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So now, May 25th has come and gone. If you live in the EU, you’re probably at least somewhat familiar with the significance of this past Friday, the 25th of May, 2018 – this is the day that the EU’s new [General Data Privacy Regulations, GDPR](https://www.eugdpr.org), became binding law.

**Um, what’s GDPR?** 

But if you happen to live outside of the EU and have no clue what any of this means, here is a three-line synopsis of the 99 articles and 173 recitals (!!) that make up this new _exhaustive_ body of laws:  
The point of GDPR is to give citizens living within the EU heighten control over their data and how it’s used. Any business or organization, regardless of where they are located, that holds any data at all on people living within the EU must become fully compliant with the new regulations and do everything they can to prevent improper handling of user data.  
One of the many things businesses need to do to avoid getting hit with whopping fines (up to 20 million Euros!) is to update their privacy policies and obtain users’ consent to remain on their mailing lists. To this end, you may have noticed an influx of emails over the last few days from entities such as Google, Netflix, and Amazon, all asking you to read their new enhanced privacy statements and to agree to remain on their mailing lists.  

**Attackers love GDPR**   
Well, surprise, surprise – scammers have noticed this uptick in emails too. And as with any smartly executed phishing ploy, they are using the opportunity to send their own fraudulent emails. The first scam to emerge [posed as a privacy policy update from Airbnb](https://www.scmagazineuk.com/phishing-campaign-aimed-at-airbnb-guests-uses-gdpr-hook/article/763535/). Originally noted by security firm RedScan, it implores readers to accept the terms of their new policy before any new bookings can be made. It tells readers to click a certain link and enter their account details, which may lead to exposure of their credit card details.  
_Oh, the irony of using these new data protection laws as the basis for sophisticated phishing scams!_  
But wait, there’s more.  
Just last week, reports of a new [Apple/GDPR-based scam](https://threatpost.com/gdpr-phishing-scam-targets-apple-accounts-financial-data/131915/) began to emerge. In this variant, the fake Apple email asks the recipient to update their profile as part of security hardening measures ahead of the new regulations. The idea here is to get victims to divulge their Apple account information, which may include credit card details.  

**Spotting GDPR phishing emails**  
These fake-out emails may look a whole lot like the real thing and, with all the confusion GDPR has created for the non-legally-minded, they may indeed sound very legit. So how can you spot a fraudulent GDPR email if and when you get one?

1.  Beware of GDPR-privacy policy related emails that request personal information. This is a dead giveaway that what you’re reading should be deleted ASAP.
2.  Look for links that seem to be out of place. You should know by now that links in emails can and often do harbor malicious code that, if clicked on, can provide attackers with access to your data. No legitimate privacy policy update should be asking you to click links to update your information.
3.  Check the design, context, spelling, domain names and grammar thoroughly. When creating fraudulent emails, it’s (thankfully) really tough to get all the nitty-gritty details just right, so attackers usually mess up in at least one of these areas. For example, the Apple phishing email was sent at random, which means that lots and lots of non-Apple users got it, making it out of context. Moreover, the domain name that readers reached upon clicking the embedded link was completely unrelated to Apple, another giveaway right there.
4.  Pay close attention to the sender’s email address. Sure, the email may say it’s from Airbnb, but if the email address doesn’t sufficiently reflect that, delete it.
5.  Think about the tone of the email. Attackers want to get the reader to act without thinking, so the tone of such emails is usually quite urgent.

Don’t assume that since GDPR has already taken effect, you won’t be seeing any more of these emails. More than 50 percent of companies won’t be GDPR-compliant until the end of the year — and many more will only achieve compliance in the next few years. This means that you’ll be getting these “We’re updating our privacy statement” emails for a long time to come – to continue to be on the lookout for more of these baddies. Make sure you’re armed with enough information to avoid getting caught in their snare.

![](https://cms.reasonlabs.com/cdn/shutterstock_777193192-scaled.jpg)

shutterstock_777193192-scaled.jpg

Which is worse: getting hit with crypto mining malware or falling prey to ransomware? with the new version of a relatively older trojan named Rakhni, you don’t have to wonder — because it delivers both. The exploit, which was first discovered in 2013, has gotten a fair number of technical enhancements over its long journey. It started out as an early entry in the world of money-sucking ransomware variants and while Rakhni has been laying pretty low for the last five years, now it’s back.  

