity, and of late, it’s been spreading a fairly new variant of ransomware called CryptoShield. The main culprit is an attack group known for using EITest to deliver malware; it has been infecting victims’ machines vi...

Exploit kits remain a cybercrime staple against outdated software – 2016 threat landscape review series

Despite the disruption of Axpergle Angler, which dominated the landscape in early 2016, exploit kits as a whole continued to be a threat to PCs running unpatched software. Some of the most prominent threats, from malvertising to ransomware, used exploit kits to infect millions of computers...