Defending online anonymity and speech with Eva Galperin: Lock and Code S02E03

This week on Lock and Code, we discuss the top security headlines generated right here on Labs. In addition, we talk to Eva Galperin, director of cybersecurity for Electronic Frontier Foundation, about the importance of protecting online anonymity and speech. In January, the New York Times expose...

RDP, the ransomware problem that won’t go away

The year 2020 will certainly be remembered as one of the most difficult and tragic years humankind has faced in modern times. The global pandemic changed the way we live and work in ways unimaginable, perhaps forever. It also altered the cybersecurity landscape dramatically. The FBI reported a 30...

A week in security (January 4 – January 10)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, we released survey results about VPN usage and found that 36 percent of our respondents use it. We also talked about Adobe Flash Player reaching its end of life—meaning, Adobe wont be supporting the updating and patching of its Flash Player software; covered the...

Threat spotlight: WastedLocker, customized ransomware

WastedLocker is a new ransomware operated by a malware exploitation gang commonly known as the Evil Corp gang. The same gang that is associated with Dridex and BitPaymer. The attribution is not based on the malware variants as WastedLocker is very different from BitPaymer. What was kept was the...

Keep Zoombombing cybercriminals from dropping a load on your meetings

While shelter in place has left many companies struggling to stay in business during the COVID-19 epidemic, one company in particular has seen its fortunes rise dramatically. Zoom, the US-based maker of teleconferencing software, has become the web conference tool of choice for employees working...

Fraudsters cloak credit card skimmer with fake content delivery network, ngrok server

Threat actors love to abuse legitimate brands and infrastructure—this, we know. Last year we exposed how web skimmers had found their way onto Amazon's Cloudfront content delivery network CDN via insecure S3 buckets. Now, we discovered scammers pretending to be CDNs while exfiltrating data and...

Android Trojan xHelper uses persistent re-infection tactics: here’s how to remove

We first stumbled upon the nasty Android Trojan xHelper, a stealthy malware dropper, in May 2019. By mid-summer 2019, xHelper was topping our detection charts—so we wrote an article about it. After the blog, we thought the case was closed on xHelper. Then a tech savvy user reached out to us in...

Growing rate of robocalls threatens user privacy

When a person sees a call from an unknown number and picks up to hear a recorded voice on the other end, they've received a robocall. Some are helpful, such as reminders of upcoming doctor's appointments or school announcements. However, the vast majority are from unsolicited parties trying to...

Emotet malspam campaign uses Snowden’s new book as lure

Exactly one week ago, Emotet, one of the most dangerous threats to organizations in the last year, resumed its malicious spam campaigns after several months of inactivity. Based on our telemetry, we can see that the botnet started becoming chatty with its command and control servers C2, about a...

Emotet is back: botnet springs back to life with new spam campaign

After a fairly long hiatus that lasted nearly four months, Emotet is back with an active spam distribution campaign. For a few weeks, there were signs that the botnet was setting its gears in motion again, as we observed command and control C2 server activity. But this morning, the Trojan started...

Under the hoodie: why money, power, and ego drive hackers to cybercrime

Just one more hour behind the hot grill flipping burgers, and Derek could call it a day. Under his musty hat, his hair was matted down with sweat, and his work uniform was spattered with grease. He knew he’d smell the processed meat and smoke for the next three days, even after he’d showered. But...

A week in security (April 16 – April 22)

Last week, we took a stroll down memory lane talking about Facebook and MySpace, noticed a change in the Magnitude exploit kit—wherein it started adopting the GandCrab ransomware, took a good look at a new form of adware that is based on Python, chatted a bit about Russian hacking with a...

A week in security (March 05 – March 11)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, we paid homage to several women in tech, including some of our very own, on International Women's Day and shared their stories. We also looked into an adware posing as an Android app that claims to live stream the 2018 Winter Olympics, exposed scammers that go by t...

Search engine shenanigans: Malwarebytes mentions aren’t what they seem

Thing might be a touch quiet at the moment as we ease into 2018, but that doesn't mean dubious antics and dodgy dealings aren't still making waves online. As a matter of fact, should you go searching for some of our researchers, their blog posts, or just a couple of notable quotables from news...

Of scammers and cute puppies

We’ve followed tech support scammers for quite a while at Malwarebytes. They’ve been of particular interest because of their preference for scamming the poor, the elderly, and the developmentally disabled. But there’s a diverse spectrum of online scams a criminal can profit from, and today we’re...

When an “Outstanding” rating from CNET isn’t enough

The editors at respected tech site CNET/Download.com recently awarded Malwarebytes for Windows with an “outstanding” rating of 4.5 stars out of five. In the review, editor Tom McNamara recommended Malwarebytes because the scanning engine is of “high quality,” it works well with Windows 10, and do...

Terror EK actor experiments with URL shortener fraud

Terror EK is an exploit kit made from a mishmash of stolen code and with very limited distribution. In the past few months, we have seen a few minor updates to its code base which remains largely simplistic in comparison to professional-grade exploit kits of the past such as Angler EK, or...

