Microsoft Edge users beware of ransomware spreading software that pretends to be a legitimate web browser update.
(Photo: Photo Illustration by Thiago Prudencio/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
In this photo, a Microsoft Edge web browser app in the App Store is displayed on a smartphone in front of a laptop computer.
According to the report from HitHardNews, Microsoft Edge is one of the best browsers, unlike its predecessor, Internet Explorer. In fact, some people prefer it more than its other rivals, such as Google Chrome and Firefox.
Fake Microsoft Edge update
Microsoft has also been active in adding improvements and other additional features in its constant updating for the web browser.
However, it turns out that some threat actors are now capitalizing on the fame of Microsoft Edge by releasing fake updates for the web browser.
Cybersecurity research firm, MalwareBytes, has discovered new ransomware targeting Edge users by releasing a fake software update to trick the browser into luring its victims.
Updates and Malware
Malwarebytes researchers said that using a fake updater to trick current users into installing malware on their machines is not a new cybercriminal scheme. Instead, it’s already “a go-to tactic to trick users into downloading malware for many years.”
Cyber criminal minds have demanded users to install the latest software update urging them to get it immediately to stay safe from threats, giving victims a sense of urgency.
In addition to this, MalwareByte Labs also stated that these threat actors have a habit of deploying malware through fake Adobe Flash updates until the media player gets completely removed.
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Microsoft Edge ransomware
This time, however, cyber attackers are still using fake updates to deliver malware to their targets.
(Photo: Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP via Getty Images)
In this file photo taken on August 04, 2020, Prince, a member of the Red Hacker Alliance hacking group who declined to give his real name, uses his computer in their office in Dongguan, Guangdong province, southern China. – As the number of devices online increases and super-fast 5G connections roll out.
According to the Notebook Check report, analysts from South Korean cybersecurity firm AhnLab Security Emergency Response Center or ASEC discovered how the ransomware, Magniber, is deployed to its victims.
The cybersecurity firm said that Magniber ransomware spreads through updated packages of Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome.
The fake web browsers update even carries a valid certificate for its update package. Thus, a Windows computer would assume that the update is legitimate.
However, instead of supposedly installing the latest version of Edge or Chrome, it comes bundled with two suspicious files that allegedly encrypt its victims’ files.
After completion of encryption process then ransom note will ask victim to pay big amount of money to get their files back.
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Written by Teejay Boris
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