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 The software maker urged the more than 1 billion users of Flash on
Windows, Mac, Chrome and Linux computers to update the product as
quickly as possible after security researchers said the bug was
being exploited in "drive-by" attacks that infect computers with
ransomware when tainted websites are visited.
Ransomware encrypts data, locking up computers, then demands
payments that often range from $200 to $600 to unlock each infected
PC.
Japanese security software maker Trend Micro Inc <4704.T> said that
it had warned Adobe that it had seen attackers exploiting the flaw
to infect computers with a type of ransomware known as 'Cerber' as
early as March 31.
Cerber "has a 'voice' tactic that reads aloud the ransom note to
create a sense of urgency and stir users to pay," Trend Micro said
on its blog. (http://bit.ly/1L9YYMP)
Adobe's new patch fixes a previously unknown security flaw. Such
bugs, known as "zero days," are highly prized because they are
harder to defend against since software makers and security firms
have not had time to figure out ways to block them. They are
typically used by nation states for espionage and sabotage, not by
cyber criminals who tend to use widely known bugs for their attacks.
Use of a "zero day" to distribute ransomware highlights the severity
of a growing ransomware epidemic, which has disrupted operations at
a wide range of organizations across the United States and Europe,
including hospitals, police stations and school districts.
Ransomware schemes have boomed in recent months, with increasingly
sophisticated techniques and tools used in such operations.
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"The deployment of a zero day highlights potential advancement by
cyber criminals," said Kyrk Storer, a spokesman for FireEye Inc <FEYE.O>.
"We have observed ransomware and crimeware deployed via 'zero-day'
before; however, it is rare."
FireEye said that the bug was being leveraged to deliver ransomware
in what is known as the Magnitude Exploit Kit. This is an automated
tool sold on underground forums that hackers use to infect PCs with
viruses through tainted websites.
Exploit kits are used for "drive-by" attacks that automatically seek
to attack the computers of people who view an infected website.
(Reporting by Jim Finkle; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Kenneth
Maxwell)
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