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Malware is any software intentionally designed to cause disruption to a computer, server, client, or computer network, leak private information, gain unauthorized access to information or systems, deprive access to information, or which unknowingly interferes with the user's computer security and privacy. Researchers tend to classify malware into one or more sub-types.
In computing, a Trojan horse is a malware that misleads users of its true intent by disguising itself as a normal program. The term is derived from the ancient Greek story of the deceptive Trojan Horse that led to the fall of the city of Troy.
This timeline of computer viruses and worms presents a chronological timeline of noteworthy computer viruses, computer worms, Trojan horses, similar malware, related research and events.
RSA SecurID, formerly referred to as SecurID, is a mechanism developed by RSA for performing two-factor authentication for a user to a network resource.
RSA Security LLC, formerly RSA Security, Inc. and trade name RSA, is an American computer and network security company with a focus on encryption and decryption standards. RSA was named after the initials of its co-founders, Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir and Leonard Adleman, after whom the RSA public key cryptography algorithm was also named. Among its products is the SecurID authentication token. The BSAFE cryptography libraries were also initially owned by RSA. RSA is known for incorporating backdoors developed by the NSA in its products. It also organizes the annual RSA Conference, an information security conference.
Linux malware includes viruses, Trojans, worms and other types of malware that affect the Linux family of operating systems. Linux, Unix and other Unix-like computer operating systems are generally regarded as very well-protected against, but not immune to, computer viruses.
Phishing is a form of social engineering and a scam where attackers deceive people into revealing sensitive information or installing malware such as viruses, worms, adware, or ransomware. Phishing attacks have become increasingly sophisticated and often transparently mirror the site being targeted, allowing the attacker to observe everything while the victim navigates the site, and transverses any additional security boundaries with the victim. As of 2020, it is the most common type of cybercrime, with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reporting more incidents of phishing than any other type of cybercrime.
Peiter C. Zatko, better known as Mudge, is an American network security expert, open source programmer, writer, and hacker. He is currently the chief information officer of DARPA. He was the most prominent member of the high-profile hacker think tank the L0pht as well as the computer and culture hacking cooperative the Cult of the Dead Cow.
Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts the victim's personal data until a ransom is paid. They commonly use difficult-to-trace digital currencies such as paysafecard or Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are used for the ransoms, making tracing and prosecuting the perpetrators difficult. Sometimes the original files can be retrieved without paying the ransom due to implementation mistakes, leaked cryptographic keys or a complete lack of encryption in the ransomware.
Watering hole is a computer attack strategy in which an attacker guesses or observes which websites an organization often uses and infects one or more of them with malware. Eventually, some member of the targeted group will become infected. Hacks looking for specific information may only attack users coming from a specific IP address. This also makes the hacks harder to detect and research. The name is derived from predators in the natural world, who wait for an opportunity to attack their prey near watering holes.
Cyber espionage, cyber spying, or cyber-collection is the act or practice of obtaining secrets and information without the permission and knowledge of the holder of the information using methods on the Internet, networks or individual computers through the use of proxy servers, cracking techniques and malicious software including Trojan horses and spyware. Cyber espionage can be used to target various actors- individuals, competitors, rivals, groups, governments, and others- in order to obtain personal, economic, political or military advantages. It may wholly be perpetrated online from computer desks of professionals on bases in far away countries or may involve infiltration at home by computer trained conventional spies and moles or in other cases may be the criminal handiwork of amateur malicious hackers and software programmers.
Stuxnet is a malicious computer worm first uncovered in 2010 and thought to have been in development since at least 2005. Stuxnet targets supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems and is believed to be responsible for causing substantial damage to the nuclear program of Iran. Although neither country has openly admitted responsibility, multiple independent news organizations recognize Stuxnet to be a cyberweapon built jointly by the United States and Israel in a collaborative effort known as Operation Olympic Games. The program, started during the Bush administration, was rapidly expanded within the first months of Barack Obama's presidency.
