Criminals Hide Malware Behind Grammy-Winning Cover

Criminals looking for ways to disguise malware have turned to Grammy Award-winning songs and artists for camouflage. And according to researchers at Kaspersky Labs, they have wrapped more than 30,000 malicious files in popular song titles.

The songs of Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, and Post Malone are the most popular hiding places for malware, together accounting for more than half (55%) of the total, the researchers wrote. As artists become more popular with the listening public, their stock also rises within the criminal community. Billie Eilish, for example, saw malicious files sharing her song titles increase in number more than tenfold between 2018 and 2019.

Researchers recommend that consumers only download files from reputable sources, look carefully at file extensions, and beware of sites claiming exclusive content as ways of protecting themselves from online musical mayhem.

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