Users are being warned and asked to be more vigilant what websites you visit and click.
There has been an article circulating around the internet purporting to show a photo of a deceased Donald Trump laying on a stage after an apparent heart attack?
Unsuspecting victims are being duped by Cyber-criminals to click on it.
There has been a rising trend with regards to election-themed attacks that are being used to lure and distribute spam and malware.
Cyber-criminals are doing their best to capitalize on every major event and situation they can get their hands on.
“They’re using this drama-filled election season as a backdrop for campaigns of their own,”
May it be custom themed to fit the holiday occasions or event driven; malware campaigns, adware and hoaxes are here to entice users to click open the payload to infect the targetted computers. These campaigns possibly includes ransomware, adware, and hoax articles.
“The theme may be unique to the election, but the attacks are based on standard techniques for spreading malware,”
Election-related malware campaigns are of course not new. Cyber-criminals have long shown a proclivity to take advantage of major news events and trends to try and distribute malware and infect user systems. The high level of popular interest in the especially rancorous campaigning this election cycle is proving to be a perfect opportunity for them.
Another ransomware tool calling itself “THE DONALD TRUMP RANSOMWARE” has also been seen doing the rounds.
Written in Visual Studio.Net, the malware has all the trappings of ransomware, including code to encrypt files using AES.
The malware does not encrypt anything, however it attempts to extort money from the victim. Instead, it only renames certain files and keeps them in the “Encrypt” folder where the ransomware executable was launched.
It is a fact that the files will be renamed, but the content of the file will be intact. “The message box will show the users a list of files that were affected and [an] unlock button,” for renaming them back to the original names.
“This malware appears to be a jokeware, but it may also be a ransomware in development or testing phase,”
An adware campaign has also been seen circulating executable files named “Make America Great Again,” the slogan of the Trump campaign. When the file is executed, the adware opens a browser on the user’s machine.
Origin of how the file has been distributed in the first place is unknown.
Meanwhile, the hoax article with the fake photo of a deceased Trump is being used as a lure to get people to click on malicious links.
