Hackers Use Hotel Internet to Steal Nuclear Secrets
Hackers Use Hotel Internet to Steal Nuclear Secrets
Security researchers recently identified an elite team of
possibly state-sponsored hackers that infiltrate hotel Wi-Fi networks to gain
access to the computers of high-level executives and leaders, probably to steal
nuclear secrets. They're calling this band of cyber-spies DarkHotel.
Wired's Kim Zetter recently published a report about
Kaspersky Labs and its efforts to track down the hacker group and one of the
most unnerving things about Dark Hotel is how insanely talented the hackers
are. While the security researchers have managed to identify the group's
tactics and trace some of its members back to South Korea, they're still not
entirely sure who these hackers are and why they're doing what they're doing.
"[The primary targets are] all nuclear nations in
Asia," Kaspersky's Costin Raiu told Wired. "Their targeting is
nuclear themed, but they also target the defense industry base in the U.S. and
important executives from around the world in all sectors having to do with
economic development and investments."
What's maybe most alarming out of all of this, is
actually how DarkHotel operates. The attacks have been going on for at least
seven years and are highly targeted. It appears that the hackers know exactly
when specific executives and leaders will be staying in specific hotels and
then install the malware-anything from simple Trojans to sophisticated
kernal-mode key loggers-right before they arrive. Sometimes they install
backdoors on the targets' computer, so that they can break back in at a later
date. After the attack is complete and the guest checks out, DarkHotel covers
its tracks-very well.
And that's not all. The trap is set so well, almost
anyone would get caught.
Zetter explains:
When victims attempt to connect to the WiFi network, they
get a pop-up alert telling them their Adobe Flash player needs an update and
offering them a file, digitally signed to make it look authentic, to download.
If the victims accept they download, they get a Trojan delivered instead.
Crucially, the alerts pop up before guests actually get onto the WiFi network,
so even if they abandon their plan to get online, they are infected the moment
they hit "accept."
This is not some obscure exploit that requires users to
jump through seven weird hoops before exposing themselves. It's also not your
typical, easy-to-spot phishing campaign that only idiots would fall for. These
hackers have figured out a way to attack computers before they even join the
Wi-Fi network! And remember: the targets are hotel guests who surely believe
they can trust the official hotel Wi-Fi.
It's a terrific reminder that you should always be
suspicious of third-party Wi-Fi vendors and never download an update you're not
expecting-especially if you're on a third-party Wi-Fi network when it prompts
you. It's also reminder of just how sophisticated cyber warfare is becoming.
DarkHotel is a start reminder that the future of cyber warfare will be
invisible and unexpected, with tech that will surely leak out to workaday
criminals and thieves. So watch your clicks, citizens. You never know who might
be after you. [Wired]
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