GPUGate Malware Uses Google Ads and Fake GitHub Commits to Target IT Firms

Cybersecurity researchers have detailed a new sophisticated malware campaign that leverages paid ads on search engines like Google to deliver malware to unsuspecting users looking for popular tools like GitHub Desktop.

While malvertising campaigns have become commonplace in recent years, the latest activity gives it a little twist of its own: Embedding a GitHub commit into a page URL containing altered links that point to attacker-controlled infrastructure.

"Even when a link seems to point to a reputable platform such as GitHub, the underlying URL can be manipulated to resolve to a counterfeit site," Arctic Wolf said in a report published last week.

Exclusively targeted IT and software development companies within Western Europe since at least December 2024, the links within the rogue