{"id":34085,"date":"2020-03-28T15:12:50","date_gmt":"2020-03-28T15:12:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/packetstormsecurity.com\/news\/view\/31071\/Best-Buy-Gift-Cards-USB-Drive-Used-To-Spread-Infostealer.html"},"modified":"2020-03-28T15:12:50","modified_gmt":"2020-03-28T15:12:50","slug":"best-buy-gift-cards-usb-drive-used-to-spread-infostealer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/best-buy-gift-cards-usb-drive-used-to-spread-infostealer\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Buy Gift Cards, USB Drive Used To Spread Infostealer"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Everyone wants to receive a free $50 Best Buy gift card and USB drive in the mail, but as the saying goes, nothing is ever truly free.<\/p>\n

A cybercriminal gang has put together a unique attack profile based on this human frailty, but one that has been on the scene since the early days of cybercrime. The attack begins with an actual paper letter mailed through the U.S. Postal Service to a specific target that contains a socially engineered message designed to entice recipients to place the USB drive in their computer, according to Trustwave\u2019s Spider Lab<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The note says the gift card is thanks for being a great Best Buy customer and that the USB drive contains a list of products that can be purchased with the card. Not surprisingly, there is nothing on the gift card, but the USB does come with a surprise: malware.<\/p>\n

Researchers found the USB drive\u2019s Arduino microcontroller was programmed to emulate a USB keyboard. This is an obfuscation method, as most security software by default allows a USB keyboard to connect. Once the drive is inserted, a payload is injected and additional code is downloaded.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese types of USB devices are widely known and used by security professionals. The fact that they are also cheap and readily available to anyone meant that it was just a matter of time to see this technique used by criminals \u2018in the wild.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The fact that USB drives are an everyday item makes them appear less threatening to the average person, unaware that they can be used for malicious purposes, Trustwave noted.<\/p>\n

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A fake message then pops up on the screen saying the USB device is not recognized, possibly to confuse the victim as to what is taking place. At this stage additional JavaScript is downloaded in order to register the now infected device with the command-and-control server. The C2 server then sends some encoded data containing the info-stealing software.<\/p>\n

At this point a great deal of information is taken from the device:<\/p>\n