Fake Google and Cloudflare verification pages spread multiple malware families

Updated July 6 to add connections with SyncTDS and TrafficTDS ClickFix attacks, which trick people into running malicious commands themselves, continue to evolve. This latest campaign uses fake Google and Cloudflare verification pages to convince victims to infect their own devices. A single...

Texas sued Netflix over claims it secretly collected and sold users’ data

Attorney General AG of Texas Ken Paxton announced that he sued Netflix for spying on Texans, including children, and collecting users’ data without their knowledge or consent. The suit alleges Netflix secretly tracks and monetizes detailed viewing behavior of users, including children, while...

Booking.com phish uses fake CAPTCHAs to trick hotel staff into downloading malware

A new phishing campaign that uses the fake CAPTCHA websites we reported about recently is targeting hotel staff in a likely attempt to access customer data, according to research from ThreatDown. Here's how it works: Cybercriminals send a fake Booking.com email to a hotel’s email address, asking...

A week in security (June 17 – June 23)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Microsoft Recall delayed after privacy and security concerns Almost everything you always wanted to know about cybersecurity, but were too afraid to ask, with Tjitske de Vries: Lock and Code S05E13 43% of couples experience pressure to share logins and locations,...

Big name TikTok accounts hijacked after opening DM

High profile TikTok accounts, including CNN, Sony, and—er­—Paris Hilton have been targeted in a recent attack. CNN was the first account takeover that made the news, with Semafor reporting that the account was down for several days after the incident. According to Forbes, the attack happens witho...

ThreatDown earns highest ratings across EDR and MDR categories in G2 Winter 2024 results

The peer-to-peer review source G2 has released its Winter 2024 reports, ranking ThreatDown products on top across several Endpoint Detection and Response EDR and Managed Detection and Response MDR categories. Based on verified customer reviews, ThreatDown EDR was voted a Leader in the overall and...

Explained: SMTP smuggling

SMTP smuggling is a technique that allows an attacker to send an email from pretty much any address they like. The intended goal is email spoofing—sending emails with false sender addresses. Email spoofing allows criminals to make malicious emails more believable. Let’s take a closer look at what...

Introducing ThreatDown: A new chapter for Malwarebytes

Since I started Malwarebytes 15 years ago the threat landscape has changed. Our offerings have evolved. And now the next chapter of our journey begins today. How did we get here? My first cyber “combatant” was an early form of adware running amok on my family’s computer. Removing it was a team...

Emergency update! Apple patches three zero-days

Apple has released security updates for several products to address a handful of zero-day vulnerabilities that may already have been used by criminals. Updates are available for: iOS 16.7 and iPadOS 16.7 iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 watchOS 9.6.3 watchOS 10.0.1 macOS Ventura 13.6 macOS Monterey...

Update now! Google Chrome's first weekly update has arrived

Google has published details about the first weekly update for the Chrome browser. Recently Google announced that it would start shipping weekly security updates for the Stable channel the version most of us use. Regular Chrome releases will still come every four weeks, but to get security fixes...

US dangles $10 million reward for information about Cl0p ransomware gang

The US Department of States national security rewards program, Rewards for Justice RFJ, is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information linking the Cl0p ransomware gang, or any other malicious cyber actors targeting US critical infrastructure, to a foreign government. Advisory from...

A new rootkit comes to an ATM near you

Its not unusual to hear about malware created to affect automated teller machines ATMs. Malware can be planted at the ATMs PC or its network, or attackers could launch a Man-in-the-Middle MiTM attack. Recently, a new rootkit, which the Mandiant Advanced Practices team have named CAKETAP, was foun...

Chrome casts away the padlock—is it good riddance or farewell?

It’s been an interesting journey for security messaging where browsers are concerned. Back in the day, many of the websites you’d visit on a daily basis weren’t secure. By secure, I mean that they didnt use HTTPS. There was no padlock, which meant that the traffic between you and the website wasn...

Racing against a real-life ransomware attack, with Ski Kacoroski: Lock and Code S02E12

At 11:37 pm on the night of September 20, 2019, cybercriminals launched a ransomware attack against Northshore School District in Washington state. Early the next morning, Northshore systems administrator Ski Kacoroski arrived on scene. As Kacoroski soon found out, he and his team were on a race...

City of Liège hit by ransomware, Ryuk suspected

Liège, the third largest city in Belgium, and a major educational hub, has been hit by a ransomware attack, disrupting its IT services and network. The municipality of Lieges official website, which was translated from the French. According to its official website pictures above: The City of Lièg...

How to delete your Twitter account: the deactivation process

You may decide to delete your Twitter account, because social media isn’t for everyone. Perhaps you set up an account to see what the big deal is. Maybe you wanted to hang out with friends but you’re all moving to a new platform. It’s possible the service just isn’t very good and filled with trol...

