Cyberattackers Use JPG Files to Deploy Ransomware Undetected

Several cybersecurity experts have recently identified a worrying evolution in ransomware tactics. These actors are now concealing and deploying fully undetectable ransomware payloads using JPEG images, resulting in an outbreak of completely undetectable ransomware. It is a major advance in the methodology of cyberattacks, as it provides threat actors with a way of bypassing conventional antivirus systems as well as signature-based malware detection tools with alarming ease, thereby creating a significant advance in cyberattack methodology. 

With this new method of ransomware delivery, harmful code is embedded within seemingly harmless image files, which are widely trusted, frequently shared, and rarely examined by users or basic security tools. This new method is quite different from traditional ransomware delivery methods. As soon as users open these doctored images, the embedded ransomware starts working. This could compromise entire systems without triggering standard security warnings. 

Cybersecurity researchers discovered this method by monitoring high-level, stealthy-oriented ransomware campaigns. The findings reveal a sophisticated exploitation strategy that indicates a dangerous change in the threat landscape and is a warning that needs to be addressed. By exploiting the inherent trust in commonly used file types such as JPGs, cybercriminals are exploiting a blind spot in existing defence mechanisms, putting individuals, organisations, and infrastru

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