What do you think of when you hear the word malware?

👉 Most people think of computer viruses, email attachments, or web pop ups. (The most common type of malware is a Microsoft Office Macro attached to an email.)

Cyber attackers are creative. This week, the web is abuzz with malware that’s distributed via the social media platform TikTok and using the viral nature of TikTok to quickly spread.

🧐 Here’s how it works?

• TikTok released a new invisible photo filter. The filter detects skin in images and blocks it from view when posted on TikTok.
• Users started posting images with lots of skin exposed but “invisible” (many were naked)
• Attackers started posting to TikTok about software that will automatically remove the invisible features and show the hidden skin in images.
• The software to remove invisible filters was malware, specifically malware to collect sensitive info (names, payment info, passwords, etc.) from people that use Discord.

Malware victims often don’t know they have installed malware and it runs in the background. You may not use TikTok or Discord but this is a good reminder to only install software from trusted sources.

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