New cyber attack underway
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ANOTHER large-scale cyber attack is underway on a scale that could dwarf last week’s global assault on computers, a cyber security firm said yesterday.
It targets the same vulnerabilities the WannaCry ransomware worm exploited but, rather than freeze files, uses the hundreds of thousands of computers it infects to mine virtual currency.
Following detection of the WannaCry virus “researchers at Proofpoint discovered a new attack linked to WannaCry called Adylkuzz,” said Nicolas Godier, a researcher at the firm.
“It uses the hacking tools recently disclosed by the NSA and which have since been fixed by Microsoft in a more stealthy manner and for a different purpose,” he said. Instead of completely disabling a computer by encrypting data and seeking a ransom payment, Adylkuzz uses the machines to “mine” a virtual currency, Monero, and transfer the money created to the authors of the virus.
Virtual currencies such as Monero and Bitcoin use the computers of volunteers for recording transactions. They are said to “mine” for the currency and are occasionally rewarded with a piece of it.
Proofpoint said in a blog that symptoms of the attack include loss of access to Windows resources and degradation of performance, effects some users may not notice immediately.
“As it is silent and doesn’t trouble the user, the Adylkuzz attack is much more profitable for the cyber criminals. It transforms the infected users into unwitting financial supporters of their attackers,” said Godier.
Proofpoint said it has detected infected machines that have transferred several thousand dollars worth of Monero.
The firm believes Adylkuzz has been on the loose since at least May 2, but due to its stealthy nature escaped detection.
“We don’t know how big it is” but “it’s much bigger than WannaCry,” Proofpoint’s vice president for e-mail products, Robert Holmes, said.
“We have seen that before — malwares mining cryptocurrency — but not this scale,” Holmes said.
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