Thoughts From The Nest

Threat Report Thursday October 17th 2018

Paul Scott on October 17, 2018

Welcome back to the Perch weekly threat report. Over the last week there has been a lot of security related news, but we’re focusing on a ransomware outbreak reported by a state-run utility and spotlighting one of Zeus’ lesser-known offspring, Panda Banker.

Ransomware Demands Flushed by North Carolina Sewer Authority

Disaster recovery plans are essential when attempting to recover from a ransomware attack, as shown recently by Onslow Water and Sewer Authority. That may include ready-to-restore backups or having manual processes in place for different disaster scenarios. If ransomware isn’t a scenario you plan for, you should.

According to an official statement released Monday, October 15, 2018, Jacksonville, North Carolina-based Onslow Water and Sewer Authority (ONWASA) suffered an attack that resulted in malware infection. The company states that on October 4th, they began experiencing persistent virus attacks from Emotet malware. On Saturday, October 13, at 3AM local time, the company states that Emotet dropped Ryuk ransomware, which spread along the network, rapidly infecting databases and files. ONWASA refused to pay the ransom and instead chose to “undertake the painstaking process of rebuilding its databases and computer systems from the ground up.” The attack did not expose customer information, nor did it interrupt water and wastewater services to homes and businesses.

The statement notes that the incident is similar to another ransomeware attack on official county computer systems in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, which occurred last year. An FBI spokesperson confirmed that they are currently investigating the incident.

The faster a threat is detected the less it costs to remediate. That’s why having threat detection and a SOC in place is key. Had this attack been caught at the initial Emotet infection and stopped, it would have cost less than responding to a ransomware outbreak.

Malware Spotlight: Panda Banker

I heard sunlight is the best disinfectant. So this week we’re decided to shine some light on the well-maintained Panda Banker malware, a variant of the Zeus banking trojan.

Researchers have identified that Panda Banker has been updated numerous times and has remained active since 2016. Recently, Panda Banker is being installed by the Emotet malware. The attack appears in the form of a malspam phishing campaign that uses weaponized Microsoft documents that deploy the payload. Researchers note that financial institutions and other video streaming service/e-commerce company were targeted in Japan. Other primary targets were organizations from United States and Canada.

Researchers note that the malware has a sophisticated attack cycle, combined with heavily coded obfuscation techniques and multi-encryption layering. After execution, it first checks if it is running in a sandbox, then creates a copy of itself. The malware then creates two “svchost.exe” and injects it with the Trojan. It downloads the configuration from its C&C Server and injects a DLL to intercept traffic through API hooking.

Panda Banker uses the Mersenne Twister algorithm to generate a URL to connect to its C&C Server. Panda Banker will lie in wait until the infected browser visits a targeted website, such as an online banking system, credit card company, and blockchain information. The malware will then steal bank or credit card details, personal data, and web wallet information. This campaign shows that financial gain is a major factor in how Trojans are being used by threat actors.

The Perch SOC regularly goes thrunting, a term they lovingly created for threat hunting, for observables in all customer environments. If you’re a customer, good news! We’ve checked your security event data for over 200 indicators related to Panda Banker. We found no signs of Panda Banker being downloaded or smuggling bits out of your environment. At Perch, we enable customers to see further because we give a flock. Below is a list of domains Perch found linked from malspam.

Domains:

• apx[.]email
  
• carolinegraham[.]me
  
• carvanadenver[.]com
  
• carvanamemphis[.]com
  
• carvananashville[.]com
  
• colleenmansfield[.]com
  
• genesisatoxmoor[.]com
  
• genesiseastlouisville[.]com
  
• genesisofeaslouisville[.]com
  
• genesisofindiana[.]com
  
• genesisofwestlouisville[.]com
  
• jclgraham[.]com
  
• laurengraham[.]me
  
• michaelagraham[.]com
  
• newlacafe[.]com
  
• oxmoorusedcars[.]com
  
• pegasussoilsolutions[.]com
  
• pegasussoilsolutionsllc[.]com
  
• sellittooxmoor[.]com
  
• selltooxmoor[.]com
  
• zombiedebtslayer[.]com
  
  

Resource:

threatvector

Threat Report Thursday October 11th 2018

Paul Scott on October 11, 2018

This week we’re covering three current events. The first two are related to threats targeting the financial sector. The last is a cautionary tale of malware infection at a large restaurant chain.

APT38 is getting SWIFT

In a report published October 3, 2018, FireEye detailed the activities of APT38, a threat actor conducting financially motivated and cyber-espionage related crimes on behalf of the North Korean regime. FireEye identifies APT38 as a North Korean Nation State sponsored group sharing overlapping characteristics with both Lazarus Group and TEMP.Hermit. According to their findings, APT38 executes sophisticated bank heists resulting from extensive planning and maintains long periods of access on a compromised victim’s environment. APT38 was linked to multiple incidents targeting SWIFT systems. APT38’s primary goal is to raise large sums of money for the North Korean regime; however, FireEye states that they also target infrastructure to facilitate continuous operations and evade detection.

APT38 primarily targets financial institutions such as banks, credit unions, and financial transaction and exchange companies. Other targeted organizations include media companies and government entities. Known victims reside in the following countries: the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Poland, Turkey, Russia, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. In Annex B of the report, FireEye details an extensive list of malware used by APT38, including established, well-known tools (NestEgg, DarkComet) to lesser-known tools (DyePack, BLINDTOAD). FireEye believes APT38 is a well-resourced and persistent threat likely to continue its illicit financial-crime activities.

Resources:

Fireeye

Betabot continues to evolve its toolset for breaking the bank

Security researchers from Cybereason have detected a new campaign involving the Betabot (Neurevt) Trojan. Betabot first appeared in 2012 as an info-stealer and evolved as a banking trojan packing with destructive features. This updated version has functions like browser form grabbing, File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and mail client stealer, banker module, running distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, USB infection module, Robust Userland Rootkit (x86/x64), Arbitrary command execution via shell, and crypto-currency miner module. Betabot can also drop other malware and gain persistence via Windows Task Scheduler and Registry Autorun. Researchers note that the Betabot was designed to operate in “paranoid mode.” It includes self-defense mechanisms such as anti-debugging, anti-virtual machine/sandbox, anti-disassembly, and detect at least 30 security products and analysis tools and try to disable/remove them.

The malware is carried out using phishing attack with social engineering tactics. The email persuades the user to open an attached weaponized Microsoft Word document as the Betabot malware exploits CVE-2017-11882, an 18-year old vulnerability in the Equation Editor tool in Microsoft Office. The vulnerability was discovered in 2017 and patched by Microsoft. It communicates with its C&C Server after checking internet connection by sending requests to Google.com and Microsoft Update Sites. Researchers note that to prevent Betabot infections, users should keep their software up to date, install Microsoft Security patches, and avoid opening attachments from unknown senders.

