All news with #wiper tag

🔒 Researchers at ESET have identified a new bootkit-style ransomware named HybridPetya that targets the NTFS Master File Table (MFT) and can override UEFI Secure Boot to install a malicious EFI component. The malware abuses a patched vulnerability (CVE-2024-7344) in a signed Microsoft EFI file to load an unsigned payload called cloak.dat. The installer replaces the Windows bootloader, triggers a crash and, on reboot, the compromised loader executes a bootkit that encrypts the disk with Salsa20, using a fake CHKDSK message to conceal activity. ESET observed a ransom demand of €850 in Bitcoin but regards the sample as likely a research proof-of-concept.

🔒 ESET Research identified HybridPetya on VirusTotal in February 2025, with filenames implying a connection to the destructive NotPetya outbreak. The strain encrypts the NTFS Master File Table using Salsa20 and deploys a UEFI bootkit on the EFI System Partition to ensure firmware‑level persistence. One variant exploits CVE-2024-7344 to bypass UEFI Secure Boot via a signed but vulnerable Microsoft component, yet retains a working decryption mechanism for victims. Analysts found no signs of self-propagation like NotPetya, but the combination of pre-boot compromise and MFT encryption raises significant concern.

⚖️ A software developer was sentenced to four years in prison after deploying malicious code inside his US employer's network, the Department of Justice said. The defendant, identified as Davis Lu, introduced infinite-loop logic, deleted coworker profile files and implemented a credential-dependent kill-switch that locked out thousands of users in September 2019. The sabotage followed a corporate realignment that reduced his access; investigators found deleted encrypted data and internet searches showing intent to escalate privileges and rapidly delete files while obstructing remediation.