Icoscript

Icoscript is a backdoor Trojan that may use free email services as a communication method between itself and its admin. Traditionally, Icoscript is used in limited numbers of attacks targeting specific institutions, but Icoscript has the same security-defeating capabilities of most RATs, and may allow third parties to control your computer or collect sensitive information. With the surfacing of new evidence of Icoscript attacks, protecting your PC from Icoscript or possessing anti-malware products that can delete Icoscript, may be more important than ever before.

The Trojan Ttat Drafts Its Communications – But Never 'Sends' Them

Icoscript is a small family of Trojans with limited distribution, although their uses in backdoor attacks may give third parties the ability to cause significant harm to infected PCs. Previous versions of Icoscript, found as far back as 2012, have used Yahoo's email services to gather instructions on coordinating their attacks, as well as to upload collected information for outsiders to use. New variants of Icoscript Trojans, as verified by malware analysts, have switched to Google's Gmail services, and use drafted, unsent messages for the same purposes.

Because most backdoor Trojans may use alternative methods of transmitting and receiving data, such as IRC protocols, some security products may fail to identify Icoscript appropriately. Icoscript's attacks also are disguised by the use of encryption and a concealed Internet Explorer window, which blocks the visible symptoms of its activities.

Victims of Icoscript's attacks may temporarily block Gmail to prevent its communications. However, Icoscript may continue to launch attacks as already instructed beforehand. Despite its low numbers of distribution, Icoscript may have significant potential for disrupting security features, blocking software or gathering crucial information (such as passwords for online accounts).

Keeping a Draft from Running Off with Your PC's Intel

Although Icoscript is unlikely to be in mass distribution to the general public, PCs in often-targeted organizations, such as the energy sector, are likely to be compromised. The consequence of such a campaign tends to be the theft of information of a profitable or highly-sensitive nature. Additionally, the continued production of Icoscript's new versions, including its Gmail-favoring variants, emphasizes that PC users also update their anti-malware products. Failing to take this precaution may prevent your anti-malware tools from detecting Icoscript, particularly considering its use of an entirely legitimate e-mail service for its communications.

Icoscript does not show any symptoms of its primary communications, nor are other attacks Icoscript is instructed to conduct necessarily visible to users of infected machines. PCs infrequently scanned by anti-malware solutions are vulnerable to Icoscript and other backdoor Trojans, which conduct infiltrations and interceptions of data that may be non-obvious in nature. However, the Icoscript family also lacks the advanced defenses of high-level threats, such as rootkits, and removing Icoscript should be well within the functionality of a good anti-malware product.