Oscar Nominated Movies, High-profile TV shows and films Featured in Phishing, Malware Attacks

mood · Feb 6, 2020

Oscar Nominated Movies Featured in Phishing, Malware Attacks
February 6, 2020
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...-movies-featured-in-phishing-malware-attacks/

Attackers are exploiting the hype surrounding this year's Oscar Best Picture nominated movies to infect fans with malware and to bait them to phishing websites designed to steal sensitive info such as credit card details and personal information.

High-profile TV shows and films are frequently used as lures in social engineering attacks promising early previews either in the form of fake streaming sites or via malicious files disguised as early released copies.
Over 20 phishing sites use Oscar baits
Kaspersky researchers who discovered these ongoing attacks "found more than 20 phishing websites and 925 malicious files that were presented as free movies, only to attack the user."

"The uncovered phishing websites and Twitter accounts gather users’ data and prompt them to carry out a variety of tasks in order to gain access to the desired film," a press release published today says.
The researchers also discovered that 'Joker' was the most popular movie to use as a malware lure among threat actors with over 300 malicious files being camouflaged as a Joker preview.
Click to expand...

Movie fans urged to proceed with caution

"Cybercriminals aren’t exactly tied to the dates of film premieres, as they are not really distributing any content except for malicious data," Kaspersky malware analyst Anton Ivanov said.
"However, as they always prey on something when it becomes a hot trend, they depend on users’ demand and actual file availability.
Click to expand...

Kaspersky: Kaspersky discovers movie malware disguised as best picture nominees

mood · Apr 28, 2020

Microsoft warns of malware surprise pushed via pirated movies
April 28, 2020
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...f-malware-surprise-pushed-via-pirated-movies/

Pirate streaming services and movie piracy sites have seen a huge surge of incoming traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic with most people now having to stay inside due to shelter in place and lockdown orders.
Microsoft warns that malicious actors are taking advantage of this trend trying to infect potential victims with malware delivered via fake movie torrents.

"With lockdown still in place in many parts of the world, attackers are paying attention to the increase in use of pirate streaming services and torrent downloads," the Microsoft Security Intelligence team said.
"We saw an active coin miner campaign that inserts a malicious VBScript into ZIP files posing as movie downloads."

After the targets launch the VBScript on their computers, it will download additional malicious payloads in the background by abusing living-off-the-land binaries (LOLbins) such as the legitimate command-line BITSAdmin tool.
Click to expand...

mood · Jun 23, 2020

Be wary of malware from free video streaming websites
June 23, 2020
https://www.straitstimes.com/tech/be-wary-of-malware-from-free-video-streaming-websites

Beware of websites offering free streams or downloads of Brooklyn Nine-Nine or The Invisible Man because chances are, these websites are rife with malware, according to a study released today by cyber-security firm McAfee.

The study found that movies that were released this year account for nine out of the top 10 movies identified as having a high risk of being targeted by cyber criminals.
McAfee says these illegal streaming websites often contain malware disguised as pirated video files.
Click to expand...

Half of the top 10 television shows targeted by cyber criminals are original content produced by Netflix.
McAfee suggests the exclusivity of these shows means that non-subscribers to streaming services that have these shows are searching for other ways to watch them, making these shows attractive targets for cyber criminals.

About 1,000 potentially malicious websites targeting Singaporeans looking for free movies and television shows were identified during this process.
Cyber-security experts warn that users should take extra precautions while browsing free streaming websites.
Click to expand...

McAfee: Beware When You Search for These TV Shows and Movies

mood · Jul 16, 2020

The Streaming Wars: A Cybercriminal’s Perspective
July 16, 2020
https://securelist.com/the-streaming-wars-a-cybercriminals-perspective/97851/

For cybercriminals, the switch to streaming means a new, lucrative attack channel has opened up. In fact, just hours after Disney + was launched, thousands of users’ accounts were hacked and their passwords and emails changed. The criminals then sold these accounts online for $3-$11.
And not only new streaming services are vulnerable. Popular services launched years ago, like Netflix and Hulu, are prime targets for distributing malware, stealing passwords, and launching spam and phishing attacks.
Click to expand...

In this report, we analyzed several different types of threats—malware associated with streaming platforms and the original content they release, as well as phishing emails and fake websites/login pages.
Malware for streaming platforms
When it comes to streaming platforms, malware and other threats (like adware) are most often downloaded when users attempt to gain access through unofficial means—whether by purchasing discounted accounts, obtaining a “hack” to keep their free trial going, or attempting to access a free subscription. Many times, these unofficial links or files come bundled with other malicious programs, such as Trojans and backdoors. [...]
Click to expand...

mood · Jul 14, 2021

Cybercriminals using Marvel’s Black Widow movie to spread malware
Apart from malware, offers to watch the online premiere of the Black Widow movie are being used to steal payment card data
July 13, 2021
https://www.hackread.com/cybercriminals-marvel-black-widow-movie-malware/

It’s a proven fact that cybercriminals leave no chance to exploit anything of public interest, and TV shows or movie premieres provide them the best opportunities among all.
Kaspersky alerts of Black Widow movie-themed malware
The movie was released in the United Kingdom on July 9th while it is yet to be released in several other countries. However, researchers have identified malicious files under the guise of the new Black Widow movie that are already circulating across the web.

According to the company, several Black Widow-themed phishing sites are operating to steal user credentials. One of the sites analyzed by researchers promised the users an early preview of the movie and to do so they had to register to the website. [...] they noticed that money was debited from their card while they still didn’t get full access to the movie.
Click to expand...

