"Zoom-Themed Cyber Attacks Fuel Rapid Malware Growth"

Cyberattacks that entice victims with themes based on the popular video conferencing service Zoom have boosted malware growth, with one named Vidar becoming increasingly popular in a short period of time. Vidar malware is ranked eighth in Check Point Research's (CPR) Global Threat Index for September 2022, up seven spots from August. According to the CPR report, while Formbook, an infostealer targeting Windows OS that currently affects 3 percent of organizations worldwide, remains the most prevalent malware, Vidar's rapid rise is significant. Vidar is an infostealer designed to provide threat actors with backdoor access to infected devices, thus allowing them to steal sensitive banking information, login credentials, IP addresses, browser history, and cryptocurrency wallets. Its prevalence has increased due to a malicious campaign in which fake Zoom websites are used to trick users into downloading the malware. Formbook was the most common malware, followed by XMRig and AgentTesla, both of which affect 2 percent of organizations globally. Formbook was discovered in 2016 and is marketed in underground hacking forums as a Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS) operation. It is well-known for having strong anti-detection capabilities at a low cost. In contrast, XMRig is open-source CPU software that is used to mine Monero cryptocurrency. According to Check Point, threat actors frequently exploit this open-source software by incorporating it into their malware to conduct illegal mining on victims' devices. This article continues to discuss the growth of Vidar malware due to malicious campaigns involving fake Zoom websites, as well as other prevalent malware.

ITPro reports "Zoom-Themed Cyber Attacks Fuel Rapid Malware Growth"