The cybercrime landscape displays increasing sophistication and specialization, as highlighted by the discovery of VexTrio, a major traffic brokering service. Security researchers reveal that well-known cybercrime groups like SocGholish and ClearFake have affiliations with VexTrio, utilizing its services to route victims to malicious sites through a traffic distribution system. VexTrio, operational for six years, maintains multiple traffic distribution systems, serving over 60 affiliates. Researchers link VexTrio to the takeover of legitimate domains, including compromised hospital websites and vulnerable WordPress sites, amassing at least 70,000 malicious domains.
In its role as a malicious traffic broker, VexTrio is responsible for analyzing victims’ profiles, considering factors such as device type, location, and browser vulnerabilities. The service redirects web visitors to illegitimate content when their profiles match the defined target criteria. VexTrio’s operations involve registering large quantities of malicious domains daily, providing a continuous supply for hosting malicious content. The traffic distribution system (TDS) approach employed by VexTrio is reminiscent of legitimate advertising strategies, with cybercriminals willing to pay for high-quality referrals based on specific criteria supplied to the TDS provider.
Cybercrime groups, such as SocGholish and ClearFake, which traditionally engage in social engineering attacks, including fake updates for browsers and Microsoft Teams, appear to have strategic partnerships with VexTrio. These partnerships involve passing victims to VexTrio’s TDS, contributing to a complex web of malicious infrastructure. Identifying such malicious activity poses challenges, as it often mimics legitimate marketing operations, using URL parameters and domains that resemble common advertising affiliate keywords. Organizations are advised to implement multiple strategies, including restricting browsing to secure websites, blocking push notifications from untrusted sources, and employing ad-blocking software to enhance cybersecurity defenses.
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