Microsoft Warns of Hackers Using Google Ads to Distribute Royal Ransomware
Nov 19, 2022
A developing threat activity cluster has been found using Google Ads in one of its campaigns to distribute various post-compromise payloads, including the recently discovered Royal ransomware . Microsoft, which spotted the updated malware delivery method in late October 2022, is tracking the group under the name DEV-0569 . "Observed DEV-0569 attacks show a pattern of continuous innovation, with regular incorporation of new discovery techniques, defense evasion, and various post-compromise payloads, alongside increasing ransomware facilitation," the Microsoft Security Threat Intelligence team said in an analysis. The threat actor is known to rely on malvertising to point unsuspecting victims to malware downloader links that pose as software installers for legitimate apps like Adobe Flash Player, AnyDesk, LogMeIn, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom. The malware downloader, a strain referred to as BATLOADER , is a dropper that functions as a conduit to distribute...