Researchers from Quick Heal Technologies have discovered that there exists a malware called EternalRocks which is far more destructive than WannaCry Ransomware. Though the current form of the said ransomware has no malicious elements to lock or corrupt files or compromise machines to build a botnet. It surely has the potential to make the infected machines vulnerable to remote commands that could weaponize the infected device within a matter of few minutes.
Quick Heal Technologies research says that this loophole may not only make the virus encrypt files on the computer database, but can also be used to launch cyber attacks on other nation’s critical infrastructure such as power and nuclear grids.
As per the experts, EternalRocks exploits the same flaw in Windows like Wanna cry and uses the same tool of NSA called EternalBlue. The most intriguing part of this malware is that it uses six other NSA tools named Eternal Champion, Eternal Romance and DoublePulsar- thus making it stronger and tougher to fight.
Technically speaking, EternalRocks is stronger than Wannacry and when infected exposes the infected machines to hackers on a constant note. Interested cyber crooks can use the infected machines to launch various attacks in cyberspace at any time.
The other thing which makes this ransomware most dangerous is the fact that it is available as malware-as-a-service. Means those who pay a specified amount can get the details of the infected machines around the world. So, the hackers can use the infected machines of their choice to launch cyber attacks or make those machines indulge in other nefarious activities.
Almost 10 days ago, Wanna cry hit more than 300,000 computers operating in more than 150 countries- mostly those using XP and the unpatched versions of Windows 7 and 8 or 8.1. Wannacry encrypted files on the infected machines and the hackers who launched the said cyber attack demanded $300 USD in Bitcoins currency transferred to specified e-wallets.
Adding to the above said cyber agony was last weeks media reports which reported about the existence of a new malware called UIWIX and Adylkuzz. The former is a simple mutation of the wannacry virus and so can be dubbed as a Wannacry 2.0 version. The latter which has already infected tens of thousands of computers uses the infected machines to generate digital currency called Monero which is similar to other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoins.
Wonder what will follow next….?
