#1 Trusted Cybersecurity News Platform
Followed by 5.20+ million
The Hacker News Logo
Subscribe – Get Latest News
Salesforce Security Handbook

Search results for virus virus | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

Ancient 'STONED' Virus Signatures found in Bitcoin Blockchain

Ancient 'STONED' Virus Signatures found in Bitcoin Blockchain

May 19, 2014
If you are dealing in cryptocurrency Bitcoin and have Microsoft's Security Essentials (MSE) installed on your system, then you could be infected by a virus called " DOS/STONED " from the Bitcoin BlockChain. With a number of high-profile cases of fraud, theft, and technical incompetence against the bitcoins, it seems like cyber criminals are looking to scam unsuspecting customers. Blockchain is Bitcoin's most popular bitcoin wallet and block explorer. It is a central part of the Bitcoin system that includes a log file in which all bitcoin transactions are recorded. It stores the wallet data in encrypted form and runs on privately owned dedicated hardware. In an discussion on the Microsoft discussion boards, a user go by the name ' edc678 ' claimed that  Microsoft's Security Essentials  is showing alerts of the signature of the STONED virus in the Bitcoin BlockChain, which could only allow an attacker to write small chunk of text to accomp...
Chameleon Virus that Spreads Across WiFi Access Points like Common Cold

Chameleon Virus that Spreads Across WiFi Access Points like Common Cold

Feb 26, 2014
Do you know, A Computer viruses could go Airborne over WiFi networks? Security researchers at the University of Liverpool  in Britain have demonstrated a WiFi virus that can spread between computer networks just like the ' common cold ' spreads between Humans. They have created a proof-of-concept which can infect the entire wireless network instead of a single computer at a time,  that replaces the firmware of the vulnerable Access Point (AP) with a virus-loaded version, and then propagates itself to the next victim on the WiFi network . The  WiFi  based virus named as ' Chameleon ', that can self-propagate over WiFi networks from access point to access point,  but  doesn't affect the working of the Wireless Access Point. This Virus is able to identify WiFi access points that are not protected by encryption and passwords, according to the research paper . It can badly hit less-protected open access WiFi networks available in coffee...
BIOS based Virus discovered by Chinese Security Firm

BIOS based Virus discovered by Chinese Security Firm

Sep 19, 2011
BIOS based Virus discovered by Chinese Security Firm A Chinese AV company 360 discovered a new Trojan, the " BMW Virus " (also called Mebromi), that can actually infect a computers BIOS: " BMW 360 Security Center virus is the latest catch of a high-risk virus, the virus that infected a chain BIOS (motherboard chip program), MBR (master boot drive) and Windows system files, reinstall the system, regardless of the victim computer, format the hard disk, or replace the hard disk can not completely remove the virus. " It uses the CBROM command-line tool to hook its extension into the BIOS. The next time the system boots, the BIOS extension adds additional code to the hard drive's master boot record (MBR) in order to infect the winlogon.exe / winnt.exe processes on Windows XP and 2003 / Windows 2000 before Windows boots. The next time Windows launches, the malicious code downloads a rootkit to prevent the drive's MBR from being cleaned by a virus scanner. But even if the drive is ...
cyber security

7 Security Best Practices for MCP

websiteWizMCP Security / Cloud Security
Learn what security teams are doing to secure their AI integrations without slowing innovation. This cheat sheet outlines 7 best practices you can start using today.
cyber security

