Displaying items by tag: Backdoors

The RomCom backdoor malware appears to have a new campaign running. The new campaign is using impersonation attacks for different software packages (some real, some not). The goal is to trick the unwary into downloading, and hopefully launching malicious payloads. This type of campaign leverages ad services like Google Ads as a “trusted” platform using ads for software that is either often sought after or currently very popular, like ChatGPT, PDF readers, Remote Management software, etc. They are also, at times, leveraged as links in targeted or blanket phishing and social engineering attacks to get the malware on the targeted systems.

In the war against (yes against) encryption there are many things to hide behind. One of the most frequently used is that criminals will use it to mask their dastardly deeds. The term criminal is, of course interchangeable with just about any other popular bad guy; pedophile, drug dealer, terrorist…. You know the list. Anytime there is even a hint that one of these media boogeymen used some sort of encryption, we hear that law enforcement and the government need to be able to break encryption.

Corrected 9-26-2013 12:48PM EST to add information from RSA and correct the headline from "RSA Says Not To Use Their Toolkit For Fear it Might Have an NSA Backdoor" to what it currently is.

A couple of weeks ago we reported on a claim that the NSA worked with many security companies and standards groups to help develop encryption algorithms. On the surface this was to help develop stronger and more secure encryption methods to protect US interests and data. However, it turned out that the NSA was actually working to introduce flaws into the system so that they could get back in at a later date. Some of these flaws might have even been exploited by hackers attempting to penetrate systems. We know that in recent years more and more data breaches are happening and the data recovered is often decrypted and sold off. Still until very recently there has not been much to hold up the original claims.