As if 2021 was not already off to a bad start in the cyber realm, a new malware has emerged as a potential threat to many people’s livelihoods.
The Quaverse Remote Access Trojan (QRat) first emerged in 2015 but it has gained prominence in a new campaign to dupe many people into giving up their information. QRat is considered a trojan virus, which means it’s a program that can hide other malicious programing much like the mythical trojan horse. What makes QRat dangerous is that it can still sneak in despite the multiple firewalls and security measures.
Trustware, a cybersecurity software company, has revealed that QRat is part of a new campaign, involving tricking people into downloading it “The initial phishing email claims to offer the victim a loan with a "good return on investment" that could potentially catch the eye of victims. However, the malicious attachment is not related to the subject of the phishing email at all, instead claiming to contain a video of President Donald Trump. Researchers suggest the attackers have opted for this attachment based on what is currently newsworthy. Whatever the reason, attempting to open the file – a Java Archive (JAR) file – will result in running an installer for QRat malware.” [1]
This malware is basically phishing and even gives you the prompt to show that you are downloading it. However, it’s a very tricky malware, using people’s curiosity against them. It is also noted that this version could be used as a testbed for future attacks using this malware. To keep malware like this from attacking, be vigilant for all suspicious email and never open anything unless you know what the source is.
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[1] https://www.zdnet.com/article/this-new-phishing-attack-uses-an-odd-lure-to-deliver-windows-trojan-malware/
