Cybercriminals Bought Facebook Ads for a Fake Clubhouse App That Was Riddled With Malware

Cybercriminals have been pushing Facebook user to download a Clubhouse app “ for PC , ” something that does n’t exist . The app is actually a trojan design to interpose malware into your computer . The popular young invite - only shoot the breeze app is only usable on iPhone but worldwide interest group in the platform has risen and users are clamoring for Android and , presumptively , “ personal computer ” versions .

Per TechCrunch , the malicious campaign used Facebook ads and page to orchestrate platform users to a series of fake Clubhouse websites . Those site , host in Russia , asked visitors to download the app , which they promised was just the most recent version of the intersection : “ We tried to make the experience as smooth as potential . you may control it out right now ! ” one exclaim .

However , once downloaded , the app would begin signaling to a command and ascendance ( C&C ) server . In cyberattacks , the C&C is typically the server that inform malware what to do once it has infected a system . Testing of the app through malware psychoanalysis sandbox VMRay apparentlyshowed that , in one instance , it tried to infect a computer with ransomware .

Photo: Josh Edelson/AFP (Getty Images)

Taking advantage of a popular novel product to deploy malware is a moderately classical cybercriminal move — and given Clubhouse ’s swelling right now , it ’s no surprise that this is happening . In fact , researchers recently discovered a different phony Clubhouse app . Lukas Stefanko of security house ESETrevealedhow another fictional “ Android interlingual rendition ” of the app was move as a front for criminals looking to steal users ’ login certificate from others services .

luckily , it does n’t seem that this most recent military campaign was too popular , as TechCrunch reports that the Facebook varlet connect with the fake app only had a smattering of likes .

It ’s an interesting niggling incident , though it may be hard to find out more about this tricky effort because the site hosting the fake app have plain vanish . The takedown of the situation come out to have disabled the malware . Facebook has also taken down the ads associated with the campaign .

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