Security News

Cybersecurity news aggregator

HIGH Attacks Ars Technica Security

Now, even Russia's most elite hackers are using Clickfix to infect devices

The "Clickfix" attack technique involves websites under attacker control displaying a fake CAPTCHA that prompts a user to copy and paste a provided PowerShell command into a terminal, which then executes malicious scripts to install malware like FreakyPoll or exfiltrate data. The Russian state-sponsored group Sandworm (APT44) has been observed using this method in campaigns targeting Ukrainian organizations since spring 2024. The article does not provide CVSS scores, specific affected software versions, fixed versions, or technical workarounds.
Read Full Article →

One of the Russian government’s most elite hacking groups has adopted an attack, known as Clickfix, to compromise devices belonging to sensitive organizations in Ukraine, the latter country’s CERT center is warning. Clickfix has emerged as an effective attack technique that attackers, primarily financially motivated criminals, began using in the last year or so. Websites under the control of the attackers display a CAPTCHA that requires the visitor to copy a jumble of text and paste it into the terminal. The text contains scripts that, once entered, perform malicious actions, typically by installing malware or exfiltrating sensitive data. Ukraine’s CERT said Wednesday that Sandworm , an advanced hacking unit inside the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence arm, is now using the technique. "GhettoVibe," "ScoutCurl," and many more The Clickfix attacks began in the spring and have continued through the summer. The campaign has resulted in the network compromise of at least one organization when a connected device was found to be infected by FreakyPoll, the name of one of Sandworm’s custom malware packages. Ukrainian authorities discovered 10 compromised websites that displayed a Powershell command as part of a fake CAPTCHA that said it had to be passed to ensure a real human was behind the visiting device’s keyboard. Read full article Comments

Share this article