Avaddon ransomware campaign prompts warnings from FBI, ACSC

Both the Australian Cyber Security Centre ACSC and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI have issued warnings about an ongoing cybercrime campaign that is using Avaddon ransomware. The FBI states that is has received notifications of unidentified cyber actors using Avaddon ransomware against...

Signal app insists it’s so private it can’t provide subpoenaed call data

Signal—the private, end-to-end encrypted messaging app that surged in popularity in recent months—once again reminded criminal investigators that it could not fully comply with a legal request for user records and communications because of what it asserts as a simple, unchanging fact: The records...

What is Smishing? The 101 guide

Smishing is a valuable tool in the scammers armoury. Youve likely run into it, even if you didnt know that is its name. It doesnt arrive by email or social media direct message, instead choosing a route directly aimed at what may be your most personal device: the mobile phone. So, what is Smishin...

Mother charged with using deepfakes to shame daughter’s cheerleading rivals

A Pennsylvania woman reportedly sent doctored photos and videos of her daughters cheerleader rivals to their coaches, in an attempt to embarrass them and get them kicked off the team. Shes alleged to have used deepfake technology to create photo and video depictions of the girls naked, drinking,...

Ransomware is targeting vulnerable Microsoft Exchange servers

The Microsoft Exchange attacks using the ProxyLogon vulnerability, and previously associated with the dropping of malicious web shells, are taking on a ransomware twist. Until now, the name of the game has been compromise and data exfiltration, with a bit of cryptomining on the side. To summarise...

Scammers, profiteers, and shady sites? It must be tax season

US tax season is upon us, a time of the year when a special kind of vermin comes crawling out of the woodwork: tax scammers! Not that their goals are any different from any other scammers. They want your hard-earned dollars in their pockets. Most of the tax-related attacks follow a few tried and...

Yandex sysadmin caught selling access to email accounts

Yandex, a European multinational technology firm best known for being the most-used search engine in Russia, has revealed it had a security breach, leading to the compromise of almost 5,000 Yandex email accounts. The company says it spotted the breach after a routine check by its security team...

VideoBytes: Brute force attacks increase due to more open RDP ports

Hello Folks! In this Videobyte, we’re talking about why brute force attacks are increasing and why that is a problem for everyone. The number of RDP ports exposed to the Internet grew from about three million in January 2020 to over four and a half million in March. The reason for this increase i...

SMB cybersecurity posture weakened by COVID-19, Labs report finds

In August, Malwarebytes Labs analyzed the damage caused by COVID-19 to business cybersecurity. Because of immediate, mandated transitions to working from home WFH, businesses across the United States suffered more data breaches, lost more dollars, and increased their overall attack surfaces, all...

20 percent of organizations experienced breach due to remote worker, Labs report reveals

It is no surprise that moving to a fully remote work environment due to COVID-19 would cause a number of changes in organizations approaches to cybersecurity. What has been surprising, however, are some of the unanticipated shifts in employee habits and how they have impacted the security posture...

Lock and Code S1Ep10: Pulling apart the Internet of Things with JP Taggart

This week on Lock and Code, we discuss the top security headlines generated right here on Labs and around the Internet. In addition, we talk to JP Taggart, senior security researcher at Malwarebytes, about the Internet of Things. For years, Internet capabilities have crept into modern consumer...

How CVSS works: characterizing and scoring vulnerabilities

The Common Vulnerability Scoring System CVSS provides software developers, testers, and security and IT professionals with a standardized process for assessing vulnerabilities. You can use the CVSS to assess the threat level of each vulnerability, and then prioritize mitigation accordingly. This...

Windows 7 is EOL: What next?

End-of-life EOL is an expression commonly used by software vendors to indicate that a product or version of a product has reached the end of usefulness in the eyes of the vendor. Many companies, including Microsoft, announce the EOL dates for their products far in advance. Every Windows product h...

Tampa Bay Times hit with Ryuk ransomware attack

Florida newspaper The Tampa Bay Times suffered a Ryuk ransomware attack Thursday, making it the latest major victim of the notorious ransomware family that continues to rise in popularity. Curiously, the paper is at least the third Florida-based Ryuk victim in the past year. The attack, which The...

Help prevent disaster donation scams from causing more misery

It’s a sad day when we have to warn people about medical charity scams, or tax fakeouts, or even have a week dedicated to foiling charity fraud—but here we are. With so many natural disasters occurring, from wildfires in California to tornadoes in Dallas, disaster donation scams remain a top...

Facebook’s plain text misstep, and other password sins

Two days after an article by Brian Krebs disclosed that hundreds of millions of Facebook account passwords had been stored in plain text for years, Facebook released a statement indicating they hash and salt passwords, more or less in accordance with industry best practice. Plain text storage of...

Safari users: Where did your extensions go?

Safari 12 has brought with it some changes to how OSX handles browser extensions. At WWDC in June, Apple announced that Safari would block legacy extensions installed from outside the Extensions Gallery, which itself would now be deprecated. As a replacement, Safari will now rely on "app...