Experts warn of a malicious programme

The Minerva Labs cybersecurity experts warn of a malicious program posing as the popular Telegram messaging service. 

A cybersecurity firm has issued a warning about a program using the name of a legitimate software program that scammers are using to try to steal weak password-protected files hack. According to experts, the problematic program distributes two files: one is a genuine Telegram installer and the other is an AutoIT program in which the Purple Fox malware is hidden by cybercriminals. Once downloaded, Telegram will not run, but the software containing the virus will be installed.

The Purple Fox malware has been known since 2018, initially spreading through emails and malicious links, but in 2020 it started to spread through SMB (Server Message Block) file shares on the internet. attack the servers. The malicious code does not exploit vulnerabilities, but tries to crack files protected by weak passwords and take them for itself.

It is not yet known how the malware is distributed, but similar code hidden in legitimate software has been distributed via YouTube videos, forums, spam and various untrusted software downloaders, so it is important to obtain software only from official sources. For example, Telegram from the official chat site, Here to download it.