**Back and better than ever?**

A new version of the variant has been spotted not only dishing out file-encrypting ransomware, but it also has a coin mining aspect as well. The interesting thing about Rakhni is that it’s set up to deliver ransomware to some of its victims and the other, just as an unlucky portion will be blessed with crypto-mining malware. It’s almost as if the creators couldn’t decide what if they wanted to be in the malicious crypto mining business or in the ransomware-o-sphere, so they decided to pursue both options.  
A typical infection scenario goes like this:  
You get a phishing email that contains a malicious word DOCX file attachment, supposedly containing important financial information. If you open the attachment (which by now, we _really really_ hope you won’t), it will try to run an EXE file and will ask you to enable macros. If for some reason you do allow the macros to be enabled (again, something you should never do), the malicious code will scan your computer and one of two things will happen; if it sees a file called “Bitcoin”, which would imply that you have a Bitcoin wallet already and understand how to obtain cryptocurrency, it will begin to run as a ransomware. When this happens, a ransom note pops up, informing you that if you try to use a decryptor, your files will be corrupted.  
(In a positive twist of fate, there actually are decryptors than are able to undo the encryption. Clearly, Rakhni’s developers don’t want you to know that part, again illustrating that perhaps these guys aren’t the sharpest malware creators in the box, if you know what we mean.)  
If it doesn’t see any file with that name, it will begin to run the crypto mining module. It typically mines Monero, Monero Original, and Dashcoin, all of which are less resource heavy in terms of mining than Bitcoins and are far more privacy-minded than Bitcoin in terms of traceability.

![](https://cms.reasonlabs.com/cdn/shutterstock_1025593651-scaled.jpg)  
**Rakhni and it’s odd ways** It’s anybody’s guess as to why the developers would choose to infect those more knowledgeable about cryptocurrencies with ransomware while infecting everyone else with mining malware. The prevelent theory is that someone with a Bitcoin wallet will have an easier time getting the Dash/Monero/Monero Original needed to pay the unlock fee than would someone with less cryptocurrency acumen. To us, that seems a bit far fetched, as cryptocurrency users tend to be more internet-savvy than the general population. Part and parcel of this savviness are having better than average security habits, like having multiple backups, which makes them less likely to pay up.   
Moreover, as we have mentioned elsewhere, malicious crypto-mining is dethroning ransomware as the king of the malware baddies. It takes the same amount of effort to execute both crypto mining exploits and ransomware exploits and both can rake in lots of money. The distinct advantage of crypto mining is that it’s so subtle that owners of infected devices rarely know they have been compromised. In this light, it’s easy to see why most malicious-minded devs out there today are putting their efforts into crypto mining over ransomware ploys. Again, in another demonstration of their apparent lack of forethought, Rakhni’s developers leave us scratching our heads and asking why.  
For now, Rakhni is affecting users in Russia, Kazakhstan, India, and Ukraine so chances are you’re not going to get it. But it may spread and regardless, it’s wise to be familiar with trending malware tactics so you can stay one step ahead.  
Further, Rakhni’s split personality disorder may just be a sign of things to come — malware creators are always trying to “up the bar”, finding new ways to burrow their way onto our devices. In the future, all malware may come with dual infection modalities, increasing the chances of successful infiltration. The good thing is that next-gen malware solutions are already defending their users on many levels at once and can easily handle anything that exploits like Rakhni can dish out. So while you needn’t worry about getting hit with this particular exploit, hopefully, you can take a lesson about what makes for effective planning — whatever these guys do, do the opposite.

#Unwanted Programs

Oh, the irony – phishers are using GDPR to scam you

Ransomware or crypto mining malware? Rakhni is both!

Watch out for online learning scams!

Virobot: are monster mash-ups the future of ransomware?

#Unwanted Programs

Oh, the irony &#8211; phishers are using GDPR to scam you

Ransomware or crypto mining malware? Rakhni is both!

Watch out for online learning scams!

Virobot: are monster mash-ups the future of ransomware?

Oh, the irony – phishers are using GDPR to scam you