KMSAuto
KMSAuto is malware distributed by embedding malicious code into the widely circulated KMSAuto tool used for illegal activation of Windows and Microsoft Office. In the reported campaign, it functioned as clipper malware on Windows systems, monitoring clipboard contents for cryptocurrency wallet addresses and replacing copied destination addresses with attacker-controlled wallets. South Korean authorities stated the altered KMSAuto executable was downloaded about 2.8 million times worldwide between April 2020 and January 2023. The activity resulted in approximately 8,400 fraudulent transactions involving about 3,100 virtual asset addresses and theft estimated at KRW 1.7 billion (about $1.2 million). Investigators linked the campaign to a 29-year-old Lithuanian national who was later arrested and extradited to South Korea with Interpol coordination. The infection vector described in the reporting was pirated or unofficial software obtained from untrusted sources, specifically the KMSAuto activator. The campaign targeted cryptocurrency users, including activity affecting at least six cryptocurrency exchanges. Kaspersky also classifies KMSAuto as riskware and warns that pirated activation tools are commonly abused to distribute malware.
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Malware that has infected millions of systems, possibly related to illegal software activation and potentially used as a vector for further malicious payloads.
Malware disguised as the KMSAuto Windows activation tool, used to steal virtual assets by monitoring and replacing clipboard contents (clipper functionality).
Malware disguised as a pirated software activator (KMSAuto) that steals cryptocurrency by swapping clipboard addresses, diverting funds to attacker-controlled wallets.
KMSAuto is a Windows activation tool that was trojanized to distribute clipper malware. The malicious version monitors the clipboard for cryptocurrency addresses and replaces them with attacker-controlled addresses, enabling theft of cryptocurrency during transactions.
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