Cybercriminals Distribute NJRAT, DCRAT and Chaos via Fake GTA 6 Downloads
Cybercriminals are exploiting the high anticipation surrounding GTA 6 to distribute malware through fake game downloads. Researchers at Huntress have tracked the campaign, which uses search-engine poisoning, gaming forums, torrent sites and social-media posts to reach victims.
Victims are tricked into downloading oversized fake ISO files larger than 100 GB that contain random data to appear legitimate. Once executed, the installer displays Russian-language messages stating that the crack is invalid or that a license was not found. While the user believes installation has failed, several malicious components execute silently in the background.
The delivered payloads include the remote-access trojans NJRAT and DCRAT, which can log keystrokes, capture screenshots, access webcams, read the clipboard and disable security services. Mercurial Grabber harvests passwords, cookies, chat tokens, game session data and Windows product keys before exfiltrating them via Discord webhooks.
In addition, the campaign deploys the Chaos wiper, which encrypts small files and overwrites files larger than 200 MB with random data while deleting shadow copies and recovery options, rendering restoration impossible.
Indicators suggest the operation primarily targets Russian-speaking gamers. Security experts advise avoiding unofficial downloads, isolating infected machines immediately and changing passwords from a clean device.
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