As the League of Legends (LoL) World Championship kicks off, Bitdefender Labs is warning that cybercriminals are exploiting the event to launch sophisticated malware campaigns targeting unsuspecting gamers across Europe.
Through carefully crafted social media advertisements, hackers are enticing fans to download what appears to be the popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game. However, what awaits victims is not a fun gaming experience, but rather a dangerous piece of malware known as Lumma Stealer.
The malvertisement campaign, spotted by Bitdefender Labs researcher Ionut Baltariu, promotes a free download of League of Legends, which is ironic since the PC-only game is already free to play. However, with the LoL World Championship capturing the attention of millions of gamers, the timing is perfect for cybercriminals. Fans eager to immerse themselves in the excitement may fall for this trap, assuming it is an official promotion tied to the official e-sports event.
Upon clicking the ad, victims are taken to a page that mimics an older version of the League of Legends download page.
This phishing page uses typosquatting, a technique where the domain is slightly altered to resemble the official site, making it harder to detect. Once the user clicks the download link, they are directed to a Bitbucket repository that contains a malicious archive.
According to Bitdefender Lab researcher Andrei Mogage, the downloaded archive contains an executable along with a legitimate Windows file, user32.dll. The executable acts as a dropper for the Lumma Stealer, a dangerous piece of malware known for its extensive ability to harvest data from infected devices.
Lumma Stealer is one of the many types of data-stealing malware that can be rented or bought on underground forums as part of the MaaS (Malware-as-a-Service) economy. It's designed to extract a wide range of sensitive information, including:
What makes Lumma particularly dangerous is its stealthy approach. Once deployed, it injects itself into a legitimate Windows process, bitlockertogo.exe, to remain undetected by basic antivirus software.
This malvertising campaign has already targeted over 4000 people, focusing primarily on male adults—the typical demographic for League of Legends. Once cybercriminals access sensitive information, they can steal social media accounts, which allows them to perpetuate malware distribution and other scams through compromised profiles. Stolen data can also be sold on underground markets which can facilitate identity theft and phishing attacks against victims.
Adopting strong cybersecurity practices is crucial to protecting yourself from falling victim to this or similar malware campaigns.
One of the most effective ways to safeguard against Lumma malware and other online threats is to use a trusted security solution like Bitdefender.
Bitdefender detects and blocks the malicious executable as Trojan.Agent.GMTH.
Bitdefender security solutions provide industry-leading protection against malicious ads, phishing websites, and malware that often lurks behind seemingly legitimate online promotions through:
For on-demand checks of scams or potentially malicious and fraudulent content, why not give Bitdefender Scamio a try for free!
Our next-gen AI scam detector is always ready to help you instantly check links, QR codes or even screenshots to get an instant analysis.
Scamio can be accessed on any device or operating system via web browser, Facebook Messenger, or WhatsApp. You can also help others stay safe by sharing Scamio with them in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Romania, Australia, and the UK
With Bitdefender’s suite of security products, you can browse, play, and connect online without worrying about lurking threats in the background. You can enjoy the perks of customizable user profiles designed to reduce system workload and slowdowns for an uninterrupted gaming experience.
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Alina is a history buff passionate about cybersecurity and anything sci-fi, advocating Bitdefender technologies and solutions. She spends most of her time between her two feline friends and traveling.
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