Discord goes on the hunt for malicious sharing links

Discord is preparing to implement a system of temporary file sharing links in order to combat the spread of malware on its platform.

There’s still something new on Discord. An important security update is coming soon. Highly appreciated by hackers for the ease with which it is possible to share malicious links, the service will soon adapt to make the task more difficult for malicious actors.

File hosting on Discord is over

“Discord is evolving its approach to CDN (content delivery network) attachment URLs to create a safer and more secure experience for users. In particular, this will help our security team restrict access to reported content and generally reduce the amount of malware distributed using our RDC.”communicated Discord to the publication Bleeping Computer.

The messaging application, very popular with players who like to stream, but also used in professional settings, specifies that this development has not “no impact for users who share content within the Discord client”. Discord adds that all links within the client will automatically refresh with the change app.

Those who might need to change their habits are users who used Discord as a means of hosting their files. In this case, the platform, which was not initially intended for these purposes, will prove much less useful. Discord recommends finding a service ” more appropriate “ to host its files.

Unique signature and timestamp for each link shared on Discord

The deployment date has not yet been announced, but Discord indicates that it will take place before the end of the year. All links to files uploaded to Discord servers will then expire after 24 hours.

RDC URLs will come with three new parameters. These will add expiration timestamps and unique signatures, which will remain valid until the links expire. Thus, using Discord’s RDC for permanent file hosting will be made impossible.

According to a recent report published by Trellix, a cybersecurity company, at least 10,000 malware distribution campaigns were carried out exploiting Discord’s RDC URLs. Threats include malware that steals credentials, browser cookie data, and cryptocurrency wallet credentials.

Source : Bleeping Computer