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Cybersecurity researchers have taken the wraps off a new botnet hijacking Internet-connected smart devices in the wild to perform nefarious tasks, mostly DDoS attacks, and illicit cryptocurrency coin mining. Discovered by Qihoo 360's Netlab security team, the  HEH Botnet  — written in Go language and armed with a proprietary peer-to-peer (P2P) protocol, spreads via a brute-force attack of the Telnet service on ports 23/2323 and can execute arbitrary shell commands. The researchers said the HEH botnet samples discovered so far support a wide variety of CPU architectures, including x86(32/64), ARM(32/64), MIPS(MIPS32/MIPS-III), and PowerPC (PPC). The botnet, despite being in its early stages of development, comes with three functional modules: a propagation module, a local HTTP service module, and a P2P module. Initially downloaded and executed by a malicious Shell script named "wpqnbw.txt," the HEH sample then uses the Shell script to download rogue programs for all

Cybersecurity agencies in the US and UK yesterday issued a joint advisory about a massive ongoing malware threat infecting Taiwanese company QNAP's network-attached storage (NAS) appliances. Called QSnatch (or Derek), the data-stealing malware is said to have compromised 62,000 devices since reports emerged last October, with a high degree of infection in Western Europe and North America. "All QNAP NAS devices are potentially vulnerable to QSnatch malware if not updated with the latest security fixes," the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said in the alert. "Further, once a device has been infected, attackers can prevent administrators from successfully running firmware updates." The mode of compromise, i.e., the infection vector, still remains unclear, but CISA and NCSC said the first campaign likely began in 2014 and continued till mid-2017 before intensifying over th

The introduction of Open AI's ChatGPT was a defining moment for the software industry, touching off a GenAI race with its November 2022 release. SaaS vendors are now rushing to upgrade tools with enhanced productivity capabilities that are driven by generative AI. Among a wide range of uses, GenAI tools make it easier for developers to build software, assist sales teams in mundane email writing, help marketers produce unique content at low cost, and enable teams and creatives to brainstorm new ideas.  Recent significant GenAI product launches include Microsoft 365 Copilot, GitHub Copilot, and Salesforce Einstein GPT. Notably, these GenAI tools from leading SaaS providers are paid enhancements, a clear sign that no SaaS provider will want to miss out on cashing in on the GenAI transformation. Google will soon launch its SGE "Search Generative Experience" platform for premium AI-generated summaries rather than a list of websites.  At this pace, it's just a matter of a short time befo

Security researchers have uncovered a new variant of the infamous Mirai Internet of Things botnet , this time targeting embedded devices intended for use within business environments in an attempt to gain control over larger bandwidth to carry out devastating DDoS attacks . Although the original creators of Mirai botnet have already been arrested and jailed , variants of the infamous IoT malware, including Satori and Okiru , keep emerging due to the availability of its source code on the Internet since 2016. First emerged in 2016, Mirai is well known IoT botnet malware that has the ability to infect routers, and security cameras, DVRs, and other smart devices—which typically use default credentials and run outdated versions of Linux—and enslaves the compromised devices to form a botnet, which is then used to conduct DDoS attacks . New Mirai Variant Targets Enterprise IoT Devices Now, Palo Alto Network Unit 42 researchers have spotted the newest variant of Mirai that'

Not following cybersecurity best practices could not only cost online users but also cost cybercriminals. Yes, sometimes hackers don't take best security measures to keep their infrastructure safe. A variant of IoT botnet, called Owari , that relies on default or weak credentials to hack insecure IoT devices was found itself using default credentials in its MySQL server integrated with command and control (C&C) server, allowing anyone to read/write their database. Ankit Anubhav, the principal security researcher at IoT security firm NewSky Security, who found the botnets, published a blog post about his findings earlier today, detailing how the botnet authors themselves kept an incredibly week username and password combination for their C&C server's database. Guess what the credentials could be? Username: root Password: root These login credentials helped Anubhav gain access to the botnet and fetch details about infected devices, the botnet authors who

More than half a million routers and storage devices in dozens of countries have been infected with a piece of highly sophisticated IoT botnet malware, likely designed by Russia-baked state-sponsored group. Cisco's Talos cyber intelligence unit have discovered an advanced piece of IoT botnet malware, dubbed VPNFilter , that has been designed with versatile capabilities to gather intelligence, interfere with internet communications, as well as conduct destructive cyber attack operations. The malware has already infected over 500,000 devices in at least 54 countries, most of which are small and home offices routers and internet-connected storage devices from Linksys, MikroTik, NETGEAR, and TP-Link. Some network-attached storage (NAS) devices known to have been targeted as well. VPNFilter is a multi-stage, modular malware that can steal website credentials and monitor industrial controls or SCADA systems, such as those used in electric grids, other infrastructure and factori

The cybersecurity threat landscape has never been more extensive and is most likely to grow exponentially in 2018. Although the original creators of Mirai DDoS botnet have already been arrested and jailed, the variants of the infamous IoT malware are still in the game due to the availability of its source code on the Internet. Security researchers have spotted a new variant of infamous Mirai IoT malware designed to hijack insecure devices that run on ARC embedded processors. Until now, Mirai and its variants have been targeting CPU architectures— including x86, ARM, Sparc, MIPS, PowerPC and Motorola 6800 —deployed in millions of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Dubbed Okiru , the new Mirai variant, first spotted by @unixfreaxjp from MalwareMustDie team and notified by independent researcher Odisseus , is a new piece of ELF malware that targets ARC-based embedded devices running Linux operating system. " This is the FIRST TIME ever in the history of computer eng

While tracking botnet activity on their honeypot traffic, security researchers at Chinese IT security firm Qihoo 360 Netlab discovered a new variant of Mirai —the well known IoT botnet malware that wreaked havoc last year. Last week, researchers noticed an increase in traffic scanning ports 2323 and 23 from hundreds of thousands of unique IP addresses from Argentina in less than a day. The targeted port scans are actively looking for vulnerable internet-connected devices manufactured by ZyXEL Communications using two default telnet credential combinations— admin/CentryL1nk and admin/QwestM0dem —to gain root privileges on the targeted devices. Researchers believe (instead "quite confident") this ongoing campaign is part of a new Mirai variant that has been upgraded to exploit a newly released vulnerability (identified as CVE-2016-10401 ) in ZyXEL PK5001Z modems. "ZyXEL PK5001Z devices have zyad5001 as the su (superuser) password, which makes it easier for rem

Nothing is free in this world. If you are searching for free hacking tools on the Internet, then beware—most freely available tools, claiming to be the swiss army knife for hackers, are nothing but a scam. For example, Cobian RAT and a Facebook hacking tool that we previously reported on The Hacker News actually could hack, but of the one who uses them and not the one you desire to hack. Now, a security researcher has spotted another hacking tool—this time a PHP script—which is freely available on multiple popular underground hacking forums and allows anyone to find vulnerable internet-connected IP Cameras running the vulnerable version of GoAhead embedded web-server. However, after closely analysing the scanning script, Newsky Security researcher Ankit Anubhav found that the tool also contains a secret backdoor, which essentially allows its creator to " hack the hacker. " "For an attacker's point of view, it can be very beneficial to hack a hacker,"

Just a year after Mirai —biggest IoT-based malware that caused vast Internet outages by launching massive DDoS attacks—completed its first anniversary, security researchers are now warning of a brand new rapidly growing IoT botnet. Dubbed ' IoT_reaper ,' first spotted in September by researchers at firm Qihoo 360, the new malware no longer depends on cracking weak passwords; instead, it exploits vulnerabilities in various IoT devices and enslaves them into a botnet network. IoT_reaper malware currently includes exploits for nine previously disclosed vulnerabilities in IoT devices from following manufactures: Dlink (routers) Netgear (routers) Linksys (routers) Goahead (cameras) JAWS (cameras) AVTECH (cameras) Vacron (NVR) Researchers believe IoT_reaper malware has already infected nearly two million devices and growing continuously at an extraordinary rate of 10,000 new devices per day. This is extremely worrying because it took only 100,000 infected devices