Resources:

Cybereason

Microsoft

Malware gets year-long all you can eat burger time pass

Restaurant chain Burgerville has recently revealed a security breach that has started over a year ago. Based on the online report, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) contacted Burgerville last August 2018 about a security incident involving FIN7 which was thought to be “brief intrusion” that no longer existed. By September 19, FBI informed Burgerville that the attack is still active, and was much more severe than expected. Burgerville took steps for remediation, and in cooperation with the FBI and an outside cybersecurity firm, they launched a full forensic investigation. Based on the investigation, the malware was installed on Burgerville systems such as Point of Sales (PoS) machines to steal customer data. Customer’s credit and debit card information such as names, card number, expiration dates, and CVV numbers may have been compromised. The number of affected customers is currently unknown, as the tactics of FIN7 were said to be sophisticated and adept at concealing their digital footprints.

Burgerville explained that they didn’t announce the breach sooner to maintain the confidentiality of the breach during the investigation with the FBI. The remediation plan, which was completed by September 30, has to be kept secret. As part of their remediation plan, Burgerville has also upgraded their systems to counter this kind of attack. The company has asked their customers who have visited their restaurants and used their cards between September 2017 to September 2018 to monitor their financial statements for fraudulent activities.

The longer a threat goes undetected the more expensive it is to remediate. Security programs can be expensive if you go it alone. If Burgerville had a team of security analysts monitoring and didn’t rely on FBI notification, they would have caught the initial and continued infection.

Resources:

Burgerville

Threat Report Wednesday October 3rd 2018

Paul Scott on October 3, 2018

In this weekly threat report, we’ll cover three current events. Facebook loses 50 million auth tokens, a phishing campaign is evading AV to deploy remote access trojans, and a ten-year-old privilege escalation vulnerability has major Linux distributions scrambling to release.

Facebook loses control of auth tokens used for FB and every site you log into using Facebook SSO.

On Friday, September 29, Facebook announced an attacker exploited a vulnerability and potentially compromised up to 50 million users Facebook accounts. The vulnerability exposed user access tokens in the HTML of the site page. Facebook published a statement on this incident, which it later updated with further technical details describing the nature of the vulnerability as the combination of three unknown flaws in a feature known as ‘View As.’

The statement included the following:

“Earlier this week, we discovered that an external actor attacked our systems and exploited a vulnerability that exposed Facebook access tokens for people’s accounts in HTML when we rendered a particular component of the ‘View As’ feature. The vulnerability was the result of the interaction of three distinct bugs:

First: View As is a privacy feature that lets people see what their profile looks like to someone else. View As should be a view-only interface. However, for one type of composer (the box that lets you post content to Facebook) — specifically the version that enables people to wish their friends happy birthday — View As incorrectly provided the opportunity to post a video.

Second: A new version of our video uploader, introduced in July 2017, incorrectly generated an access token that had the permissions of the Facebook mobile app.

Third: When the video uploader appeared as part of View As, it generated the access token not for you as the viewer, but for the user that you were looking up.”

Fifty million users were potentially affected by this vulnerability. As a precaution, Facebook has reset the tokens. However, it does nothing to resolve the potential data an attacker may have stolen.

Facebook confirmed that these access tokens might have been used to login to third-party sites via Facebook’s SSO. According to a 2015 report by Gigya, Facebook had the largest share of all identity providers at a 64% share of social login. This aspect of the breach makes it particularly nasty and should remind everyone of the risk of centralized authentication and single sign-on.

Resources:

theverge

facebook

gigya

facebook

Phishing expedition dodges AV to land Adwind RAT

Security researchers from Cisco Talos with ReversingLabs have released a report regarding a new campaign dropping Adwind Trojan. This new phishing spam campaign spreads the Adwind 3.0 RAT which infects Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux operating systems. The spam email contains weaponized malicious “.csv” and “.xlt” file attachments to entice the user to open.

Adwind 3.0 has a set of new tools, especially an evasion technique by utilizing the Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) code-injection technique. This DDE, which transfer data between applications, compromises Microsoft Excel. Microsoft Excel opens by default the two droppers found in this campaign, the “.csv” and “.xlt.” Researchers note that this is part of the obfuscation technique applied wherein signature-based anti-virus aren’t able to detect. Instead of identifying that it is a malicious file, it prompts that it is corrupted. If the user opens the file, it executes the dropper. It creates a Visual Basic script that uses bitsadmin tool, which loads the final Java archive payload that contains Adwind installer.

This kind of injection has been used for years, but the treat actor was able to customize it to have an extremely low detection ratio. Other functions of this RAT includes log keystrokes, take screenshots, take pictures, transfer files, or execute any other command from its C&C Server. Researchers have verified that the malware has been targeting mostly Turkey and Germany, but many malware samples have also been detected in the US, India, Vietnam, and Hong Kong. Researchers have noted that sandboxing and behavior-based detections should be able to detect and stop this spam campaign.

Resources:

Reversing Labs

Talos Intelligence

Hashes:

• 93a482e554e2a37e6893fdd8cd92537c0ebc7363ac5fac44b7a4af4a2088ea24
  
• 0af2c5a46df16b98b9ab5af0ec455e98f6e1928c10ed8b6ffec69573498bdd8a
  
• 93280872f685f9c26d5f668ca1303f224a38d2b86ba707cdbb3d57427396e752
  
• 0a2f74a7787ae904e5a22a3c2b3acf0316c10b95fae08cced7ca5e2fcc7d9bf8
  
• 65220dae459432deb1b038dbcbf8a379519a1a797b7b72f6408f94733bc5a2c2
  
  

URLs:

• http://www[.]qakeyewoha[.]club/?from=@
  
• http://www[.]avrasyayapi[.]live/?from=@
  
• http://www[.]birlikholding[.]live/?from=@
  
• http://avrasyagrup[.]live
  
• http://www[.]erayinsaat[.]live/?from=@
  
• http://www[.]yeyamohofe[.]club/?from=@
  
  

Mutagen Astronomy (CVE-2018-14634) creates a deep impact on Red Hat, CentOS, and Debian

Risk managers better get that VRM and start checking on vendor patch levels. Security researchers from Qualys have discovered a vulnerability named Mutagen Astronomy (CVE-2018-14634) that affects Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), CentOS, and Debian users. The critical vulnerability can be used for Local Privilege Escalation (LPE)on 64-bit systems. An integer overflow triggers the vulnerability in the create_elf_tables() Linux kernel function. If exploited, it causes a buffer overflow that executes malicious code with root privileges. According to researchers, Mutagen Astronomy was present in the Linux kernel between July 19, 2007 (kernel commit: b6a2fea39318) and July 7, 2017 (kernel commit: da029c11e6b1). Researchers were able to publish two proof of concept (PoC)s for Mutagen Astronomy. The Red Hat Team has confirmed this vulnerability. Some releases have been patched while some are still vulnerable. If a fix has not been released for your version, a patch is available.

Resources:

Qualys

Qualys

Security-tracker

Qualys

Redhat

Threat Report Thursday September 28th 2018

Paul Scott on September 28, 2018

This week we are covering three emerging stories in the weekly threat report. First, we’ll cover a newly discovered case of ATM skimmers being installed at banks. Then we’ll transition to two digital threats. The first is related to the reuse of breached credentials in brute force attacks against the financial sector and the second is related to Microsoft’s battle against phishing attacks targeting the upcoming mid-term elections.

