Kaspersky: Hackers are creating hundreds of fake GitHub projects to steal cryptocurrency

Cybersecurity company Kaspersky has stated that hackers are creating hundreds of fake GitHub projects with the aim to trick users into downloading malware for encryption and credential theft. In a report on February 24, Kaspersky analyst Georgy Kucherin said that hackers have created hundreds of software sources on GitHub, hosting fake projects containing Remote Access Trojans (RAT), information stealing programs, and clipboard hijacking programs. Some of these counterfeit projects include a Telegram bot managing Bitcoin wallets and a tool automatically interacting with Instagram accounts. Kucherin added that malware creators are "leaving no stone unturned" in making these projects appear legitimate, including "carefully designed" information and instruction files which may have been generated using artificial intelligence tools. The masterminds behind the malicious projects also artificially inflated the number of "commits" (i.e., modifications to the project) while adding multiple references to specific changes, giving the impression that the project is actively improving.