Eset Research Podcast: Hotpage

ESET Research

ESET researchers talk HotPage, a precocious discovered adware equipped pinch a highest-privilege, yet vulnerable, Microsoft-signed driver

05 Sep 2024  •  , 1 min. read

Usually erstwhile personification mentions adware, group deliberation of low-quality half-baked malicious codification utilized to spam victims pinch sketchy ads. But arsenic we explicate successful this section of our podcast, not each adware is created equal. HotPage is simply a precocious discovered trojan utilizing a vulnerable, Microsoft-signed, kernel driver to inject and manipulate what victims spot successful their browsers.

In their conversation, big ESET Distinguished Researcher Aryeh Goretsky and his impermanent ESET Principal Threat Intelligence Researcher Robert Lipovsky, comparison HotPage to different threats, particularly infostealing malware, which typically has a akin level of sophistication but is acold much dangerous. Both besides elaborate connected nan process nan creators of this adware must person gone done to get their driver signed by Microsoft. 

Another absorbing point astir HotPage is that it is simply a trojan by its very definition. Advertised arsenic information solution and advertisement blocking package for Chinese net cafes, it delivers nan nonstop opposite, spamming users pinch scores of ads and leaving nan doorway unfastened for different threat actors to tally different malicious code. Based connected its location and vertical targeting, HotPage seems to beryllium designed to spell aft Chinese gamers.

In nan episode, listeners will besides perceive specifications connected really ESET mitigated HotPage, actionable proposal connected really to debar nan threat connected user-end, and what to do if 1 suspects to beryllium infected by it.

For elaborate study connected HotPage and different threat character activities, travel ESET investigation connected X (formerly known arsenic Twitter), and cheque retired our latest blogposts and achromatic papers connected WeLiveSecurity.com. If you for illustration what you hear, subscribe for much connected Spotify, Apple Podcasts, aliases PodBean.