A few months ago we wrote about a new Internet worm notable because it spread between devices running the Linux operating systems, and because it had the ability to infect a range of non-PC devices including set top boxes. Symantec was quick to suggest that the worm, Linux.Darlloz, was the first “Internet of Things” malware. Now, three months later, Symantec is updating the story: noting that Darlloz is still out there, and seems to have been put to use mining for virtual currencies. Writing on Symantec’s blog on Thursday, analyst Karou Hayashi said that researchers there discovered a new variant of Darlloz in January that included code changes and improvements from the version discovered at the end of 2013. Darlloz is versatile: it can run on devices using a variety of architectures, including the common Intel x86, but also hardware running the ARM, MIPS and PowerPC architectures. Those are more common […]
Tag: trojan
NSA Toolbox Included Hacks For Juniper, Cisco, Dell
The German magazine Der Spiegel made headlines this week with its story detailing the US National Security Agency’s (NSAs) offensive hacking capabilities. The story is based on classified NSA documents absconded with by former contractor Edward Snowden and lays bare a Webster’s Dictionary full of classified hacking tools and programs. Among the highlights of the story: + The NSA developed and deployed a wide range of hacking tools that could compromise hardware from leading IT and networking equipment makers including Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks and the Chinese vendor Huawei and Dell Inc. + The NSA tools were designed to provide persistent access that allowed the NSA to monitor activity on the compromised endpoint, avoid detection by third party security software and survive software and firmware updates. One such tool, DEITYBOUNCE, provided persistent access to Dell’s PowerEdge servers by “exploiting the system BIOS” and using “System Management Mode to […]
Report: Cards Stolen From Target Used – at Target
The web site that first broke the news that data on millions of credit cards was lifted from box retailer Target now reports that those cards are being used to make fraudulent purchases at brick and mortar stores- including at Target itself. Writing on the website Krebsonsecurity.com, Brian Krebs said that so-called “dumps” of stolen card data are flooding underground “carder” web sites where cyber criminals fence stolen card information. Citing an unnamed source at a New England bank, Krebs said that the bank had, with his help, purchased about 20 cards for its customers that were offered for sale on rescator(dot)la, the carder web site, and confirmed that all the stolen cards had been used at Target. Furthermore, the source confirmed to Krebs that some of the stolen cards had already been used to make fraudulent purchases – including at Target and other big box retailers. Only one […]
APT or fANTasy: The Strange Story of BadBIOS
Yesterday over on Veracode’s blog I wrote about the ongoing saga of “BadBIOS” – a piece of malicious software that might be the most sophisticated virus ever written, or a figment of the imagination of Dragos Ruiu, the esteemed security researcher who says he discovered it on systems he owned. The story of BadBIOS reads like something out of science fiction. Ruiu has described it in interviews and blog posts as BIOS-based malware that can back door systems running a variety of operating systems – OS X, Windows and even OpenBSD. But it’s also described as an ephemeral kind of ‘we-don’t-know-what,’ that can’t be isolated or analyzed. One Twitter follower of Ruiu’s suggested designating it a “heisenbug” which he defined as “a software bug that seems to disappear or alter its behavior when one attempts to study it.” That would be funny if this weren’t deadly serious. For, really, one […]
Hack Uses Phone’s Camera and Mic To Best Anti-Keylogger
Smart phones these days are bristling with sensors. Forget about the camera and microphone – there are accelerometers, Global Positioning System components, not to mention Bluetooth and NFC transmitters. All those remote sensors enable all kinds of cool features – from finding the nearest Starbucks to mobile payments. But they also pose a risk to the privacy of the phone’s owner – as malicious actors (and the occasional national government) look for ways to turn cameras and other sensors into powerful, cheap and convenient spying tools. Now researchers at The University of Cambridge have demonstrated one possible, new attack type: harnessing the built-in video camera and microphone on Android devices to spy on an owner’s movements and guess his or her password. The technique could be a way for cyber criminals to defeat anti-keylogging technology like secure “soft” keyboards used to enter banking PINs and other sensitive information. The work […]