Duqu is a collection of computer malware discovered on 1 September 2011, thought by Kaspersky Labs to be related to the Stuxnet worm and to have been created by Unit 8200. Duqu has exploited Microsoft Windows's zero-day vulnerability. The Laboratory of Cryptography and System Security of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics in Hungary discovered the threat, analysed the malware, and wrote a 60-page report naming the threat Duqu. Duqu got its name from the prefix "~DQ" it gives to the names of files it creates.
Cyberweapons are commonly defined as malware agents employed for military, paramilitary, or intelligence objectives as part of a cyberattack. This includes computer viruses, trojans, spyware, and worms that can introduce malicious code into existing software, causing a computer to perform actions or processes unintended by its operator.
Zombie Zero is an attack vector where a cyber attacker utilized malware that was clandestinely embedded in new barcode readers which were manufactured overseas.
MalwareMustDie, NPO is a whitehat security research workgroup that was launched in August 2012. MalwareMustDie is a registered nonprofit organization as a medium for IT professionals and security researchers gathered to form a work flow to reduce malware infection in the internet. The group is known for their malware analysis blog. They have a list of Linux malware research and botnet analysis that they have completed. The team communicates information about malware in general and advocates for better detection for Linux malware.
Vault 7 is a series of documents that WikiLeaks began to publish on 7 March 2017, detailing the activities and capabilities of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to perform electronic surveillance and cyber warfare. The files, dating from 2013 to 2016, include details on the agency's software capabilities, such as the ability to compromise cars, smart TVs, web browsers including Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, and Opera, the operating systems of most smartphones including Apple's iOS and Google's Android, and computer operating systems including Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux. A CIA internal audit identified 91 malware tools out of more than 500 tools in use in 2016 being compromised by the release. The tools were developed by the Operations Support Branch of the CIA.
Red Apollo is a Chinese state-sponsored cyberespionage group which has operated since 2006. In a 2018 indictment, the United States Department of Justice attributed the group to the Tianjin State Security Bureau of the Ministry of State Security.
The Nitro hacking attacks were a targeted malware campaign in 2011 suspected to be a case of corporate espionage. At least 48 confirmed companies were infected with a Trojan called Poison Ivy that transferred intellectual property to remote servers. Much of the information known about these attacks comes from a white paper published by cybersecurity company Symantec.
Cryptojacking is the act of exploiting a computer to mine cryptocurrencies, often through websites, against the user's will or while the user is unaware. One notable piece of software used for cryptojacking was Coinhive, which was used in over two-thirds of cryptojacks before its March 2019 shutdown. The cryptocurrencies mined the most often are privacy coins—coins with hidden transaction histories—such as Monero and Zcash.
References
- ↑ "POISON IVY: Assessing Damage and Extracting Intelligence" (PDF). FireEye. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 Sep 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ↑ Keizer, Gregg (31 October 2011). "'Nitro' hackers use stock malware to steal chemical, defense secrets". Computerworld . Archived from the original on 11 Aug 2020.
- ↑ "Poison Ivy NJCCIC Threat Profile". nj.gov. NJCCIC. April 12, 2017. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ↑ Higgins, Kelly Jackson (21 August 2013). "Poison Ivy Trojan Just Won't Die". DARK Reading. Archived from the original on 5 Nov 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ↑ Kirk, Jeremy (22 August 2013). "Poison Ivy Trojan used in RSA SecurID attack still popular". InfoWorld. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ↑ Mills, Elinor (5 April 2011). "Attack on RSA used zero-day Flash exploit in Excel". CNET. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011.
- ↑ "'Nitro attacks' continue". Virus Bulletin. 13 December 2011.
- ↑ Phneah, Ellyne (1 November 2011). "'Nitro' attack targets chemical firms". ZDNet.[ dead link ]
- ↑ Fisher, Dennis (30 August 2012). "Use of Java Zero-Day Flaws Tied to Nitro Attack Crew". threatpost. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
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