Tech – Page 61 – Scriptingthewhy.com

Wanted: A Real Boy!

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When are these guys coming? A new script just dropped and they’re missing it.
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Have no fear, the bots are here and this time they weren’t sent from the future. It has been a well-known fact by now in every industry that we have advanced technology to the point where any task if not all the tasks we deem to be boring and must be done many times over gets put onto our hardware brain companions.

If you don’t have time or feel like trying to figure out which email is spam, a spam filter is created. If you don’t feel like searching through hundreds of documents to find a particular one, a finder was created.

And if you want to repeatedly send emails to a random list of people, you can use a bot for that and other malicious intent as well.

We’re going to be filtering out what kind of attack this is, who is using it, what are the effects upon release, and what are some ways you can protect yourself from being on the spamming list.

Set it and forget it? Real cooks do no such thing.
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The Attack

So, what kind of service would you make use of spam to hundreds of people while you have it on “Set it and forget it” mode? Look no further than TrueBot. Don’t let the name fool you, there’s nothing true about this bot.

Truebot is a botnet being used to send out hundreds upon hundreds of emails in hopes of tricking victims into interacting with malicious links. You don’t know what a botnet is? Don’t worry, we have you covered on that.

A botnet is a network of slave computers infected with malware operating under the control of the threat actor or actors. A good way to picture this is to imagine a dog walker walking with a group of well-trained dogs, since the walker has control of the dogs when the walker finds a target, they can then choose to release the hounds.

You have one more time to silence me human, that finger will go bye.
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Who Can It Be Now

You may be wondering which group of people is releasing the hounds and if this is the first time. The only group that has been ID for using such a tactic is the group called Silence also known as Whisper Spider.

Silence has been operating since mid-2016 and has spread its activities over 25 countries worldwide and has had confirmed damage raking up to, if not more than 800,000 USD. They are thought to be Russian based on clues such as words typed on an English keyboard layout for issuing commands and using Russian-language web hosting services.

Silence has been responsible for targeting Russian banks and other financial institutions which leads to the thought that they may not have a code of ethics. If you’re willing to attack your home turf, then that means no one is off the menu… these guys may not be Russian after all.

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Man: I think we can get in through the back door!
Woman: I FORGOT TO TURN OFF THE STOVE!!
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The Sinking Feeling

Aside from rushing through the backdoor, how do these guys get in is what you may be asking. Silence and other threat actors gain a foothold by exploiting a vulnerability, where in which the installation of TrueBot begins.

After breaching the network another installation takes place which installs the FlawedGrace RAT (Remote Access Trojan), this dirty RAT stores encrypted payloads within the registry.

The FlawedGrace RAT establishes a connection with the Command and Control (C2) server as well as load dynamic link libraries (DLL) to escalate privileges for further malicious intent.

Just understand that once the backdoor is opened, it leaves it wedged and poses no threat while all the information is being collected for the threat actor.

I’m your well configured firewall…what’s up.
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The Prevention

At this junction, it’s clear that you’re interested in keeping your back door closed and having it stay closed. A few ways you could do this is by making sure you stir clear of clicking on links from questionable contacts.

If it’s someone you may know who sent you the link, cross-check with them on other media to verify. Keeping your system, anti-virus, and yourself up to date will help greatly in catching any funny business being had.

Keeping yourself up to date is most important since humans are the most hackable. We’ve been around for years and still fall for the same old tricks.

I think I’ll read a few more scripts. They help put my mind at ease.
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Made it this far and found this to be entertaining? Then a big thanks to you and please show your support by cracking a like, sharing this with whomever, scripting a comment, or plug-in to follow.

Would like to give sincere thanks to current followers and subscribers, your support and actions mean a lot and has a play in the creation of each script.

Do you feel like there is something I may have missed on TrueBot? Script a comment below.

Security, Tech

Credit Resulting in Crisis

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How am I supposed to read the latest script out here?
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Throughout the history of technology, as technology evolves with every iteration so do we…well, at least we try to. From shaping wheels out of stone to aid in our transporting heavy items, creating boats to sail across seas, and creating the internet to provide the world with endless reels of cat videos.

Our progress has been quite amazing, another thing that is quite amazing is how quickly we look to not only exploit the vulnerabilities in our creations but in each other through nefarious means.

When a good invention involves a secure transaction between a business owner and the customer, the risk of a man in the middle, a bad actor, or a member of the “Wet Bandits” is sure to frequently come into play. Let me script to you what I mean.