Botnets, like Mirai , that are capable of infecting Linux-based internet-of-things (IoT) devices are constantly increasing and are mainly designed to conduct Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, but researchers have discovered that cybercriminals are using botnets for mass spam mailings. New research conducted by Russian security firm Doctor Web has revealed that a Linux Trojan, dubbed Linux.ProxyM that cybercriminals use to ensure their online anonymity has recently been updated to add mas spam sending capabilities to earn money. The Linux.ProxyM Linux Trojan, initially discovered by the security firm in February this year, runs a SOCKS proxy server on an infected IoT device and is capable of detecting honeypots in order to hide from malware researchers. Linux.ProxyM can operate on almost all Linux device, including routers, set-top boxes, and other equipment having the following architectures: x86, MIPS, PowerPC, MIPSEL, ARM, Motorola 68000, Superh and SPARC.

By this time, almost every one of you owns at least one internet-connected device—better known as the " Internet of things "—at your home, but how secure is your device? We have recently seen Car hacking that could risk anyone's life, Hoverboard hacking, even hacking of a so-called smart Gun and also the widespread hacks of insecure CCTV cameras, routers and other internet-connected home appliances. But this did not stop vendors from selling unsecured Internet-connected smart devices, and customers are buying them without giving a sh*t about the security of their smart devices. However, the massive cyber attack on a popular DNS service provider that shut down a large portion of the Internet last year made us all fear about the innocent-looking IoT devices, which surround us every day, but actually, poses a threat to global cyber security. Not anymore! A bipartisan group of senators have now introduced a new bill aimed at securing internet-connected devices b

Last week, we reported about a so-called 'vigilante hacker' who hacked into at least 10,000 vulnerable 'Internet of Things' devices, such as home routers and Internet-connected cameras, using a botnet malware in order to supposedly secure them. Now, that vigilante hacker has already trapped roughly 300,000 devices in an IoT botnet known as Hajime , according to a new report published Tuesday by Kaspersky Lab, and this number will rise with each day that passes by. The IoT botnet malware was emerged in October 2016, around the same time when the infamous Mirai botnet threatened the Internet last year with record-setting distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against the popular DNS provider Dyn. How the Hajime IoT Botnet Works Hajime botnet works much like Mirai by spreading itself via unsecured IoT devices that have open Telnet ports and uses default passwords and also uses the same list of username and password combinations that Mirai is programm

It should be noted that hacking a system for unauthorised access that does not belong to you is an illegal practice, no matter what's the actual intention behind it. Now I am pointing out this because reportedly someone, who has been labeled as a 'vigilante hacker' by media, is hacking into vulnerable 'Internet of Things' devices in order to supposedly secure them. This is not the first time when any hacker has shown vigilance, as we have seen lots of previous incidents in which hackers have used malware to compromise thousands of devices, but instead of hacking them, they forced owners to make them secure. Dubbed Hajime , the latest IoT botnet malware, used by the hacker, has already infected at least 10,000 home routers, Internet-connected cameras, and other smart devices. But reportedly, it's an attempt to wrestle their control from Mirai and other malicious threats. Mirai is an IoT botnet that threatened the Internet last year with record-sett

MIRAI – possibly the biggest IoT-based malware threat that emerged last year, which caused vast internet outage in October last year by launching massive distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against the popular DNS provider Dyn . Now, the infamous malware has updated itself to boost its distribution efforts. Researchers from Russian cyber-security firm Dr.Web have now uncovered a Windows Trojan designed to built with the sole purpose of helping hackers spread Mirai to even more devices. Mirai is a malicious software program for Linux-based internet-of-things (IoT) devices which scan for insecure IoT devices, enslaves them into a botnet network, and then used them to launch DDoS attacks, and spreads over Telnet by using factory device credentials. It all started early October last year when a hacker publicly released the source code of Mirai . Dubbed Trojan.Mirai.1, the new Trojan targets Windows computers and scans the user's network for compromisable Linux-

