A peek inside the Umbra malware loader

A peek inside the Umbra malware loader

The thriving cybercrime underground marketplace has a lot to offer. From DIY botnet builders, DIY DDoS platforms, to platforms for executing clickjacking and likejacking campaigns, next to drive-by malware attacks, the ecosystem is always a step ahead of the industry established to fight back.

Continuing the “A peek inside…” series, in this post I will profile yet another freely available DIY Botnet building tool – the Umbra Malware Loader.

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How malware authors evade antivirus detection

How malware authors evade antivirus detection

Aiming to ensure that their malware doesn’t end up in the hands of vendors and researchers, cybercriminals are actively experimenting with different quality assurance processes whose objective is to increase the probability of their campaigns successfully propagating in the wild without detection.

Some of these techniques include multiple offline antivirus scanning interfaces offering the cybercriminal a guarantee that their malicious program would remain undetected, before they launch their malicious campaign in the wild.

In the wild since 2006, Kim’s Multiple Antivirus Scanner is still actively used among cybercriminals wanting to ensure that their malicious software is pre-scanned against the signature-based scanning techniques offered by multile antivirus vendors.

Let’s review Kim’s Multiple Antivirus Scanner, and discuss when it’s an important tool in the arsenal of the malicious cybercriminal spreading malware for profit.

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Inside AnonJDB – a Java based malware distribution platforms for drive-by downloads

by Dancho Danchev

With the even decreasing prices of underground tools and services, thanks to the commoditization of these very same market items, the price for renting a botnet, or purchasing access to already infected hosts, is constantly decreasing.

Although the majority of cybercriminals are actively exploiting end and corporate users while using client-side vulnerabilities in outdated third-party applications and browser plugins, there’s a separate branch of cybercriminals who specialize in delivering their payload using nothing else but good old fashioned social engineering attacks.

Following my previous post Inside a clickjacking/likejacking scam distribution platform for Facebook, in this post I will profile AnonJDB – a Java based malware distribution platform for drive-by downloads.

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Zappos.com hacked, 24 million users affected

Zappos.com hacked, 24 million users affected

by Dancho Danchev

According to an internal memo issued by Zappos, the shoe-and-apparel-selling division of Amazon has been breached by unknown cyber attackers, leading to the compromised accounts of over 24 million users.

The company has indicated that names, email addresses, mailing addresses, and the last four digits of customer’s credit card numbers have been compromised.

More info on the attack, including a copy of the internal memo:

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A peek inside the PickPocket Botnet

A peek inside the PickPocket Botnet

by Dancho Danchev

Malicious attackers quickly adapt to emerging trends, and therefore constantly produce new malicious releases. One of these recently released underground tools, is the PickPocket Botnet, a web-based command and control interface for controlling a botnet.

Let’s review its core features, and find out just how easy it is to purchase it within the cybercrime ecosystem.

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