E-Business
ChromeLoader Malware Campaign Punishes Pirating Users, HP warns
HP Inc. yesterday issued its quarterly HP Wolf Security Threat Insights Report, showing threat actors are hijacking users’ Chrome browsers if they try to download popular movies or video games from pirating websites.
By isolating threats that have evaded detection tools on PCs, HP Wolf Security has specific insight into the latest techniques being used by cybercriminals in the fast-changing cybercrime landscape. To date, HP Wolf Security customers have clicked on over 30 billion email attachments, web pages, and downloaded files with no reported breaches.
Based on data from millions of endpoints running HP Wolf Security, the researchers found:
- The Shampoo Chrome extension is hard to wash out: A campaign distributing the ChromeLoader malware tricks users into installing a malicious Chrome extension called Shampoo. It can redirect the victim’s search queries to malicious websites, or pages that will earn the criminal group money through ad campaigns. The malware is highly persistent, using Task Scheduler to re-launch itself every 50 minutes.
- Attackers bypass macro policies by using trusted domains: While macros from untrusted sources are now disabled, HP saw attackers bypass these controls by compromising a trusted Office 365 account, setting up a new company email, and distributing a malicious excel file that infects victims with the Formbook infostealer.
- Firms must beware of what lurks beneath: OneNote documents can act as digital scrapbooks, so any file can be attached within. Attackers are taking advantage of this to embed malicious files behind fake “click here” icons. Clicking the fake icon opens the hidden file, executing malware to give attackers access to the users’ machine – this access can then be sold on to other cybercriminal groups and ransomware gangs.
Sophisticated groups like Qakbot and IcedID first embedded malware into OneNote files in January. With OneNote kits now available on cybercrime marketplaces and requiring little technical skill to use, their malware campaigns look set to continue over the coming months.
“To protect against the latest threats, we advise that users and businesses avoid downloading materials from untrusted sites, particularly pirating sites. Employees should be wary of suspicious internal documents and check with the sender before opening. Organizations should also configure email gateway and security tool policies to block OneNote files from unknown external sources,” explainsPatrick Schläpfer, Malware Analyst at the HP Wolf Security threat research team, HP Inc.
From malicious archive files to HTML smuggling, the report also shows cybercrime groups continue to diversify attack methods to bypass email gateways, as threat actors move away from Office formats. Key findings include:
- Archives were the most popular malware delivery type (42%) for the fourth quarter running when examining threats stopped by HP Wolf Security in Q1.
- There was a 37-percentage-point rise in HTML smuggling threats in Q1 versus Q4.
- There was a 4-point rise in PDF threats in Q1 versus Q4.
- There was a 6-point drop in Excel malware (19% to 13%) in Q1 versus Q4, as the format has become more difficult to run macros in.
- 14% of email threats identified by HP Sure Click bypassed one or more email gateway scanner in Q1 2023.
- The top threat vector in Q1 was email (80%) followed by browser downloads (13%).
“To protect against increasingly varied attacks, organizations must follow zero trust principles to isolate and contain risky activities such as opening email attachments, clicking on links, or browser downloads. This greatly reduces the attack surface along with the risk of a breach,” comments Dr. Ian Pratt, Global Head of Security for Personal Systems, HP Inc.
HP Wolf Security runs risky tasks like opening email attachments, downloading files and clicking links in isolated, micro-virtual machines (micro-VMs) to protect users. It also captures detailed traces of attempted infections. HP’s application isolation technology mitigates threats that might slip past other security tools and provides unique insights into novel intrusion techniques and threat actor behavior.
All communities in Abia State are to be connected to Internet Service within the next 9 months, according to Dr. Alex Otti, state governor.
All communities in Abia State are to be connected to Internet Service within the next 9 months, according to Dr. Alex Otti, state governor.
Otti stated this at the Nnamdi Azikiwe State Secretariat premises at Umuahia, the state capital, while flagging off the first phase of the Umuahia Dedicated Internet Access/Wide Area Network And Managed Network Services Project (Project), saying that it promises to re-engineer efficiency and flexibility in operations and interactions within and amongst institutions, enhance policy execution, and engender a culture of outcome-oriented competition amongst civil servants.
The Project is being handled by iPNX, a major internet service provider.
At the ceremony, Otti, said the project includes distributing high-performance digital tools, laying fibre optic cables in public institutions, and installing infrastructure for high-speed data transmission.
