Tag: google ads
MacOS users targeted by ‘infostealer’ malware
Apple computer users are suffering a growing number of ‘infostealer’ attacks across multiple regions and industries. These are a form of malicious software created to breach computer systems in order to steal sensitive information. The Palo Alto Networks Unit42 research group has detected a 101 percent increase in macOS infostealers in the last two quarters of 2024. The researchers identified three particularly prevalent macOS infostealers: Poseidon, Atomic, and Cthulhu. The developers of Atomic Stealer sell it as malware as a service (MaaS) in hacker forums and on Telegram. The Atomic Stealer operators usually distribute their malware via malvertising - the use of online advertising to spread malware. This typically involves injecting malicious or malware-laden advertisements into legitimate online advertising networks and webpages. It is capable of stealing notes and documents, browser data such as passwords, and cookies, cryptocurrency wallets, and instant messaging data. Atomic Stealer, also known as AMOS was first discovered in April 2023.
Beware weaponized Google Ads
Cybercriminals are exploiting a previously unseen backdoor to substitute ‘malvertizing’, weaponized bogus ads to push them to the top of Google searches. The attacks are particularly dangerous to corporations of all sizes, as they are aimed squarely at in-house IT professionals, who invariably hold the keys to the organization’s digital kingdom The unknown threat actor(s) ' selection of spoofed software evidences that cybercriminals’ targets primarily consist of IT professionals, particularly those in IT security and network administration roles, according to research from Zscaler ThreatLabz. “Beginning in March of 2024, Zscaler ThreatLabz observed a threat actor weaponizing a cluster of domains masquerading as legitimate IP scanner software sites to distribute a previously unseen backdoor. The threat actor registered multiple look-alike domains…and leveraged Google Ads to push these domains to the top of search engine results targeting specific search keywords,” says Zscaler ThreatLabz.