Articles about Malware

It's just a couple of weeks since we first heard about the VPNFilter malware. Linked to Russia, the malware hit 500,000 routers around the world, but now Cisco's Talos security researchers are warning that the problem is much worse than anyone thought.

Initially thought to only affect SOHO routers and storage devices from Linksys, MikroTik, Netgear, TP-Link, and QNAP , the at-risk list has been extended to include consumer-grade routers from Linksys, MikroTik, Netgear and TP-Link. Researchers have also discovered that the malware is more powerful than initial assessments suggested -- it is now known to be able to bypass SSL encryption and perform man-in-the-middle attacks.

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Threat actors are increasingly looking to exploit the popularity and volatility of cryptocurrency in their attacks on mobile devices according to a new report.

The latest Mobile Threat Landscape report from threat management specialist RiskIQ analyzed 120 mobile app stores and more than two billion daily scanned resources.

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In April, Lastline launched the first of our Malscape Monitor reports, for the fourth quarter of 2017. The report analyzes data from our Global Threat Intelligence Network to provide several insights and benchmarks on encounter rates with malware that CISOs can use to measure their own cyber risk and security performance.

There are three findings that I want to elaborate on in this blog post that I think will illustrate why many of today’s threat detection technologies are ineffective resulting in increased risk of a malware infection.

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Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting unpatched server vulnerabilities to infect machines with cryptomining malware, according to a new report.

The study from Check Point Software Technologies sees cryptomining malware dominate Check Point’s Top Ten Most Wanted Malware Index, the Coinhive variant retains the top spot with a global reach of 16 percent. Cryptoloot -- another crypto-mining malware -- is close behind with a global reach of 14 percent, while the Roughted malvertising malware came in third (11 percent).

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There was a recent discovery that an app called "2048buntu" in the Ubuntu Snap Store contained cryptocurrency (Bytecoin) mining code. Thankfully, this app -- and the developer's other submissions -- have since been removed.

What is the downside to having this cryptocurrency code commingled with the expected code? Well, the mining can slow down your computer while also increasing your electricity use.

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Although endpoint security solutions have improved, a new survey of IT security professionals finds that three quarters believe their existing anti-malware solutions would be able to prevent no more than 70 percent of infections.

The study from anti-evasion specialist Minerva Labs shows nearly half of the respondents surveyed (48 percent) say that they have seen about the same number of malware infections than previous years while 32 percent claim to have seen an increase in infections.

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According to a new study, 90 percent of malicious files are given generic labels by AV tools, such as 'trojan.generic', providing limited guidance for successful remediation and leaving enterprises exposed to subsequent attacks resulting from compromised credentials.

The study by breach protection specialist Lastline analyzed tens of millions of samples that were for the most part scanned and released by other security solutions.

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The Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities really focused people's attention on the security of processors, and Intel has been at pains to convince users that it takes security seriously. With this in mind, the company has now announced a new Threat Detection Technology which introduces two new malware-fighting techniques.

Accelerated Memory Scanning offloads malware scanning to GPUs, taking the strain off CPUs and helping to improve performance. There's already interest, with Microsoft planning to add support to Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection. Intel has also revealed Advanced Platform Telemetry which is supposed to cut down on false positives.

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We already know that cryptomining is currently flavor of the month among malware creators, but a new report released today by Malwarebytes puts some startling figures on the problem.

On consumer systems cryptomining detections were up a massive 4,000 percent in the last quarter, while ransomware detections fell 35 percent over the same period. For businesses cryptomining detections rose 27 percent this quarter and ransomware detections 28 percent. However, Spyware is still the cybercriminals' favourite choice, with over 80,000 detections in January alone.

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Thanks to a surge in healthcare attacks, cryptocurrency mining and fileless malware, McAfee Labs latest quarterly threat report has seen an average of eight new threat samples per second.

Highlights of the report include the healthcare sector experiencing a 211 percent increase in disclosed security incidents in 2017, and fileless malware leveraging Microsoft PowerShell growing 267 percent in the fourth quarter.

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The US government has joined the government of the UK in pointing the finger of blame at Russia for the NotPetya cyberattacks. The ransomware/destructoware hit computers around the world last June.

After speculation that the attack was a state-sponsored one carried out by Russia, this position has now been confirmed as the White House accused the nation of the "reckless and indiscriminate." At the same time, the UK's National Cyber Security Centre said that the Russian military was "almost certainly" responsible for the attack.

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With cryptocurrencies reaching super high valuations, it should not come as a surprise that some websites use their visitors' processing power for mining. Question is, just how many do that?

According to a new report from security firm 360Netlab, that's 0.2 percent of websites. What's interesting is that porn sites account for nearly half of them at 49 percent. Other types of websites don't even come close.

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Hackers and cyber criminals are becoming wise to the fact that they can use cloud applications to spread malware.

In response, top cloud providers now offer malware protection in an attempt to stop files containing malware being uploaded. But a new report reveals that placing your trust in this protection may be ill-advised.

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Malwarebytes is great software, designed to protect Windows, Mac, and Android devices. As someone who fixes computers for both friends and family, I often rely on the free version to detect malware on Windows machines -- it is a great tool to keep in your virtual "toolbox."

Unfortunately, this software which normally helps computers to run well, has started making them run poorly. You see, a recent update is causing high CPU and RAM usage, making the computer slow to a crawl. Luckily, a fix is already available. Keep in mind, the bug is caused by the web protection feature, which is only for "Premium" subscribers. Users of the free Malwarebytes software should be unaffected. Here's how to return your PC or business workstation to its full speed potential.

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The latest annual State of Malware Report from Malwarebytes shows that ransomware had a bumper year in 2017, though it began to trend downwards towards the end of the year.

Ransomware launched against consumers was up more than 93 percent and ransomware against businesses up 90 percent. As the year end approached though many avenues known for ransomware drops were seen diversifying their payloads with banking Trojans and cryptocurrency miners instead.

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