It is one of the events of the year in the film industry. The new James Bond, “No Time to Die” is actor Daniel Craig’s farewell to the agent’s character with an order to kill. But off-screen, is this a dangerous movie?
Kaspersky has no doubts . For the cybersecurity company, the new James Bond can take criminal action beyond the screen. Experts detected increased criminal activity related to the film, especially before its official premiere.
New film premieres are always a stimulus for the activity of cybercriminals, as many movie lovers want to be the first to watch them, not paying attention to the sites they use to do so.
The new James Bond movie “No Time to Die”, Daniel Craig’s latest mission in his most iconic role as a spy, no escapes this trend. As a result, Kaspersky experts detected increased criminal activity related to the film, especially before its official premiere.
– No Time To Die – Official Trailer 2 (Universal Pictures) (HD video)
Kaspersky experts analyzed the fraudulent attachments that were posing as the new movie in the saga, as well as the phishing web pages related to the cinema universe – with the clear objective of understanding how these cybercriminals are trying to take advantage of the interest of viewers.
Kaspersky researchers found that there were attempts to infect users through various types of malware and malicious software, which were downloaded apparently as the new James Bond movie.
Although the number of victims has been reduced, the cyberthreats detected were not only at the level of adware, some of which have been found to be quite versatile and dangerous. Among these, the following were identified: “trojans”, malicious programs that allow cybercriminals to access the users’ confidential data through the unconventional means; “trojan-PSW”, programs to steal access data; and even ransomware.
In addition, Kaspersky experts also discovered a multitude of web pages from phishing created to steal viewers’ banking details. Users visited the website, hoping to see the long-awaited movie “No Time to Die” and, after watching the first few minutes, they were required to to register to continue watching. During this procedure, users were asked to enter their credit card details. Even after completing the registration, when the money had already been loaded and the data was already on the fraudster’s side, the user was still unable to watch the rest of the movie.
Example of phishing in the latest James Bond movie
“The different sources of entertainment, including movies, have always been an attractive choice for cybercriminals, when disseminating their threats and phishing pages. The fact that the premieres of new films and TV series have migrated to the Internet, ended up causing the interest to soar, not only by moviegoers, but also by cybercriminals. It is inevitable that a long-awaited premiere such as “No Time to Die” will generate a great stir among its audience. Viewers were so eager to see the film that it made them dishearten online security measures. Users have to pay attention to the pages they visit, avoid downloading unverified files from the web and be aware and cautious when sharing personal information”, explains Tatyana Shcherbakova, security specialist at Kaspersky.
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