Decrease Of Malicious Advertisements In The Second Half Of 2017

The number of malicious advertisements that Internet users tried to infect with malware, tried to deprive data or attempted to defame it in another way, was reduced in the second half of 2017, security company RiskIQ claims. In the third quarter, the security company detected 53 percent less malvertising than in the second quarter of 2017. In the fourth quarter, this decline continued and 10 percent fewer malicious ads were detected.

The use of advertisements to attack unpatched internet users, for example through vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader or Internet Explorer, decreased by 36 percent in the third quarter and 20 percent in the fourth quarter. Other malware in ads decreased by as much as 67 percent in the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter, however, saw an increase of 16 percent in the number of ads pointing to a scam, but overall there were fewer rogue ads in both the third and fourth quarters.

Coinhive Code Injected On LA Times Website

The website of the American newspaper the LA Times has unknowingly implemented Coinhive code in order to minate Monero's. The code has certainly been on an interactive map of the newspaper about murders in cities since 9 February , researchers from Bad Packet's report have discovered. The code let the CPU run just below 30 percent of its power to remain unnoticed, writes John Dunn from security company Sophos .

The code has been injected via a poorly secured Amazon AWS S3 bucket. This S3 bucket offered visitors write permissions. The researchers also found a message that suggested that someone else had access, in addition to the Bad Packet Report researchers and the cryptojackers themselves. The message was as follows:

Hello, this is a friendly warning that your Amazon AWS S3 bucket settings are wrong.
Anyone can write to this bucket. Please fix this before a bad guy finds it.

After the researchers informed the newspaper about the incident, the code was cleaned up and the cloud environment better secured. Coinhive has also lifted the account that was linked to the code. The researchers suspect that approximately 24 dollars of crypto currencies have been generated.

Veil System: Researchers Make Private Browsing More Private

All modern browsers now have private browsing, a function that ensures that the surfing behavior is not stored on the computer. However, the information that is accessed during private browsing can still be retrieved from the computer by a motivated attacker. Reason for researchers from MIT and Harvard to develop a new system called Veil that should make private browsing more private.

Browsers should delete all stored data after closing a private browsing session. However, modern memory management is complex and can ensure that data is left in the memory somewhere. Veil tries to tackle this problem by encrypting all data that the browser loads into memory until it is displayed on the screen.

The use of Veil

To use Veil, the Veil user goes to the Veil website and enters the url of a website. A special "blinding server" then sends a version of the requested page in the Veil format. The Veil page is similar to a normal web page, but contains code that executes a decryption algorithm. The data on the page is unreadable until it is decrypted by the algorithm. Once the data has been decrypted, it must be loaded into the computer's memory to be displayed on the screen. This temporarily stored data should be much harder to trace when the browsing session is over.

In order not to give attackers a chance, Veil takes an additional security measure. The blinding server adds meaningless code to every loaded page. This code has no effect on how the page before the user looks, but does change the underlying source file. Every page that is loaded by a blinding server, even if it is the same page, looks different. An attacker who manages to obtain part of the decrypted code after closing a Veil session is therefore unlikely to say which website the user visited.

When these measures are not enough, Veil also offers the option to have the blinding server take a picture of the requested page. In this case, the blinding server opens the requested page, makes a screenshot of it and sends it to the user. This prevents executable code from ending up on the user's system. If the user then clicks on the image somewhere, the browser registers this and sends the new request to the blinding server, which then loads a new zoomed image and sends it back to the user.In order to use the system, websites do have to create a Veil version of their website, but the researchers have developed a compiler for this that automatically performs the conversion. A bigger challenge is hosting the blinding servers, which can be done by volunteers, as is the case with the Tor network, or by companies that, for example, want to offer their visitors more privacy. No adjustments to the browser are required for the implementation of Veil.

Researchers Warn Of Android Malware RedDrop

Security researchers warn of a new type of malware for Android phones called RedDrop. Hackers can not only steal a lot of information from the infected smartphone, sounds can be recorded and photos can be taken and Premium SMS messages can be sent.

Security company Wandera has researched the new malware and observes that RedDrop is now nestled in at least 53 Android apps. When such an infected app is opened, at least seven new APKs are installed in the background, each with malicious functions.

With the help of spyware, all kinds of information about the user is collected and then sent to a Dropbox account of the attacker. The data collected includes local files, such as photos, live sound recordings, device and SIM information (IMEI, IMSI, MNC, MCC) and information from the application and Wi-Fi networks in the area.

Also, if a user uses the infected app, a text message is sent to a payment service in the background, which is immediately removed to prevent discovery.

The creators of RedDrop use a content distribution network with more than 4000 domain names to distribute the malware. The researchers suspect that a lot is referred to domains to hide the source of the malware as well as possible.

Malware Infection Chain:

According to Michael Covington, VP Product Strategy at Wandera, this is very sophisticated malware . "The criminals very cleverly offer a seemingly handy app that performs all sorts of complex malicious activities in the background. The attacker not only uses a wide range of malicious applications to tempt the victim, they have also perfected every little detail to ensure that their actions are difficult to trace. This is one of the more persistent malware variants we've seen. "

Decrypting Tool For GandCrab Ransomware Available

Victims of the GandCrab ransomware can regain access to their encrypted files. The decrypting tool for GandCrab was made available today on the site nomoreransom.org by the Romanian police in cooperation with Bitdefender and the European police organization Europol.

