Security News
Google's Threat Analysis Group said on Wednesday that its researchers discovered commercial spyware called Heliconia that's designed to exploit vulnerabilities in Chrome and Firefox browsers as well as Microsoft Defender security software. The three components perform the following functions: Heliconia Noise is a web framework for deploying an exploit for a Chrome renderer bug followed by a sandbox escape; Heliconia Soft is a web framework that deploys a PDF containing a Windows Defender exploit; and Files is a set of Firefox exploits for Linux and Windows.
A Barcelona-based surveillanceware vendor named Variston IT is said to have surreptitiously planted spyware on targeted devices by exploiting several zero-day flaws in Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Windows, some of which date back to December 2018. "Their Heliconia framework exploits n-day vulnerabilities in Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Defender, and provides all the tools necessary to deploy a payload to a target device," Google Threat Analysis Group researchers Clement Lecigne and Benoit Sevens said in a write-up.
A Barcelona-based surveillanceware vendor named Variston IT is said to have surreptitiously planted spyware on targeted devices by exploiting several zero-day flaws in Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Windows, some of which date back to December 2018. "Their Heliconia framework exploits n-day vulnerabilities in Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Defender, and provides all the tools necessary to deploy a payload to a target device," Google Threat Analysis Group researchers Clement Lecigne and Benoit Sevens said in a write-up.
Google's Threat Analysis Group has linked an exploit framework that targets now-patched vulnerabilities in the Chrome and Firefox web browsers and the Microsoft Defender security app to a Spanish software company. While TAG is Google's team of security experts focused on protecting Google users from state-sponsored attacks, it also keeps track of dozens of companies that enable governments to spy on dissidents, journalists, and political opponents using surveillance tools.
A threat actor associated with cyberespionage operations since at least 2017 has been luring victims with fake VPN software for Android that is a trojanized version of legitimate software SoftVPN and OpenVPN. Researchers say that the campaign was "Highly targeted" and aimed at stealing contact and call data, device location, as well as messages from multiple apps. ESET malware analyst Lukas Stefanko says that Bahamut repackaged the SoftVPN and OpenVPN apps for Android to include malicious code with spying functions.
World Cup apps from the Qatari government collect more personal information than they need to, according to Germany's data protection agency, which this week warned football fans to only install the two apps "If it is absolutely necessary." Also: consider using a burner phone. The two apps are Ehteraz, a Covid-19 tracker from the Qatari Ministry of Public Health, and Hayya from the government's Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy overseeing the Cup locally, which allows ticket holders entry into the stadiums and access to free metro and bus transportation services.
Last month, we were warned not to install Qatar's World Cup app because it was spyware. The app is being promoted as a tool to help attendees navigate the event.
Two long-running surveillance campaigns have been found targeting the Uyghur community in China and elsewhere with Android spyware tools designed to harvest sensitive information and track their whereabouts. The BadBazaar campaign, according to the security firm, is said to date as far back as late 2018 and comprise 111 unique apps that masquerade as benign video players, messengers, religious apps, and even TikTok.
A previously undocumented Android spyware campaign has been found striking Persian-speaking individuals by masquerading as a seemingly harmless VPN application. Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky is tracking the campaign under the moniker SandStrike.
Threat actors are using newly discovered spyware known as SandStrike and delivered via a malicious VPN application to target Android users. The attackers are promoting the malicious VPN app as a simple way to circumvent censorship of religious materials in certain regions.