Squid: The New Bait for Spreading Cyber ​​Threats

In the month when “Squid Game,” the South Korean TV series, became the highest-rated series on Netflix — with more than 111 million viewers. Always attentive to the trends and tastes of the audience, cybercriminals did not hesitate to take advantage of this fan interest. Within this framework, Kaspersky experts share their knowledge about the most common and evolving threats related to the popular “Squid Game” – including TrojansAnd adware and misleading displays of Halloween costumes.

From September to October 2021, Kaspersky experts found dozens of different malicious files on the web whose names mention the famous “Squid Game” series.

Download the Squid game series… and some Malware

In the vast majority of cases analyzed, Downloads from Trojans Able to install other malware, however, there were also other types of Trojans NS adware. One of the schemes used by pirates It worked as follows: a hypothetical animated version of the first game in the series was shown to the victim, while it was released invisibly. Trojans, capable of stealing user data as well as sending it to the attacker’s server. In parallel, there was also the creation of direct access to one of the folders, which can be used to play a file Trojans, every time the system is started.

Kaspersky also found a file Malware Mobile that explores the “Squid game” phenomenon. Hoping to download an episode of the series, the user ended up downloading a file Trojans. When an application is running on a device, it asks the control server to perform tasks. This can take the form of opening a browser tab or sending an SMS to numbers from the control server, for example. This Trojans, and spread to unofficial app stores and various portals that appeared to be other popular apps, games or books.

Disguise yourself that “Squid” is Halloween

Now that Halloween is approaching, Kaspersky experts have noticed the appearance of many fake stores associated with the “Squid Game” chain. Most of these stores offer the possibility to purchase outfits similar to those used by players in the series. These stores mistakenly label themselves official but they are fake. When buying on one of these sites, users risk not receiving what they ordered and may even lose their money. Plus, it ends up being involved with pirates Their bank information and personal identity, because in order to purchase the supposed camouflage, they had to share card details, personal data, email, address, and full name.

enter no squid game Online…and lose your personal and banking data

Plus pages phishing which offers a rebroadcast of the series, there have also been several pages suggesting a release competition Online From the game, allowing participants to win 100 BNB (Binance currency). Note that in this case, the player never receives the promised reward, but ends up losing his data or downloading a file Malware.

“Squid has become the new cybercrime dream, there is no doubt about it, and it was only a matter of time. As with any other hot topic, hackers know very well what will work and what will not. As the ‘Squid game’ has become polarized, we observe many From phishing pages that offer the possibility to buy clothes similar to actors in the series or invite users to play an online game. The targeted users end up losing their data and money and installing malware on their devices. Therefore, it is very important for users to validate the sites when searching for a page that allows them By watching the series or buying a related product, ” Comments by Anton F. Ivanov, Kaspersky Security Expert.

To avoid becoming the next victim of malware or scams, Kaspersky advises users with the following tips:

• validation Locations Before entering personal data and using the official pages only to watch or download movies. Double-check the URL formats and the spelling of company names.
• Pay attention to the extensions of the files you download: the video file will not have an .exe extension. or msi.
• Use a reliable security solution that identifies malicious files and blocks file sites phishing.
• avoid links which promises to preview the content in advance, and in case of doubts about the originality of the content, it is advisable to prove it to the entertainment provider.