Mike Mercury
09-19-2017, 8:11am
CCleaner
CCleaner security software infects 2 million computers
The "illegally modified" version of the CCleaner anti-malware program was available for a month before the hack was detected.
Piriform, the company behind the software, said on its website that a new version of the app had been tampered with before being released.
The malicious code was added to the legitimate code for CCleaner, which allows users to wipe unwanted files from their hard-drives, and could have allowed hackers to take over the devices of 2.27 million people.
Known as a "supply chain attack", hackers often target trusted software to bypass security checks that target organisations might have in place.
The version of the software which had been "illegally modified" had been available for about a month before the tampering was detected.
"At this stage, we don't want to speculate how the unauthorised code appeared in the CCleaner software, where the attack originated from, how long it was being prepared and who stood behind it," said Paul Yung, from Piriform.
He said the company quickly fixed the software once the malware had been spotted and that it automatically updated users to protect them from hackers.
http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/971/132/49d.gif
CCleaner security software infects 2 million computers
The "illegally modified" version of the CCleaner anti-malware program was available for a month before the hack was detected.
Piriform, the company behind the software, said on its website that a new version of the app had been tampered with before being released.
The malicious code was added to the legitimate code for CCleaner, which allows users to wipe unwanted files from their hard-drives, and could have allowed hackers to take over the devices of 2.27 million people.
Known as a "supply chain attack", hackers often target trusted software to bypass security checks that target organisations might have in place.
The version of the software which had been "illegally modified" had been available for about a month before the tampering was detected.
"At this stage, we don't want to speculate how the unauthorised code appeared in the CCleaner software, where the attack originated from, how long it was being prepared and who stood behind it," said Paul Yung, from Piriform.
He said the company quickly fixed the software once the malware had been spotted and that it automatically updated users to protect them from hackers.
http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/971/132/49d.gif