Emojis have become quite popular over the past few years as a way to quickly express ideas and emotions. Now, however, hackers have developed a clever way to use emojis for attacks.

As reported by Cybernews, a group of hackers has figured out how to modify the popular messaging service Discord to be used for command and control (C2). While hackers using Discord for attacks is nothing new, a report from cybersecurity firm Volexity highlights how the group is using the service along with many common emojis.

Earlier this year, the Indian government was attacked by a Linux malware called Digomoji. Apparently, the hackers behind this malware are from Pakistan and have successfully used emojis for C2 communication in several espionage operations.

Researchers believe that to gain initial access, the perpetrators used phishing attacks and malicious documents to lure them in. Once installed on a vulnerable system, the Digomoji malware creates a dedicated channel within the Discord server so that each victim has a separate channel.

From here, Disgomoji sends a check-in message back to the hacker containing the target machine's IP, username, hostname, OS, and current working directory. Worse, the malware remains persistent and remains on the infected system even after a reboot.

While there is still no need to worry about this particular malware strain, the way the hackers behind this campaign use emojis to accelerate their malicious activities is very interesting and could become a tactic that other threat actors will copy in the future.

Hackers who introduce Disgomoji into a target's system can use emojis to communicate with malware instead of writing out long strings of commands. The emoji are sent to a specific target's Discord channel, and the malware does the rest. Disgomoji, however, uses the clock emoji to let the hacker know that the command has been processed, and the checkmark button emoji appears when the command is successfully executed.

Below is a table from Volexity showing other emojis used to communicate with malware.

Also, Discord cannot interfere with Disgomoji's operations due to the fact that once the malicious server is banned, the malware can restore itself by updating credentials from a hacker-controlled C2 server.

The malware also has the ability to scan the victim's network, perform network tunneling, access file-sharing services to download data, and host stolen data. Remarkably, Disgomoji can even pretend to update Firefox and ask victims to manually enter their passwords.

While this particular strain of malware is unlikely to be used to target consumers anytime soon, hackers need to be vigilant if they don't want their money withdrawn from bank accounts or their personal information stolen.

The easiest and simplest way to protect yourself from hackers is to run the latest software. This is because hackers love to target users who are using older software that contains unpatched vulnerabilities. It may be annoying, but taking the time to install a new operating system and Chrome updates may save you from being a victim of hackers.

From there, you want to make sure you're using the best antivirus software on your Windows PC, the best Mac antivirus software on your Apple computer, and the best Android antivirus app on your smartphone.

If you have an iPhone, both Intego Internet Security X9 and Intego Mac Premium Bundle X9 can scan your Apple smartphone for viruses, but you must connect it to your Mac with a USB cable. The same is true for iPads. The need to use Mac antivirus software to scan mobile devices is due to Apple's own limitations when scanning for malware on both iOS and iPadOS.

At the same time, be extra careful when checking your inbox and messages to avoid phishing attacks. Be wary of emails and messages from unknown senders, avoid downloading attachments or files, and do not click on links. Also, don't let your emotions get in the way, as hackers often try to instill a sense of urgency so that you act quickly without thinking things through.

Hackers are constantly coming up with clever new ways to reuse popular tools, software, and services.