Adobe Flash Zero-Day Vulnerability Makes Un-patched Systems a Hot Target

When you hear the term “zero-day vulnerability,” it’s time to continue reading. These affect nearly everyone at some point and recently, Adobe Flash is in the news again with another zero-day vulnerability. Typically this means that there is not a fix for it and hackers are taking advantage. However, in this case there is a fix, but the hackers have already done damage. They used it before Adobe released the update, and they are still using it on unpatched systems to steal online banking credentials and other information. They do this by infecting the computer with ransomware such as CryptoLocker and DMA Locker.

Some anti-malware software does not detect these yet, but others do. So make sure that your anti-malware software is updated and active. In addition, apply the update that was released by Adobe to make sure your Adobe Flash is not vulnerable to this one. You should go directly to Adobe’s website to get the right patch for your version. Often, malware gets installed because the user clicks a button in a dialogue box that pops up when visiting a website. Sometimes cyber criminals put those there. When you click the affirmative button, it will install malware on your system. So don’t let popup fatigue get to you and make sure to read the dialogue before just clicking it away.

If you are not using Adobe Flash, disable or uninstall it. Unfortunately, Flash is still used for a lot of websites to work properly. If you don’t know if you’re using it, uninstall or disable it and see if you do indeed need it. Look in your computer’s settings options to do this.

Zero-day exploits are valuable to hackers. They depend on people being slow to update their systems. The cyber criminals get a high return on their investment of time if they can find those people and take advantage before they bother to update their computers. So don’t be one of them.

With Adobe Flash, it’s a high value target because so many people use it. Unfortunately, so many users are in that category of “slow to deploy patches” and are therefore good targets for these attackers.

Fortunately, some of the exploits kits used on vulnerability are not working properly to get the malware executed. However, some such as Angler are and will install the Dridex banking Trojan. This nasty one utilizes macros hidden in Microsoft Word and Excel documents and has been used to steal about $30 million from financial institution accounts.