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Then, it reads the dropped file with the .db3 extension, which contains position-independent code, and uses CreateThread to execute its content | ['T1574.002'] |
The developers refer to this tool by the name Kazuar, which is a Trojan written using the Microsoft .NET Framework that offers actors complete access to compromised systems targeted by its operator. Kazuar includes a highly functional command set, which includes the ability to remotely load additional plugins to increase the Trojan’s capabilities. Also, we discovered a unique feature within Kazuar: it exposes its capabilities through an Application Programming Interface (API) to a built-in webserver | ['T1105'] |
Winnti malware handles outbound communications using multiple protocols including: ICMP, HTTP, as well as custom TCP and UDP protocols. Use of these protocols is thoroughly documented in the Novetta and Kaspersky reports | ['T1071.001', 'T1095'] |
Proxysvc appears to be a downloader whose primary capability is to deliver additional payloads to the endpoint without divulging the control address of the attackers. This implant is a service DLL that can also run as a standalone process | ['T1569.002'] |
DEATHRANSOM, HELLOKITTY, and FIVEHANDS use the same code to delete volume shadow copies via WMI by performing the query select * from Win32_ShadowCopy and then deleting each instance returned by its id | ['T1047', 'T1490', 'T1490', 'T1490', 'T1047', 'T1047'] |
In the cases where Sakula does not use a registry key for persistence, it attempts to set itself up as a service (see Table 2). It invokes itself by calling WinExec with the "net start %s" argument (without quotes), where "%s" is the service name | ['T1543.003'] |
The threat actor launched a series of reconnaissance commands to try to obtain and enumerate information about the compromised machine, network architecture, users, and active directory enumeration | ['T1049'] |
FireEye Research Labs, the intelligence behind our Mandiant Consultancy services, identified a new Internet Explorer (IE) zero-day exploit used in targeted attacks. The vulnerability affects IE6 through IE11, but the attack is targeting IE9 through IE11. Microsoft has assigned CVE-2014-1776 to the vulnerability and released security advisory to track this issue | ['T1203'] |
In this wave of attacks, Emotet trojan spreads by emails that lure victims into downloading a Christmas-themed Word document, which contains a macro that executes a PowerShell script to download a malicious payload | ['T1059.001'] |
One of the file path name combinations observed was ‘C:\ProgramData\Dacr\macrse.exe’, also configured in a Crimson “Main Client” sample and used for saving the payload received from the C2 when invoking the usbwrm command | ['T1105'] |
In this case, we can see the binary installation path and local reconnaissance to determine which flavor of Linux the malware is running. This is followed by a number of Linux shell command style commands related to the malware establishing persistence | ['T1082'] |
Command Number – a running index number to keep track of executed commands. If set to any number other than -1, the backdoor should proceed to execute the command, according to the Command ID. Command ID – can be one of the following commands: 101 – Shell Command: execute the Shell command attached in the {Arg1} argument. 102 – Download File: Downloads a file that can be found on the {Arg2} path on the server, and saves it on the disk with the {Arg1} name. 104 – Shell Command (duplicate): execute the Shell command attached in the {Arg1} argument. 101 – Shell Command: execute the Shell command attached in the {Arg1} argument. 102 – Download File: Downloads a file that can be found on the {Arg2} path on the server, and saves it on the disk with the {Arg1} name. 104 – Shell Command (duplicate): execute the Shell command attached in the {Arg1} argument | ['T1059.003'] |
Also, on some infected computers we found a tool called the Winexesvc tool. The main difference is that the Winexesvc tool enables the execution of remote commands from Linux-based operating system. When the Linux binary “winexe” is run against a Windows server, the winexesvc.exe executable is created and installed as a service | ['T1569.002'] |
CertPKIProvider.dll, tracked by Microsoft as “VaporRage” can best be described as a shellcode downloader. This version of VaporRage contains 11 export functions including eglGetConfigs, which houses the malicious functionality of the DLL | ['T1105'] |
On other websites, different cloud storage solutions such as Amazon S3 or Google Drive were used to host Windows, OSX, and Android malware payloads | ['T1583.006', 'T1102', 'T1608.001'] |
Conclusion The DarkHydrus group carried out an attack campaign on at least one government agency in the Middle East using malicious .iqy files. The .iqy files take advantage of Excel's willingness to download and include the contents from a remote server in a spreadsheet. DarkHydrus leveraged this obscure file format to run a command to ultimately install a PowerShell scripts to gain backdoor access to the system. The PowerShell backdoor delivered in this current attack may have been custom developed by the threat group, however, it is possible that DarkHydrus pieced together this tool by using code from legitimate open source tools | ['T1059.001'] |
