New report reveals how malware uses evasion to hide in plain sight
People have been hiding secrets in everyday objects for hundreds of years. The digital world is no exception, and McAfee Labs has released its latest Quarterly Threat Report, part of which looks at how evasion techniques can be used to distribute malware.
The use of evasion techniques started in the 1980s, when a piece of malware defended itself by partially encrypting its own code, making the content unreadable by security analysts. Since then a dark market for off-the-shelf evasion technology has developed and several contemporary malware families now make use of evasion techniques.
Malware attacks against UK businesses increase by 500 percent
British businesses are being hit by more malware than ever, new research reveals.
In the wake of the huge WannaCry attack last month, an investigation by cybersecurity experts Malwarebytes found that malware incidents faced by UK businesses increased 500 percent year over year.
Trending 'Fireball' adware raises botnet concerns
Last week, security researchers reported on a trending adware infection known as "Fireball". Sourced to the Chinese marketing firm Rafotech, reports indicate a footprint of more than 250 million infected machines worldwide. While the infection currently appears to only make changes to victims’ browser homepages and search engines, analysis suggests that the software could be remotely leveraged to act as a malware dropper.
If true, it’s possible that infected systems could be made part of a botnet and used to carry out new types of attack over the Internet.
Industroyer is more dangerous than Stuxnet
Remember Stuxnet, the worm that wreaked havoc across Iran's nuclear facilities? Security researchers from ESET say that they have discovered an even bigger threat, which is being called Industroyer.
According to the company's report, Industroyer is built to "disrupt critical industrial processes," and was recently used in an attack in Ukraine, causing the city of Kiev to lose power for an hour.
Ransomware attacks are becoming more sophisticated
Following the WannaCry attack last month, ransomware was one of the big topics at the recent Infosecurity Europe event in London.
The worldwide assault woke many businesses and organizations up to the real danger that ransomware poses, but new research has also discovered that the criminals behind such attacks could be gearing up for even bigger attacks soon.
People in the US are less savvy about cyber security than people in the UK
A new report suggests that people in the UK are more aware of the terminology surrounding cyber security, and are less likely to fall victim to hacking and identity theft. Wombat Security Technologies' 2017 edition of its User Risk Report reveals a stark difference in cyber knowledge on either side of the Atlantic.
The report is based on a survey carried out last month into knowledge of, and attitudes to, cyber security topics and best practices. While the report shows that the UK is generally more cyber security savvy, the US is shown to fare better when it comes to passwords and backing up data.
Raspberry Pi devices transformed into cryptocurrency miners by Linux malware
The words "Linux" and "malware" don’t tend to belong in the same sentence, but a new strain called Linux.MulDrop.14 is infecting Raspberry Pi devices. Infected machines are used to mine cryptocurrency for the malware's author, and it take advantage of poor security to generate money from nothing.
The good news is that the malware is fairly simple, and its spread is dependent on the laziness of Pi owners.
New Android malware uses code injection to control devices
Researchers at Kaspersky Lab have released details of a new trojan being distributed via the Google Play store that is able to inject malicious code into the system runtime libraries.
Named Dvmap, the trojan is believed to have been downloaded from Google Play more than 50,000 times since March this year.
Chinese company Rafotech believed to be behind millions of malware infections
According to extensive research from the Israeli cyber-security firm Check Point, a Chinese digital marketing company called Rafotech has infected millions of computers worldwide with adware that redirects user traffic to fake search engines.
The fake search engines then divert their search queries through Google and Yahoo's affiliate programs to earn a commission for the company behind the adware. So far Rafotech has infected over 250 million computers according to a rough estimation from Check Point.
New malware could be as dangerous as WannaCry
Security researchers have warned that more dangerous malware has been released from the recent NSA dump that resulted in the WannaCry ransomware outbreak.
Experts at Secarma have revealed that the attack could be hiding another malicious package, which could be as dangerous as WannaCry.
Gmail offers better malware and phishing protection for enterprises
Google has updated Gmail with a number of new security features aimed at businesses that require better protection against malware and phishing scams.
The company announced today that it is bringing early phishing detection to its email service by using machine learning along with click-time warnings for malicious links found in emails as well as unintended external reply warnings.
Security experts warn about UK's nuclear Trident submarines: 'the vulnerability to cyberattacks is real'
A report published by the British American Security Information Council (BASIC) cautions that the UK's fleet of Trident submarines faces "growing potential for cyber-attack." The authors issue a stark warning that "a successful attack could neutralise operations, lead to loss of life, defeat or perhaps even the catastrophic exchange of nuclear warheads."
Government officials have long dismissed the risk of hacking the nuclear subs because they are not connected to the internet. But the report, entitled Hacking UK Trident: A Growing Threat, suggests that risk of malware infection during manufacturing or software updating are just two possible attack vectors that could lead to the compromise of nuclear weapons.
Judy malware could affect over 36 million Android devices
Millions of Android devices could have been affected by a new auto-clicking adware program found in apps developed by a Korean company.
Uncovered last week by security company Check Point malicious apps included a series of casual cooking and fashion games under the 'Judy' brand.
Symantec pins WannaCry on North Korean Lazarus group
There have already been suggestions that the now infamous WannaCry ransomware was the work of the North Korean hacking group Lazarus. Security firm Symantec now says it is "highly likely" that Lazarus is to blame, having unearthed further evidence of the re-use of code from other attacks by the group.
But while the links to Lazarus are strong, North Korea denies that it was involved in any sort of state-sponsored attack, dismissing such claims as "a dirty and despicable smear campaign." It is thought that the group -- also responsible for attacking Sony Pictures and stealing $81 million from the Bangladesh Central Bank -- operated independently for personal gain.
Adylkuzz malware mines Monero to generate revenue
A new form of malware is targeting innocent victims in order to mine cryptocurrency for its creators.
Adylkuzz, which targets the Monero cryptocurrency, stays hidden within an infected machine, and does not give visual warnings or interfere with users’ files.
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