2025 Gartner® MQ Report for Endpoint Protection Platforms (July 2025 Edition)

websiteSentinelOneEndpoint Protection / Unified Security
Compare leading Endpoint Protection vendors and see why SentinelOne is named a 5x Leader.
iPhone Chip Supplier TSMC Stops Production After Computer Virus Attack

iPhone Chip Supplier TSMC Stops Production After Computer Virus Attack

Aug 06, 2018
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)—Apple's sole supplier of SoC components for iPhones and iPads, and Qualcomm's major manufacturing partner—shut down several of its chip-fabrication factories Friday night after being hit by a computer virus. The world's largest makers of semiconductors and processors TSMC lost an entire day of production after several of its factories systems were halted by a computer virus in the middle of the ramp-up for chips to be used by Apple's future lines of iPhones. Though the popular chip maker has been attacked by viruses in the past, this is the first time a virus has affected TSMC's production lines, making the incident a real big deal. Without revealing many details, TSMC said a number of its computer systems and fabrication tools were infected by the virus on Friday night, but since then it has recovered 80% of its impacted equipment, though others will be recovered by tomorrow. According to TSMC, the comput...
Google Gives Refund to Thousands of Buyers Who Bought Bogus Android AntiVirus App

Google Gives Refund to Thousands of Buyers Who Bought Bogus Android AntiVirus App

Apr 22, 2014
About a week back we reported about a popular paid Antivirus application on the Google Play Store which was actually a scam, dubbed as ' Virus Shield '. This First paid fake app managed to become one of the most popular anti-virus app in less than a week, and apparently more than 10,000 Smartphones users purchased it in $3.99 from Google Play Store and hence scammed more than $40,000. The Virus Shield Android App claimed to protect users' personal information from harmful viruses, malware and spyware, but in actual app doesn't scan anything and was removed from the store once the fraud had been uncovered. If you were one that had downloaded the Virus Shield Antivirus app , then don't worry, just check your email inbox, because Google cares about you and reaching out all those affected android users who purchased the app, in order to refund their money in full. REFUND WITH $5 BONUS CREDIT According to Android Police , Google has decided to refund $3.99 back to u...
40th anniversary of the computer virus !

40th anniversary of the computer virus !

Mar 14, 2011
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Creeper, the world's first computer virus. From Creeper to Stuxnet, the last four decades saw the number of malware instances boom from 1,300 in 1990, to 50,000 in 2000, to over 200 million in 2010. Besides sheer quantity, viruses, which were originally used as academic proof of concepts, quickly turned into geek pranks, then evolved into cybercriminal tools. By 2005, the virus scene had been monetized, and virtually all viruses were developed with the sole purpose of making money via more or less complex business models. In the following story, FortiGuard Labs looks at the most significant computer viruses over the last 40 years and explains their historical significance. 1971: Creeper: catch me if you can While theories on self-replicating automatas were developed by genius mathematician Von Neumann in the early 50s, the first real computer virus was released "in lab" in 1971 by an employee of a company working on building ARPANET, the ...
Virus Attacks on Canadian Computer System

Virus Attacks on Canadian Computer System

Mar 26, 2011
Recently, Director of Information Technology, Per Kristensen stated that, a new type of the Qakbot virus appeared globally on March 15, 2011 and was observed in PCs in Nanaimo (Canada) at noon on March 16, 2011, as reported by Bclocal News on March 12, 2011. To safeguard important information about the city, the system was immediately put on a halt after the staff realized that the virus was swiftly circulating from PC to PC. Commenting on the matter, Per stated that, people can be sure that all their personal information and details are safe. He stated that, safeguarding their private information is their main concern. He added that, the city's system would not be turned on until they are sure that they sorted out the problem, as reported by Vancouver Sun on March 18, 2011. Kristensen stated that, the virus seems extremely complex, altering its signature to transfer through a computer various times. Kristensen stated that, the virus is classified as harmful and they are being ...
17 years old hacker will demonstrate Linux ELF Virus at 'The Hackers Conference 2012'

17 years old hacker will demonstrate Linux ELF Virus at 'The Hackers Conference 2012'

