Abbrev. for ‘Trojan Horse’ — any software program that performs nondisclosed activities or functions, often to the detriment of the operator of that software.
By Dancho Danchev
We have just intercepted yet another currently ongoing malicious spam campaign, enticing users into executing a fake Export License/Payment Invoice. Once gullible and socially engineering users do so, their PCs automatically join the botnet operated by the cybercriminals.
More details: Continue reading
By Dancho Danchev
The gang of cybercriminals behind the ‘Magic Malware‘ has launched yet another malicious spam campaign, attempting to trick U.K users into thinking they’ve received a notification for a “New MMS” message. In reality, once users execute the malicious attachment, it will download and drop additional malware on the affected hosts, giving the cybercriminals behind the campaign complete access to the affected host.
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By Nathan Collier
Android.RoidSec has the package name “cn.phoneSync”, but an application name of “wifi signal Fix”. From a ‘Malware 101′ standpoint, you would think the creators would have a descriptive package name that matches the application name. Not so, in this case. So what is Android.RoidSec? It’s a nasty, malicious app that sits in the background (and avoids installing any launcher icon) while collecting all sorts of info-stealing goodness. Continue reading
By Cameron Palan and Nathan Collier
Recently, we discovered a new malicious Android application called Android.MouaBot. This malicious software is a bot contained within another basic app; in this case, a Chinese calculator application. Behind the scenes, it automatically sends an SMS message to an auto-reply number which replies back to the phone with a set of commands/keywords. This message is then parsed and the various plugins within the malicious packages are run or enabled.
By Dancho Danchev
Bitcoin, the digital peer-to-peer based currency, is an attractive target for cybercriminals, who persistently look for new monetization tactics to apply to their massive, but easily generated botnets. Not surprisingly, thanks to the buzz surrounding it, fraudulent Internet actors have begun to look for efficient ways to take advantage of the momentum. A logical question emerges – how are market oriented cybercriminals capitalizing on the digital currency?
Instead of having to personally infect tens of thousands of hosts, some take advantage of basic pricing schemes such subscription-based pricing, and have others do all the infecting, with them securing a decent revenue stream based on a monthly subscription model.
Let’s profile the international underground market proposition, detailing the commercial availability of a stealth Bitcoin miner, feature screenshots of the actual DIY miner generating tool, screenshots provided by happy customers, and perhaps most importantly, MD5s of known miner modifications ‘pushed’ since its first commercial release.
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By Nathan Collier
We have found a new threat we are calling Android.TechnoReaper. This malware has two parts: a downloader available on the Google Play Market and the spyware app it downloads. The downloaders are disguised as font installing apps, as seen below:
By Dancho Danchev
Over the past 24 hours, we’ve intercepted yet another spam campaign impersonating Citibank in an attempt to socially engineer Citibank customers into thinking that they’ve received a Merchant Billing Statement. Once users execute the malicious attachment found in the fake emails, their PCs automatically join the botnet operated by the cybercriminal/cybercriminals.
More details:
By Dancho Danchev
Everyday, new vendors offering malicious software enter the underground marketplace. And although many will fail to differentiate their underground market proposition in market crowded with reputable, trusted and verified sellers, others will quickly build their reputation on the basis of their “innovative” work, potentially stealing some market share and becoming rich by offering the tools necessary to facilitate cybercrime.
Publicly announced in late 2012, the IRC/HTTP based DDoS bot that I’ll profile in this post has been under constant development. From its initial IRC-based version, the bot has evolved into a HTTP-based one, supporting 10 different DDoS attack techniques as well as possessing a featuring allowing it to heuristically and proactively remove competing malware on the affected hosts, such as, for instance, ZeuS, Citadel or SpyEye.
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By Dancho Danchev
Over the last day, cybercriminals have launched yet another massive email campaign to impersonate FedWire in an attempt to trick users into thinking that their wire transfer was processed incorrectly. Once they execute the malicious attachment, their PCs automatically become part of the botnet operated by the cybercriminal/gang of cybercriminals.
More details: Continue reading
By Dancho Danchev
In 2013, you no longer need to posses sophisticated programming skills to manage a ransomware botnet, potentially tricking tens of thousands of gullible users, per day, into initiating a micro-payment to pay the ransom for having their PC locked down. You’ve got managed ransomware services doing it for you.
In this post I’ll profile a recently spotted underground market proposition detailing the success story of a ransomware botnet master that’s been in business for over 4 years, claiming to be earning over five hundred thousands rubles per month.
More details: Continue reading
