Perkiler malware turns to SMB brute force to spread

Researchers at Guardicore have identified a new infection vector being used by the Perkiler malware where internet-facing Windows machines are breached through SMB password brute force. Perkiler is a complex Windows malware with rootkit components that is dropped by the Purple Fox exploit kit EK...

Slack hurries to fix direct message flaw that allowed harassment

The enormous work messaging platform Slack quickly reversed course yesterday, promising to revise a brand-new direct message feature that could have been misused for harassment. Added to the company’s “Slack Connect” product—which lets enterprise users share messages with contract workers and...

Software renewal scammers unmasked

Weve been tracking a fraudulent scheme involving renewal notifications for several months now. It came to our attention because the Malwarebytes brand as well as other popular names were being used to send fake invoices via email. The concept is simple but effective. You receive an invoice for a...

When contractors attack: two years in jail for vengeful IT admin

An IT contractor working for an IT consultancy company took it upon himself to perform an act of revenge against the firm he worked at, after they complained about his performance. The charge he faced was breaking into the network of a company in Carlsbad, California. And it got him two years in...

The human impact of a Royal Mail phishing scam

Last week, we looked at a Royal Mail themed scam which has very quickly become the weapon of choice for phishers. It’s pretty much everywhere at this point. Even one of my relatives with a semi-mystical ability to never experience a scam ever, received a fake SMS at the weekend. The problem with...

Safe Connections Act could help domestic abuse survivors take control of their digital lives

A bill introduced in the US Senate could help domestic abuse and sex trafficking survivors—including those tracked by stalkerware-type applications—regain digital independence through swift, shared phone plan termination and the extension of mobile phone plan subsidies. Titled the Safe Connection...

How to enable Facebook’s hardware key authentication for iOS and Android

Since 2017 desktop users have had the opportunity to use physical security keys to log in to their Facebook accounts. Now iOS and Android users have the same option too. Physical security keys are a more secure option for two-factor authentication 2FA than SMS which is vulnerable to SIM swap...

Report goes “behind enemy lines” to reveal SilverFish cyber-espionage group

The PRODAFT Threat Intelligence Team has published a report pdf that gives an unusually clear look at the size and structure of organized cybercrime. It uncovered a global cybercrime campaign that uses modern management methods, sophisticated tools—including its own malware testing sandbox—and ha...

A week in security (March 15 – 21)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, our podcast featured Adam Kujawa, who talked us through our 2021 State of Malware report. We cover our own research on: Royal mail parcel scam How your iPhone can tell you if you’re being stalked Careers in cybersecurity ProxyLogon PoC whack-a-mole Teen behind 2020...

Resident Evil 8 just the latest game plagued by fake demos and early access scams

There’s been a number of scams targeting fans of major upcoming video game releases over the last week or two. Why is this happening, and what can you do to ensure both you and your children avoid such fakeouts? Preview power: the 80s and 90s Back in the 80s, games reviews were only really found ...

Report reveals the staggering scale of Business Email Compromise losses

Internet crime is ever present, and with the ongoing pandemic, levels of scams and fraud were exceptionally high in 2020. Opportunistic fraudsters didnt give a second thought to riding the COVID-19 wave and preying upon those who are truly in need of help, or those who truly want to help. The...

NFTs explained: daylight robbery on the blockchain

Did you hear about the JPG file that sold for $69 million? I’ll give you some more detail, the JPG file is a piece of digital art made by Mike Winkelmann, the artist known as Beeple. The file was sold on Thursday by Christie’s in an online auction for $69.3 million. This set a record for artwork...

HelloKitty: When Cyberpunk met cy-purr-crime

On February 9, after discovering a compromise, CD Projekt Red CDPR announced to its 1+ million followers on Twitter that it was the victim of a ransomware attack against its systems and made it clear they would not yield to the demands of the threat actors, nor negotiate. Cyberpunk 2077, the late...

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,...

Apple shines and buffs Mac security—Is it enough to stop today’s malware?

There’s a lot going on in the Mac security world lately. Over the last few months, Apple has ramped up security efforts across its platforms. From an endpoint security framework overhaul of macOS Catalina to phasing out kernel extensions, the tech giant has been battening down the...

FBI warns of increase in PYSA ransomware attacks targeting education

On March 16, the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI issued a "Flash" alert on PYSA ransomware after an uptick on attacks this month against institutions in the education sector, particularly higher ed, K-12, and seminaries. According to the alert PDF, the United Kingdom and 12 states in the US...