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks have risen enormously in past few months and, mostly, they are coming from hacked and insecure internet-connected devices, most commonly known as Internet of Things (IoT). Recent DDoS attack against DNS provider Dyn that brought down a large chunk of the Internet came from hacked and vulnerable IoT devices such as DVRs, security cameras, and smart home appliances. This DDoS was the biggest cyber attack the world has ever seen. Now, in the latest incident, at least five Russian banks have been subject to a swathe of DDoS attacks for two days, said the Russian banking regulator. The state-owned Sberbank was one of the five targets of the attacks that began on last Tuesday afternoon and lasted over the next two days. According to Kaspersky Lab, the longest attack last for 12 hours and peaked at 660,000 requests per second came from a botnet of at least 24,000 hacked devices located in 30 countries. Although the culprit appears

Note — We have published  an updated article on what really happened behind the alleged DDoS attack against Liberia using Mirai botnet. Someone is trying to take down the whole Internet of a country, and partially succeeded, by launching massive distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks using a botnet of insecure IoT devices infected by the Mirai malware. It all started early October when a cyber criminal publicly released the source code of Mirai – a piece of nasty IoT malware designed to scan for insecure IoT devices and enslaves them into a botnet network, which is then used to launch DDoS attacks. Just two weeks ago, the Mirai IoT Botnet caused vast internet outage by launching massive DDoS attacks against DNS provider Dyn, and later it turns out that just 100,000 infected-IoT devices participated in the attacks. Experts believe that the future DDoS attack could reach 10 Tbps, which is enough to take down the whole Internet in any nation state. One such inciden

The whole world is still dealing with the Mirai IoT Botnet that caused vast internet outage last Friday by launching massive distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against the DNS provider Dyn, and researchers have found another nasty IoT botnet. Security researchers at MalwareMustDie have discovered a new malware family designed to turn Linux-based insecure Internet of Things (IoT) devices into a botnet to carry out massive DDoS attacks. Dubbed Linux/IRCTelnet , the nasty malware is written in C++ and, just like Mirai malware , relies on default hard-coded passwords in an effort to infect vulnerable Linux-based IoT devices. The IRCTelnet malware works by brute-forcing a device's Telnet ports, infecting the device's operating system, and then adding it to a botnet network which is controlled through IRC (Internet Relay Chat) – an application layer protocol that enables communication in the form of text. So, every infected bot (IoT device) connects to a mali

The infamous botnet that was used in the recent massive distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against the popular DNS provider Dyn, causing vast internet outage  last Friday, itself is flawed. Yes, Mirai malware, which has already enslaved millions of Internet of Things (IoT) devices across 164 countries, contains several vulnerabilities that might be used against it in order to destroy botnet's DDoS capabilities and mitigate future attacks. Early October, the developer of the malware publically released the source code of Mirai , which is designed to scan for IoT devices – mostly routers, cameras, and DVRs – that are still using their default passwords and then enslaves them into a botnet, which is then used to launch DDoS attacks. However, after a close look at the source code, a researcher discovered three vulnerabilities, one of which could be used to shut down Mirai's ability to flood targets with HTTP requests. A stack buffer overflow vulnerability wa

Guess how many devices participated in last Friday's massive DDoS attack against DNS provider Dyn that caused vast internet outage? Just 100,000 devices. I did not miss any zeros. Dyn disclosed on Wednesday that a botnet of an estimated 100,000 internet-connected devices was hijacked to flood its systems with unwanted requests and close down the Internet for millions of users. Dyn executive vice president Scott Hilton has issued a statement , saying all compromised devices have been infected with a notorious Mirai malware that has the ability to take over cameras, DVRs, and routers. "We're still working on analyzing the data but the estimate at the time of this report is up to 100,000 malicious endpoints," Hilton said. "We are able to confirm that a significant volume of attack traffic originated from Mirai-based botnets." Mirai malware scans for Internet of Things (IoT) devices that are still using their default passwords and then enslaves those