VARINDIA IT MAGAZINE

Whatsapp used to distribute new malware:  Whatsapp   and its users now seem to be in deep trouble as a newly discovered   Android malware   has been found to propagate itself through WhatsApp messages to other contacts in order to expand what appears to be an adware campaign.   "This malware spreads via victim's WhatsApp by automatically replying to any received WhatsApp message notification with a link to [a] malicious Huawei Mobile app,"  ESET researcher Lukas Stefanko  said.   The link upon clicking the fake Huawei Mobile app, redirects users to a lookalike  Google Play Store  website.   Once installed, the wormable app prompts victims to grant it notification access, which is then abused to carry out the wormable attack. Specifically, it leverages WhatApp's quick reply feature - which is used to respond to incoming messages directly from the notifications - to send out a reply to a received message automatically. ...

In 2020 Cyber crime has costs $49 Billion to Russian citizens and companies: Sberbank:  As per   Sberbank, Russia’s largest lender , cyber attacks have cost up to 3.6 trillion roubles ($49 billion) to the citizens and companies of the country.   In an effort to crack down the shadow economy, Russia has encouraged its citizens to switch to bank cards and limit cash use but crimes related to bank cards have shot up by 500% this year, as estimated by the interior ministry.   As per the news source,  Stanislav Kuznetsov, Sberbank’s Deputy Chairman , who oversees security and services said that private business and ordinary Russians were the main targets of cyber attacks, as the state security services are better protected.   “The private sector is the most vulnerable: everything from the clients’ accounts to financial data and tender documents are targeted: there are 2.3 million darknet accounts operating in Russian and offering the stolen data,” he said. ...

This year end, Several of the most widely circulated newspapers in the United States are affected by the target of a Ryuk ransomware strained cyberattack which are reportedly originated on foreign land. The attack reportedly affected printing centers operated by Tribune Publishing and former Tribune Publishing property, the Los Angeles Times - confirming the media is under attack — and if something isn’t done to protect it, we could be headed toward a future in which we can’t believe anything we read. The malware prevented editors from transmitting pages of the papers to printing presses, and it delayed the scheduled printing and delivery of the Saturday editions of several newspapers, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Nobody is sure of the source of the attack, but several people with inside knowledge of Tribune told The Los Angeles Times that the attack appeared to be Ryuk ransomware. Experts have linked this software to groups in North Korea and E...

Warning ! If you are using Chrome browser extension from the MEGA file storage service, uninstall it right now. The most popular Mega chrome extension is being hacked by an attacker's server located at megaopac host in Ukraine and replaced with a bundle of PUP Malware for Stealing your Security Information Most of us are popular with the chrome browser and it occupies 59% Browser share world wide with complairsion to other browsers like Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox and Opera.Google's strong marketing strategy for Chrome certainly contributed (and continues to contribute) to the browser's success. Besides actively stimulating interest in Chrome through marketing, Google's own credibility and reputation passively attract attention to Chrome. Chrome itself famous for its Simplicity and Technologies. Chrome wants the user to focus on the web content without distraction from the browser's UI. But two days ago, on 4th of September an insi...

Malware sophistication is increasing as adversaries begin to weaponize cloud services and evade detection through encryption. This is used as a tool to conceal command-and-control activity. To reduce adversaries’ time to operate, security professionals said they will increasingly leverage and spend more on tools that use AI and machine learning. This has been reported in the CISCO annual cybersecurity report. The report also shows 50 percent of organizations in India are reliant on automation, 53 percent are reliant on machine learning, 51 percent are highly reliant on AI. While encryption is meant to enhance security, the expanded volume of encrypted global web traffic (50 percent as of October 2017) - both legitimate and malicious - has created more challenges for defenders trying to identify and monitor potential threats. Cisco threat researchers observed more than a threefold increase in encrypted network communication used by inspected malware samples over a 12-month per...

Kaspersky Lab has organized a CISO meet in Mumbai. The visiting Kaspersky Lab delegates included Vitaly Kamluk, Director, Global Research & Analysis Team, APAC; Alejandro Arango, Global Director, Corporate Communications, Kaspersky Lab; and Jesmond Chang, Head of Corporate Communications, APAC at Kaspersky Lab. Altaf Halde, Managing Director (South Asia), Kaspersky Lab, India, too was present on the occasion. The meet was graced by over 20 CISOs from corporates belonging to verticals, including BFSI, IT & ITeS, manufacturing, telecom, etc. At the CISO meet, Vitaly Kamluk , Director, Global Research & Analysis Team, APAC, spoke about the current threat landscape referring to targeted attacks. He said, “Our researchers have found India to be among the top five countries in the world to be attacked by Ransomware. India, in fact, takes the first spot in the list of countries that were attacked by Teslacrypt ransomware in March-May 2016 and ranked fourth in...