Teen behind 2020 Twitter hack pleads guilty

The so-called “mastermind” behind the 2020 Twitter hack that compromised the accounts of several celebrities and public figures—including President Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk—pleaded guilty to several charges on Tuesday in a Florida court. As part of an agreed-upon plea deal with...

ProxyLogon PoCs trigger a game of whack-a-mole

As we reported recently, the use of the Microsoft Exchange Server ProxyLogon vulnerabilities has gone from “limited and targeted attacks” to a full-size panic in no time. Criminal activities, ranging in severity from planting crypto-miners to deploying ransomware, and conducted by numerous groups...

Careers in cybersecurity: Malwarebytes talks to teachers and students

Every year, I take part in talks for universities and schools. The theme is often breaking into infosec. I give advice to teens considering pursuing tech as a further area of study. I explain a typical working day for degree undergraduates. Sometimes I’m asked to give examples of conference talks...

How your iPhone could tell you if you’re being stalked

The latest iOS beta suggests that Apple’s next big update will include an iPhone feature that warns users about hidden, physical surveillance of their location. The feature detects AirTags, Apples answer to trackable fobs made by Tile, and serves to block the potential abuse of the much-rumored...

Royal Mail scam says your parcel is waiting for delivery

Expecting a delivery? Watch out for phishing attempts warning of held packages and bogus shipping fees. This Royal Mail delivery scam begins with a text message out of the blue, claiming: Your Royal Mail parcel is waiting for delivery. Please confirm the settlement amount of 2.99 GBP via:...

The Malwarebytes 2021 State of Malware report: Lock and Code S02E04

This week on Lock and Code, we discuss the top security headlines generated right here on Labs. In addition, we tune in to a special presentation from Adam Kujawa about the 2021 State of Malware report, which analyzed the top cybercrime goals of 2020 amidst the global pandemic. If you just pay...

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...

150,000 Verkada security cameras hacked—to make a point

Hackers were able to gain access to camera feeds from Verkada, a tech company that specializes in video security and physical access control, to demonstrate how prevalent surveillance is, reports say. Unfortunately, it also exposed the inner workings of hospitals, clinics, and mental health...

Police credit “unlocked” SKY ECC encryption for organized crime bust

At the moment, I’m really torn, and I need your help. Let me tell you what is going on. I read these statements and they can’t both be true, right? “The continuous monitoring of the illegal Sky ECC communication service tool by investigators in three countries has provided invaluable insights int...

5 common VPN myths busted

Virtual Private Networks VPNs are popular but often misunderstood. There are many misconceptions about them—misconceptions that may be stopping people from adding a useful layer to their security and privacy defenses. So, let’s do some myth busting. 1. VPNs are for illegal activity Some people...

iPhone app exposed other people’s call recordings

Video and audio are huge privacy concerns for people. If something goes wrong with tech it can have major ramifications. You’re likely very familiar with warnings about video. However, audio hasn’t always been so prominent. It’s only really since the rise of home assistants like Amazons Alexa tha...

OVH cloud datacenter destroyed by fire

A fire in one of the OVH datacenters has destroyed one datacenter and knocked two others offline. It took 100 firefighters and 43 fire trucks to fight the fire in the five-story building. Even though the fire department was quick to respond, and the fire was brought under control relatively...

REvil ransomware’s calling, and it’s not good news

The REvil ransomware AKA Sodinokibi, which operates as a Ransomware as a Service is adopting some outreach techniques after initial compromise, designed to shame victims into paying up. Shaming victims into action Malware authors and social engineers have relied on shame and the threat of exposur...

TinyCheck: Stalkerware detection that doesn’t leave a trace

In 2019, when Malwarebytes helped found the Coalition Against Stalkerware, which brings together cybersecurity vendors and nonprofits to detect and raise awareness about stalkerware, we encountered a significant roadblock in our fight: For some users, the very detection of these potentially...

Microsoft Exchange attacks cause panic as criminals go shell collecting

Only last week we posted a blog about multiple zero-day exploits being used to attack on-premises versions of Microsoft Exchange Server in limited and targeted attacks. Seeing how this disclosure came with a patch being available, under normal circumstances you would see some companies update...

A week in security (March 1 – 7)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, our podcast featured Eva Galperin who talked to us about defending online anonymity and speech. We wrote about how Ryuk ransomware has developed a worm-like capability, how Exchange servers are attacked by Hafnium zero-days, 21 million free VPN users’ data was...

