3 Tips for Protecting Against the New WhatsApp Bug
Messaging apps are a common form of digital communication these days, with Facebook’s WhatsApp being one of the most popular options out there. The communication platform boasts over 1.5 billion users – who now need to immediately update the app due to a new security threat. In fact, WhatsApp just ...
The Risks of Public Wi-Fi and How to Close the Security Gap
As I write this blog post, I’m digitally exposed, and I know it. For the past week, I’ve had to log on to a hospital’s public Wi-Fi each day to work while a loved one recuperates. What seems like a routine, casual connection to the hospital’s Wi-Fi isn’t. Using public ...
IE Scripting Flaw Still a Threat to Unpatched Systems: Analyzing CVE-2018-8653
Microsoft recently patched a critical flaw in Internet Explorer’s scripting engine that could lead to remote code execution. The vulnerability is being exploited in the wild and was originally reported by a researcher from Google’s Threat Analysis Group. Microsoft released an out-of-band patch to fix the vulnerability before the normal ...
Shamoon Attackers Employ New Tool Kit to Wipe Infected Systems
Last week the McAfee Advanced Threat Research team posted an analysis of a new wave of Shamoon “wiper” malware attacks that struck several companies in the Middle East and Europe. In that analysis we discussed one difference to previous Shamoon campaigns. The latest version has a modular approach that allows ...
McAfee Labs Threats Report Examines Cybercriminal Underground, IoT Malware, Other Threats
The McAfee Advanced Threat Research team today published the McAfee® Labs Threats Report, December 2018. In this edition, we highlight the notable investigative research and trends in threats statistics and observations gathered by the McAfee Advanced Threat Research and McAfee Labs teams in Q3 of 2018. We are very excited ...
Shamoon Returns to Wipe Systems in Middle East, Europe
Destructive malware has been employed by adversaries for years. Usually such attacks are carefully targeted and can be motivated by ideology, politics, or even financial aims. Destructive attacks have a critical impact on businesses, causing the loss of data or crippling business operations. When a company is impacted, the damage ...
Pay-Per-Install Company Deceptively Floods Market with Unwanted Programs
For the past 18 months, McAfee Labs has been investigating a pay-per-install developer, WakeNet AB, responsible for spreading prevalent adware such as Adware-Wajam and Linkury. This developer has been active for almost 20 years and recently has used increasingly deceptive techniques to convince users to execute its installers. Our report ...
WebCobra Malware Uses Victims’ Computers to Mine Cryptocurrency
McAfee Labs researchers have discovered new Russian malware, dubbed WebCobra, which harnesses victims’ computing power to mine for cryptocurrencies.
Fallout Exploit Kit Releases the Kraken Ransomware on Its Victims
Alexandr Solad and Daniel Hatheway of Recorded Future are coauthors of this post. Read Recorded Future’s version of this analysis. Rising from the deep, Kraken Cryptor ransomware has had a notable development path in recent months. The first signs of Kraken came in mid-August on a popular underground forum. In ...
‘Operation Oceansalt’ Delivers Wave After Wave
In the latest findings from the McAfee Advanced Threat Research team, we examine an adversary that was not content with a single campaign, but launched five distinct waves adapted to their separate targets.