Tag: malware

  • Here are the celebrities who are hackers’ hot favourites

    Here are the celebrities who are hackers’ hot favourites

    A study by McAfee reveals a list of 10 celebrities which are used by hackers as bait while searching for them online may lead to malware and risky websites. The list includes celebrities spotted in deepfake and other AI driven content as well.

    ‘Barbenheimer’ fever is not over yet as the two movies were not just huge hits at the box office but for cybercriminals as well. Internet searches of the two films have got consumers in a rash of ticket scams, download scams and other attacks that were capitalising on these summer hits.

    Who made it to the list?

    In that context, our very own Ken, Ryan Gosling, is the hacker’s favourite celebrity, making it to number one. His co-star Margot Robbie and the titular character of the film Barbie makes it to number eight on the list.
    Emily Blunt, the leading lady of Oppenheimer, is at number two.
    Pop culture icon, actor, singer and producer Jennifer Lopez, known as JLO, is the third most malware attracting celebrity.
    Zendaya, famous for her portrayal of nerdy MJ in Spiderman, makes it to the fourth spot.
    Notoriously popular Elon Musk, owner of X (former Twitter) is unsurprisingly standing on number six.
    Among others are academy award winning actor Kevin Costner on number five, American weather presenter Al Roker on number seven, singer Bad Bunny on number nine and Barbie’s guide Gloria, played by America Ferrera, makes it to the tenth position.
    Football superstar Lionel Messi is also on the list, standing at number 18. Taylor Swift, singer with a huge fan following, made it to number 25.

    The plethora of crimes that can be committed and how?

    The hackers commit crimes with these searches as they pair celebrity names with terms like audiobook, lyrics, deepfake, free ringtone, free movie, free download, MP4, among others—which generate results that lead to shady sites. They carry out fraudulent activities with that because they understand people’s liking for the free celebrity content.

    The study finds out that between 25 to 135 deepfake URLs were celebrity searches. These could be malicious, recreational or cases of false advertising.

    A word of caution:

    Using trusted websites, sticking to legitimate streaming and downloading services and using antivirus softwares may help keep your devices protected and enable safe internet search. Searching about your favourite celebrities is not wrong because their names are used by hackers to attract more traffic. This just needs to be done with a sharp eye.

  • Meta blocks over 1,000 malicious URLs disguised as ChatGPT and AI tools

    Meta blocks over 1,000 malicious URLs disguised as ChatGPT and AI tools

    The internet is becoming more hazardous as the number of scams on the internet increases. Social media giants are now alerting users to fraudulent ChatGPT apps that are circulating on the internet. It is essential for users to be vigilant and only download ChatGPT apps from reliable sources.

    Meta has identified scammers exploiting people’s interest in ChatGPT by enticing users to download harmful apps and browser extensions. Cybercriminals are taking advantage of people’s curiosity and trust in ChatGPT to launch attacks, using tactics similar to those used in cryptocurrency scams.

    Meta has discovered about ten malware families that pose as ChatGPT and other similar tools. These malware strains are used to compromise accounts across the internet. Once a user downloads the malware, the malicious actors can launch an attack and keep updating their methods to bypass security protocols.

    Meta’s Q3 2023 security report states, “Over the past several months, we’ve investigated and taken action against malware strains taking advantage of people’s interest in OpenAI’s ChatGPT to trick them into installing malware pretending to provide AI functionality.” The company has detected and blocked over 1,000 unique malicious URLs from being shared on their apps, protecting unsuspecting users from falling prey to these cyberattacks.

    Furthermore, Meta has reported these malicious URLs to their industry peers at file-sharing services where malware is hosted, enabling them to take appropriate action to protect their users and networks. Meta has taken significant steps to combat the threat posed by malware strains posing as ChatGPT and similar tools.

    Cybercriminals are also using other websites such as LinkedIn, Chrome, Edge, Brave, and Firefox to deceive people. Meta has taken action against nine groups worldwide who are attempting to influence people secretly and steal information.

    Meta advises people to be cautious and ensure that the things they download are safe. They recommend that people only download things from trusted sources.