A type of crimeware Web application developed in Russia to help hackers take advantage of unpatched exploits in order to hack computers via malicious scripts planted on compromised websites. Unsuspecting users visiting these compromised sites would be redirected to a browser vulnerability-exploiting malware portal website in order to distribute banking Trojans or similar malware through the visiting computer.
Blackhole exploit kits are based on PHP and a MySQL backend and incorporate support for exploiting the most widely used and vulnerable security flaws in order to provide hackers with the highest probability of successful exploitation. The kits typically target versions of the Windows operating system and applications installed on Windows platforms.
The first Blackhole exploit kit appeared on the black market in August 2010 as a Web application available for sale on a subscription basis ($1,500 for an annual license). Newer releases and a free version of the Blackhole exploit kit have since appeared on warez download sites. The most well-known Blackhole exploit kit attack targeted the U.S. Postal Service’s Rapid Information Bulletin Board System (RIBBS) website in April 2011.
