Wiper Malware Threat Looms Over Tokyo Olympics

Did you know that according to recent research by a famous Japanese Security Firm, it has been discovered that the computer systems in Japan are being attacked by destructive wiper malware? As a matter of shock, this was discovered 2 days before the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics 2021. 

What is wiper malware?

Wiper malware is malware that wipes out specific files from the infected computer system. It can also wipe off the entire hard disk of the infected computer. It is different from other types of malware like ransomware. The intent of the cyber criminal behind using wiper malware is to completely destroy the data of the user, without any financial gain. Moreover, this attack vector has been associated with cyber terrorists trying to instill fear among organizations and countries as this can cause unprecedented reputation losses.

The USP of this kind of attack is that its detection doesn’t serve any purpose as the damage caused by them is irreversible.

 In recent years, NotPetya attack in 2017 was the most damaging wiper malware attack, damages from which were estimated to be around $10 billion worldwide.

Wiper Malware Attack Targeting Tokyo Olympics 2021

The wiper malware attack targeting the Olympic Games is an event witnessed before too!. In the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, a malicious word document was used to drop a backdoor component named Icefog which exploited older vulnerabilities in Windows common controls. This was basically used to target organizations with a large number of computers, where security patching is a lengthy process.

According to an article by The Record, the wiper malware used in Japan doesn’t delete all of the system data. It targets only files located in the location ‘C:/Users/<username>/’.

In addition to this, this malware also targets TXT, LOG, and CSV files which are usually used to store logs, databases, or password information.

The malware also targets files created with Japanese Ichitaro Word Processor and this has led researchers to believe that it was specifically created to target systems in Japan.

For more reading:

• Pegasus Spyware Targets Activists and Journalists
• Directives Issued After US Pipeline Ransomware Attack

The post Wiper Malware Threat Looms Over Tokyo Olympics appeared first on Kratikal Blogs.

*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Kratikal Blogs authored by Rishi Khemani. Read the original post at: https://www.kratikal.com/blog/wiper-malware-threat-looms-over-tokyo-olympics/