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Research Indicates Cogeco Peer 1 Cloud Hosting Service Is Serving Malware

By Nitish Singh / September 20, 2018

Many studies have come out showcasing the link between new and cheap cloud hosting services with hackers and malicious users. In a recent research, the Zscaler ThreatLabZ team found a correlation between modern phishing attacks and a popular hosting provider - Cogeco Peer 1.  

It so happens that these services are getting abused by malware developers and black hat hackers. The latter are using the expensive hosting accounts to hide malware content in cloud-based domains of popular brands. By doing so, they are effectively mixing the malicious files with otherwise good content, which makes it difficult to blacklist.

For example, “flexsel[.]ca” - one of the domains hosted by “Cogeco Peer 1” has been distributing a malicious document which covertly installs a crypto-wallet on systems of unsuspecting users. Cogeco Peer 1 is also home to many other domains serving up various phishing attacks using fake logins for Microsoft, DocuSign, and banking sites.

The following image shows information about affected domains related Hosting IP [64[.]34[.]67[.]205]

Image courtesy of zscaler

Here is the Whois information of the hosting IP address.

Image courtesy of zscaler

Overall, what we learn from the new study from the Zscaler ThreatLabZ team is that hackers are making their move to cloud-based options. This might be in response to the rising trend of individuals as well as organizations also performing cloud computing solutions.

Therefore, it has become extremely important for cloud hosting services to embrace caution and be more watchful of malicious entities on their repositories. If the hosting providers keep watch on all the users on their hosting plans, then the problem can be eliminated before it is even a threat.

How do you think cloud hosting services can mitigate the threat of malware developers and hackers? Tell us in the comments section below. We’d also love to hear back from you on Facebook or Twitter.



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