Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, we reported on multiple patch releases: from Mozilla’s Firefox and Thunderbird to Google’s Chrome. We also had a chat with our resident experts, Adam Kujawa and John Donovan, about the future of IoT cybersecurity in our latest Lock and Code podcast episode. Lastly, we took a look at a new ransomware called RegretLocker, and guided college students on how … [Read more...]
November 16, 2020
July 27, 2020
A week in security (July 20 – 26)
Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, our Lock and Code podcast delved into Bluetooth and beacon technology. We also dug into APT groups targeting India and Hong Kong, covered a law enforcement bust, and tried to figure out when, exactly, a Deepfake is a Deepfake. Other cybersecurity news Insecure email addresses resulted in big-bucks sporting targets (Source: Silicon)What do you do when a lack of … [Read more...]
July 8, 2020
We found yet another phone with pre-installed malware via the Lifeline Assistance program
We have discovered, yet again, another phone model with pre-installed malware provided from the Lifeline Assistance program via Assurance Wireless by Virgin Mobile. This time, an ANS (American Network Solutions) UL40 running Android OS 7.1.1. After our writing back in January—”United States government-funded phones come pre-installed with unremovable malware“—we heard … [Read more...]
February 12, 2020
Android Trojan xHelper uses persistent re-infection tactics: here’s how to remove
We first stumbled upon the nasty Android Trojan xHelper, a stealthy malware dropper, in May 2019. By mid-summer 2019, xHelper was topping our detection charts—so we wrote an article about it. After the blog, we thought the case was closed on xHelper. Then a tech savvy user reached out to us in early January 2020 on the Malwarebytes support forum: “I have a phone that is infected with the … [Read more...]
February 11, 2020
Malwarebytes Labs releases 2020 State of Malware Report
Malwarebytes Labs today released the results of our annual study on the state of malware—the 2020 State of Malware Report—and as usual, it’s a doozy. From an increase in enterprise-focused threats to the diversification of sophisticated hacking and stealth techniques, the 2019 threat landscape was shaped by a cybercrime industry that aimed to show it’s all grown up and coming after … [Read more...]
January 9, 2020
United States government-funded phones come pre-installed with unremovable malware
A United States–funded mobile carrier that offers phones via the Lifeline Assistance program is selling a mobile device pre-installed with not one, but two malicious applications. Assurance Wireless by Virgin Mobile offers the UMX U686CL phone as their most budget conscious option. At only $35 under the government-funded program, it’s an attractive offering. However, what it comes installed with … [Read more...]
November 14, 2019
August 26, 2019
Mobile Menace Monday: Android Trojan raises xHelper
Back in May, we classified what we believed was just another generic Android/Trojan.Dropper, and moved on. We didn’t give this particular mobile malware much thought until months later, when we started noticing it had climbed onto our top 10 list of most detected mobile malware. Henceforth, we feel a piece of mobile malware with such a high number of detections prompts a proper name and … [Read more...]
July 15, 2019
A week in security (July 8 – 14)
Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, we looked at ways to send your sensitive information in a secure fashion, examined some tactics in incident response land, and explored federal data privacy law. We also looked at how security tools can turn against you, and took a deep dive into the rather fiendish Soft Cell attack. Other cybersecurity news The UK government backs facial recognition tech: The … [Read more...]
April 12, 2019
Fake Instagram assistance apps found on Google Play are stealing passwords
We all want those Instagram likes and followers. Many apps on Google Play claim they can assist you with that effort. But what if the app that’s supposed to be helping you is also stealing your username and password? As a matter of fact, that’s exactly what we found in three fake Instagram assistance apps still available on Google Play at the time of this writing. Moreover, these fake … [Read more...]