Jul 22, 2012
The Biggest Hacking Mania has arrived - ' The Hackers Conference 2012 '.  In this first of its kind conference in India, Blackhat hackers drawn from around the world will demonstrate how they access a victim's personal information, and even confidential data available on the Android cell phone. The conference will be held on July 29 at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi. The use of Linux as an operating system is increasing rapidly, thanks partly topopular distributions such as 'RedHat' and 'Suse'. So far, there are very few Linuxfile infectors and they do not pose a big threat yet. However, with more desktopsrunning Linux, and probably more Linux viruses, the Linux virus situation couldbecome a bigger problem. 17 years old hacker, Aneesh Dogra will talk on " How to make a Linux ELF Virus (That works on your latest linux distribution) " at ' The Hackers Conference 2012 ' . Linux or Unix has the reputation of being "not so buggy", and of be...
Hacker Wanted in the U.S. for Spreading Gozi Virus Arrested in Colombia

Hacker Wanted in the U.S. for Spreading Gozi Virus Arrested in Colombia

Jul 01, 2021
Colombian authorities on Wednesday said they have arrested a Romanian hacker who is wanted in the U.S. for distributing a virus that infected more than a million computers from 2007 to 2012. Mihai Ionut Paunescu (aka "Virus"), the individual in question, was detained at the El Dorado airport in Bogotá, the Office of the Attorney General of Colombia  said . Paunescu was  previously charged  by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) in January 2013 for operating a bulletproof hosting service that "enabled cyber criminals to distribute the Gozi Virus, the Zeus Trojan and other notorious malware, and conduct other sophisticated cyber crimes." He was arrested in Romania in December 2012 but managed to avoid extradition to the U.S. "Through this service, Paunescu, like other bulletproof hosts, knowingly provided critical online infrastructure to cyber criminals that allowed them to commit online criminal activity with little fear of detection by law enforcement,...
Hundreds Of Operations Canceled After Malware Hacks Hospitals Systems

Hundreds Of Operations Canceled After Malware Hacks Hospitals Systems

Nov 03, 2016
Computer viruses do not discriminate. They are not just hacking your email and online banking accounts anymore. Computer viruses do not distinguish between a personal computer or a hospital machine delivering therapy to patients — and the results could prove deadly. Cyber attacks on hospitals have emerged as a significant cyber security risk in 2016, which not only threaten highly sensitive information but also potentially harm the very lives of those being protected. In the latest incident, hundreds of planned operations, outpatient appointments, and diagnostic procedures have been canceled at multiple hospitals in Lincolnshire, England, after a "major" computer virus compromised the National Health Service (NHS) network on Sunday. In a bright-red alert warning labeled "Major incident" on its website, the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLAG) said its systems in Scunthorpe and Grimsby were infected with a virus on October 30. Th...
First Paid Fake Android Antivirus App Downloaded 10,000 times from Google Play Store

First Paid Fake Android Antivirus App Downloaded 10,000 times from Google Play Store

Apr 07, 2014
Well, we all are very conscious, when it comes to the security of our personal information, security of our financial data and security of everything related to us. In the world of Smart devices where our Smartphones knows more than we know ourselves. To keep our device protected from harmful viruses, malware or spyware, we totally depend on various security products such as antivirus, firewall and privacy guard apps, that we typically install from some trusted sources, Google Play Store. Most Antivirus apps are available to download for free, but some of them are paid with extra premium features like advance firewall protection, anti theft, App Locker or Cloud Backup etc. But do you believe that just because you're downloading an application from an official app store and also if its a premium paid version, you're safe from malicious software? Think twice. PAID, BUT FAKE ANTIVIRUS APP In Past, Mobile Security Researchers had spotted numerous fake mobile anti...
Beware of 'Coronavirus Maps' – It's a malware infecting PCs to steal passwords

Beware of 'Coronavirus Maps' – It's a malware infecting PCs to steal passwords

Mar 11, 2020
Cybercriminals will stop at nothing to exploit every chance to prey on internet users. Even the disastrous spread of SARS-COV-II (the virus), which causes COVID-19 (the disease), is becoming an opportunity for them to likewise spread malware or launch cyber attacks. Reason Labs recently released a threat analysis report detailing a new attack that takes advantage of internet users' increased craving for information about the novel coronavirus that is wreaking havoc worldwide. The malware attack specifically aims to target those who are looking for cartographic presentations of the spread of COVID-19 on the Internet, and trickes them to download and run a malicious application that, on its front-end, shows a map loaded from a legit online source but in the background compromises the computer. New Threat With An Old Malware Component The latest threat, designed to steal information from unwitting victims, was first spotted by MalwareHunterTeam last week and has now be...
Fake antivirus pop-ups hacking into computers !