Sophos has extended its end-user protection portfolio of advanced malware detection, remediation and removal software with Sophos Clean. Sophos Clean represents the next generation of malware detection and removal tools that can detect known and unknown threats. The on-demand scan does not need to be installed, which is particularly useful in cases of ransomware infection or in situations where malware is manipulating installed security software... Read More

VARINDIA- INDIA'S FRONTLINE IT MAGAZINE   According to the 2013 Global Corporate IT Security Risks survey by  Kaspersky Lab , it has been revealed that most of the companies in India have underestimated the number of  new malicious programs  appearing daily, and only 6% had the realistic idea of how much the new malware appears every day. In terms of figure, 90% of global participants in the survey named a lower figure; 4% guessed too high and only 6% gave an accurate estimate. The survey also gave an overview of the ignorance of the companies against the cyber attacks. In addition, the lab survey revealed that an average 66% of companies had experienced at least one attack involving malware in the previous 12 months. The companies most frequently targeted in those attacks were located in South America (72%), Russia (71%), North America (70%), Asia-Pacific (68%) and Western Europe (63%). The highest levels of  malware awareness  were found amon...

VARINDIA- INDIA'S FRONTLINE IT MAGAZINE   McAfee has released the McAfee Threats Report: Fourth Quarter 2012, in which McAfee Labs has revealed that sophisticated attacks originally targeting the financial services industry are now increasingly directed at other critical sectors of the economy, while an emerging set of new tactics and technologies are being implemented to evade industry-standard security measures. The report showed the continued proliferation of password-stealing Trojans and advanced persistent threats (APTs) such as Operation High Roller and Project Bliztkrieg, and the expansion of their attacks to government, manufacturing and commercial transaction infrastructure targets. “We are seeing attacks shifting into a variety of new areas, from factories, to corporations, to government agencies, to the infrastructure that connects them together. This represents a new chapter in cyber security in that threat development, driven by the lure of financial industry ...

VARINDIA- INDIA'S FRONTLINE IT MAGAZINE   According to  Mr. Kyle Adams, Chief Software Architect for Mykonos at Juniper Networks , the Most Interesting Developments in the threat landscape that emerged in 2012 are, Simple attack methods on web applications remain effective - Many of the large public companies this year fell victim to web application vulnerabilities like SQL Injection and Cross Site Scripting. These types of attacks have been known about for several years and remain a popular hacking method because of the relatively low level of sophistication needed and the potential difficulty in preventing them. Mobile malware  and application-centric threats continue to pose a risk to enterprise data - With the continued adoption of Bring Your Own Device policies in the workplace, the risk of mobile malware and invasive applications infiltrating critical corporate data continues to be a top concern...... See More

VARINDIA- INDIA'S FRONTLINE IT MAGAZINE   Trend micro  has reported that a type of malware named  Dorkbot dupes users of Skype  into clicking on a link. The link, in turn, directs them to download a file which includes the malware.  The link (which includes the user name of the recipient) goes to a file hosted at a legitimate file locker service. The file downloaded is a variant of the DORKBOT malware family, which is detected as WORM_DORKBOT.DN.  This malware allows an attacker to take complete control of the user’s system. Its capabilities include password theft form various websites (including pornographic sites, social media, file lockers, and financial services), and launching distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks... See More

VARINDIA- INDIA'S FRONTLINE IT MAGAZINE   Google  has bought web-based security tool developer  VirusTotal .  The search engine giant will continue to maintain the VirusTotal online malware scanning tool and the VirusTotal team would be operating as an independent entity. The acquisition will shore up protection for its Internet services. The  VirusTotal  service allows users to test files and sites for possible malware infections through an online scanning tool. VirusTotal said.... more

VARINDIA- INDIA'S FRONTLINE IT MAGAZINE ArrayShield has announced the countermeasure against all the advanced malware attacks through its IDAS Two Factor Authentication solution. Gartner's report titled "Where Strong Authentication Fails and What You Can Do About It" has researched about sophisticated Trojan/malware based attacks that compromise not only passwords but also OTP/Token based Authentication... more For More Details See www.varindia.com

VARINDIA- INDIA'S FRONTLINE IT MAGAZINE   Bitdefender has teamed up with Acunetix to protect users of WebsiteDefender by having their website scanned by Bitdefender's malware detection technology. "Our partnership with Bitdefender will allow us to offer a complete malware scanning solution within WebsiteDefender, an industry first. Coupled with its innovative backup feature, WebsiteDefender provides malware detection and easy removal. WebsiteDefender further establishes itself as the leading website security monitoring service, allowing users to secure their web presence against malware and hackers without the need for advanced security know-how," said Nick Galea, CEO, Acunetix. "We are confident that a multiple award-winning technology with a long-standing tradition in leading the way in terms of proactive data protection is a strong asset for any WebsiteDefender user. This partnership is an excellent addition to the Bitdefender OEM portfolio that c...

