A group of fraudulent cybersecurity researchers has been discovered pushing malicious repositories on GitHub, according to cybersecurity firm VulnCheck. At least six GitHub accounts associated with these fake researchers were observed promoting proof-of-concept (PoC) exploits for alleged zero-day vulnerabilities in popular platforms such as Discord, Google Chrome, and Microsoft Exchange.
Despite the fraudulent nature of these accounts, the repositories are still accessible at the time of writing. The threat actors behind this scheme have gone to great lengths to create an illusion of legitimacy, including the creation of a non-existent company called High Sierra Cyber Security and the use of genuine security researchers’ headshots.
VulnCheck initially encountered these rogue repositories in early May when similar PoC exploits targeting zero-day bugs in Signal and WhatsApp were being promoted. Although the repositories for those exploits have since been taken down, the group behind the fraudulent activity continues to operate. The network of fake accounts associated with these repositories also shares supposed findings on Twitter, further attempting to establish credibility.
The individuals behind this campaign have crafted an elaborate facade, mimicking actual security researchers from reputable companies like Rapid7. Their goal appears to be the dissemination of a Python script that downloads and executes a malicious binary on the victim’s operating system.
While it remains uncertain whether this activity is the work of amateur actors or an advanced persistent threat (APT), it is worth noting that security researchers have previously been targeted by North Korean nation-state groups. These findings underscore the importance of exercising caution when downloading code from open source repositories.
Users should thoroughly examine the code and verify its authenticity before executing it to mitigate potential security risks. The fact that the threat actors have persistently pursued this avenue of attack suggests they have confidence in its potential success, even though the malware they deliver is blatantly obvious.