Two ATM Skimmers Found at Old Second Bank

Authorities from Aurora Police Department are investigating ATM skimmers found at two Old Second Bank branches in Aurora. The first ATM skimmer was found at 1300 block of North Farnsworth Avenue by an Old Second Bank employee at around 6:30AM. The employee saw a woman walking up to the ATM and acting suspiciously. When the woman left the area, the bank employee checked the ATM with the ATM skimmer and notified other branches of possible skimming which in turn identified the second ATM skimmer at the Fox Valley branch. Investigators are looking through security footages and already released surveillance photos related to the ATM skimming incident. The police are advising bank account holders to immediately report any possible identity or card theft to their bank.

Resources:

Chicago Suntimes

Credential Stuffing Attacks Focused on Financial Sector

Cybersecurity firm Akamai has recently released its “2018 State of the Internet / Security – Credential Stuffing Attacks Report”. The report shows that organizations, particularly in the financial sector, should be cautious about credential stuffing attacks. Credential stuffing is considered to be login attempts utilizing passwords recovered from a breach. The trend of malicious login attempts is on the rise because botnets are being used to automate credential stuffing, and according to the researchers, it has a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) effect. Researchers have documented over 30 billion malicious login attempts from November 2017 to June 2018.

Akamai recorded two particular cases of credential stuffing with the use of heavy-handed botnet operation. First is an unnamed Fortune 500 company where login attempts average from 50,000 an hour to over 350,000 in a single afternoon. The botnet generated 8.5 million malicious attempts in six days. The second is a US credit union that receives 45,000 login attempts every 60 minutes. Another botnet that used a brute-force attack generated 4.2 million attempts in 7 days. Researchers have noted that the US, Russia, and Vietnam are the primary sources of credential stuffing attacks.

Researchers have mentioned that credential stuffing attacks are continuously evolving their methodologies - from volume-based noisier attacks to stealthy low and slow attacks. Without the right defense and expertise, top to bottom organizations alike would fall victim to such attacks.

Resources:

ZDNet

Akamai

Akamai

APT28 Uses Bitcoin to Register Midterm Election Phishing Domains

RiskIQ conducted an investigation into domains that Microsoft sink-holed, which were used in phishing activity that Microsoft attributed to APT28. Microsoft was able to tie the domains in question back to APT28 by tracking historical infrastructure and following the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) associated with the group over the past few years. The domains were styled to mimic US Senate domains, along with think tanks Hudson Institute and the International Republican Institute. These domains are currently sink-holed at Microsoft’s IP 157.56.161.162. The subdomains target mail servers, or emulate Microsoft products, associated with the domains below:

• senate[.]group [adfs.senate[.]group]
  
• my-iri[.]org [Sharepoint.my-iri[.]org]
  
• hudsonorg-my-sharepoint[.]com [Mail.hudsonorg-my-sharepoint[.]com]
  
• office365-onedrive[.]com [Mail.office365-onedrive[.]com]
  
• adfs-senate[.]email
  
• adfs-senate[.]services
  
  

RiskIQ found that APT28 exclusively used domain registrars and hosting providers that accept Bitcoin as payment. This is typical for APT28, who maintain multiple command and control servers for varying durations, cycling the hosting IP, while using registrars that accept Bitcoin, fake phone numbers and names, and use of a registrant email address derived from the domain being registered. The connection to old infrastructure was on the IP 154.16.138[.]57 which hosts vpn647639221.softether[.]net, a VPN service abused by APT28 according to the Department of Justice. This IP also hosted ‘mail[.]office365-onedrive[.]com’ on June 26th. The domains also had connections to disinformation campaigns, as the domain americafirstpolitics[.]com is hosted on Namecheap’s IP, 162.255.119.70, which also hosts of office365-onedrive[.]com. Historical information shows the domain americafirstpolitics[.]com hosting typical disinformation articles and content.

Hosting providers abused by APT28 include Bacloud, Frantech, GloboTech Communications, Info-Tel, MonoVM, Namecheap, Public Domain Registry, and Swiftway. Domains were hosted on various IPs, from rapid cycling that lasted less than a month to domains on Bacloud that were hosted for nearly a year (adfs-senate[.]services was hosted on 185.25.51[.]64 from September 2017 to August 2018). RiskIQ noted that some subdomains were hosted only for a day or two before being taken offline, saying “APT28 [may have] launched attacks from these domains then rapidly disabled routing/hosting to avoid detection or capture of their phishing or malware pages.”

Several of the servers had open ports used for Microsoft’s remote desktop protocol, while others presumably ran SSH on port 22. Almost all, except 37.72.175.151, ran HTTP with a few running HTTPS as well. The IPs 23.227.207.167 and 173.209.43.29 had some ports open that were almost matching, the only differences being the former having port 22 open while the later opened 49157, which is usually assigned dynamically. Interestingly, they also have ports open, typically used, for NetBIOS and Distributed COM Service Control Manager, which should not be exposed to the internet as it can be used to quickly identify every DCOM-related server/service running on a machine for exploitation. The IP 185.25.51.64 had port 25 open, which is used for SMTP and could be indicative of its use for sending phishing emails.

Domains:

• americafirstpolitics[.]com
  
• adfs-senate[.]email
  
• mail[.]office365-onedrive[.]com
  
• adfs-senate[.]services
  
• my-iri[.]org
  
• office365-onedrive[.]com
  
• senate[.]group
  
• adfs[.]senate[.]group
  
• mail[.]hudsonorg-my-sharepoint[.]com
  
• sharepoint[.]my-iri[.]org
  
• hudsonorg-my-sharepoint[.]com
  
• vpn647639221[.]softether[.]net
  
  

IPs

• 37.72.175.151
  
• 162.255.119.70
  
• 157.56.161.162
  
• 154.16.138.57
  
• 185.25.51.64
  
• 23.227.207.167
  
• 173.209.43.29
  
  

Resources:

Riskiq

Microsoft

Threat Report Tuesday September 18th 2018

Paul Scott on September 18, 2018

In this week’s threat report we’re covering two stories, the discovery of XBash malware and an unground marketplace offering a compromised bank ATM and three different companies’ company websites for sale.

XBash Malware Discovered

Researchers have discovered XBash, a malware with ransomware, botnet, and coin-mining functionalities. According to their research, XBash abuses weak passwords and unpatched vulnerabilities and is capable of spreading rapidly within an organization’s network. Researchers found that XBash targets Linux-based systems specifically for its ransomware and botnet capabilities, and targets Microsoft Windows-based systems primarily for its coin-mining and self-propagating capabilities. While XBash has ransomware functionality, researchers found no evidence to suggest that XBash would restore data after the ransom is paid.