Thank you for choosing this fuel pump. Pick a card, any card.
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Fueling Your Identity Crisis

So, what is this nefarious act? Brace yourself, you’re going to be amazed at how clever this name is. The act is called “credit card skimming”.

Credit card skimming or what is often referred to as “card skimming or skimming”, is the act of illegally using a device mounted onto a point-of-sale (POS) to capture a victim’s credit card information for identity theft.

This form of cyberattack isn’t anything new and has been in the news many times before but as prices for simply living have gone up and the pay for the common man and common woman has either gone down or remained the same, incidents have gone on the rise.

This is one of two variations, the other is e-commerce skimming or also known as digital skimming which is the act of intercepting credit card information from the form field of a website. And before you fix to say anything, yes, I know. While you are reading this, there is a lot of skimming going on.

What the!? First rent, now gas is going up. And no one is subscribing to my OnlyFans!
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Over-priced Fueling

You might have the thought, “this only happens at certain places, I should be good where I’m at.” Well, I have some not so good news for you. This form of cyberattack can happen anywhere that requires you to swipe your card. For example, if you were to make the unfortunate mistake of today called “needing gas”.

Let’s say you pull up to a fuel pump, swipe your card in the faintly loose card reader and receive your “This gasoline makes your car ride on water, that’s why you’re paying this god-awful inconsistent price” and drive off into the sunset with depressing thoughts of you working into your golden years and beyond.

You may have failed to pay attention to the small detail in which the card reader was a little loose. This in turn led to your information being collected from the magnetic strip of your credit card for later use at the thief’s discretion.

But this doesn’t only happen at fuel stations, the art of getting skimmed can happen in restaurants, ATMs, retail stores, and pretty much anywhere that has a point-of-sale service or terminal.

In a nutshell, if you have to swipe card double check your account to ensure everything is right. Just when you thought you were getting screwed over enough when getting gas.

Small Detour:

A guy discovered a card skimmer in an ATM during his interaction, click here to check it out.

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Ok, this is my last cart from Amazon…although I did see else that I want and he does still have five dollars to his name.
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More than Your Bank Account

So you might be asking yourself, why would someone want to pretend to be me? You might also have the train of thought if they steal my information, they’re just practicing because I don’t have anything for them to steal.

Well, I can tell you why someone would want to be you because you’re special and you’re a somebody. Yup, that’s right. You’re a somebody with a pulse, a car, and a credit card. Which means you have the means to get a lot of nice things, things you didn’t even know you wanted until they show up on your credit card statement.

This act is committed with the intent of creating fake cards in your name to either purchase desired items that could range from gift cards, cars, multiple loans, or simply some play time at Top Golf.

Aside from taking money right out of your account and mucking up your finances, another and more terrifying purpose of collecting your information is to sell it on the dark web.

Whatever the use case may be, your information is a currency far better than money. And you thought they were just practicing because you’re living from paycheck to paycheck. Silly you, you are the paycheck.

I saw something on sale and I just had to buy it in your name. You’re cool with that right?
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Facing the Zeros

You may be wondering what are some of the ways you can protect yourself from having your information copied and pasted into oblivion. Since most of these attacks happen at fuel pumps, making use of the pump nearest facing the store clerk could provide some security because it is less likely they were tampered with.

If you don’t have access to the pump nearest the clerk, check the card reader for any slack as it may offer some sign of being compromised, and try to cover up the keypad as much as possible when entering your PIN (Personal Identification Number) this will prevent and micro-camera from knowing what you entered. Another and if all else fails in providing comfortability, going in and completing your transaction with the store clerk could be advised as this is a face-to-face interaction.

Other places might not be so obvious since technology is advancing but by being vigilant and tracking your spending, you can catch any alarming activity. Double checking with people like a spouse who may have access to your accounts to confirm if they were the ones to make purchases.

Making use of email alerts from your financial institution and multi-factor authentication (MFA) or two-multi-factor authentication (2FA) combined with any biometric verification could help bolster the security of your account. Sometimes what seems alarming could very well be a false-positive…which in this case could be a very good thing.

Tina: Z-Daddy said we should double check our account to make sure everything is safe. Shaw…who is Katrina and why the payment label “desert storm”?
Shaw: that was for plumbing, she was a plumber.
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Made it this far and found this to be entertaining? Then a big thanks to you and please show your support by cracking a like, scripting a comment, or plug-in to follow.

Would like to give sincere thanks to current followers and subscribers, your support and actions mean a lot and has a play in the creation of each script.

Do you feel like there’s something I may have missed about stolen identity? Script a comment below.

