Adobe Systems recently rolled out an emergency update to Adobe Flash, following the discovery of a security flaw that targets PCs running on Windows.
North of 1 million users have Flash on their machines, and the company is asking them to urgently update the product to avoid being targets of a "drive-by" attack. The malicious infection hits computers with so-called ransomware when users visit tainted webpages.
Ransomware works by encrypting the data from users' computers, followed up by demanding payments in order to unlock the locked-away data.
According to a report from Trend Micro's security researchers, the attacks on Adobe that used ransomware dubbed "Cerber" started in March 2016. This crypto-ransomware utilizes a voice tactic that reads a ransom note aloud to pressure users into paying.
With the latest safety patch, Adobe fills the gap in a previously undiscovered security liability. These types of exploits are known as "zero days" and represent one of the most sought-after elements for hackers. The reason for this is that neither coders, nor digital security companies were able to resolve the issues, leaving computers vulnerable.
In general, these bugs are targeted by state-backed hackers who are involved in acts of sabotage and espionage. The trend for "common" cyber criminals is to make use of commonly known bugs during attacks.
Digital security experts warn that a surging ransomware tendency exists in both Europe and the United States. Organizations such as police stations, school districts and even hospitals were targeted and blackmailed via ransomware attacks. The malevolent actions gained depth as well as scale in the last few months.
"The deployment of a zero day highlights potential advancement by cyber criminals," Kyrk Storer, a spokesman for FireEye Inc, notes.
According to FireEye, digital criminals are using the Magnitude Exploit Kit or MEK for delivering ransomware to selected targets. The MEK is a set of tools that users can purchase on specialized forums that are usually more prevalent in the so-called "dark Web."
What we gather from the recurrent stories about cybersecurity flaws is that keeping the system up-to-date is paramount to defending against exploit kits that deliver the ransomware payload, alongside other bugs and nasty exploits.