GandCrab has been observed in the wild for about a month and has now made more than 50,000 victims worldwide, including many Europeans. It is therefore one of the most aggressive forms of ransomware this year, according to Europol .

GandCrab spreads via manipulated advertisements on websites and via fake invoices that are sent as attachments by e-mail. When the malware is installed, the files on the victim's computer are encrypted and an amount of 300 to 500 dollars in ransom is demanded, to be paid in the virtual currency DASH.

As far as we know, GandCrab is the first ransomware copy that requires payment in DASH. GandCrab also has an affiliate program where the ransomware is offered as a service (ransomware-as-a-service) and the developers receive a commission for each ransom payment received.

German Secret Service Warns Against Fake Profiles On LinkedIn

The German secret service BfV warns against fake profiles on LinkedIn that would be used by Chinese intelligence services to gather information about politicians and policymakers. Over a period of nine months more than 10,000 Germans were approached via the fake profiles, according to the BfV.

The profiles occur as headhunters, consultants or scientists with the names "Rachel Li" and "Alex Li". They claim to have, among other things, vacancies at a Dutch HR company. After contact has been made, the fake profiles try to collect information about habits, hobbies and political interests. "Chinese intelligence services are active on networks such as LinkedIn and in this way try to gather information and find sources of information," said a spokesperson.

Many of the profiles are provided with photographs of attractive men and women. One of the photos would even be taken directly from an online fashion catalog, according to Reuters . The fake profiles have mainly provided for European diplomats and politicians. German citizens are called upon to report suspicious profiles and not to share valuable personal information via social media. "This is an extensive attempt to infiltrate certain parliaments, ministries and government agencies," says Hans-Georg Maassen, head of the BfV.

Conficker Worm Still Active On 150,000 Computers After 9 Years

The Conficker worm that infected nine million computers at its peak has been operating on 150,000 computers since its first appearance on 21 November 2008, anti-virus company Trend Micro said. Conficker is distributed in a variety of ways, including a vulnerability in the Windows Server service, shared network folders, and the Autorun feature of Windows.

The vulnerability in the Windows Server service was patched by Microsoft on October 23, 2008. In January 2009, Conficker also started distributing itself through the Autorun feature of Windows, something for which Microsoft released an update in February 2011. According to Trend Micro, Conficker is mainly active in China, Brazil and India. These three countries together account for more than half of all infections. Most infections were found in government systems, followed by production companies and health care.

After an infection, Conficker tries to connect every day with all kinds of domains to see if there are new instructions from the makers. ICANN, the organization that is responsible for the distribution of ip numbers and domains, has, however, taken measures so that these domains can not be registered. Thus, the infected computers can not be used for criminal purposes.

According to Trend Micro, Conficker can also be labeled as "background malware" that is mainly active on legacy systems. "Although it is not as interesting to the general public as more modern malware such as WannaCry and Petya, it remains a persistent threat and will remain so as long as unsupported, unpatched legacy systems are still part of corporate networks," says researcher the virus fighter .

Strong Increase Of Phishing Sites That Use Https

Not only legitimate websites use https more and more, phishing sites also have more and more access to a secure connection. There is even a strong increase in the number of https phishing sites, according to security company PhishLabs . In the third quarter of this year almost 25 percent of the observed phishing sites had a https connection.

A quarter earlier was still about 12 percent, while a year ago less than 3 percent of the phishing sites had a ssl certificate. According to the security company, there are two reasons why there is an increase in https usage among phishing sites. The first reason is that phishing sites are regularly offered via hacked, legitimate websites. When a legitimate website with a ssl certificate is hacked, the phishing page that is offered via the website will also have a secure connection.

The second reason according to PhishLabs is that criminals register domains for their phishing site and then enable https themselves. This then happens via certificate authorities that offer free ssl certificates, such as Let's Encrypt and Comodo. In this way, the phishing site looks more legitimate, says Crane Hassold of PhishLabs. Chrome automatically displays the "Safe" message at https sites. This refers to the secure connection, but end users think the website they are visiting is safe, Hassold notes.

"The misunderstanding about the meaning of https among the general public and the confusing appointment of https websites in browsers are the main reasons why it is a popular preference of phishers in hosting phishing sites," Hassold continues. "Combined with the rapid growth of https among website owners, we expect the number of https phishing sites to grow further."

Explanation How To Remove The Microphone From Your iPhone And MacBook

Those who do not want to risk using a hacked iPhone or MacBook as a listening device can choose to remove the built-in microphone. Calls can then only be made by connecting a headset with a microphone, for example.

"There is no reason why these devices need those sensors to function," says Kyle Wiens from repair company iFixit opposite Wired . "And taking them apart to remove the microphone is not more difficult than repairing them." Users can switch off the microphone or even insert a cut-off jack in the microphone socket if it is already present, but according to experts this does not offer sufficient protection.

