Sunday, May 18, 2025
HomeCyber Security NewsHackers Hijacking Facebook Accounts with Malware via Facebook Ads

Hackers Hijacking Facebook Accounts with Malware via Facebook Ads

Published on

SIEM as a Service

Follow Us on Google News

Social media platforms offer financially motivated threat actors opportunities for large-scale attacks by providing a vast user base to target with:- 

These platforms allow attackers to exploit trust and personal information shared by users, making it easier to craft convincing scams and lure victims into financial traps.

Moreover, the anonymity and global reach of social media make it challenging to trace and prosecute these threat actors effectively.

- Advertisement - Google News

Cybersecurity analysts at Bitdefender recently discovered that hackers are actively exploiting Facebook Ads to hack Facebook accounts with malware.

Hackers Hijacking Facebook Accounts

Fraud and cyber threats are everywhere on social media, and that’s why users must stay updated on new tricks to protect their:-

  • Accounts
  • Data
  • Reputation
  • Finances

To achieve their illicit goals, threat actors exploit ad networks to deceive users since ad networks are one of the best mediums to do so.

Security researchers at Bitdefender Labs have closely monitored the threat actors exploiting social media for malvertising.

They aim to hijack accounts and steal data with malicious software. Malvertising misuses legitimate ad tools, spreading infected links through enticing tricks.

Researchers found 10 hijacked business Facebook accounts spreading malicious ads with NodeStealer. 

Attackers created fake profiles using media files, and they ran 140 malicious ad campaigns, cycling through 5 ads to evade detection.

Ads featuring young women’s photos lure victims to download a malicious payload. Each click triggers an archive download, potentially 100,000 times. 

However, apart from this, some ads hit 15,000 downloads in 24 hours, mainly affecting males over 45.

In 2023, Meta found NodeStealer, an info-stealer enabling mass account takeovers. Initially linked to Vietnamese threat actors, it targets business users via Facebook Messenger with a custom-built JavaScript tool.

Here below, we have mentioned all the browsers for which this stealer is primarily designed to steal cookie sessions:-

Recommendations

Here below, we have mentioned all the recommendations offered by the cybersecurity researchers:-

  • Researchers strongly urged users to use a robust security solution to defend against NodeStealer malware from phishing links, attachments, or ads.
  • Besides this, practice online vigilance with good cyber hygiene.
  • Always be cautious with unsolicited links and avoid downloading media files from suspicious ads or alarming notices.
  • Make sure to avoid the ads that suggest you download photo albums from Bitbucket, Gitlab, or Dropbox.

Protect yourself from vulnerabilities using Patch Manager Plus to patch over 850 third-party applications quickly. Try a free trial to ensure 100% security.

Tushar Subhra
Tushar Subhra
Tushar is a Cyber security content editor with a passion for creating captivating and informative content. With years of experience under his belt in Cyber Security, he is covering Cyber Security News, technology and other news.

Latest articles

VMware ESXi, Firefox, Red Hat Linux & SharePoint Hacked – Pwn2Own Day 2

Security researchers demonstrated their prowess on the second day of Pwn2Own Berlin 2025, discovering...

Critical WordPress Plugin Flaw Puts Over 10,000 Sites of Cyberattack

A serious security flaw affecting the Eventin plugin, a popular event management solution for...

Sophisticated NPM Attack Leverages Google Calendar2 for Advanced Communication

A startling discovery in the npm ecosystem has revealed a highly sophisticated malware campaign...

New Ransomware Attack Targets Elon Musk Supporters Using PowerShell to Deploy Payloads

A newly identified ransomware campaign has emerged, seemingly targeting supporters of Elon Musk through...

Resilience at Scale

Why Application Security is Non-Negotiable

The resilience of your digital infrastructure directly impacts your ability to scale. And yet, application security remains a critical weak link for most organizations.

Application Security is no longer just a defensive play—it’s the cornerstone of cyber resilience and sustainable growth. In this webinar, Karthik Krishnamoorthy (CTO of Indusface) and Phani Deepak Akella (VP of Marketing – Indusface), will share how AI-powered application security can help organizations build resilience by

Discussion points


Protecting at internet scale using AI and behavioral-based DDoS & bot mitigation.
Autonomously discovering external assets and remediating vulnerabilities within 72 hours, enabling secure, confident scaling.
Ensuring 100% application availability through platforms architected for failure resilience.
Eliminating silos with real-time correlation between attack surface and active threats for rapid, accurate mitigation

More like this

VMware ESXi, Firefox, Red Hat Linux & SharePoint Hacked – Pwn2Own Day 2

Security researchers demonstrated their prowess on the second day of Pwn2Own Berlin 2025, discovering...

Critical WordPress Plugin Flaw Puts Over 10,000 Sites of Cyberattack

A serious security flaw affecting the Eventin plugin, a popular event management solution for...

Sophisticated NPM Attack Leverages Google Calendar2 for Advanced Communication

A startling discovery in the npm ecosystem has revealed a highly sophisticated malware campaign...