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HackingTeam is back with Mac Malware

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Italian company known as Hacking Team which sells surveillance software to governments agencies all over the world has been risen. This week a security researchers has identified a new malware, which is dubbed as ‘dropper’.

The Hacking Team is out of business since last July; when an unknown Hacker compromised their servers and stole their data. The data include their source codes, exploits, government agencies names and emails- which were leaked on the internet by the unknown notorious hacker.

Now, they are back in business with malware which targets Apple’s Mac OS X, according to Pedro Vilaca – a security researcher who works with Palo Alto. Vilaca wrote on his blog; “I just found some unique code in this dropper. This code checks for newer OS X versions and does not exist in the leaked source code. Either someone is maintaining and updating HackingTeam code or this is indeed a legit sample compiled by Hacking Team themselves. Reusage and repurpose of malware source code happens (Zeus for example) but my gut feeling and indicators seem to not point in that direction.”

The hacking team has vowed last june; that they will be back. And oh boy didn’t they announced their return with some style. Even though the codes are pretty much the same, but still it is enough for the malware to install the HackingTeam’s Remote Control System (RCS).

Pedro Vilaca, the researcher who labelled HackingTeam as “Italian Morons” said, the technique is similar to the older version of HackingTeam’s RCS and also the codes are similar to the one leaked last year.

How to check you Mac Device? 

  • To check if your mac device is infected look for Bs-V7qIU.cYL or _9g4cBUb.psr which is dropped into the ~/Library/Preferences/8pHbqThW/ directory
  • If any of these codes are detected on your device , your first step should be to delete the entire directory then remove the ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.FinderExtAvt.plist file.
CIP Cyber Staff

CIP Cyber Staff

CIP Cyber Staff comprises CIP cybersecurity experts committed to delivering comprehensive information on critical infrastructure protection. The content covers diverse topics, equipping professionals to defend organizations and communities in an ever-evolving cyber landscape.

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