Spike in scams in the name of Black Widow movie
Kaspersky researchers claim that they have observed a spike in the attempts to infect users eagerly awaiting the launch of the new movie.

“Right now, we have observed intensified scamming activities around Black Widow, the release of which, fans all over the world have been eagerly anticipating for a long time. In their excitement to watch the long-awaited movie, viewers have become inattentive to the sources they use, and this is exactly what fraudsters benefit from,” wrote Kaspersky security expert Anton V. Ivanov.
Click to expand...

mood · Oct 3, 2021

Scammers Capitalize on Release of New Bond Movie
September 30, 2021
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/scammers-capitalize-on-new-bond/

The long-awaited release of the new James Bond movie is being exploited by cyber-criminals, according to cybersecurity company Kaspersky.
No Time to Die is actor Daniel Craig's fifth and final fling with the internationally renowned 007 spy character created by author Ian Fleming. Bond first entered the public consciousness in 1952 with the publication of Fleming's novel Casino Royale.

Cyber-criminals are taking advantage of the bigger than usual buzz around this particular Bond title by operating malicious pop-ups, digital adverts, and phishing websites dedicated to the new release.
To lure victims, scammers and criminals have been dressing up malicious movie files so that they appear to be a leaked copy of No Time to Die. In reality, the files contain unwanted software or malware.

“With the premieres of new films and TV series moving online, this has fueled interest not only for cinephiles but also among scammers and fraudsters. Inevitably, such a long-awaited premiere as No Time to Die causes a stir,” said Kaspersky security expert Tatyana Shcherbakova.
Click to expand...

In the lead-up to the film’s premier, Kaspersky researchers found and analyzed malicious files disguised as the new movie and movie-related phishing websites. They found Trojans, malicious programs that can give cyber-criminals backdoor access to a victim's sensitive data.
Researchers also encountered adware, ransomware, and Trojan-PSW – stealers capable of gathering login credentials.
Click to expand...

mood · Oct 29, 2021

TA575 Uses ‘Squid Game’ Lures to Distribute Dridex malware
October 28, 2021
https://www.proofpoint.com/us/blog/...es-squid-game-lures-distribute-dridex-malware

Proofpoint identified the large cybercrime actor TA575 distributing Dridex malware using Squid Game lures. The threat actor is purporting to be entities associated with the Netflix global phenomenon using emails enticing targets to get early access to a new season of Squid Game or to become a part of the TV show casting.

On October 27, 2021, Proofpoint observed thousands of emails targeting all industries primarily in the United States. The emails used subjects such as:

• Squid Game is back, watch new season before anyone else.
• Invite for Customer to access the new sesason. [sic]
• Squid game new season commercials casting preview
• Squid game scheduled season commercials talent cast schedule
Click to expand...

The emails tell the victim to fill out either an attached document to get early access to the new season of the show or a talent form to become part of the background casting. The attachments are Excel documents with macros that, if enabled, will download the Dridex banking trojan affiliate id “22203” from Discord URLs.

Dridex is a prolific banking trojan distributed by multiple affiliates that can lead to data theft and installation of follow-on malware such as ransomware.
TA575 is a Dridex affiliate tracked by Proofpoint since late 2020. This group distributes malware via malicious URLs, Microsoft Office attachments, and password-protected files
Click to expand...

TA575 themes generally include invoicing and payments, but occasionally include popular news, events, and cultural references. Cybercriminal threat actors in general have pounced on Squid Game as a popular lure and malware theme.

This makes sense; as Squid Game is Netflix’s “biggest ever” series, the pool of potential victims who would inadvertently interact with malicious content associated with it is higher than a general lure theme.
TA575 is betting the invitation to be part of the upcoming season will entice more users to interact with the malicious Microsoft Excel file.
Click to expand...

mood · Dec 23, 2021

‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Download Installs Cryptominer
December 23, 2021

Global buzz around the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home is making tons of online noise – an ideal environment for cybercriminals to spread a Monero cryptominer disguised as a download of the newly released film.

A torrent download of Spider-Man: No Way Home is circulating, infected with a persistent Monero cryptominer, according to a new alert from ReasonLabs.
Although the researchers haven’t pinpointed how many times the miner has been downloaded, their hunch is that it’s been around for a while, they explained in a statement.
Click to expand...

“The Spiderman malware is actually a new ‘edition’ of a previously known malware that was disguised as various popular apps in the past such as ‘windows updater,’ ‘discord app,’ and now the Spiderman movie,” the ReasonLabs teams explained in a Thursday report. “This suggests that it’s been downloaded a lot.”

They added that as of yet, no one has identified this malware edition.
Click to expand...

In fact, this isn’t even the first instance of cybercriminals using the new Spider-Man movie to hide their malware.

Last week, just before the movie hit theaters, Kaspersky warned cybercriminals were using the new comic book flick – and its stars – as lures in a phishing campaign to steal banking information.

“Fans’ expectations are through the roof right now, arguably higher than for any film,” Kaspersky’s Tatyana Shcherbakova said in a statement. “Everyone who has ever been a fan of Spidey has their own theories about the films, which can be exploited by cybercriminals.”
Click to expand...

Log in or Sign up

Oscar Nominated Movies, High-profile TV shows and films Featured in Phishing, Malware Attacks

mood Updates Team

mood Updates Team

mood Updates Team

mood Updates Team

mood Updates Team

mood Updates Team

mood Updates Team

mood Updates Team