Researchers spot Citadel, a ZeuS crimeware variant

Researchers spot Citadel, a ZeuS crimeware variant

Security researchers from “Tracking Cyber Crime” have spotted a new ZeuS crimeware variant, that’s based on the leaked ZeuS source code from last year.

Dubbed Citadel, the crimeware is positioned as a universal spyware system, whose modular nature allows cybercriminals to offer flexibly priced value-added services such as managed malware crypting, and managed web injects as a service.

Some of Citadel’s core features include:

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A peek inside the Smoke Malware Loader

A peek inside the Smoke Malware Loader

The competitive arms race between security vendors and malicious cybercriminals constantly produces new defensive mechanisms, next to new attack platforms and malicious tools aiming to efficiently exploit and infect as many people as possible.

Continuing the “A peek inside…” series, in this post I will profile yet another malware loader. This time it’s the Smoke Malware Loader.

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Research: Google’s reCAPTCHA under fire

Research: Google’s reCAPTCHA under fire

Who needs automated bots solving CAPTCHAs, when you have teams of low-waged humans recognizing them for pennies?

In an underground cybercrime ecosystem dominated by managed services and countless outsourcing opportunities, it’s fairly logical to assume that Google’s reCAPTCHA is under constant fire.

Just how easy is it to recognize reCAPTCHA images for malicious account registration and service abuse purposes? Let’s find out.

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Cybercriminals generate malicious Java applets using DIY tools

Cybercriminals generate malicious Java applets using DIY tools

Who said there’s such a thing as a trusted Java applet?

In situations where malicious attackers cannot directly exploit client-side vulnerabilities on the targeted host, they will turn to social engineering tricks, like legitimate-looking Java Applets, which will on the other hand silently download the malicious payload of the attacker, once the user confirms he trusts the Applet.

Let’s profile a DIY (do-it-yourself) malicious Java Applet generator currently available for download at selected cybercrime-friendly online communities:

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A peek inside the uBot malware bot

A peek inside the uBot malware bot

Participants in the dynamic cybercrime underground ecosystem are constantly working on new cybercrime-friendly releases in the form of malware bots, Remote Access Tools (RATs) and malware loaders.

Continuing the “A peek inside…” series, in this post I will profile yet another DIY (do-it-yourself) malware bot, available at the disposal of cybercriminals at selected cybercrime-friendly online communities.

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How phishers launch phishing attacks

How phishers launch phishing attacks

Just like in every other industry, participants in the cybercrime ecosystem are no strangers to the concept of standardization. Standardization results in efficiencies, which on the other hand results in economies of scale. In this case, malicious economies of scale.

Just how easy is it to launch a phishing attack nowadays? What tools, and tactics are at the disposal of phishers aiming to efficiently socially engineer hundreds of thousands of users?

In this post, I will profile the Ninja V0.4 Social Engineering Phishing Framework – an advanced platform  for executing phishing attacks in a DIY (do-it-yourself) fashion.

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