• Hacking News
    • Leaks
    • WikiLeaks
    • Anonymous
  • Tech
    • Android
    • Apple News
    • BlackBerry
    • Google News
    • Microsoft
    • Motorola
    • Nokia
    • Samsung
    • 3D
  • Cyber Crime
    • Phishing Scam
  • How To
  • Cyber Events
    • Censorship
    • Cyber Attacks
  • Security
    • Malware
  • Surveillance
    • Drones
    • NSA
    • Privacy
  • Explore
    • Gaming
    • Science
    • Viral
HackRead
  • January 28th, 2021
  • Home
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
HackRead
  • Hacking News
    • Leaks
    • WikiLeaks
    • Anonymous
  • Tech
    • Android
    • Apple News
    • BlackBerry
    • Google News
    • Microsoft
    • Motorola
    • Nokia
    • Samsung
    • 3D
  • Cyber Crime
    • Phishing Scam
  • How To
  • Cyber Events
    • Censorship
    • Cyber Attacks
  • Security
    • Malware
  • Surveillance
    • Drones
    • NSA
    • Privacy
  • Explore
    • Gaming
    • Science
    • Viral
  • Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkedin
    • Youtube
Home
Security
Malware

Yahoo Ad Network Hacked, Infecting Millions of Devices with Malware, Ransomware

August 5th, 2015 Farzan Hussain Malware 0 comments
Yahoo Ad Network Hacked, Infecting Millions of Devices with Malware, Ransomware
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Yahoo ad network has been exploited by a group of hackers that resulted in a serving of malware and ransomware adverts on Yahoo.com and its sub-websites including news, finance, sports, celebrity and games.

The hackers found a vulnerability in the ad network and managed to run an advertisement campaign, which was targeted towards hundreds of millions of people to infect their computers.

[must url=”https://www.hackread.com/hackers-sending-windows-10-ransomware-email/”]Hackers Sending Fake Windows 10 Upgrade Ransomware Email, Encrypts Every File[/must]

yahoo-ad-network-hacked-tried-to-infect-millions-of-computers-with-malware-and-ransomware

Yahoo Ad Network Hacked, Infecting Millions of Devices with Malware, Ransomware

The security researchers at Malwarebytes revealed that the hackers behind this campaign are the same who were previously involved in exploiting vulnerabilities found in Adobe Flash plugin. They also found out that the Angler Exploit Kit was used by hackers to leverage this malvertising attack.

For those who don’t know, Angler Exploit Kit is easy to use software package for malware attacking. This kit has been dominating the malware attacks being carried out since past ten months and the kit has seen a significant increase in the growth of its market share. The said kit is capable of handling various malware activities including ransomware, backdoor Trojans, rootkits and many others.

Just like most of the malware attacks, exploit kits are used by hackers in this attack in an attempt to redirect the targeted user to a website infected with malware. However, most often it is observed that these spoofed websites infect a user with ransomware, which once executed would encrypt every file of the victim’s computer and the decryption code would only be provided when the hacker has been paid with the ransom amount within the specified time.

According to the statistical data provided by the SimilarWeb, the entire Yahoo network received approximately 6.9 billion visits, during the month of June, from desktop devices. While the malvertising campaign began on July 28th and was in operation until August 3rd, which means it was actively running on the Yahoo network for almost a week, affecting millions of website visitors.

Yahoo.com Visitor Statistical Data

Of course, that is a huge number of vulnerable users. The effect of this advertisement campaign is still not revealed, but malvertising campaigns like these usually include both ransomware and ad fraud malware. However, there was a great chance that you could have been infected by this malware because it does not require any interaction from the user side to initiate an attack. Malvertising is a silent killer.

According to the researchers over at Malwarebytes:

“While there is no way to know for sure who may have been exposed to the rogue adverts, the sheer numbers thrown at the Yahoo pages could potentially mean high rates of infection. Many Malvertising attacks tend to focus on specific geographical locations depending on ad networks used, but this campaign could have had a huge amount of reach.”

Update:

After the story was published on the Internet, Yahoo’s spokesperson responded with the following statement:

“Yahoo is committed to ensuring that both our advertisers and users have a safe and reliable experience. As soon as we learned of this issue, our team took action to block this advertiser from our network.

We take all potential security threats seriously. With that said, the scale of the attack was grossly misrepresented in initial media reports and we continue to investigate the issue.

[q]Be careful what you click on[/q]

Unfortunately, disruptive ad behavior affects the entire tech industry. Yahoo has a long history of engagement on this issue and is committed to working with our peers to create a secure advertising experience. We’ll continue to ensure the quality and safety of our ads through our automated testing and through the SafeFrame working group, which seeks to protect consumers and publishers from the potential security risks inherent in the online ad ecosystem.”

In past, Youtube and Monster Jobs were also targeted with malvertising attacks.

Report typos and corrections to admin@hackread.com

[src src=”source” url=”https://blog.malwarebytes.org/malvertising-2/2015/08/large-malvertising-campaign-takes-on-yahoo/”]Malwarebytes[/src]

  • Tags
  • Hacks
  • Malvertising
  • Malware
  • Malwarebytes
  • Ransomware
  • security
  • Spyware
  • TROJAN
  • virus
  • Worm
  • Yahoo
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest
Previous article Sri Lankan Prime Minister's Office Website Hacked
Next article Middle East's Largest Classified Website Dubizzle Suffers Security Breach
Farzan Hussain

Farzan Hussain

I am Mohammad Farzan! A technology and gadget enthusiast as well as a creative content writer with over six years of experience in writing engaging content. You will mostly find me writing occasional blog posts, designing websites, capturing photos, social networking and listening to music.

Related Posts
World's Most 'Resilient Malware' Botnet Emotet Taken Down

World's Most 'Resilient Malware' Botnet Emotet Taken Down

Watch out as new Android malware spreads through WhatsApp

Watch out as new Android malware spreads through WhatsApp

Gamarue malware found in UK Govt-funded laptops for homeschoolers

Gamarue malware found in UK Govt-funded laptops for homeschoolers

Newsletter

Get the best stories straight into your inbox!



Don’t worry, we don’t spam

Latest Posts
NetWalker ransomware disrupted - Cryptocurrency and domain seized
Cyber Crime

NetWalker ransomware disrupted - Cryptocurrency and domain seized

38
Transferring Whatsapp data from iPhone to Android with MobileTrans
How To

Transferring Whatsapp data from iPhone to Android with MobileTrans

25
World's Most 'Resilient Malware' Botnet Emotet Taken Down
Cyber Crime

World's Most 'Resilient Malware' Botnet Emotet Taken Down

69

HACKREAD is a News Platform that centers on InfoSec, Cyber Crime, Privacy, Surveillance and Hacking News with full-scale reviews on Social Media Platforms & Technology trends. Founded in 2011, HackRead is based in the United Kingdom.

Follow us