Click fraud to ransomware: Study highlights dangers of malware lifecycle

26th June 2015  by  Sharon Shea
 
Researchers tracked a threat dubbed "RuthlessTreeMafia," a  click fraud malware introduced by the Asprox botnet. Once controlled, a sample device was accessed by other actors that which used additional Trojans to generate revenue. In the span of two hours, the device was infected by three more click fraud infections and finally CryptoWall.
 
"As this report highlights, advanced malware can quickly mutate and it's not just the initial infection vector that matters, it's about understanding the chain of activity over time," said Stephen Newman, CTO at Damballa. "The intricacies of advanced infections mean that a seemingly low risk threat -- in this case click fraud -- can serve as the entry point for far more serious threats.
 
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