Displaying items by tag: Facebook

GUEST OPINION: 2023 saw a whirlwind of challenges – both old and new – but we also realised many opportunities to become more secure and stay ahead of evolving information security threats. As expected, it was another challenging year for information security as organisations continued looking for ways to stay ahead of hackers. We saw an increasing amount and complexity of phishing attacks overall, driven by a major trend throughout the year making a significant impact: AI-driven phishing. Phishing remains the most prevalent attack method due to its relatively low cost and high success rate, and the implementation of AI now only furthers this problem.

The Canadian government has reached a deal with Google to prevent the search company from blocking online news when the Online News Act comes into force by the end of the year.

The Meta family of apps—Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger—request the most data from smartphone users, according to research from data centre company TRG Datacenters.

Cybersecurity solutions provider Bitdefender Labs says it has been monitoring the growing trend among cybercriminals who actively exploit social media networks for malvertising, and the “end goal of these attacks” is to hijack accounts and “steal personal data” through malicious software.

COMPANY NEWS:  n3 Hub, the leader in marketing automation and data analytics, today announced the launch of n3 Hub CDP Orchestrator.

GUEST RESEARCH: Bitdefender Labs has been monitoring the growing trend among cybercriminals who actively exploit social media networks for malvertising. The end goal of these attacks is to hijack accounts and steal personal data through malicious software.

Social media platforms offer immense opportunities for financially motivated threat actors to conduct large-scale attacks against unsuspecting Internet users. Fraudulent and malicious threats are prevalent on all social networks and it has become crucial for users to be aware of the latest tricks that can compromise the security of their accounts, data, reputation and finances.

Cybercriminals always seek to trick users into taking all sorts of unwelcome actions, and one way they achieve this is by abusing the ad network.

Malvertising campaigns take advantage of the tools and methods used by legitimate entities to distribute regular online ads, with cybercriminals submitting infected links onto typical advertisement networks via some form of provocative enticement meant to sway users into clicking on an infected link.

This report focuses on how cybercriminals have adapted NodeStealer attacks – a type of malware used by threat actors to steal browser cookies and login credentials, enabling them to hijack Gmail, Facebook, Outlook, and possibly other accounts – to abuse Meta’s ads network on Facebook and compromise users’ privacy and security. Below is a summary of Bitdefender’s analysis conducted between the 10th and 20th October:

• Researchers discovered multiple hijacked Facebook accounts used in the attacks – at least 10 compromised business accounts that continue to serve malicious ads to the public
• The ads serve a newer version of NodeStealer
• The threat actors created multiple Facebook profiles, all of which dangle access to new media files of the portrayed women
• Multiple iterations of the same ad were used in about 140 malicious ad campaigns
• Attackers used a maximum of five active ads at a time and switched between them at 24-hour intervals to try to avoid ad reports from users
• The ads used revealing photos of young women to lure victims into deploying the malware
• Clicking on ads immediately downloads an archive containing a malicious .exe ‘Photo Album’ file which also drops a second executable written in .NET – this payload is in charge of stealing browser cookies and passwords
• Given that each ad click instantly downloads the malicious archive, Bitdefender has estimated 100,000 potential downloads from the Ad reach analysis, with a single ad having as many as 15,000 downloads within just a 24-hour rollout
• The most impacted demographic is 45+ Males

The above information regarding the demographic and reach of the campaign has been collected by tracking the ads on Meta Ad Library.

NodeStealer is a relatively new info-stealer, discovered by Meta’s security team in January 2023, that allows threat actors to steal browser cookies and conduct account takeovers at scale.

The first NodeStealer campaign (documented by Meta) was attributed to threat actors in Vietnam, who custom-built the malicious tool (written in JavaScript and executed through Node.js) to target business users via fake communications through Facebook Messenger. The malware let attackers seize control of business accounts, without the need for any further interactions with the victim, and even bypassed security mechanisms such as two-factor authentication (2FA).

Although the stealer was primarily designed to hijack cookie sessions from web browsers including Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave and Opera, and take over Facebook accounts, threat actors have worked diligently to equip the malware with new capabilities during the year.

The NodeStealer ‘2.1’ malware discovered by Bitdefender’s researchers is the modernised version of the info-stealer (written in Node), to which cybercriminals have added new features that allow them to obtain unlawful entry into additional platforms (Gmail and Outlook), to steal crypto wallet balances and download additional malicious payloads – components that could have devastating financial and reputational consequences for victims.

The malware Is distributed via Windows executable files disguised as photo albums.

NodeStealer attack saga continues to plague Facebook – this time with a twist
Researchers at Bitdefender Labs have observed a fresh take on NodeStealer attacks deployed on Facebook, with threat actors using compromised business accounts to deliver malicious Ad campaigns to unwary internet users.

