October 31, 2023 at 07:06AM
A malvertising campaign has been discovered that exploits a compromised website to promote fake versions of PyCharm on Google search results. Users who clicked on the ad were directed to a hacked webpage that installed multiple malware. The campaign takes advantage of Dynamic Search Ads offered by Google, allowing threat actors to manipulate website content for abusive ads. In a separate incident, Akamai reported a global phishing campaign targeting hospitality sites and customers.
Summary of Meeting Notes:
– A malvertising campaign has been observed using a compromised website to promote fake versions of PyCharm on Google search results.
– Users who clicked on the ad were taken to a hacked web page that installed multiple malware instead of the intended application.
– The infected website specializes in wedding planning and was injected with malware to serve false links to the PyCharm software.
– The campaign took advantage of Google’s Dynamic Search Ads feature, which tailors targeted ads based on the site’s content.
– The website owner unwittingly became an intermediary and victim, unknowingly paying for their own malicious ad.
– Akamai has also identified a sophisticated phishing campaign targeting hospitality sites and their customers, with notable activity in Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Canada.
– The campaign’s domain registration indicates it has been active since June 2023, despite initial assumptions of it starting in September 2023.
For more exclusive content, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.