At the time of report, researchers had observed 48 incoming transactions associated with the malware with a total income of 0.964 bitcoins, indicating that victims had paid roughly $6,000 total. XBash was first developed in Python and then converted into self-contained Linux ELF executables by abusing the legitimate tool PyInstaller for distribution. Instead of generating random IP addresses as scanning destinations like many other botnets, XBash instead retrieves both IP addresses and domain names from its C2 servers for service probing and exploiting. XBash can also scan for vulnerable servers within an enterprise intranet; however, researchers have only observed this functionality in collected samples and have yet to see it in action.

paloaltonetworks

Recommendations:

• Blocks emails from:
  
  • backupdatabase@pm[.]me
    
  • backupsql@pm[.]me
    
  • backupsql@protonmail[.]com
    
• Using strong, non-default passwords
  
• Keeping up-to-date on security updates
  
• Implement endpoint security on Microsoft Windows and Linux systems
  
• Prevent access to unknown hosts on the internet (to prevent access to command and control servers)
  
• Implement and maintaining rigorous and effective backup and restoration processes and procedures.
  
  

BigPetya Offers Compromised ATM for Sale

Perchy monitors many marketplaces for threat leads, and a compromised ATM for rent caught our eye. Lampeduza, aka BigPetya, a member of multiple underground forums, is selling access to an ATM belonging to a Nigerian bank for $25,000. The actor is also selling access to three different company websites. The first is californiaoliveranch.com, an online store linked to 1,000 PCs, available for the price $5,000. The second is dizucar.com, a company with 500-900 connected computers and a server, available for $4,000, and the last is www.enel.com, available for $10,000. Compromised sites are often leveraged in other attacks. If you start to see these domains pop up in your logs you may want to take a closer look even though the sites appear legitimate and do not have a negative reputation.

Recommendations:

• Monitor your ATM network and system activity for signs of compromise and infection.
  
• Monitor these domains and IPs for phishing, scanning, or malware hosting activities.
  
  • dizucar[.]com - 108.178.54.58
    
  • www[.]enel[.]com - 107.154.108.99
    
  • californiaoliveranch[.]com - 104.196.229.107
    

Threat Report Tuesday September 11th 2018

Paul Scott on September 11, 2018

In this weekly threat report, we’ll cover two topics, 380K British Airways users skimmed by Magecart breach and the Mirai/Gafgyt botnets get upgraded to fly first class with Apache Struts & SonicWall Exploits.

Mirai & Gafgyt get an upgrade

Security researchers uncovered two botnet variants of Mirai and Gafgyt(BASHLITE) with upgraded versions to take advantage of vulnerabilities. Both IoT botnets are associated with DDoS campaigns since November 2016. The Gafgyt version exploits the SonicWall vulnerability (CVE-2018-9866) that affects older unsupported SonicWall Global Management Systems(GMS 8.1 and older).

The Mirai version exploits the same Apache Struts Vulnerability (CVE-2017-5638) associated with the Equifax data breach in 2017 together with 15 other vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities include Linksys E-Series devices(Remote Code Execution), Avcron NVR Devices(Remote Command Execution), D-Link devices(D-Link RCE), CCTVs & DVRs from 70 vendors(Remote Code Execution), EnGenius EnShare IoT Gigabit Cloud Service 1.4.11(Remote Code Execution), AVTECH IP Camera/NVR/DVR Devices(Unauthenticated Command Injection), Zyxel routers(CVE-2017-6884), NetGain Enterprise Manager7.2.562(Ping Command Injection), NUUO NVRmini 2 3.0.8(OS Command Injection), DGN1000 Netgear routers(Unauthenticated RCE), D-Link devices(HNAP SoapAction-Header Command Execution), D-Link DSL-2750B(OS Command Injection), MVPower DVR(JAWS Webserver authenticated shell command execution), and Dasan GPON routers(CVE-2018-10561, CVE-2018-10562).

Researchers noted that this is the first time the Mirai botnet has targeted a vulnerability in Apache Struts. Researchers have pointed out that the incorporation of exploits targeting Apache Struts and SonicWall could indicate the threat actors are increasingly targeting outdated enterprise devices.

paloaltonetworks

Mitigation Strategies:

• Keep device firmware and software up to date.
  
• Regularly perform network scans for vulnerable devices.
  
• Monitor your devices for network traffic that indicates successful exploit.
  
  

British Airways skimmed by Magecart

British Airways recently announced that it suffered a major breach that resulted in customer data theft that impacted roughly 380,000 customers. Names, addresses, email addresses, and payment details of customers with completed transactions from 22:58 BST on August 21 until 21:45 BST on September 5 were compromised. The breach surprisingly didn’t impact passport numbers and other travel data.

Researchers revealed how Magecart threat actor was able to hack the British Airways, like the Ticketmaster breach. As reported, data was stolen directly from the website and mobile app which carries payment forms. Researchers suspect that Magecart used cross-site scripting attack in British Airways’ poorly secured web page component and injected their skimmer code, altering the victim’s site behavior. The attack was tailor-made for the British Airways’ payment page.

Evidence was found that Magecart might have breached the British Airways site days before the skimming began. The attacker’s server used a certificate that was issued on August 15th, days before the reported stardate of August 21, 2018. Researchers warn Magecart uses custom-built attacks for targeted victims, which is a real threat for online payment processing.

Magecart has likely considered other airlines as targets and this is not the first breach in the aviation sector. Aviation sector businesses should consider community defense and evaluate membership in information sharing and analysis centers like A-ISAC.

britishairways

riskiq

a-isac

Mitigation Strategies:

• Keep web applications components up to date.
  
• Regularly scan your web applications for vulnerable components or unauthorized changes.
  
• Monitor your web applications via network and log to for indicators of compromise and successful attacks.
  

Threat Report Tuesday August 28th 2018

Stephen Coty on August 28, 2018

Ryuk ransomware campaign targeting large organizations in the US and around the world has made the attackers behind it over $640,000 in bitcoin in the space of just two weeks. It appears to be connected to Lazarus, the hacking group working out of North Korea. Ryuk campaign is targeting enterprises that are capable of paying a lot of money in order to get back on track.

Secondly, Security researchers at Kaspersky Lab have uncovered a new campaign dubbed as “AppleJeus” being carried out by North Korean APT group Lazarus. Highly active in recent months, researchers note that this is the first time the threat group not only targeted Windows Systems but also targeted and developed macOS-based FallChill malware. The breach was sourced back to an email to an unsuspecting employee of the cryptocurrency exchange company that downloaded third-party legitimate-looking Celas Trade Pro, a cryptocurrency trading program developed by Celas.

Malware: Ryuk ransomware

It first emerged in mid-August and in the space of just days infected several organizations across the US, encrypting PCs and storage and data centers of victims and demanded huge Bitcoin ransoms. The attacks are highly targeted to such an extent that the perpetrators are conducting tailored campaigns involving extensive network mapping, network compromise and credential stealing in order to reach the end goal of installing Ryuk and encrypting systems.

For more information there are a few links below:

Siliconangle

Cryptonewsreview

Some Mitigation Strategies:

• File Integrity Management (FIM) to monitor for the download of a malicious files
  
• Intrusion detection systems (IDS) would detect additional payload downloads
  
• A solid Backup strategy for easy restore as not to disrupt business operations
  
• 24x7 Security Monitoring for malicious behavior and immediate incident response
  
  

Malware: AppleJeus

The malware checks if it’s worth attacking. It runs an auto-Updater which contacts the C&C Server to download and run additional executables including the payload, Fallchill backdoor. In turn, Fallchill malware can secretly take over the victim’s computer and carry out cryptocurrency mining. Researchers suspects Celas is a fake company created by the North Koreans. Researchers believe that a Linux version of the malware might have been circulating already, if not in development.