According to Bitdefender researchers, threat actors are no longer interested in only hijacking Facebook business accounts – they’ve expanded their attacks to target regular Facebook users by using distinctive methods.

To gain access to users’ accounts and systems, cybercriminals abuse ad credit balances of compromised business accounts to run and manage ads that deliver the malicious payload to their select target audience.

They create a Facebook page under the name “Album Update” (or similar) where they add revealing photos of young women.

Other names of fake profiles include:

• Album Girl News Update
• Private Album Update
• Hot Album Update Today
• Album New Update Today
• Album Private Update Today

After the page is set up, malicious actors begin running ads that promote fake new content and entice users with lewd album covers. Some of the photos advertised appear to have been edited or even AI-generated.

Attackers also use short descriptions to bait users into downloading the media archive, such as “New stuff is online today” and “Watch now before it’s deleted.”

The “Albums,” in fact, point to either Bitbucket or Gitlab repositories that store an archive containing a Windows executable that deploys newer versions of NodeStealer onto the user’s device.

What are consumers’ risks and how can you defend against NodeStealer ad attacks?

Once cybercriminals gain access to users’ cookies using the basic features of NodeStealer, they take over Facebook accounts and access sensitive information.

From there, hackers can attempt to change passwords and add additional security measures to accounts to completely cut off access to the legitimate owner and commit a variety of crimes of fraud. Whether stealing money or scamming new victims via hijacked accounts, this type of malicious attack allows cybercriminals to stay under the radar by sneaking past Meta’s security defences.

The first line of defence against Nodestealer malware delivered via phishing links, attachments or ads, is to always use a security solution on your device and keep it up to date. Anti-malware and anti-virus software keep you and your devices safe from new and existing threats by detecting malware and safely removing or stopping it from causing any damage. Additionally, internet users should always stay vigilant and stick to good cyber hygiene in all online interactions. It’s always best to think twice before you click on unsolicited links associated with alarming notices or ads that prompt you to download provocative media files.

Specifically for this campaign, Facebook users should steer clear of ads that suggest you download photo albums from Bitbucket, Gitlab or Dropbox.

About Bitdefender
Bitdefender provides cybersecurity solutions with leading security efficacy, performance and ease of use to small and medium businesses, mid-market enterprises and consumers. Guided by a vision to be the world’s most trusted cybersecurity solutions provider, Bitdefender is committed to defending organisations and individuals around the globe against cyberattacks to transform and improve their digital experience. bitdefender.com.au/

Social media giant Facebook will cut back on the provision of news in the UK, Germany and France from December onwards, the company says in a blog post.

A Canadian minister has repeated calls for Meta to end a ban on news content from the country's outlets being hosted on Facebook and Instagram as wildfires devastate the country and people flee.

Telco Singtel Optus is the most distrusted brand in Australia for the last 12-month period, the market research firm Roy Morgan says, adding that this was the first time any company had taken the top spot from Facebook/Meta since it started issuing the measure of trust and distrust in 2018.

The owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, has been accused of delaying links to companies he dislikes, on the social media site, from being displayed when they are clicked.

Facebook's parent Meta has started blocking access to news feeds in Canada, something it threatened to do after the country passed an online news law that forces digital platforms to cut deals with publishing firms.

Facebook parent Meta has changed its data processing rules for those living in the European Union, European Economic Area and Switzerland, saying it would from now on seek consent for targeted advertising.

GUEST RESEARCH: It may be too early to say whether Twitter's recent rebranding as "X" will hurt the company's traction with its audience or advertisers – but it's not helping. The rebranding of Twitter to "X" is incomplete, with twitter.com remaining the primary web domain and the mobile app unchanged, so forgive us if we refer to this social media property as Twitter for the rest of this report.

After a stunning start, the number of daily active users on Mark Zuckerberg's new social media app Threads has fallen by more than 50%, the digital data firm Similarweb claims.

GUEST RESEARCH: Facebook ads portal traffic drops 10% in a sign of why Meta needs Threads.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has stepped up the rhetoric over the recently enacted Online News Act, likening the fight with Facebook and Google to defending democracy in Ukraine or during World War II.

Security vendor Bitdefender has published a report lifting the lid on dark web marketplaces including the types of products and services offered and the asking prices asked for stolen consumer credentials.

All the eager beavers who jumped on the Threads bandwagon may find that they have joined a train which is more puff than substance.

Meta's new social media app Threads has signed up more than 30 million users in its first 24 hours, proving that yesterday's tech villain can become today's hero.

A ruling by the European Union's top court in a case brought by the German Federal Cartel Office may result in Facebook being unable to carry out targeted advertising in the political bloc.