Akira v2 Ransomware: Rust’s Versatility Fuels Rising Cybercrime Trends - 1

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Akira v2 Ransomware: Rust’s Versatility Fuels Rising Cybercrime Trends

  • Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
  • Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor

Earlier this year, hackers behind the Akira ransomware tested a new version of their malicious software called “Akira v2.” Written in Rust.

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

  • Rust’s complex structure makes analyzing Akira ransomware challenging for researchers.
  • Akira v2 relies on pre-written libraries, aiding researchers in understanding its code.
  • Rust’s popularity is rising among cybercriminals due to flexibility and cross-platform capabilities.

Rust is a modern and powerful programming language, this version was designed to attack ESXi servers—specialized systems used in virtualized computing.

Security researchers from Check Point (CP) took a deep dive into how Akira v2 works. They found that Rust, known for producing fast and secure software, also makes it harder for cybersecurity experts to figure out what’s going on in the code.

This is because Rust’s design, combined with how it’s compiled, creates complex and confusing programs for researchers trying to understand and stop the malware.

Despite the challenges, researchers were able to piece together how Akira v2 operates. The software has different parts that handle tasks like scanning for files to encrypt and executing the encryption process.

The hackers used pre-written Rust code libraries to build parts of the ransomware, which helped researchers find clues about its structure, according to CP.

One big takeaway of CP is that Rust is becoming a popular tool for cybercriminals. It’s flexible, works on multiple systems, and has many ready-to-use features. While this makes Rust attractive for legitimate software developers, it’s also being used for more harmful purposes.

For cybersecurity experts, Rust adds a new layer of difficulty. Unlike older programming languages, Rust compiles code in a way that mixes functions together, making it tricky to follow the malware’s trail.

Experts are calling for better tools to analyze Rust programs and uncover how they work.Akira v2 shows how hackers are constantly evolving, using new technologies to stay ahead.

While the cybersecurity community is working hard to keep up, this case highlights the need for innovative solutions to deal with modern malware threats.

Google Releases Generative AI Video Tool Through Vertex AI - 2

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Google Releases Generative AI Video Tool Through Vertex AI

  • Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert

Google Could announced that its business users can now access Veo—an AI tool to generate videos—and that starting next week all users can test the latest version of Imagen 3—an AI tool to create images—through Vertex AI.

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

  • Business users on Vertex AI can now access Google’s AI video tool Veo to generate footage
  • Starting next week all Vertex AI users will access the latest version of Imagen 3 to create photorealistic and high-quality images from text prompts
  • The new AI tools are aimed at assisting brands and businesses to create visuals for storytelling purposes

The tech giant shared the update yesterday, explaining that business users will get access to Veo through Vertex AI, Google Cloud’s machine learning platform, in private mode.

“As the first hyperscaler to offer an image-to-video model, we’re helping companies transform their existing creative assets into dynamic visuals,” wrote Warren Barkley, Sr. Director of Product Management, at Google in a public update .

Veo, the text and image-to-video generator was announced at the Google I/O 2024 in May and is now available for companies to generate high-quality footage with images and prompts using different visual and cinematic styles. The tool, developed by Google Deepmind, is already being used by different companies to create images for visual storytelling.

According to The Verge , Veo can generate videos with a 1080p resolution that could potentially last around a minute, but Google didn’t disclose the specific length this AI tool is capable of providing.

Veo: our most capable video generation model is now available on Vertex AI in private preview! Developed by @GoogleDeepMind , Veo generates high-quality videos based on text or image prompts in a range of cinematic & visual styles with exceptional speed → https://t.co/ZXTIHYRSPr pic.twitter.com/vYsmqALjAa — Google Cloud (@googlecloud) December 3, 2024

Google shared multiple examples and included the names of brands like Mondelez International and Agoda already using the technology to create images and generate content.

The other AI tool, Imagen 3, can generate photorealistic and high-quality visuals from text prompts and edit images with basic prompts. Users will be able to generate images with their own logos, brands, and styles.

Google has also clarified that the new AI tools will generate content with an invisible watermark launched by Google DeepMind in October and have been designed to prevent the creation of harmful content and protect users’ data.