The malware UPATRE was gained much prominence following the demise of the Blackhole Exploit kit. It was since known as one of the top malware seen attached to spammed messages and continues to be so all throughout 2014 with particularly high numbers seen in the fourth quarter of the year. We have released our annual roundup…
Read MoreMichael Casayuran
Anti-spam Research Engineer
A new spam attack disguised as invoice message notifications was recently seen spreading the UPATRE malware, that ultimately downloads its final payload- a BANKER malware related to the DYREZA/DYRE banking malware. Background In early October we observed a surge of spammed messages sent by the botnet CUTWAIL/PUSHDO, totaling to more than 18,000 messages seen in a single day. CUTWAIL/PUSHDO has been in…
Read MoreDuring the last week of August 2014, we observed a salad spam surge caused by KELIHOS spambot. Salad spam contains gibberish words in the email body, and is usually employed by cybercriminals so as to bypass spam filters. Here are some samples we spotted: Figures 1-2: Screenshots of spammed messages Majority of this outbreak’s victims are from the…
Read More“Get rich fast” scams have been circulating online for several years now. Some examples would be the classic Nigerian or 419 scams, lottery scams, and work-from-home scams. The stories may vary but the underlying premise is the same: get a large sum of money for doing something with little to no effort. Scammers have now…
Read MoreRockstar Games’ latest offering for the videogame industry, open-world crime simulator Grand Theft Auto V, came out several months ago for consoles to fanfare and anticipation. Unsurprisingly, people have been waiting for the PC version, despite Rockstar Games being very mum about its release date (or even its existence). This uncertainty did not stop cybercriminals from…
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