Skip to main content

Banking Trojan 'Metamorfo' Now Targeting Online Users' Banking Services


Online banking users are being targeted by a trojan malware campaign going around the globe with the agenda of gaining illegal access to personal information such as credit card details and other sensitive data of users.

The banking trojan which has successfully affected more than 20 online banks goes by the name 'Metamorfo'. Several countries fell prey to the banking trojan including the US, Spain, Peru, Canada, Chile, Mexico, and Ecuador. Reportedly, earlier the attack was limited to Brazil-based banks only, however, the recent times witnessed a rapid increase in the number of these attacks; now encompassing other countries, according to the cybersecurity researchers at Fortinet.

In order to multiply their opportunities for financial gains, Cybercriminals have continued to resort to banking trojans and have refined the apparatus of the malware – in ways that make detection complicated. The latest research indicates that earlier the targeting was limited to the banking sector only but now as the leading banking trojans have expanded their reach, industries other than banking are also vulnerable to the attacks. The likely targets include cloud service providers, online tech stores, warehousing, mobile app stores, and e-commerce, according to the latest findings.

Metamorfo relies on email spoofing to set the attack into motion, it appears to contain information regarding an invoice and directs the victims to download a .ZIP file. As soon as the targeted user downloads and finishes the extraction of the file, it tends to allow Metamorfo to run on a Windows system. After the installation is completed, the malware starts running an Autolt script execution program. Although the scripting language is primarily designed for automating the Windows graphical UI, here the malware employs it to bypass the antivirus detection.

While explaining the functioning of the malware, ZDnet told, "Once running on the compromised Windows system, Metamorfo terminates any running browsers and then prevents any new browser windows from using auto-complete and auto-suggest in data entry fields.

"This prevents the user from using auto-complete functions to enter usernames, passwords, and other information, allowing the malware's keylogger functionality to collect the data the users are thus obliged to retype. It then sends that data back to a command-and-control server run by the attackers."

There are no revelations made about the keywords related to the targeted banks and other financial institutions, however, researchers expect the Metamorfo campaign still being active. To stay on a safer side, users are advised to keep their operating systems and software updated and patched timely.


source https://www.ehackingnews.com/2020/02/banking-trojan-metamorfo-now-targeting.html

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Provider Volia reported to the cyber police about the intense cyberattacks on the server

Cable provider Volia appealed to the Cyber Police on the fact of fixing a DDoS attack on the Kharkov servers of the company, which has been ongoing since May 31. "For three days, from May 31 to today, the Volia infrastructure in Kharkov is subjected to cyberattacks. At first, they were carried out only on subscriber subsystems, later they switched to telecommunications infrastructure. As a result, more than 100,000 subscribers experienced problems using the Internet, IPTV, multi-screen platform, and digital TV," said the company. In total, the complete lack of access to Volia's services, according to the provider, lasted 12 minutes on May 31, 45 minutes on June 1. There was also an attack on the website volia.com, but it was managed to neutralize. "DDoS attacks were massive and well-organized. The type of attack is UDP flood and channel capacity overflow with the traffic of more than 200 GB. UDP is a protocol used for online streaming services - streaming, te...

Information security experts have warned Russians about bonus card fraud schemes.

Fraudsters several thousand times tried to illegally take advantage of discount bonuses of Russians in 2019. Some attackers gained access to customers' personal accounts, and then bought the products using bonuses, said Alexey Sizov, head of the anti-fraud department of the Application Security Systems Center at Jet Infosystems. According to him, a fraudster can register a personal account on a card that was issued to another person. The victim will accumulate points without knowing about the existence of his profile, and the attacker will write off bonuses, said Sizov. The expert added that this is mainly done by novice scammers. According to him, loyalty programs are poorly protected, unlike banking operations. He said that they are estimated at 50 billion rubles ($760 milliard) for the 30 largest retailers. Alexey Fedorov, Chairman of the Business Russia Trade Committee, said that in 2019, the number of bonus and discount thefts "increased significantly." ...

Apple Plans to Expand Cloud-Based Services, Enters Cloud Computing Space

Apple is planning to invest more in streamlines and increasing its cloud-based and software services like iCloud, Newsplus, and Apple Music. The expansion will go along with devices like iPads, MacBooks, and iPhones. To be entirely sure about the reliability of the cloud-based service on all the Apple devices, the company has decided to rely on AWS (Amazon Web Services) and the cloud division. AWS, as you might know, is a subunit of Amazon that offers cloud-space solutions. According to CNBC's findings, Apple is said to pay Amazon $30 Million monthly for its cloud-based services. It also means that Apple is one of the biggest customers of AWS. Nevertheless, Apple hasn't confirmed whether it uses Amazon's cloud services besides its iCloud. According to experts, Apple also has some of its cloud services on Google. Amazon transformed the management of the data center and hosting of the applications when it brought the AWS. Being the first one to offer services like these,...