Over a million Asus computers were attacked by APT (Advanced Persistent Threat) Hackers using Asus’s official Live Utility Update Tool and infecting the devices with malware. The malware attack took place on Monday, March 25th.
Security research organization Motherboard and Kaspersky Lab reported that the hackers used theLive Utility Update tool to distribute the malware to 57,000 thousand Asus users around the globe.
Symantec also reported more 13,000 of its users infected with the malware. From the various reports, the attack, named “Shadow Hammer, is said to be initiated by the Advanced Persistent Threat Hackers who used the update tool as a Trojan horse.
The update tool was modified underwritten with an authenticated digital certificate making it harder to distinguish and detect. It was used to target a specific group of users mainly organizations having the Asus computer systems.
Asus has given a statement explaining the hack and has provided the fix for its users, “Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) attacks are national-level attacks usually initiated by a couple of specific countries, targeting certain international organizations or entities instead of consumers. ASUS has also implemented a fix in the latest version (ver. 3.6.8) of the Live Update software, introduced multiple security verification mechanisms to prevent any malicious manipulation in the form of software updates or other means, and implemented an enhanced end-to-end encryption mechanism.”
While the attack is being compared to CCleaner’s 2017 malware attack and theShadowpad attack, Asus has brought the user to attention and has also strengthened its customer support and security licenses.
It is always better to beware of such attacks and stay updated with the security patches.
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