Mutter

Also known as Beebus, Mutter is a comprehensively-equipped backdoor Trojan that is being used to gather government data related to unmanned drone operations. Although Mutter's place in its attack operation appears to have been substituted by a pair of brand-new backdoor Trojans, SpywareRemove.com malware experts warn that Mutter still is capable of harming computers that are infected with Mutter and grants a high level of access to the criminals using its C&C server. Since Mutter primarily is a concern for business and government PCs that are used to process highly confidential data, persons in those sectors should take appropriate precautions to find and remove Mutter – particularly since, at the time of this article's writing, Mutter still has been confirmed to be communicating from various compromised PCs.

The Low-Key Mutter That is Spilling All of Your Classified Data

Although Mutter includes functions that are perfectly capable of harming personal PCs, Mutter attacks are targeted explicitly at government and business entities, such as aeronautics and defense companies. Before seemingly being supplanted by two new backdoor Trojans that share some major characteristics with it, Mutter was distributed by e-mail messages that disguised the attached Mutter installer as a benign file. SpywareRemove.com malware experts and others in the industry have observed significantly invasive functions from Mutter and its replacements, including:

• Download functions to install other malware.
• Spyware functions that are designed to detect and steal highly private information (particularly information that's associated with unmanned drone operations).
• Backdoor functions that enable hackers to access and control your computer through a Command & Control server. SpywareRemove.com malware analysts also note that Mutter, by default, transmits your basic system information to this server, which can be used for specialized C&C server-based attacks.
• Mutter also includes sophisticated anti-detection features to prevent your anti-malware software from recognizing Mutter. Most uniquely, Mutter has been found to deactivate itself on a temporary basis, which may encourage anti-malware scanners to 'white flag' Mutter or otherwise pass over Mutter as a possible threat during any system scans.

Keeping Mutter from Telling Foreign Crime Rings What It Knows

Mutter appears to be operated by a professional ring of cybercriminals in China with a history that's rich in similar attacks against various government and business institutions. Despite this, Mutter sometimes also is distributed in a generalized fashion that exploits drive-by-download scripts hosted on hostile websites, and these attacks are capable of affecting casual PC users just as much as government/business workers. Even more importantly than that, Mutter's overall attack campaign, labeled Operation Beebus, still is ongoing, and having updated anti-malware protection may be critical to identifying other PC threats related to the campaign accurately – or at all.

Like any PC threat that's designed for stealth and includes advanced defensive functions, Mutter is difficult to detect by eye, and SpywareRemove.com malware researchers warn that the presence of Mutter (or its apparent heirs in backdoor attacks) also may be exacerbated by the presence of related PC threats. Deleting Mutter always should use the best and most updated anti-malware tools that are available, and also should be used alongside appropriate security strategies that prevent Mutter from contaminating any local networks or peripheral devices.