Last week, the WannaCry ransomware caused chaos around the world, invalidating vital services such as those used by the National Health Services; However, everything seems to indicate that the theft of EternalBlue by hackers (an exploit allegedly developed by the NSA, which was leaked by a group of hackers and finally used in a worldwide ransomware attack on May 12, 2017), did not it ends in the WannaCry attack. Adylkuz arrives.
Cybersecurity experts thus warn of a new threat dubbed Adylkuzz, which uses the same exploit as WannaCry and which is expected to be even more devastating than the previous attack. The new cyber offensive could affect hundreds of thousands of computers and servers around the world, although it is unknown which specific system will be targeted.
This new virus uses the same breach in Windows security to spread, with the exception that, instead of asking for ransom, it uses the systems behind users’ backs to generate digital currencies (bitcoins, monero), as the firm discovered Proofpoint security.
Thus, this network of zombie computers creates digital currencies (in this case monero) through ‘mining’, dedicating the resources of the computer to maintain the banking network on which they operate. The virus infects the system and generates cyber money for the attackers without the user knowing.
“Symptoms of this attack include loss of access to Windows shares and degradation of PC and server performance,” explains Proofpoint.
Unsurprisingly, this unconscious and collective network can generate huge profits for hackers. It sneakily attacks and the only thing users will notice is that the computer is running slower and that they are unable to access Windows shares.
While the attack is less conspicuous than WannaCry, ‘it is much broader and potentially quite disturbing. “
What is the scope of the new infection?
At the moment it is unknown but experts estimate that there are already around 200,000 infected computers and that hackers have pocketed more than a million dollars in the Monero cryptocurrency.
