Facebook accounts face this new malware
Regardless of whether your account is well protected or not, you are vulnerable to this computer program.
At least that's what experts at the Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky say. They published their discovery on Wednesday, March 12.
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Dubbed "Cookiethief" by Kaspersky researchers, the main feature of this malware is to attack Facebook accounts through two stages. The first step will be to collect all cookies generated by Facebook through the targeted user account. Then it will install on the terminal of its target (an Android device), a proxy that will allow it to mislead the potential security systems that are installed on the latter and also that of the operating system. Moreover, it should be noted that the cookies generated during our connections on Facebook, are files that will trace in something our journey on the social network.
Not only can they allow us to be recognized when we access a website, but also serve as a source of advertising for websites, through user tracking. So, using these cookies, this program can find a way to take control of your Facebook account, while deceiving the social network's security system that is supposed to detect the unusual connection. This is how the hackers behind this malware come to an end.
But there's something else to make clear, simple cookies, that they can't be enough to fool Facebook's security system. This strategy can only succeed thanks to the proxies that will be installed on the target terminal of cyber criminals. Indeed, these small computer programs will allow hackers to modify the geolocation of the victim. Once this masterstroke is successful, Facebook believe that you have logged into an unusual place simply. The system will not look to check whether it is indeed you or a third party program.
If for identity confirmation you will be sent a verification code via SMS or email, thanks to the proxy change, the malware will then be able to retrieve its code and still log in to your account. "By combining these two attacks, cybercriminals can gain full control over the victim's account and not arouse Facebook's suspicions," says Kaspersky's computer security researchers. More than 1,000 people have already been victims of this malware. And worst of all, when they manage to take control of your accounts, hackers will use it to expose spam and worse, other malware in particular, ransomware.
To combat this scourge that may spread if nothing is done, it is recommended that every Facebook user consult their account as much as possible and especially the unusual connections.
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