Cyber Security
Hackers steal from hackers by pushing fake malware on forums
Security analysts from two companies have spotted a new case of hackers targeting hackers via clipboard stealers disguised as cracked RATs and malware building tools.
Clipboard stealers are quite common, typically used to monitor the clipboard content of a victim to identify cryptocurrency wallet addresses and replace them with one belonging to the malware operator.
This allows attackers to hijack financial transactions on the fly, and transfer the money to their accounts. These stealers focus on the more popular cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Monero.
Cracked RATs
Researchers at ASEC noticed fake offers of clipboard stealers on hacking forums such as ‘Russia black hat.’ The crooks lured aspiring hackers with cracked versions of BitRAT and Quasar RAT, both commodity malware that normally comes with a price tag of $20-$100.
Those who attempt to download any of the offered files are directed to an Anonfiles page that delivers a RAR archive which is supposedly a builder for the selected malware.
The “crack.exe” file contained in these archives is, in reality, a ClipBanker installer, which copies the malicious binary to the startup folder and executes it on the first reboot.
AvD Crypto Stealer
A second report on fake stealers comes from Cyble, whose analysts found on a cybercrime forum an offering of a free month of AvD Crypto Stealer.
In this case too, the victims download what is supposedly a malware builder and launch an executable named ‘Payload.exe’, assuming this will grant them free access to the crypto stealer.
This action ends up infecting their systems with a clipper that targets Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Fantom, Polygon, Avalanche, and Arbitrum.
Cyble has found that the Bitcoin address hardcoded on this particular variant sample has received 1.3 BTC (about $54,000) by hijacking 422 transactions.
Crooks preying upon crooks
While hackers targeting regular users is the normal condition, it’s not unusual to see hackers attempting to scam other hackers, sometimes hitting the jackpot.
Inexperienced or careless threat actors tend to jump at the opportunity of free malware they find on obscure or poorly moderated websites and execute them on their systems without a second thought.
These victims may sometimes hold cryptocurrency obtained from various malicious activities.
While these campaigns don’t solve any of the underlying problems for regular internet users, they constitute another key reason of why joining the cybercrime space is a bad idea.