What is EternalRocks? Meet WannaCry's scary sister
Like the WannaCry malware that infected more than 230,000 computers earlier this month, EternalRocks is part of an arsenal of spy tools developed by the NSA
Like the WannaCry malware that infected more than 230,000 computers earlier this month, EternalRocks is part of an arsenal of spy tools developed by the NSA
Like the WannaCry malware that infected more than 230,000 computers earlier this month, EternalRocks is part of an arsenal of spy tools developed by the NSA
The war on cybercrime is far from over.
A new strain of malicious software has been identified by online security experts just over a week after crippled at least 230,000 organizations in 150 countries.
Dubbed EternalRocks, the worm exploits the same weakness that made WannaCry so powerful - and it's even more complex, .
Like WannaCry, EternalRocks is part of an arsenal of spy tools developed by the . The malware uses seven NSA-created tools to move from one computer to another through Windows - EnternalBlue, EternalChampion, EternalRomance, EternalSynergy, SMBTouch, ArchiTouch and DoublePulsar.
Hospitals, corporations and government offices around the world were impacted by WannaCry, which seized control of computers and demanded payments from victims.
"As a worm, EternalRocks is far less dangerous than WannaCry's worm component, as it currently does not deliver any malicious content," BleepingComputer explains. "This, however, does not mean that EternalRocks is less complex...for starters, EternalRocks is far more sneaky than WannaCry's SMB worm component. Once it infects a victim, the worm uses a two-stage installation process, with a delayed second stage."
Currently, EternalRocks doesn't corrupt files or deliver any malevolent content. But it can be "weaponized in an instant," BleepingComputer warns.
"Because of its broader exploit arsenal, the lack of a kill switch domain, and because of its initial dormancy, EternalRocks could pose a serious threat to computers with vulnerable SMB (Server Message Block) ports exposed to the Internet, if its author would ever decide to weaponize the worm with ransomware, a banking trojan, RAT (remote access Trojan), or anything else," the site says.
Threats from cybercrime is a growing phenomenon. A from Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that overall financial losses from online crime will reach more than $6 trillion annually in three years. In 2015, it was just $3 trillion.