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.
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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.
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By Dancho Danchev
Relying on tens of thousands of fake “Your transaction is completed” emails, cybercriminals have just launched yet another malicious spam campaign attempting to socially engineer Bank of America’s (BofA) customers into executing a malicious attachment. Once unsuspecting users do so, their PCs automatically join the botnet operated by the cybercriminal/gang of cybercriminals operating it, leading to a successful compromise of their hosts.
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By Dancho Danchev
Over the past couple of days, cybercriminals have launched two consecutive malware campaigns impersonating DHL in an attempt to trick users into thinking that they’ve received a parcel delivery notification. The first campaign comes with a malicious attachment, whereas in the second, the actual malicious archive is located on a compromised domain.
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By Dancho Danchev
Following the recent events, opportunistic cybercriminals have been spamvertising tens of thousands of malicious emails in an attempt to capitalize on on the latest breaking news.
We’re currently aware of two “Boston marathon explosion” themed campaigns that took place last week, one of which is impersonating CNN, and another is using the “fertilizer plant exposion in Texas” theme, both of which redirect to either the RedKit or the market leading Black Hole Exploit Kit.
Let’s profile the campaigns that took place last week, with the idea to assist in the ongoing attack attribution process.
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By Dancho Danchev
In an attempt to add an additional layer of legitimacy to their malicious software, cybercriminals sometimes simply reposition them as Remote Access Tools, also known as R.A.Ts. What they seem to be forgetting is that, no legitimate Remote Access Tool would posses any spreading capabilities, plus, has the capacity to handle tens of thousands of hosts at the same time, or possesses built-in password stealing capabilities.
Pitched by its author as a Remote Access Tool, the DIY (do it yourself) malware that I’ll profile in this post is currently cracked, and available for both novice, and experienced cybercriminals to take advantage of at selected cybercrime-friendly communities.
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By Dancho Danchev
Cybercriminals are currently spamvertising tens of thousands of emails impersonating American Airlines in an attempt to trick its customers into thinking that they’ve received a download link for their E-ticket. Once they download and execute the malicious attachment, their PCs automatically join the botnet operated by the cybercriminal/gang of cybercriminals behind the campaign.
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By Dancho Danchev
Cybercriminals are currently mass mailing tens of thousands of emails, in an attempt to trick users into thinking that the order for their “air transportation services has been accepted and processed”. In reality though, once users execute the malicious attachments, their PCs will automatically become part of the botnet managed by the malicious actors.
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By Dancho Danchev
In a diversified underground marketplace, where multiple market players interact with one another on a daily basis, there are the “me too” developers, and the true “innovators” whose releases have the potential to cause widespread damage, ultimately resulting in huge financial losses internationally.
In this post, I’ll profile one such underground market release known as as “Zerokit, 0kit or the ring0 bundle” bootkit which was originally advertised at a popular invite-only/vetted cybercrime-friendly community back in 2011. I’ll emphasize on its core features, offer an inside peek into its administration panel, and discuss the novel “licensing” scheme used by its author, namely, to offer access to the bootkit in exchange for tens of thousands of malware-infected hosts on a monthly basis.
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