Spear phishing, including the use of probably compromised email accounts. Lure documents using CVE-2017-11882 to drop malware. Stolen code signing certificates used to sign malware. Use of bitsadmin.exe to download additional tools. Use of PowerShell to download additional tools. Using C:\Windows\Debug and C:\Perflogs as staging directories. Using Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) for persistence. Using Windows Shortcut files (.lnk) in the Startup folder that invoke the Windows Scripting Host (wscript.exe) to execute a Jscript backdoor for persistence. Receiving C2 instructions from user profiles created by the adversary on legitimate websites/forums such as Github and Microsoft's TechNet portal | ['T1547.001', 'T1547.009'] |
After collecting the data in a central directory, the attackers then used either a renamed rar.exe or 7z.exe to archive the files. NICKEL also frequently used keyboard walks as a password for their archived data collections. The following are examples of RAR archiving for exfiltration | ['T1560.001'] |
Distributing the ransomware using spear-phishing and weaponized documents - Bat-files downloading payloads from Pastebin and inject them into a process on the operating system - Compromising RDP and usage of script files and password cracking tools to distribute over the victim’s network - Compromise of Managed Service Providers and usage of their distribution software to spread the ransomware | ['T1055'] |
Perhaps the most interesting part here is the unusual command and control mechanism based on TCP/UDP packets, as well as the C&C hostname which fits previously known Turla activity | ['T1095'] |
The button would then lead to the download a RAR archive named Adobe_Flash_Install.rar. This archive was designed to fool the targeted user into infected themselves with a Cobalt Strike implant. Details on the contents of this file are included later in this report | ['T1204.001'] |
Oddly, the crooks decided to use a local web server exposed to the Internet via the free ngrok service—a reverse proxy software that creates secure tunnels—to collect the stolen data | ['T1572'] |
The recipient clicked the link and proceeded to download and open a malicious HTML executable file, which in turn loaded content from a C&C server via an embedded iframe. At the same time, code embedded within this file also executed a PowerShell command to download and execute a copy of chfeeds.vbe from the C&C server | ['T1059.001'] |
In between then and now there has been a lot of rumour and debate about all aspects of this attack with many truths and mistruths being carried in public. In this attack a PDF file was used to exploit the Adobe Acrobat, Reader, and Flash Player Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (CVE-2009-1862/BID35759). This PDF installed a Trojan horse which was an earlier version of the current Trojan.Hydraq. Clear all system event logs. This means the remote attacker has the ability to see in real time any user interface activity as if they were sitting right next to the user. As described in the previously posted blog (Hydraq - An Attack of Mythical Proportions), an unpatched Internet Explorer vulnerability (BID 37815) was used as one of the propagation vectors for this particular Trojan.Hydraq attack. This security hole allows remote exploitation, which means that attackers can run any malicious code of their liking on a victim’s machine by taking advantage of the vulnerability. The number of computers we have observed being attacked or have been attacked is low as borne out by our field detection statistics. The use of browsers other than Internet Explorer by an increasingly large number of people may have helped limit the “attack surface” by reducing the number of computers vulnerable to the Internet Explorer vulnerability used in this attack. Prevention & Mitigation Trojan.Hydraq has been known to be spread through specially crafted PDF files and also through malicious Web sites. Potential attack scenario: When using this vulnerability the most likely attack vector used in this case is targeted emails containing legitimate looking PDF documents sent to high level employees | ['T1070.001'] |
It runs the ipconfig command to gather information about the machine's network adapter configuration. It sends an HTTP POST request to the URL: hxxp://zeplin.atwebpages.com/inter.php and exfiltrates the ipconfig output gathered from the machine | ['T1016'] |
We identified a MacOS backdoor (detected by Trend Micro as OSX_OCEANLOTUS.D) that we believe is the latest version of a threat used by OceanLotus (a.k.a. The attackers behind OSX_OCEANLOTUS.D target MacOS computers which have the Perl programming language installed | ['T1082'] |
The use of large size files to avoid detection by security solutions with hardcoded size limits for ‘efficiency’. - A fishing-with-dynamite approach to collecting initial access to victims with low-cost tooling | ['T1027.001'] |