Fake antivirus pop-ups hacking into computers !

Jan 08, 2011
MISSOULA - Univision Computers, a company based in Missoula, is warning people about a fake antivirus alert pop-ups that could not only damage your computer, but could pull personal information from it. The FBI says it's called "scareware" because criminals try to frighten you into buying fake antivirus software with a seemingly genuine security warning. And here's how it works: a pop-up message comes up saying you have a virus. And to fix the problem, all you have to do is install the software. "Frequently they'll ask you for a credit card for payment and promise that they will fix whatever's wrong with your computer. Clients who do that discover that they have a charge on their credit card, their credit card information is out there for the crook who invented the scareware and their computer is often even further infected and sometimes completely disabled," says Penny Lyons, Univision Computers Customer Service Representative. Using this virus, th...
Iran will Develop their own security Software, No more foreign Solution

Iran will Develop their own security Software, No more foreign Solution

Feb 21, 2012
Iran will Develop their own security Software , No more foreign Solution According to latest report, Iran's Information and Communications Technology Minister announce that - Iran has prohibited import of foreign computer security software. Because International sanctions stopped Iran from obtaining anti-virus software. So, Iran stressed that no foreign software for computer security will be imported into the country, adding that Iran will rely on its own software, made by local developers. The Bonian Daneshpajouhan Institute has about 25 smaller firms that develop domestic security software of various nature, and country will rely on it.  A senior Iranian intelligence official has claimed that an estimated 16,000 computers were infected by the Stuxnet virus, which targeted the country's nuclear facilities and other industrial sites in 2010. The ban is intended to push Iran into the production of its own malware defense instruments. Whether ...
The Rise of Super-Stealthy Digitally Signed Malware—Thanks to the Dark Web

The Rise of Super-Stealthy Digitally Signed Malware—Thanks to the Dark Web

Nov 06, 2017
Guess what's more expensive than counterfeit United States passports, stolen credit cards and even guns on the dark web? It's digital code signing certificates. A recent study conducted by the Cyber Security Research Institute (CSRI) this week revealed that stolen digital code-signing certificates are readily available for anyone to purchase on the dark web for up to $1,200. As you may know, digital certificates issued by a trusted certificate authority (CA) are used to cryptographically sign computer applications and software, and are trusted by your computer for execution of those programs without any warning messages. However, malware author and hackers who are always in search of advanced techniques to bypass security solutions have been abusing trusted digital certificates during recent years. Hackers use compromised code signing certificates associated with trusted software vendors in order to sign their malicious code, reducing the possibility of their malw...
Unpatchable 'DoubleAgent' Attack Can Hijack All Windows Versions — Even Your Antivirus!

Unpatchable 'DoubleAgent' Attack Can Hijack All Windows Versions — Even Your Antivirus!

Mar 22, 2017
A team of security researchers from Cybellum, an Israeli zero-day prevention firm, has discovered a new Windows vulnerability that could allow hackers to take full control of your computer. Dubbed DoubleAgent , the new injecting code technique works on all versions of Microsoft Windows operating systems, starting from Windows XP to the latest release of Windows 10. What's worse? DoubleAgent exploits a 15-years-old undocumented legitimate feature of Windows called " Application Verifier ," which cannot be patched. Application Verifier is a runtime verification tool that loads DLLs (dynamic link library) into processes for testing purpose, allowing developers quickly detect and fix programming errors in their applications. Unpatchable Microsoft Application Verifier Exploit The vulnerability resides in how this Application Verifier tool handles DLLs. According to the researchers, as part of the process, DLLs are bound to the target processes in a Windows Regist...
c
Expert Insights Articles Videos
Cybersecurity Resources