Video of Hillary Clinton meeting ISIS leader? Nah, it’s a malware attack

Symantec writes:

Cybercriminals are using clickbait, promising a video showing Democratic Party presidential nominee Hillary Clinton exchanging money with an ISIS leader, in order to distribute malicious spam emails.

The email’s subject announces “Clinton Deal ISIS Leader caught on Video,” however there is no video contained in the email, just malware. Adding to the enticement, the email body also discusses voting, asking recipients to “decide on who to vote [for]” after watching the non-existent clip.

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Attached to the email is a ZIP archive, containing a Java file. Make the mistake of opening the Java file (in the mistaken belief that you are going to see a controversial video) and you will be infecting your computer with the Adwind backdoor Trojan horse.

It’s not unusual for criminals to use these kind of disguises to make their malicious emails more tempting to click on, and we’ve seen attacks like this during previous presidential election campaigns. Expect more of the same, and be on your guard.

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the cybersecurity industry, having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky, or drop him an email.