In their example, the OilRig group used a malicious macro document to deliver the backdoor, which is a tactic much more commonly used by them. A closer examination revealed the obfuscation used by the OilRig group in these QUADAGENT samples were likely the result of using an open-source toolkit called Invoke-Obfuscation. This tool was originally intended to aid defenders in simulating obfuscated PowerShell commands to better their defenses. Invoke-Obfuscation has proven to be highly effective at obfuscating PowerShell scripts and in this case, the adversary was able to take advantage of the tool for increased chances of evasion and as an anti-analysis tactic. Based on our telemetry, we have high confidence the email account used to launch this attack was compromised by the OilRig group, likely via credential theft. The file appears to have been compiled using a bat2exe tool, which will take batch files (.bat) and convert them to PE (.exe) files. Its sole purpose here is to install the QUADAGENT backdoor and execute it. The executable will drop the packaged QUADAGENT PowerShell script using the filename Office365DCOMCheck.ps1 in addition to a VBScript file with the same filename which will assist in the execution of it. Once the QUADAGENT payload has executed, it will use rdppath[.]com as the C2, first via HTTPS, then HTTP, then via DNS tunneling, each being used as a corresponding fallback channel if the former fails. This PE was slightly different from the other attack, being compiled using the Microsoft .NET Framework instead of being generated via a bat2exe tool and containing a decoy dialog box as shown in Figure 1 | ['T1027'] |
The initial infection occurs via a weaponized Microsoft Excel (XLS) document delivered via compromised legitimate websites for which the URLs are most likely shared via email. The documents use Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) Macro code which, if enabled by the victim, starts an installation process consisting of multiple components that result in the plug-in loader payload being downloaded and executed | ['T1204.001', 'T1059.005'] |
Aria-body starts with gathering data on the victim’s machine, including: Host-name, computer-name, username, domain name, windows version, processor ~MHz, MachineGuid, 64bit or not, and public IP (using checkip.amazonaws.com | ['T1016', 'T1082'] |
yty”, the name we use for the framework, from the PDB path string. A “bot id” consisting of computer name, user name, and volume serial number separated by dashes | ['T1082'] |
Once Shellex is called, it first passes each of the items in the config buffer to their own strings. Next, it creates a mutex using the filename and checks to see if the Service key for the service name exists. If so, it opens it using service manager. If not, it first saves a copy of itself to %Program Files (x86)%/DIFXE/svchost.exe. Next, it creates the service and runs it | ['T1012', 'T1569.002'] |
The wiper could be configured to use a file to overwrite the files on the disk using the ‘F’ configuration flag, as we saw images used to overwrite files in previous Shamoon attacks. This file would be stored in a resource named ‘GRANT’, but this particular wiper is not configured to use a file for overwriting so the GRANT resource does not exist. If it were configured to use a file, this sample would extract the file using the information listed in Table 5 | ['T1561.002'] |
This single hack of Volusion allows them to receive credit card data from 3,126 online shops. From the previous skimming attack on the British Airways and Newegg websites, we know that Group 6 tried to register the domains of the exfiltration server to be similar to the victims’ domains. In this case, the domain of the exfiltration server is “volusion-cdn[.]com” — very similar to the valid domain “cdn3[.]volusion[.]com” from Volusion. Both old and current skimmers are written with jQuery, serialize the stolen data, and use the jQuery.ajax function to POST data to a remote server. Although the older skimmer is much simpler compared to the current one, it didn’t encode the stolen data or store the data in sessionStorage before the exfiltration | ['T1048.003'] |
The string is visible within the unpacked Karagany binary and is not itself encrypted. Once the payload has been AES-encrypted, it is prepended with the IV value and Base64-encoded for transmission. Figures 4 and 5 show an example decode and decryption based on sinkhole data obtained by CTU researchers of a Karagany beacon payload | ['T1027'] |
After setting up persistent access, the payload checks to see if a value exists within a registry key in the HKCU hive whose name is the same as the scheduled task (ex. This registry key is empty upon the first execution of the payload. This exception invokes the exception handler containing the HTTP communication code, allowing it to run. If either attempt is successful, the C2 server will respond with the session ID and a pre-shared key in cleartext, which it will save to the previously mentioned registry key. The C2 server will provide the pre-shared key within the response data and will provide the session ID value via the Set-Cookie field within the response, specifically the string after the PHPSESSID parameter of the cookie. If both attempts fail and the payload is unable to obtain a session ID and pre-shared key via HTTP or HTTPS, it will try to use DNS tunneling. To obtain the session ID and pre-shared key, the payload will issue a query to resolve the following domain: mail | ['T1070.004'] |
If none of the C2 servers respond and the end of the configured hosts list is reached, the modulo operation returns zero, thus host_index is equal to zero and the backdoor waits for the number of milliseconds stored in the <TimeLong> registry key. In our case, this was set to one minute. Then, it starts again and tries to reach the configured C2 servers, again host-by-host, until one response. If a connection to one of the configured C2 servers was set up successfully, the backdoor stays in the inner while loop (C2 control loop) and checks for commands every <TimeShort> number of milliseconds. C2_GetCommand_ComHandler handles the communication with the C2 server. It leverages the Windows WinHttp API similar to this Microsoft example and receives the C2 command along with its parameters. The adversaries use SSL/TLS to encrypt the C2 traffic | ['T1029'] |
