Data Theft Warning for Defense, Aviation and Manufacturing Industries

Malware that cybersecurity researchers are calling TA2541 is the subject of a recently-issued warning to the aviation, aerospace, defense, transportation and manufacturing industries. The hackers behind it have evaded authorities since 2017 and have recently stepped up their activities. They control compromised machines remotely, do reconnaissance on networks and steal sensitive data. Their MO is using phishing emails that appear relevant to individuals and businesses. One example – a lure sent to targets in aviation and aerospace resembling requests for aircraft parts. For a while the attackers used Covid-themed lures, but they seem to have dropped those. They have distributed many different trojan malware payloads since the attacks began, all available for purchase on dark web forums or for download from open-source repositories.