Tag: malware

13 SEP

Windows 0-day is exploited to install creepy Finspy malware (again)

Enlarge / The WSDL parser, where the zero-day was located. (credit: FireEye) On Tuesday, Microsoft patched a previously unknown vulnerability that researchers say was actively exploited by an undisclosed nation to install surveillance malware on one or more vulnerable computers. The exploit, according to a blog post published Tuesday by security firm FireEye, was embedded […]

29 AUG

One of 1st-known Android DDoS malware infects phones in 100 countries

Enlarge (credit: portal gda) Last year, a series of record-setting attacks hitting sites including KrebsOnSecurity and a French Web host underscored a new threat that had previously gone overlooked: millions of Internet-connected digital video recorders and similar devices that could easily be wrangled into botnets that challenged the resources of even large security services. Now, […]

18 AUG

Code chunk in Kronos malware used long before MalwareTech published it

Enlarge / Marcus Hutchins, security researcher for Kryptos Logic. In May, he registered a domain name that neutralized the WCry ransomware worm. In August, he was charged with developing malware called Kronos. (credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images) A chunk of code found in the Kronos bank-fraud malware originated more than six years before security researcher […]

14 AUG

UK cybersecurity researcher pleads not guilty to malware charges

Marcus Hutchins, the British cyber security researcher who won attention for helping to halt the spread of the WannaCry malware program earlier this year, has just entered a plea of not guilty for a set of unrelated charges. Hutchins was arrested by the FBI at the Def Con security conference in Las Vegas and was […]

12 AUG

Researchers encode malware in DNA, compromise DNA sequencing software

Enlarge / This data could potentially contain malware. (credit: UCSF) With everyone from academics to Microsoft looking at the prospect of storing data using DNA, it was probably inevitable that someone would start looking at the security implications. Apparently, they’re worse than most people might have expected. It turns out it’s possible to encode computer […]

05 AUG

Prosecutors claim Marcus Hutchins admitted writing Kronos malware

Just a couple of days after the FBI arrested Marcus Hutchins (aka MalwareTech) he made an appearance in a Las Vegas federal courthouse, pleading not guilty to charges accusing him of creating the Kronos banking malware. KSNV News 3 Las Vegas reporter Christy Wilcox reported from the scene, tweeting that prosecutors claim Hutchins admitted to […]

25 JUL

“Perverse” malware infecting hundreds of Macs remained undetected for years

Enlarge (credit: Tim Malabuyo) A mysterious piece of malware that gives attackers surreptitious control over webcams, keyboards, and other sensitive resources has been infecting Macs for at least five years. The infections—known to number nearly 400 and possibly much higher—remained undetected until recently and may have been active for almost a decade. Patrick Wardle, a […]