McAfee Warns of Weedhack Malware Disguised as Minecraft Mods
The campaign's low price point and distribution through YouTube tutorials make it accessible to young perpetrators, turning modding communities into a vector for cyberbullying and data theft.
Reporting from 1 sources: Automaton.
McAfee Labs has issued a warning about a large-scale Malware-as-a-Service campaign called WeedHack targeting Minecraft players. The malware is disguised as mods or game clients and has already infected over 110,000 devices, stealing account credentials and personal data. The attackers and victims are primarily teenagers and young adults.
McAfee Labs published a warning on June 2 about a Malware-as-a-Service campaign called WeedHack that targets Minecraft players. The malware is disguised as mods or game clients and has been active since January. Over 3,820 malicious JAR files and 240 distribution URLs have been identified, with more than 110,000 infection records logged so far.
WeedHack is sold for as little as $5 per month, far below the typical $250-$500 for MaaS. Attackers post tutorial videos on YouTube guiding users to infected downloads. Stolen data includes Minecraft, Discord, and Steam credentials, plus screenshots and system information. Higher-tier plans allow webcam access, keylogging, and remote file control.
The primary victims are in their late teens to early twenties, and the perpetrators are the same age. Stolen data is used for cyberbullying, including harassment and threats. McAfee recommends downloading mods only from trusted sources like CurseForge or Modrinth and avoiding mods that require disabling antivirus software.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.