How to protect yourself from corrupted files used by hackers to bypass your antivirus software
A new cyber threat is looming
Remember that those within the information hostile environment are equally as creative. They have discovered a new technique of getting malware into your Windows computer that you may not detect until the best antivirus misses it. As Cybernews and threat intelligence firm ANY noted. RUN Finally, hackers began sending phishing emails with infected or damaged Microsoft Office or ZIP files.
What is new about this attack?
The trick is to purposely corrupt these files and the following look at what happens and how it is done with malware is insightful. These ‘broken’ files cannot be scanned by the virus checkers and by outlooks spam filters, which means they skip all the blocker systems. Therefore, these emails fall right into the victim’s inbox.
When the victim attempts to revive the compromised files, he or she can try to run the appropriate application in recovery mode and all the viruses remain latent in those files are able to invade the system. For instance, a user downloads a corrupted .docx file that can neither be opened with Microsoft Word. However, a prompt to come in to get the contents of the said folder emerges yet again, forcing them to. If the user agrees, Word rebuilds and processes the malicious file every time the user opens it, which infects an already infected system.
The primary exploitable aspect of recovery mechanisms is thus the extensions of existing services into novel contexts.
ANY. According to RUN hackers intentionally attempt to distort these kinds of files in order to almost make it impossible for security tools to easily and efficiently spot the damaging data contained in these files. The applications targeted in these attacks were selected with the knowledge that they contain modalities which hackers can leverage to recover their attacks.
How do we make ourselves safe from these attacks?
In front of this new kind of attack, your attention is your strength. No emails or messages should be clicked that are coming from a person you do not know.
Check the origin of emails that are supposed to be internal to your company. Ask yourself questions: Would your HR department normally send you a QR code? Is the sender a well-known and usual source or person? Is the subject line suspicious, urgent, or misspelled?
Finally, if you haven’t installed any of the best antivirus software on your PC yet, it’s time to do so. Make sure all your devices are protected from malware and threats, including your mobile devices.