VARINDIA- INDIA'S FRONTLINE IT MAGAZINE   Sophos has revealed the extent of malware targeting Android mobile phones, by analyzing detection statistics from its Sophos Mobile Security app. This data was taken from installations of the app on Android smartphones and tablets in 118 different countries around the world. Graham Cluley, Senior Security Consultant, Sophos, said, "The volume of malware that we have discovered highlights that mobile security is a real and growing problem, especially on Android. Criminals are creating more and more targeted malware for different platforms, and smartphone users need to wise up to the fact that security is no longer limited to PCs, but mobiles and tablets are also at risk if not sufficiently protected." For More Details See www.varindia.com

VARINDIA- INDIA'S FRONTLINE IT MAGAZINE   Sophos has revealed a disturbingly high level of malware on Mac computers-with both Windows and Mac threats being discovered. Sophos experts analyzed a snapshot of 100,000 Mac computers running its free anti-virus software, and discovered that one in five machines was found to be carrying one or more instances of Windows malware. Although Windows malware on Macs will not cause symptoms (unless users also run Windows on their computer), it can still be spread to other computers. Additionally, Sophos's analysis shows that 2.7 percent (one in thirty six) of Macs were found to be carrying Mac OS X malware.  Graham Cluely, Senior Technology Consultant, Sophos said, "Some Mac users may be relieved that they are seven times more likely to have Windows viruses, spyware and Trojans on their Macs than Mac OS X-specific malware, but Mac malware is surprisingly commonly encountered. Mac users need a wake-up call about the growing ma...

VARINDIA- INDIA'S FRONTLINE IT MAGAZINE Sophos is warning Android users about malware being distributed disguised as the popular photo-sharing app Instagram. Cybercriminals have created fake versions of the Instagram Android app, designed to earn money from unsuspecting users. Cybercriminals have played on the popularity of the Instagram app - which has millions of users around the world, and was recently acquired by Facebook for a staggering $1 billion. If Android owners download the app from unapproved sources, rather than official sites, they run the risk of infecting their Smartphone. Once installed, the app will send background SMS messages to premium rate services earning its creators revenue. Sophos products detect the malware, which has been distributed on a Russian website purporting to be an official Instagram site, as Andr/Boxer-F. Graham Cluley, Senior Technology Consultant, Sophos said, "Android malware is becoming a bigger and bigger problem. Just last week, w...

VARINDIA- INDIA'S FRONTLINE IT MAGAZINE Kaspersky Lab has highlighted the Top 10 IT Security stories of 2011. Costin Raiu, Director - Kaspersky Lab's Global Research & Analysis Team shares his research on the same. Costin Raiu said, "With 2011 coming to its end, it makes sense to sit back and take a look at what's been happening over the past 12 months in the IT Security world. If we had to summarize the year in a single word, I think it would have to be 'explosive.' The multitude of incidents, stories, facts, new trends and intriguing actors is so big that it makes it very hard to come up with a Top-10 of security stories of 2011. What I was aiming for with this list was to remember the stories that also indicated major trends or the emergence of new major actors on the security scene. By looking at these stories, we can get an idea of what will happen in 2012." The top 10 stories includes: The Rise of "Hacktivism"; The HBGary Federal Hack;...

VARINDIA- INDIA'S FRONTLINE IT MAGAZINE Sophos has announced that it is cautioning computer users over the careful use of USB memory sticks, following the results of a Sophos study into the contents of lost drives. Sophos' Australian office conducted the experiment by purchasing a job-lot of found USB sticks from a lost property auction run by major transit authority in Sydney, "RailCorp". The study revealed that two-thirds of the 50 tested USB sticks were infected with malware, and contained information about many of the former owners of the devices, their families, friends and colleagues. Files contained on the unprotected devices included tax documents, school and university assignments, AutoCAD drawings of work projects, photo albums of family & friends and software and web source code. "It seems that commuters down under are not only losing their USB sticks, and oblivious to the fact that they were carrying malware around in their pockets, but are also ...

VARINDIA- INDIA'S FRONTLINE IT MAGAZINE eScan has conducted a research and come up with a report based on malware URLs collected. This report representing the growth in malware-infected URLs in the last couple of months mainly consisted of polymorphic malware, of which 70% were all email-borne malware. Social engineering is also on the rise in the form of email-based malware pretending to be forwarded by a colleague. SEO poisoning has risen to such an extent that the chances of clicking an infected link has significantly increased in the last year, says the report by eScan lab. Malicious websites looking to cash in on trending news, make use of Botnets to artificially inflate search rankings. 85% of all email is still mostly spam, while 81% contain links to malicious websites. The report provides details on the top Malware Insights, Malware URL Count (hosted countries), Malware count by file extension, Domain Wise Malware Hosting. Malicious Java iFrames and Obfuscated JavaScripts ...