For more information there are a few links below:

SCmagazine

Pastebin

Some Mitigation Strategies:

• Intrusion detection systems (IDS) to monitor for communication to the C2 network
  
• Email filtration to find malicious attachments
  
• FIM looking for the downloaded executables related to the fallchill backdoor
  
• 24x7 Security Monitoring to check for GPS consistency with locations of vehicles
  

Threat Report Thursday August 23rd 2018

Stephen Coty on August 23, 2018

In August 2018, a new variant of malware - KeyPass ransomware - gained traction using new techniques like manual control to customize its encryption process. Researchers at Kaspersky Lab say that the trojan is being propagated by means of fake installers that download the ransomware module. The trojan sample is written in C++ and compiled in MS Visual Studio. It was developed using the libraries MFC, Boost and Crypto++. The PE header contains a recent compilation date.

Security researchers at Proofpoint recently discovered a new malware strain dubbed Marap. The malware is being distributed via spam emails containing malicious attachments. Based on the campaign’s pattern, Proofpoint linked it to Necurs. Marap can be used to download other malwares. Bleeping Computer states that Marap infects victims, fingerprints their systems, and sends this information back to a central command and control (C&C) server.

Malware: KeyPass Ransomware

KeyPass enumerates local drives and network shares accessible from the infected machine and searches for all files, regardless of their extension. Many ransomware species hunt documents with specific extensions, but this one bypasses only a few folders. Every encrypted file gets an additional extension: “.KEYPASS” and ransom notes named “!!! KEYPASS_DECRYPTION_INFO!!!.txt” are saved in each processed directory. In just 36 hours — from the evening of August 8 to August 10 — the ransomware cropped up in more than 20 countries. Brazil and Vietnam were the hardest hit, but it claimed victims in Europe and Africa.

For more information there are a few links below:

Latam

Pastebin

Some Mitigation Strategies:

• File Integrity Management (FIM) to monitor for the download of a malicious .keypass or .txt
  
• Intrusion detection systems (IDS) would detect additional payload downloads
  
• A solid Backup strategy for easy restore as not to disrupt business operations
  
• 24x7 Security Monitoring for malicious behavior and immediate incident response
  
  

Malware: Marap

As for the malspam campaigns pushing the new Marap downloader, Proofpoint says it has observed various versions. Researchers have seen campaigns leveraging . IQY files, PDF documents with embedded IQY files, password-protected ZIP archives, and the classic Word docs with embedded macros. The malware also has basic features to detect virtual machines used for malware analysis though not as complex compare to other malwares.

Threatpost

Essentials

Some Mitigation Strategies:

• Intrusion detection systems (IDS) to monitor for communication to the C2 network over http
  
• Web filter to block the outgoing http traffic
  
• Email filtration to find malicious attachments related to Marap
  
• FIM looking for the downloaded .zip file containing a .iqy file or MS word doc with macros
  
• 24x7 Security Monitoring to check for GPS consistency with locations of vehicles
  

Threat Report Thursday August 16th 2018

Stephen Coty on August 16, 2018

New Zombie Boy Crypto miner Discovered. Security Researcher James Quinn has recently discovered a new monero miner worm that appears to amass $1,000 per month and uses multiple exploits to avoid detection. Unlike MassMiner crypto currency miner, ZombieBoy leverages WinEggDrop instead of MassScan to search for new hosts to infect. Secondly, Security researchers at Check Point have revealed at DefCon 26 that a cyber criminal can infiltrate a network using a vulnerability of a fax machine protocol. Using only a fax number, an all-in-one printer-fax machine can be penetrated through Faxploit and have access to the network. The attackers just needs to send a malicious fax to a vulnerable fax machine to have access. Researchers note that attackers can then steal printed documents, mine Bitcoin, or practically anything the attacker can think of.

Malware: Zombie Boy Crypto

The tool also utilizes DoublePulsar and EternalBlue exploits to remotely install the main dll. Quinn states that the 64.exe module downloaded by ZombieBoy uses the DoublePulsar exploit to install both an SMB backdoor as well as an RDP backdoor. According to Quinn’s findings, ZombieBoy is being updated on a daily basis, and the malware will not run if it detects it is in a virtual machine environment, debilitating researchers’ ability to reverse engineer and analyze it. The miner uses Simplified Chinese language, indicating that the author may be Chinese.

For more information there are a few links below:

Securityaffairs

Spamfighter

Some Mitigation Strategies:
- File Integrity Management (FIM) to monitor for the download of a malicious .dll files
- Intrusion detection systems (IDS) would detect peer to peer communications
- Web Filtration would block or alert on outbound communication to posthash/hashnice.org
- 24x7 Security Monitoring for malicious behavior and immediate incident response

Malware: Vulnerability of a fax machine protocol

All IoT devices connected to the fax-printer such as server, router, workstations, laptops, or mobile devices would be vulnerable to the attack. Check Point collaborated with HP and used an HP Officejet Pro 6830 all-in-one printer as a test case. They were able to use EternalBlue to exploit the PCs connected to the network, and exfiltrated data by sending back a fax. Researchers collaborated with HP to provide a patch and was rolled out as an automatic update to customers. Researchers advises to check for available firmware updates and disconnect the PSTN line from the fax machine if not in use.

Checkpoint

Checkpoint

Some Mitigation Strategies:
- Segment Office Equipment network traffic to a single segment to easily monitor
- Intrusion detection systems (IDS) to monitor for broadcast from the fax machine
- Use netflow to monitor outbound traffic from your office equipment
- 24x7 Security Monitoring to check for GPS consistency with locations of vehicles

Threat Report Thursday August 9th 2018

Stephen Coty on August 9, 2018

Security researchers at Proofpoint have uncovered Dreambot malware which is a new variant of Ursinif banking Trojan. Though it is still in development, it was seen spreading since July 2016 through exploit kits such as Neutrino, through phishing emails with malicious attachments, and through malvertising. Secondly Palo Alto researchers discovered a threat group named DarkHydrus carrying out credential harvesting attacks using weaponized Word documents, which they delivered via spear-phishing emails to entities within government and educational institutions in the Middle East. Based on the analysis, DarkHydrus used the open-source Phishery tool to host the command and control server to harvest credentials. The use of Phishery further illustrates Dark Hydrus’ reliance on open source tools to conduct their operations.

Malware: Dreambot

Researchers point out that this new variant has new capabilities which includes peer-to-peer (P2P) functionality and Tor communication capability. This Tor-enabled versions are hard to detect because of encrypted and anonymized communications.

For more information there are a few links below:

Proofpoint

Virustotal

Some Mitigation Strategies:

• File Integrity Management (FIM) to monitor for the download of a zipped JavaScript
  
• Intrusion detection systems (IDS) would detect peer to peer communications
  
• Intrusion detection systems (IDS) would
  
• 24x7 Security Monitoring for malicious behavior and immediate incident response
  
  

Malware: DarkHydrus

Two Word documents using the 0utl00k.net domain to harvest credentials were found. These related Word documents were first seen in September and November 2017, which suggests that DarkHydrus has been carrying out this credential harvesting campaign for almost a year.

Researchcenter

Securityweek

Some Mitigation Strategies:

• Web filtration to block Outl00k.net
  
• Email filtration to detect spear phishing attempts using word files
  
• File Integrity Management (FIM) to monitor for downloaded malicious word documents
  
• Intrusion detection systems (IDS) to monitor for malicious queries through DNS
  
• 24x7 Security Monitoring to check for GPS consistency with locations of vehicles
  

Threat Report Wednesday August 1st 2018

Stephen Coty on August 1, 2018

According to Trend Micro, a new exploit kit UnderMiner contains features that make it difficult for researchers to track it and reverse engineer its payloads. Trend Micro researchers state that the exploit kit is currently being used against victims in Asian countries, primarily users in Japan. Underminer delivers a bootkit that infects system boot sectors as well as Hidden Mellifera (Hidden Bee), a cryptocurrency-mining malware. Trend Micro researchers first observed the exploit kit on Jul 17, 2018. Also this week, security researchers at McAfee Labs have recently identified an increasing number of actors using fileless attacks. These fileless attacks don’t drop a malware on the system, rather they use the tools installed in the system. Researchers note that one fileless threat, CactusTorch, uses “DotNetToJScript” technique that executes custom shellcode on Windows System straight from the memory.

Malware: UnderMiner

UnderMiner is capable of browser profiling and filtering, preventing client revisits, URL randomization, and asymmetric encryption of payloads. Malware is transferred via an encrypted transmission control protocol (TCP) tunnel and packages malicious files with a customized format (much like the ROM file system format), which makes analysis for researchers difficult. Underminer has been observed exploiting three major vulnerabilities: CVE-2015-5119, CVE-2016-0189, and CVE-2018-4878.

For more information there are a few links below:

Cyware

Trendmicro

Some Mitigation Strategies:

File Integrity Management (FIM) to monitor for the creation of files and scripts
Intrusion detection systems (IDS) would detect communication C2 for additional payloads
Web Filtration would detect the use of malicious urls or unknown sites
24x7 Security Monitoring for malicious behavior and immediate incident response.

Malware: DotNetToJScript

DotNetToJScript doesn’t write any .NET assemblies on the system, that lead security softwares to often fail to detect these type of attack. CactusTorch loads and executes malicious . NET assemblies, which are the smallest deployment of an application. Corporate networks and single users alike are vulnerable to this type of attack. Security applications such as McAfee Endpoint Security (ENS) and Host Intrusion Prevention System (HIPS) clients are protected from this type of fileless attack.

Peerlyst

Mcafee

Some Mitigation Strategies:

File Integrity Management (FIM) to monitor for wscript.exe, which is only file created
Intrusion detection systems (IDS) to monitor for malicious outbound communication
24x7 Security Monitoring to check for GPS consistency with locations of vehicles.

Threat Report Tuesday July 23rd 2018

Patrick Snyder on July 23, 2018

In this week’s report, we are covering two very malicious programs. Security researchers at Kaspersky Labs have discovered Calisto malware, which appears to be a precursor of Proton macOS malware. Researchers found that Calisto was uploaded to VirusTotal in 2016, but remained unnoticed until May 2018. This macOS malware is a backdoor that guises as an Intego’s Mac Internet Security that also asks for the user’s login and password upon installation. It enables the attacker to remotely access the system enabling remote login, screen sharing, configure remote login permissions, and enable hidden “root” account in macOS with a designated password. The second piece of interesting piece of code is Decrypter for Magniber Ransomware that has been recently released. South Korean cybersecurity firm AhnLab created decrypters for some versions of the Magniber ransomware. The Magniber ransomware, which targets only South Korean end-users, was deployed by the Magnitude Exploit Kit as early as October 2017 through malvertisements. Since malvertisements is constantly a threat on the internet, it is possible to see this spread to other financial institutions.

Malware: Calisto Malware

Interestingly, researchers found out that SIP enabled (System Integrity Protection) macOS systems prevent full damage from Calisto malware even if they have root permissions. Researchers say that Calisto malware was created before Apple released SIP security feature. Researchers still do not have any information as of now on how the malware propagates. Mac users should be safe from this malware as long as they enable SIP, update OS to the current version, download from trusted sources, and use a credible antivirus software.

For more information:
Sentinel One
Xuanwu Lab

Some Mitigation Strategies:

• File Integrity Management (FIM) to monitor for the creation of files related to the RAT
  
• Intrusion detection systems (IDS) would detect communication C2 for additional payloads
  
• Web Filtration would detect the use of malicious URLs or unknown sites
  
• 24x7 Security Monitoring for malicious behavior and immediate incident response
  
  

Malware: CVE-2016-0189

Magnitude exploits vulnerabilities concerning memory corruption (CVE-2016-0189) in Internet Explorer. The ransomware is one of the few country- or language-specific ransomware that has been created. As of March 30, affected users can download the decrypter at AhnLab’s website, which website creators state is updated daily.

For more information:
Avast
Bleeping Computer

Some Mitigation Strategies:

• File Integrity Management (FIM) to monitor for the creation of files related to ransomware
  
• Intrusion detection systems (IDS) to monitor for malicious communication to C2s
  
• Solid Backup strategy to restore from when machine is infected and encrypted
  
• 24x7 Security Monitorings to check for GPS consistency with locations of vehicles
  

Threat Report Tuesday July 17th 2018

Patrick Snyder on July 17, 2018

In this week’s report we are covering two very malicious programs. If you have a BYOD policy you may want to pay attention to this first piece of research. Security researchers at Check Point have discovered samples of Glancelove, an Android-targeting malware, in a false campaign originated by Hamas that takes advantage of the 2018 World Cup. According to researchers, the group is distributing Glancelovethrough fake Facebook page and profiles with photos of attractive women who promote the malware in the form of a dating app available from the Google Play Store. The 2nd piece of interesting malware we found is related to GPS and vehicle that rely on it for daily transportation. A team composed of researchers from Virginia Tech, the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, and Microsoft Research recently released their findings on GPS Spoofing Hack, an attack vector that can send Google Maps users the wrong direction. GPS Spoofing involves replacing a user’s intended destination with a “ghost location.” Instead of connecting to legitimate satellite systems, the cyber-criminal behind the attack forces the victim’s software to connect to their own equipment, allowing the hacker to implement false GPS data.

Malware: Glancelove
This Glancelove dating application asks for permission for the device’s network connection, contacts, SMS, camera, and storage. Upon receiving permission, it contacts its command and control (C&C) server to download the final payload. This Glancelove malware is capable of recording calls, track location, open microphone, SMS theft, take photos, storage mapping, steal contacts, and steal images. Researchers mention that these mobile chain attacks are mainly successful because the targets are hand-picked, and the malware can continually install crucial components if needed. Two similar malicious applications used by the Hamas group are Golden Cup and Wink Chat applications.

For more information there are a few links below:

Links:
GlobalSecurityMag
News Observer

Some Mitigation Strategies:
Make sure to monitor your employee and guest wifi networks Intrusion detection systems (IDS) would detect communication C2 for payload download Web Filtration would detect the use of malicious urls or unknown sites 24x7 Security Monitoring for malicious behavior and immediate incident response.

Malware: GPS Spoofing Hack
Researchers used a HackRF One software defined radio, a Raspberry Pi, a portable power source, and an antenna. The attack could be hosted remotely with the spoofing equipment installed under the victim’s car. Researchers concluded that a seasoned and logical driver who is familiar with their route and destination would notice the change in their Google Maps application. However, if the location and route are unfamiliar, a user might not realize that they’ve been deceived. According to researchers, their experiment only failed when they were testing the luxury car Tesla 2014 Model S. They stated that this was because Tesla uses an advanced u-blox navigation chip, which contains an anti-spoofing function.

Links:
Forbes

Some Mitigation Strategies:
u-blox navigation chip, which implements some anti-spoofing function Intrusion detection systems (IDS) to monitor for malicious communication 24x7 Security Monitorings to check for GPS consistency with locations of vehicles.

Threat Report Tuesday July 10th 2018

Patrick Snyder on July 10, 2018

In this week’s report we are covering two very malicious programs. Researchers identified a Remote Access Trojan (RAT), dubbed FlawedAmmyy, targeting the Ammyy Admin remote desktop tool. FlawedAmmyy is built on leaked source code of Version 3 of Ammyy Admin and provides unfettered remote access to the target system. This campaign, which the researchers attributed to TA505, includes both a broad spam campaign and more targeted campaigns targeting specific industries, including the Automotive Industry. Since its inception in December 2017, GandCrab ransomware quickly became one of the most significant cyber threats of early 2018. Based on a Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) model and distributed throughout the dark web, the malware targets multiple countries around the world using a sophisticated combination of malicious tools. Despite the recent success of law enforcement authorities and the security community who managed to slow down the proliferation of the first version of GandCrab by releasing a free decryption tool, updated versions of the ransomware continue to attack thousands of victims around the world. GandCrabRaaS is the first ransomware in the world demanding ransoms in DASH cryptocurrency.

Malware: FlawedAmmyy

Though just recently discovered, there is evidence the campaign started as early as 2016. Also worth noting, this campaign utilizes the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol, rather than HTTP, to download the malware to victim machines, which may be a first for this type of malware. Aside from the concerning implication that this trojan has been used undetected since 2016, one of the most interesting aspects of this malware is its combined use of ZIP files containing. URL files (which Windows interprets as Internet Shortcuts) and the SMB protocol to deliver the RAT to the victim.

For more information there are a few links below:

Links:

ZDNet

Hack Dig

PasteBin

Some Mitigation Strategies:

• File Integrity Management looking for the installation of files associated with the RAT
  
• Intrusion detection systems (IDS) would detect communication over SMB and C2
  
• Web Filtration would detect the use of malicious urls
  
• 24x7 Security Monitoring for malicious behavior and immediate incident response
  
  

Malware: GandCrab

According to security analysts’ estimates, the initial version of the malware was poorly developed, which allowed for the development of a decryption tool. However, GandCrab creators quickly corrected flaws, and the integrity of subsequent versions proved to be more reliable.
It is reported that an earlier flawed version of GandCrab had a decryption key stored on victim machines, which in turn was encrypted with the same password. However, the issue was promptly addressed by the GandCrab developers.

In its activities, ransomware operators utilize the decentralized Namecoin DNS with .bit extension.

Links:

Security Affairs

Trend Micro

VirusTotal

Some Mitigation Strategies:

• Intrusion detection systems (IDS) to monitor for malicious communication to C2
  
• File Integrity Management is looking for new files being installed on the system
  
• Log Management would collect data on C$ shares and other lateral movement
  
• Mail Filtration to capture potential files attached to phishing emails
  
• 24x7 Security Monitoring with Focused Security Content for solid threat detection
  

Threat Report Wednesday July 2nd 2018

Patrick Snyder on July 2, 2018

In this week’s report we are covering two very malicious programs. Security researchers have spotted a new Mac malware family that’s currently being advertised on cryptocurrency-focused Slack and Discord channels. The other is The Nozelesn Ransomware is a crypto- threat that was reported on July 2nd, 2018 with numerous submissions to security platforms. Unfortunately, the Nozelesn Ransomware leaves little or no traces on compromised machines and creating detection rules turned out to be troublesome. The team behind the Nozelesn Ransomware appears to target the users based in Poland judging from the initial submissions and the way it spreads to PC users.

Malware: OSX.Dummy

Security researcher Remco Verhoef recently discovered OSX.Dummy, a new Mac malware family that is currently being spread via cryptocurrency-focused Slack and Discord channels. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts are convinced by attackers to type a long command inside their Mac terminal with the promise that it will resolve various issues. The command downloads a 34 megabyte binary named “script” to the /tmp folder and runs it. The “script” file then sets itself as a launch daemon to maintain persistence. It then creates a Python script that opens a reverse shell to a server, which gives attackers access to infected hosts. The server can be traced back to 185.243.115.230:1337. Additionally after the code is run, the malware requests the user’s root password and saves it un-encrypted in a file located at /Users/Shared/dumpdummy and /tmp/dumpdummy, allowing the attacker ease of access for future malicious operations. Researchers state that the malware is simplistic and easy to detect with standard malware detection tools.

For more information there are a few links below:

Links:

Bleeping Computer

SC Magazine UK

Some Mitigation Strategies:

• File Integrity Management looking for the installation of python scripts into /tmp and /users/shared
  
• Intrusion detection systems (IDS) would detect network communication over port 1337
  
• 24x7 Security Monitoring for malicious behavior and immediate incident response
  
  

Malware: Nozelesn

Security researchers at MalwareHunterTeam have discovered a new ransomware named Nozelesn. Researchers first noticed chatter regarding the malware from multiple Polish victim submissions to ID ransomware, as well as a newly generated discussion started by victims on BleepingComputer forums. According to a researcher at CERT Polska, the Computer Emergency Response Team for Poland, the malware is being distributed through spam emails imitating a DHL invoice. Upon successful infection, files are encrypted with a “.nozelesn” extension. Following encryption, the malware creates a ransom note offering to fix the computer, labelled HOW_FIX_NOZELESN_FILES.htm. The note contains instructions together with a personal code to login to TOR payment server “lyasuvlsarvrlyxz.onion”. The ransom is currently .10 BTC or roughly $660 USD.

Links:

Cyber Byte

Londrina Security News

Some Mitigation Strategies:

• Intrusion detection systems (IDS) to monitor for malicious communication
  
• File Integrity Management is looking for new files being installed on the system
  
• Log Management would collect data on C$ shares and other lateral movement
  
• Mail Filtration to capture potential files attached to phishing emails
  
• 24x7 Security Monitoring with Focused Security Content for solid threat detection
  

Threat Report Wednesday June 18th 2018

Patrick Snyder on June 18, 2018

In this week’s report we are covering two very malicious programs. One being a custom remote access trojan (RAT) called UBoatRAT is being distributed via Google Drive links. The malware obtains a command and control (C2) address from GitHub, and uses Microsoft Windows Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) for maintaining persistence. The other is MirageFox, a new tool produced by APT15 that looks to be an upgraded version of a RAT believed to originate in 2012, known as Mirage. The new malware was tracked by the researchers as MirageFox, the name comes from a string found in one of the components that borrows code from both Mirage and Reaver.

