Malware-laden Tor Web-browser swindles Dark Web surfers off Bitcoin

Security researchers have uncovered a stealthy campaign which would not allow users of the Dark Web to mine crypto-currency. The online attackers responsible for it were spreading the Tor Web-browser of a malicious edition, the browser which would help get to the Internet's underground areas over many years, while added one crypto-currency stealer to work like a bonus.

Cyber-security firm ESET explains that users must enter Tor's network for accessing illegitimate websites that receive their hosting service from .onion domains, while for gaining the benefits from this requirement, the cyber-attackers touted their Tor edition on PasteBin and forums like it was the authorized Tor Browser in Russian language. The period this happened was 2017-18.

ESET stated the fraudulent operators' objective was to entice targets speaking a specific language onto dual malevolent, yet genuine appearing, Internet sites. Evidently, the hacking scheme targets Tor users speaking Russian language. Tor is actually certain network that maintains secrecy of identities so they can't be tracked and monitored.

Of the two websites, the first has its visitors getting a warning message telling about supposed obsoleteness of their Tor Browser. Those getting fooled with the alert notification then get diverted onto the second website that serves a downloader for the phony application.

According to Cherepanov, upon getting downloaded, the browser with the malware facilitates its controllers for knowing the different websites the end-user accesses so they can modify those web-pages' data, while seize the matter from data caches. And though the hackers possibly exhibit fake information to end-users, it has merely been seen that the browser alters addresses of the wallets to be able to steal Bitcoins. www.coindesk.com posted this, October 18, 2019.

It's confirmed that 4.8 BTC is the aggregate sum of filched revenue that values nearly USD40K. However, according to ESET experts, the actual sum is likely to be much more as nobody has noticed the campaign active for a great number of years. That is because the Tor Browser after getting trojanized changes QIWI wallets tool.

With crypto-currencies, especially bitcoin, getting far widely used, while the worth of them climbing too, cyber-attacks related to bitcoin scams have increased.

» SPAMfighter News - 10/23/2019