CyberWire Daily cover image

CyberWire Daily

Bot or not? The fake CAPTCHA trick spreading Lumma malware. [Research Saturday}

Feb 15, 2025
Nati Tal, Head of Guardio Labs, dives into the dark world of online scams with his insights on the 'DeceptionAds' campaign. He reveals how fake CAPTCHAs trick users into running malicious commands, leading to Lumma malware infections. Nati discusses the deceptive tactics that cybercriminals use to exploit trust and bypass security measures. He highlights the challenges posed by ad networks that facilitate these attacks and the ongoing battle to protect users from such insidious threats, even after takedown efforts.
35:08

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • The 'DeceptionAds' campaign exploits user trust in CAPTCHA by tricking them into running harmful commands that install Lumma malware.
  • Fragmented accountability within the ad network ecosystem complicates efforts to mitigate threats, allowing malicious ads to resurface quickly after takedown attempts.

Deep dives

Understanding Fake Captcha Campaigns

Fake captcha scams are designed to exploit users' familiarity with legitimate captcha challenges. By mimicking typical captcha activities that require users to prove they are human, threat actors trick individuals into executing harmful commands on their computers. When users believe they are completing a harmless task, they unknowingly execute malicious code that can install information-stealing malware like Luma Stealer. This method capitalizes on human tendencies to trust familiar online interactions, leading to widespread infections without users realizing their mistake.

Get the Snipd
podcast app

Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
App store bannerPlay store banner

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode

Save any
moment

Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways

Share
& Export

Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode