Remote work has become one of the main measures to prevent massive coronavirus contagion; to carry out their activities relatively normally, public and private companies around the world resort to the use of remote communication tools, such as instant messaging services or video conferencing platforms, as mentioned by cloud security computing experts.
This measure has also generated some negative consequences, mainly related to groups of threat actors. A recently published report states that, one of the most active malware variants in Europe, mainly in Russia, is Pykspa, a malicious development that is spreading using the Skype remote communication tool.
First detected in 2015, Pykspa has shown a new uptick in its activity levels during the most recent weeks due to the increase in use of Skype and other tools. Cloud computing security specialists also point to the increase in phishing attacks, although the main concern is this malware.
According to the report, Pykspa interacts with some Skype elements by sending a message with an attached link. If the target user opens the link, they will be redirected to a site from which the malware will be downloaded to the compromised device. From the reported cases, experts mention that, once installed, this malware is able to access multiple details of the Skype accounts of the affected users, including their contact list.
Skype is not the only video conferencing platform affected by increased work from home. For a few weeks now, cloud computing security specialists have reported multiple security flaws present in Zoom, which has increased their unusual number of users since the COVID-19 pandemic’s social distancing policy began.
A few days ago it was revealed that Zoom mistakenly leaked the usernames and email addresses of hundreds of users, exposing their video conferencing sessions. In addition, the Zoom for iOS version was shown to send sensitive information to Facebook’s servers without requesting the express consent of users. Another serious security issue is the rise of fake Zoom domains, which has shown unprecedented growth.
The International Institute of Cyber Security (IICS) mentions that as long as people should remain held at home and work remotely, these cybercriminal groups will remain active, which have been able to take advantage of a global crisis situation to reap considerable economic benefits.
He is a well-known expert in mobile security and malware analysis. He studied Computer Science at NYU and started working as a cyber security analyst in 2003. He is actively working as an anti-malware expert. He also worked for security companies like Kaspersky Lab. His everyday job includes researching about new malware and cyber security incidents. Also he has deep level of knowledge in mobile security and mobile vulnerabilities.
