Several porn users have received a message that hackers have recorded them watching a pornographic video. The terrifying threat is spread through scam emails and the porn malware can steal people's passwords as well as their private and financial data.
The malware has been dubbed Varenyky, and was discovered by ESET researchers, who said it primarily targets Windows 10 users. The porn malware is able to record the victim's on-screen activity, so hackers can spy on victims to see what kind of pornographic videos they are watching.
In a blog post, ESET said: “We believe the spambot is constantly evolving and has changed a lot since we first saw it.” They added: “We named this new malware Varenyky, and on July 22, ESET researchers detected the first scam campaign being launched.
“This spambot is interesting because it can steal passwords, spy on its victims’ screens using FFmpeg when they are watching pornographic content online, and communication with the C&C server is done via Tor, while the spam is sent as regular internet traffic.”
This campaign has so far only targeted people in France, with the spread being via email and a fake phone bill.
ESET said that no one appears to have fallen victim to Varenyky. However, anyone who downloaded the fake account and was given permission to run it risks giving access to sensitive data.
The message works by saying they have recorded video of people accessing pornographic websites through laptop .
It then went on to say that if the victim does not pay the ransom, the video will be released to all their contacts. Receiving a message suggesting that your personal web is about to be revealed to the world is extremely unpleasant, and it seems that some people are paying the ransom.
However, it's worth remembering that it's highly unlikely that your camera was used to record you, or that the cybercriminal has any access to browser or contacts. These messages are simply sent to millions of people, in the hope that some will be too scared to realize it's a scam and pay the ransom.
