Hackers have recently exploited Microsoft Bing’s advertising platform to orchestrate a sophisticated malvertising campaign targeting users searching for NordVPN. This nefarious scheme aims to distribute a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) dubbed SecTopRAT, posing significant security risks to unsuspecting victims. The campaign was unveiled when users querying “nord vpn” on Bing were met with a deceptive ad featuring a URL leading to a fraudulent site, nordivpn[.]xyz, cleverly mimicking NordVPN’s domain.
Upon clicking the ad, users were redirected to another deceptive site, besthord-vpn[.]com, meticulously designed to mirror NordVPN’s legitimate website, thus enhancing its credibility. Unlike the authentic NordVPN website requiring user registration, the fake site offers a direct download link for an installer hosted on Dropbox. Disguised as a digitally signed NordVPN installer, the executable actually harbors the SecTopRAT malware, capable of infiltrating systems and establishing connections to malicious servers.
Upon detection, the malicious Bing ad and associated infrastructure were promptly reported to Microsoft, while Dropbox took swift action to remove the malicious download link. The cybersecurity community, including ThreatDown, collaborates with industry partners to dismantle this malvertising operation, highlighting the collective effort to combat cyber threats. This incident underscores the ease with which malware can be distributed via legitimate platforms, emphasizing the importance of robust security measures such as DNS Filtering to mitigate such risks.