International Women’s Day: Women in tech name their heroes

Happy Monday! And if you haven’t yet checked the significance of this day—March 8—before grabbing coffee, today is International Women’s Day IWD. Since March 19, 1911, the year the very first IWD was observed in several European countries, millions of people have been calling for women to be give...

Will Google’s Privacy Sandbox take the bite out of tracking cookies?

Third-party cookies have been the lynchpin of online advertising for many years. Plans to phase cookies out forever continue to run at a steady pace, with Google in the driving seat. In 2019, it announced its vision for a “Privacy Sandbox”. The building blocks for this were essentially: 1. Most...

New steganography attack targets Azerbaijan

This blog post was authored by Hossein Jazi Threat actors often vary their techniques to thwart security defenses and increase the efficiency of their attacks. One of the tricks they use is known as steganography and consists of hiding content within images. We recently observed a malicious Word...

China’s RedEcho accused of targeting India’s power grids

RedEcho, an advanced persistent threat APT group from China, has attempted to infiltrate the systems behind Indias power grids, according to a threat analysis report from Recorded Future PDF. It appears that what triggered this attempt to gain a foothold in Indias critical power generation and...

Update now! Chrome fix patches in-the-wild zero-day

The Microsoft Browser Vulnerability Research team has found and reported a vulnerability in the audio component of Google Chrome. Google has fixed this high-severity vulnerability CVE-2021-21166 in its Chrome browser and is warning Chrome users that an exploit exists in the wild for the...

21 million free VPN users’ data exposed

Detailed credentials for more than 21 million mobile VPN app users were swiped and advertised for sale online last week, offered by a cyber thief who allegedly stole user data collected by the VPN apps themselves. The data includes email addresses, randomly generated password strings, payment...

Patch now! Exchange servers attacked by Hafnium zero-days

Microsoft has detected multiple zero-day exploits being used to attack on-premises versions of Microsoft Exchange Server in limited and targeted attacks. Microsoft attributes the attacks to a group they have dubbed Hafnium. “HAFNIUM primarily targets entities in the United States across a number ...

Ryuk ransomware develops worm-like capability

The French governments computer emergency readiness team, thats part of the National Cybersecurity Agency of France, or ANSSI, has discovered a Ryuk variant that has worm-like capabilities during an incident response. For those unacquainted with Ryuk, it is a type of ransomware that is used in...

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...

To pay, or not to pay? That is the VPN question

VPNs have been a subject of deliberation for a long time. Is it even important to use one? I think the pandemic has made it clear that, yes, using a VPN is useful, even necessary, most especially for those working remotely. But should you pay for it? Or would you rather settle for free? Were goin...

TikTok pays $92 million to end data theft lawsuit

TikTok, the now widely popular social media platform that allows users to create, share, and discover, short video clips has been enjoying explosive growth since it appeared in 2017. Since then, it hasn’t stopped growing—more so during the current pandemic. While we can no longer categorize TikTo...

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...

LazyScripter: From Empire to double RAT

Malwarebytes’ Threat Intelligence analysts are continually researching and monitoring active malware campaigns and actor groups as the prevalence and sophistication of targeted attacks rapidly evolves. In this paper, we introduce a new APT group we have named LazyScripter, presenting in-depth...

Clop targets execs, ransomware tactics get another new twist

Ransomware peddlers have come up with yet another devious twist on the recent trend for data exfiltration. After interviewing several victims of the Clop ransomware, ZDNet discovered that its operators appear to be systematically targeting the workstations of executives. After all, the top manage...

The mystery of the Silver Sparrow Mac malware

Cyber security company Red Canary published findings last week about a new piece of Mac malware called Silver Sparrow. This malware is notable in being one of the first to include native code for Apples new M1 chips, but what is unknown about this malware is actually more interesting than what is...

A week in security (February 15 – February 21)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, the spotlight fell on the State of Malware 2021 report, wherein we have seen cyberthreats evolve. We also touched on ransomware, such as Egregor and a tactic known as Remote Desktop Protocol RDP brute forcing that has long been part of the ransomware operators...

Omegle investigation raises new concerns for kids’ safety

Social media site Omegle is under fire after an investigation found boys using the platform to expose themselves on camera, and adults exposing themselves to minors. Omegle users are paired with a random stranger who they can socialize with via text or video chat. An investigation by the British...

North Korean hackers charged with $1.3 billion of cyberheists

The US Department of Justice recently unsealed indictments detailing North Koreas involvement in several global cyberattack campaigns against institutions in the financial and entertainment sectors, and money laundering schemes in certain US states. The first unsealed indictment is for hacking...