A recent malware attack was spotted using Adobe Flash Player download to victimize users. It was discovered as a new version of ransomware named as the Bad Rabbit. This was also found out to have been hitting organizations all over Eastern Europe and Russia. The threat has been spread via compromised websites in which they are able to creep into the computer of unsuspecting victims.
A Cisco intelligence team has described the threat to redirect victims visiting compromised sites to 1dnscontro[.]com, which was known to have been hosting malicious files. When the victims get into the trap, they will be asked to pay about US$285 or some 0.05 bitcoin in order to get their files back.
Moreover, when a computer inside a network gets infected, the malware covertly and swiftly spread throughout the organization with lesser chances of being detected. Fortunately, this type of ransomware has been detected in many countries already. Most of them are concentrated media outlets in Russian and Ukrainian organizations.
Just recently, another critical issue was linked to Adobe Flash Player, which has placed computer users at risk. This was because of the group named BlackOasis, which exploits victims via Microsoft Office documents. However, Adobe revealed in a report that it has released security updates for Flash Player for Chrome OS, Linux, Mac, and Windows computers.
The said vulnerability was found out by Kaspersky Labs, putting Flash Player into the spotlight once again. Although the plug-in will no longer be supported by Adobe by 2020, that won’t come soon enough to force threats to subside.
Moreover, the plug-in has started to become less useful as the year it will be retired comes closer than ever. In fact, it has constantly been exploited by cyber criminals, and those who are always finding security holes to be used to attack users.
Amid these warnings, people are called to disable this plug-in on their browsers. Not only will it affect businesses, but also those who are using Flash Player for personal reasons.
Kaspersky Labs further explained that after the installation of Adobe Flash Player on your system, the malware instantly sets a foothold on your computer. It will then connect to its control and command servers found in Bulgaria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Such will be waiting for instructions before extracting data.
This is a critical type confusion vulnerability as what Adobe has described this issue. This is what cybercriminals use to infect the computers of victims with malware without them knowing it.
Nevertheless, Adobe also explained that it is aware of the report that the threat is real and it exists in the wild. But, the exploit being made is only limited and targeting only those who are running Windows OS. According to Kaspersky, users are recommended to disable Flash Player so that users will be protected from such threats.
The attacks using the zero-day exploit have already made 3 instances so far in 2017. Perhaps it is up to you to disable Flash Player plug-in to avoid further attacks from cybercriminals that would lead to unwanted results.
