Suzanne Kantra/Techlicious generated by ChatGPT
If you get a prompt telling you to update Zoom, don't click it, at least not without checking first. A scam is using fake Zoom update messages to trick people into installing software that gives an attacker remote control of their computer, and it has just expanded from Windows PCs to Macs.
The scam works because the file victims install doesn't look like malware. In fact, it's a legitimate remote-support tool called ConnectWise ScreenConnect commonly used by IT help desks. Someone who installs it thinking they're updating Zoom is instead handing a stranger the ability to see their screen, access their files, and record anything they type.
Security firm Securonix is tracking the campaign, which researchers have named SMOKE#SCREEN. It reported this week that a new installer built for Mac, named "ZoomUpdateInstaller.pkg," traces back to the same infrastructure as earlier attacks on Windows computers.
This isn't the only time attackers have used a fake Zoom update as bait. We wrote about a related scam earlier this year that abused real emails from Zoom's own system to push the same kind of software.
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