Programming, Security, Tech

Wedded with A Shell of Problems

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Kim: I’m leaving, it’s time to read another script anyway.
Brian: What!? I told you, them scripts are nonsense.
Kim: Then why do we still have money in our bank account?
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No wait, you don’t have to twist our arm! We can talk about payment options. It should be common knowledge by now that clicking on links sent to you by “someone you may know” could land you in hot water with your computer, household, work, and bank.

But you’re not the only one who has to keep an eye out for phishing emails, big name companies are getting hit and are paying the price for it… well not only paying with money but with time.

We’re going to look at what kind of attack this is, who may have used it, what’s the functionality and effects upon its release, and some ways you can prevent this… well, at least try.

Ransomes are like this, except at the time of demand you have less money.
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The Attack

For those who are not familiar with ransomware attacks, we’ll quickly explain. With some phishing email attempts, sometimes depending on the threat actor’s goal, a link will be provided for you to click on.

Once you interact with the link and let’s say you downloaded a file, the malicious file can then run in the background and collect all of your data and encrypt it.

Afterward, a prompt will come up saying “We’ve collected your data and encrypted it, if you want it back then pay this amount through Bitcoin.” Usually, there is a timeframe accompanied by the prompt.

While the average person comes across this kind of attack, companies have been experiencing ransomware attacks lately and it doesn’t show any signs of stopping.

Lord, hackers get clever day by day. I’m tired.
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Who Can It Be Now

Clop, a ransomware gang affiliate of Russia is one among many requesting payments in the highest form and has been named for using this tactic. Clop has been known to request payment in, not only hundreds, thousands, but also in the millions for companies to get their information back and kept from being released.

Clop has recently launched a ransomware campaign against a few companies claiming to have collected their data and threatening to leak it to other threat actors but the biggest among them is the gas and oil company known as Shell.

However, in most if not all cases, paying the ransom only fuels the threat actors to commit more ransomware attacks.

Enjoy the read so far? Why don’t you consider subscribing so you can keep up to date?

Kate: Who is that lady coming up behind us? Is she on the list?
Marshall: Look ahead of us, not behind us. Those days are over.
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The Sinking Feeling

Like an affair being exposed at a wedding, there are many factors that lead up to this event. A complex approach is becoming a part of the organization, working hard to rise in the ranks and gain a high enough level of privilege to access where sensitive data is being kept and installing malicious malware onto their systems.

The other and least complex is spear-phishing or even whale-phishing. Whale-phishing is aimed for someone like the CEO of the organization while spear-phishing is aimed for certain personnel who may have the level of privilege needed to fall victim to the ransomware attack.

Once a target has been chosen and unfortunate enough to not pay attention to the ongoings of clicking on the provided link, a number of actions are set in motion.

A file or folder holding the malware is downloaded onto the machine. That malware is then released and depending on its program it could either collect the data and encrypt it or copy the collected data, encrypt it, and delete the files leaving behind empty files and directories.

Once information aggregation is complete, whatever is collected is sent back to a command and control (C2C) server for the threat actor to decide what is important and what they would like to do with the information.

So, yeah, this is like having the side chick show up on your wedding day when you’re just trying to get married. The moral of the story is; don’t have a side chick if you care about keeping your information secret.

You’d be surprised, a good chunk of time hacking takes place in a GUI rather than the command line.
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The Prevention

Now, don’t panic, there are some ways you can prevent this. Since most of the time this is done by phishing attempts, practicing examining emails, and looking for things like questionable grammar, grammar Nazis this is where you can shine with your superpower and people will love you.

The option for you to hover your mouse over the link and see where it would take you is there although I won’t really suggest this as some people may be heavy-handed and accidentally click on the link.

Copying and pasting the link into Google’s search engine could also help id if the link is legit or not. If you do click on the link and are redirected to a website, leave immediately and pay attention to your downloads as visiting the website may have a drive-by download—this is where a download happens without your interaction, if this happens delete the files immediately and scan the computer. Keeping the antivirus software, OS (Operating System), and employee awareness training up to date will help ensure ransomware attacks are kept at bay.

Security isn’t a hundred percent guaranteed but not having something in place guarantees a hundred percent chance of an infection.

A little security is better than no security at all.
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Made it this far and found this to be entertaining? Then a big thanks to you and please show your support by cracking a like, sharing this with whomever, scripting a comment, or plug-in to follow.

Would like to give sincere thanks to current followers and subscribers, your support and actions mean a lot and has a play in the creation of each script.

Do you feel like there is something I may have missed on ransomware attacks? Script a comment below.