October 4, 2024
|
Infostealers series
It may sound a bit crude, but we often compare infostealers to dog poop: they don’t come flying at you, but you simply step into them. In other words, infostealer infections are almost always the result of user behavior. At this stage, infostealer attacks are generally not yet targeted at specific organizations or users.
One of the most common ways devices become infected is through downloads of illegal versions of commercial software that contain hidden infostealers. Many people seek out these cracked versions to obtain expensive software for free, such as games, professional tools, and software packages. When installing this free software, the user often unknowingly installs an infostealer as well.
The distribution of infostealers is an industry of its own. Distributors cleverly use social media to reach their target audiences. A common example is the ads young gamers encounter, promoting ‘mods’ for their favorite games, which frequently contain infostealers. This also affects organizations, especially when parents share a computer with their child and that computer is also used for work.
Another example of infostealer distribution is the abuse of search engines. Distributors create realistic-looking copies of legitimate programs, tricking users into unknowingly downloading these fakes. They advertise these fake copies in search engines or use Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to ensure they appear high in the search results. For the less vigilant user, these fakes are hard to distinguish from the original software.
However, downloads aren’t the only risk. Infostealers are also spread via phishing. An employee might receive a seemingly innocent email with an attachment that appears to come from a trusted source. As soon as the attachment is opened and the program in the attachment is executed by the user, the infostealer is installed on the device.
Additionally, infostealers can spread through dubious websites. When users visit unsafe or suspicious websites, they may unknowingly download malware that infects their devices. This often happens through pop-up windows that prompt users to download a seemingly harmless file, which in reality is an infostealer.
To protect yourself and your organization from these dangers, it is crucial to increase awareness. Especially when it comes to downloading software, the lack of awareness is alarming.
Infostealers are on the rise, and with them, the statistics tracking this growing threat. Many companies publish reports, but what do those numbers really mean? We delved deeper into the data to give you the full story. No time to go through it all? Our Passguard rating system scores the value of statistics on a scale from 1 to 5. Convenient, right?
December 5, 2024
The Graafschap College, a medium-sized vocational school in Doetinchem, has around ten thousand students and over a thousand employees. Rob Gerritsen, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Graafschap College, gained insight into his organization's dark web exposure through Passguard. During a walk through a wintery forest near Doetinchem, he spoke to us about his experiences.
November 29, 2024
Our colleague Tom Leijte spoke to Topicus KeyHub about the rise of and the risks they pose to organizations. From stolen session cookies to digital identity misuse—it's a growing problem that needs action.
November 29, 2024
.svg)
