"Stealerium, however, adds another, more humiliating form of espionage: It also monitors the victim's browser for web addresses that include certain NSFW keywords, screenshots browser tabs that include those words, photographs the victim via their webcam while they're watching those porn pages, and sends all the images to a hacker-who can then blackmail the victim with the threat of releasing them."
"Now one specimen of widely available spyware has turned that relatively manual crime into an automated feature, detecting when the user is browsing pornography on their PC, screenshotting it, and taking a candid photo of the victim through their webcam."
""When it comes to infostealers, they typically are looking for whatever they can grab," says Selena Larson, one of the Proofpoint researchers who worked on the company's analysis. "This adds another layer of privacy invasion and sensitive information that you definitely wouldn't want in the hands of a particular hacker." "It's gross," Larson adds. "I hate it.""
An open-source variant of infostealer malware named Stealerium combines classic data theft with automated sextortion capabilities. The malware harvests banking information, usernames, passwords, and crypto keys while also monitoring browsers for NSFW keywords, taking screenshots of matching tabs, and photographing victims via their webcams as they view porn. The captured images and screenshots are sent to attackers who can use them to blackmail victims. The strain has appeared in multiple campaigns since May and was distributed via tens of thousands of emails by at least two small hacking groups. The tool significantly increases privacy invasion and potential harm to victims.
Read at WIRED
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