Malware: UBoatRAT is being distributed via Google Drive links

The RAT is usually delivered by a ZIP archive hosted on Google Drive containing a malicious executable disguised as a folder or Excel spreadsheet. Once installed, UBoatRAT checks for virtualization software and tries to obtain a domain name from the network. The malware only performs malicious activities on a machine when it is able to join an Active Directory (AD) domain. The malware is also programmed to detect virtualization software (VMWare, VirtualBox or QEmu) that would indicate a research environment. Since June, the GitHub “uuu” repository the C2 links to has been deleted and replaced by “uj”, “hhh” and “enm”, according to researcher Hayashi. The GitHub user name behind the repository is “elsa999”. For more information there are a few links below:

Links:

Tech Target

Threat Post

Some Mitigation Strategies:

• Mail Filtration to screen for malicious links that relay to Google drive
  
• File Integrity Management looking for the installation of malicious zip files that unpack executables
  
• Intrusion detection systems (IDS) would detect intrusion and network communication
  
• 24x7 Security Monitoring for malicious behavior and immediate incident response
  
  

Malware: MirageFox

The China-linked APT15 group (aka Ke3chang, Mirage, Vixen Panda, Royal APT and Playful Dragon) has developed a new strain of malware borrowing the code from one of the tool he used in past operations. APT15 is known for committing cyberespionage against companies and organizations located in many different countries, targeting different sectors such as the oil industry, government contractors, military, and more. The attackers utilizes Windows commands to conduct reconnaissance activities, the lateral movement was conducted by using a combination of net command, mounting the C$ share of hosts and manually copying files to or from compromised hosts.

Links:

Security Affairs

Intezer

Virus Total

Some Mitigation Strategies:

• Intrusion detection systems (IDS) to monitor for malicious communication
  
• File Integrity Management is looking for new filel installation
  
• Log Management would collect data on C$ shares and other lateral movement
  
• Mail Filtration to capture potential files attached to phishing emails
  
• 24x7 Security Monitoring with Focused Security Content for solid threat detection
  

Threat Report Monday June 11th 2018

Stephen Coty on June 11, 2018

In this week’s report we are covering two vulnerabilities. One being a recent vulnerability that is targeting Triton ICS deployments. The other is a banking trojan that stealthily uses MSSQL database traffic.

Malware: Triton ICS Malware Developed Using Legitimate Code

Triton, also known as Trisis and HatMan, was discovered in August 2017 after a threat group linked by some to Iran used it against a critical infrastructure organization in the Middle East. The malware targets Schneider Electric’s Triconex Safety Instrumented System (SIS) controllers, which use the proprietary TriStation network protocol. The malware leveraged a zero-day vulnerability affecting older versions of the product through a legitimate .dll file. For more information there are a few links below:

Links:

Security Week

Dark reading

Some Mitigation Strategies:

• Mail Filtration to screen for malicious phishing or targeted email campaigns
  
• File Integrity Management looking for the installation of malicious software like Remote Access Trojans (RATS) for functionality and access
  
• Intrusion detection systems (IDS) would detect intrusion and network communication
  
• Filtering USB ports that are on equipment connected to the ICS systems
  
• 24x7 Security Monitoring for malicious behavior and immediate incident response
  
  

Malware: MnuBot Banking Trojan Stealthily Uses MSSQL Database Traffic

Security researchers from IBM X-Force Research Team have discovered a new banking Trojan named MnuBot. This Delphi-based malware uses the Microsoft SQL Server to communicate with the C&C Server and send commands to infected machines. This evades regular antivirus and malware detection since it uses SQL traffic, unlike common C&C Server communication that happens through web servers or apps. Researchers also indicate that this might be coded by a seasoned hacker. This MnuBot has a two-stage attack. First, it checks if the system is infected already. Second, it deploys the remote access trojan completely (RAT).

Links:

Security Intelligence

Pastebin

Some Mitigation Strategies:

• Intrusion detection systems (IDS) to monitor for malicious communication and downloads from port 5003
  
• File Integrity Management looking for access to registry keys accessed and new keys created
  
• Mail Filtration to capture potential files attached to phishing emails
  
• 24x7 Security Monitoring with Focused Security Content for solid threat detection
  

Threat Report Wednesday June 5th 2018

Stephen Coty on June 5, 2018

In this week’s report we are covering two vulnerabilities. One being a recent Microsoft Windows Jscript vulnerability that has yet to be patched and the other being NavRAT with themes around the upcoming US & North Korean Summit.

Malware: Zero-Day Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Discovered in Microsoft Windows JScript

New Zero-day Remote code execution vulnerability has been discovered in Microsoft Windows JScript that allows an attacker to run the arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of Microsoft Windows. “This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of Microsoft Windows. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit a malicious page or open a malicious file.” To exploit the vulnerability, the attacker has to trick victims into accessing a malicious web page or download and open a malicious JS file on the system. As of June 1st, there has not been a patch released so up to date security content is key for detection until a patch is released.

Links:

Threat Post
Security Boulevard

Some Mitigation Strategies:
- File Integrity Management Solutions for file creation and modification
- Intrusion detection systems (IDS) to monitor for malicious communication and downloads
- 24x7 Security Monitoring with Focused Security Content for solid threat detection
- Web Filtration Technologies to screen incoming web sites
- Mail Filtration to capture potential files attached to phishing emails

Malware: NavRAT Malware Uncovered by Security Researchers

Security researchers at Talos Intelligence have recently uncovered NavRAT, a remote access trojan that has reportedly been quietly active since 2016. NavRAT is distributed through a malicious, decoy Hangul Word Processor (HWP) document named “미북 정상회담 전망 및 대비.hwp”, which translates to “Prospects for US-North Korea Summit.hwp”. The decoy document appears to be referring to the US-North Korea Summit scheduled for June 12, 2018. Known targets reside in South Korea. Researchers note that NavRAT is unique in that it uses Naver, an email platform popular in South Korea, as its command and control (C&C) server. NavRAT can reportedly download, upload, and execute commands, perform keylogging, and avoid detection through process injection, copying itself into an active Internet Explorer process. Researchers assess with a medium degree of confidence that North Korean APT Group 123 threat actor is behind the operation due to the techniques and procedures being of similar nature to those used in previous campaigns.

Links:

Dark Reading
Talos Intelligence

Some Mitigation Strategies:

• Mail Filtration to screen for malicious phishing or targeted email campaigns
  
• File Integrity Management looking for the installation of malicious software like keyloggers
  
• Intrusion detection systems (IDS) would detect intrusion and network communication
  
• 24x7 Security Monitoring for malicious behavior and immediate incident response