He added that the initiative focuses on improving leadership efficiency, empowering civil servants with digital tools, and enhancing service delivery.
Transitioning to digital platforms would streamline government processes, enable faster communication among Ministries, departments, and Areas (MDAs), and improve engagement with development partners and the global community.
The governor also announced a mandatory digital literacy requirement for civil servants, making proficiency in technology essential for career growth.
Assuring that while the government would provide training, those unwilling to embrace technology risk becoming uncompetitive in the evolving civil service structure.
Plans are underway to expand digital access across Abia, with an agreement already in place to lay fiber optic cables in Aba, Umuahia, and Ohafia.
Otti directed Mr. Gerald Ilukwe, chief information officer to ensure that within nine months, every community in Abia must have reliable network service, enabling businesses to thrive virtually.
The Governor urged the people of Abia to embrace technology as a tool for empowerment rather than a replacement for human roles as the use of technology ought to be on enhancing service delivery and economic development, as well as keeping human decision-making at the core of governance.
The commencement of the initiative marks a major milestone in Abia’s journey towards a fully digital economy.
Ilukwe, described the project as a critical foundation for a digital government, emphasising its role in modernising service delivery.
Ilukwe said Phase I of the initiative prioritises multi-tenant buildings and complexes housing multiple MDAs and assured that MDAs not included in this phase would be covered in subsequent stages.
“Even as we are rounding off this phase, we are already preparing for the next, by the end of this service year, the entire government offices in Umuahia will be interconnected on a single network,” Ilukwe said.
Mr Ejovi Aror, group managing director, ipNX, expressed gratitude to Gov. Alex Otti for the opportunity to be part of the state’s digital transformation journey.
“This partnership signals the beginning of a new chapter in the journey towards building a digitally connected, technologically advanced, and economically empowered Abia State,” Aror said.
Visa, global payment services giant, has announced plans to establish a data centre infrastructure in Nigeria.
Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for central and eastern Europe and Vice-President Kashim Shettima
According to a statement by Stanley Nkwocha, senior special assistant to the president on media and communications (office of the vice-president) on Friday, Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for central and eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, spoke during a courtesy visit to Vice-President Kashim Shettima at the presidential villa in Abuja.
“This is in addition to its investments of over $1 billion in the country, including a substantial technological partnership with @moniepoint to foster digital payment solutions, a $200 million investment in Interswitch, and a partnership with @thriveagric to empower smallholder farmers and enhance food security in Nigeria,” the statement reads.
During the meeting, Torre said the plan to establish the data centre infrastructure aims to bring new technologies into the Nigerian market that would bolster the nation’s growing digital economy.
“Visa has been making investments and will continue to make these investments in Nigeria,” he said.
Responding, Shettima welcomed Visa’s expansion efforts, assuring the delegation that the partnership between Visa and the Nigerian government would continue to flourish.
The vice-president commended the company for investing in ThriveAgric, noting that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is deeply committed to repositioning the agriculture sector, which remains a top priority in its 8-point agenda.
“Nigeria is where the action is. Of the 10 fintechs in Africa, about eight are in Nigeria, with moniepoint as the newest addition,” Shettima said.
“Agriculture is key to the 8-point agenda of the present administration. President @officialABAT is really keen on repositioning the agriculture industry here, and we have to invest in technology, we have to invest in modernisation.”
On January 23, Moniepoint, a Nigerian fintech company, announced it secured investment from Visa to support the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for central and eastern Europe and Vice-President Kashim Shettima
Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has approved N242.8m for the procurement of a Microsoft 365 licence for its Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) as part of efforts to digitise the service’s operations.
Mr Michael Ango, acting executive chairman of FCT-IRS, disclosed this after the FCT Executive Committee meeting chaired by Mr Nyesom Wike, the minister of FCTA, in Abuja on Wednesday.
Ango said that the FCTA was making significant investments in technology to enhance revenue generation and collection.
“So, this is also one of those investments in technology that the FCT is undertaking.
“The licence, if procured, will enhance our ability to move most of our manual processes into automated processes.
“It will enhance our ability to communicate within our offices,” he said.
The executive chairman added that the move would also reduce the use of paper and ensure better record-keeping through the storage of information and documents in the cloud.
According to him, “The licence will essentially enhance our operations and assist us in generating revenue for the development of the FCT under Wike’s leadership.”
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