According to Richard George, a former technical director of the NSA who was involved in the design of the secure BlackBerry of President Obama, the trick with the microphone jack is not enough. A malicious application could bypass the fake microphone and still enable the real microphone. Anyone who wants to be sure of his case can also remove the microphone or have it done.

In the case of a MacBook, this appears to be fairly simple. So iFixit even has a manual for it. The microphone can also easily be connected again. The same operation with the iPhone is a lot more difficult and permanent. The iPhone also has four built-in microphones. Once again, iFixit offers extensive instructions for doing this yourself. A repair company that Wired spoke costs 75 dollars and says twice for privacy-oriented customers.

Last year whistleblower Edward Snowden advised that people who do not want to be spied or tapped would be wise to remove the microphone and camera from their smartphone. Recently, however , the Public Prosecutor announced that legitimate users have no reason to "demolish" the microphone from their device. The verdict was made in connection with the investigation into Ennetcom, a company that supplied custom BlackBerry smartphones to communicate encrypted. The microphone was removed from these phones.

Mac Malware Hidden Lotus Uses Unicode To Disguise Itself

Researchers have discovered a malware copy for macOS that uses a Roman Unicode character to disguise itself. The malware in question occurs as a PDF file and also has .pdf as an extension. In reality, however, it is an application, which is also displayed by the Finder.

The "d" in .pdf appears not to be a normal d, but a Roman numeric D in lowercase, which shows the number 500. In addition, a Mac application does not need .app as an extension to be treated as an application. An application in macOS is simply a folder with a special internal structure called a bundle. A folder with the correct structure is still a folder, but when it is provided with the .app extension, it immediately becomes an application. The Finder treats it as a single file instead of a folder, and double-clicking starts the application instead of opening the folder.

When double-clicking on a file or folder, LaunchServices will first look at the extension. In the case of a known extension, it is opened with the corresponding application. When it comes to a file with an unknown extension, the user gets the question what he wants to do. However, when it is a folder with an unknown extension, LaunchServices first looks at the bundle structure if it is present. In the case of the now discovered Mac malware, it appears that they have the correct structure of an app. Because the malware actually has an unknown extension, LaunchService looks at the internal structure and therefore considers it as an application.

However, users still get a warning from macOS to see if they want to open an application that comes from the internet, as anti-malware company Malwarebytes says . In case users open the file anyway, they can get infected with the HiddenLotus backdoor. Attackers have access to the system through this backdoor. According to Malwarebytes, HiddenLotus is a variant of the OceanLotus backdoor that was used against Vietnamese Mac users, among others.

Virustotal Link:

https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/f261815905e77eebdb5c4ec06a7acdda7b68644b1f5155049f133be866d8b179/analysis/

MD5:

8a1fe734eb7d49044d8ebc0ef1b9b86f

Researcher Discovers Keylogger In HP Keyboard Driver

A researcher with the alias ZwClose has discovered a keylogger in an HP keyboard driver that malware could use. The keylogger was in the SynTP.sys file. This is part of the Synaptics Touchpad driver installed on hundreds of HP laptops.

Although the keylogger was turned off by default, it could have been enabled via an adjustment to the Windows Registry. The investigator warned HP and the manufacturer confirmed the presence of the keylogger. It was code that was actually meant for debugging the driver and was left behind. HP has now released an update to remove the code.

The update can be downloaded from the HP and Windows Update website , the researcher says. All affected models are listed on the HP website. It involves almost 500 different laptops. According to HP, the presence of the keylogger did not ensure that the self or Synaptics had access to customer data. Earlier this year, a keylogger was also found in an HP audio driver .

Infrastructure Behind BadRabbit Ransomware Since 2016 Active

The infrastructure used last Tuesday to spread the BadRabbit ransomware has been active since 2016, says Dutch security researcher Yonathan Klijnsma from security company RiskIQ. During the attack the attackers used a large number of hacked websites.

These websites showed a popup to visitors that they needed to install an update for Adobe Flash Player. In fact, it was a Petya ransomware variant that encrypted files on the hard drive and overwritten the Master Boot Record from the hard drive. As a result, the operating system can no longer be started. Furthermore, BadRabbit tries to spread on SMB via a list of commonly used passwords and intercepting login credentials via SMB.

On the hacked websites, code was sent to an injection server that showed the malicious popup on the websites. One of these injection servers was first observed last September. In addition, various hacked websites have been compromised since last year. RiskIQ counted 63 hacked websites where the attackers had access. The security company claims, however, that it can go for more websites.

"The group behind the BadRabbit ransomware has been active for quite some time," said Klijnsma. The researcher speaks of a long-term campaign that could possibly be set up for something other than BadRabbit. "Although the BadRabbit ransomware is brand new, we can track the distribution industry by the beginning of 2016, which shows that victims had been compromised a lot before before the ransomware hit and the news cycle began. The campaign could originally be set up for something other than BadRabbit. " Security company Symantec claims that 86 percent of the infections occurred in Russia and it mainly concerns companies.