\n<\/p>\n
The Universe Browser makes some big promises to its potential users. Its online advertisements claim it\u2019s the \u201cfastest browser,\u201d that people using it will \u201cavoid privacy leaks\u201d and that the software will help \u201ckeep you away from danger.\u201d However, everything likely isn\u2019t as it seems.<\/p>\n
The browser, which is linked to Chinese online gambling websites and is thought to have been downloaded millions of times, actually routes all internet traffic through servers in China and \u201ccovertly installs several programs that run silently in the background,\u201d according to new findings from network security company Infoblox. The researchers say the \u201chidden\u201d elements include features similar to malware\u2014including \u201ckey logging, surreptitious connections,\u201d and changing a device\u2019s network connections.<\/p>\n
Perhaps most significantly, the Infoblox researchers who collaborated with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on the work, found links between the browser\u2019s operation and Southeast Asia\u2019s sprawling, multibillion-dollar cybercrime ecosystem, which has connections to money-laundering, illegal online gambling, human trafficking, and scam operations that use forced labor. The browser itself, the researchers says, is directly linked to a network around major online gambling company BBIN, which the researchers have labeled a threat group they call Vault Viper.<\/p>\n
The researchers say the discovery of the browser\u2014plus its suspicious and risky behavior\u2014indicates that criminals in the region are becoming increasingly sophisticated. \u201cThese criminal groups, particularly Chinese organized crimes syndicates, are increasingly diversifying and evolving into cyber enabled fraud, pig butchering, impersonation, scams, that whole ecosystem,\u201d says John Wojcik, a senior threat researcher at Infoblox, who also worked on the project when he was a staff member at the UNODC.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re going to continue to double down, reinvest profits, develop new capabilities,\u201d Wojcik says. \u201cThe threat is ultimately becoming more serious and concerning, and this is one example of where we see that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Universe Browser was first spotted\u2014and mentioned by name\u2014by Infoblox and UNODC at the start of this year when they began unpacking the digital systems around an online casino operation based in Cambodia, which was previously raided by law enforcement officials. Infoblox, which specializes in domain name system (DNS) management and security, detected a unique DNS fingerprint from those systems that they linked to Vault Viper, making it possible for the researchers to trace and map websites and infrastructure linked to the group.<\/p>\n
Tens of thousands of web domains, plus various command-and-control infrastructure and registered companies, are linked to Vault Viper activity, Infoblox researchers say in a report shared with WIRED. They also say they examined hundreds of pages of corporate documents, legal records, and court filings with links to BBIN or other subsidiaries. Time and time again, they came across the Universe Browser online.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t seen the Universe Browser advertised outside of the domains Vault Viper controls,\u201d says Ma\u00ebl Le Touz, a threat researcher at Infoblox. The Infoblox report says the browser was \u201cspecifically\u201d designed to help people in Asia\u2014where online gambling is largely illegal\u2014bypass restrictions. \u201cEach of the casino websites they operate seem to contain a link and advertisement to it,\u201d Le Touz says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Universe Browser makes some big promises to its potential users. Its online advertisements claim it\u2019s the \u201cfastest browser,\u201d that people using it will \u201cavoid privacy leaks\u201d and that the software will help \u201ckeep you away from danger.\u201d However, everything likely isn\u2019t as it seems. The browser, which is linked to Chinese online gambling websites<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[8104,1903,5899,3435,4493],"class_list":{"0":"post-30012","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-browser","9":"tag-dangerous","10":"tag-features","11":"tag-hidden","12":"tag-privacy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30012"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30012\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}