In the instances we have observed, the threat actor sent spear-phishing emails, luring the victims to open a malicious Microsoft Excel/Word document. The Word droppers were using standard VBA macros to download the payload. The actor tailored the decoy contents to the targeted victims, using logos and themes relevant to the targeted company or using trending topics from their region and, in one instance, even mimicking the Palestinian authority | ['T1082', 'T1566.001'] |
m": mode: net or local. local - encrypt local drives only and ignore network shares. h": path to a file that contains specific hosts (names and IPs) to enumerate for shares. s": IP address that the initial register message will be sent to | ['T1016'] |
FIN7 developed evasive techniques at a rapid pace. Throughout 2017, FIN7 was observed creating novel obfuscation methods, and in some cases modifying the methods on a daily basis while launching attacks targeting multiple victims. Their development of a payload obfuscation style using the Windows command interpreter's (cmd.exe) native string substitution was so unique that FireEye dubbed it "FINcoding. These methods inspired deep command line obfuscation research and the release of Daniel Bohannon's Invoke-DOSfuscation. Reference Table 2 and Table 3 for a selection of samples and their associated command line obfuscation techniques | ['T1059.003'] |
The kill_unwanted function gets a list of running processes, compares each process with a encrypted list of “unwanted” programs. With our aforementioned breakpoint on the ei_str function, we can dump the decrypted strings, to ascertain the value of the “unwanted” programs | ['T1057', 'T1562.001', 'T1518.001'] |
Charming Kitten has taken full advantage of this timing to execute its new campaign to maximum effect. Details Of The Attacks . Our examination of the acquired samples shows hackers generally use two main methods of “Sending Fake SMS” and “Sending Fake Emails” to execute their attacks. They send confirmation messages stating ‘Google Account Recovery’ to their targets; they claim these messages are sent by Google and the user must follow the link in the SMS to confirm the identity. Method #2: Fake Email . Another method used in this phishing campaign is sending fake emails with deceptive titles like “Merry Christmas, and sending note/book/photo and others”, which are usually sent by previously hacked emails. Figure 2 shows one of these phishing emails where the attackers cordially invite the target to open the link in the email’s body. For example, Figure 3 shows another fake email that was sent to the same victim a day after the initial email (Figure 2). Figure 3. A sample of fake email after sending the initial email to the target . Redirect Chain . Utilizing and weaponizing legal and credible services to hide destructive intent is one of the techniques used by hackers in some phishing campaigns. Redirection links initially help bypass the security layers in email services, and then provide the attackers more control to redirect the target to the final URL. As usual, we firmly suggest not to click on unknown links, to carefully review any URLs before entering credential information, and not to download and run unknown files on mobile, personal or work computers. It is important to note that the main cases mentioned in this report relate to the latest Charming Kitten’s phishing campaign and that this campaign has significantly intensified in recent days | ['T1566.002'] |
The payload is a 32-bit executable file that is used to encrypt files on the victim’s system to extort a ransom | ['T1083'] |
SpeakUp’s persistence is ensured by using cron and an internal mutex to ensure only one instance remains alive at all times | ['T1053.003'] |
In January, we saw a variant of the disk-wiping KillDisk malware hitting several financial institutions in Latin America. Last May, we uncovered a master boot record (MBR)-wiping malware in the same region | ['T1561.002'] |
To make detection and analysis harder, QakBot encrypts its strings and decrypts them at runtime before use. Once the QakBot execution logic is finished using a string, it will immediately delete the string from memory. An example of this can be seen in Figure 6 below, which shows QakBot decrypting a string containing the value for lpProcName passed as a parameter to the GetProcAddress API call. The selected function, which has been labeled in IDA Pro as, “oc_clear_mem” deletes the string memory right after it retrieves the process address | ['T1106'] |
The SombRAT loader recovered in this incident was a 64-bit variant that allowed the malicious actor to remotely download and load executable dynamic-link libraries (DLL) plugins on the affected system (Ingress Tool Transfer [T1105]). The loader used hardcoded public RSA keys for command and control (C2) sessions (Command and Control [TA0011]). The C2 communications were encrypted using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), resulting in a Secure Sockets Layer tunnel with the threat actors (Encrypted Channel: Asymmetric Cryptography [T1573.002 | ['T1027'] |
They routinely used standard tools that would mimic legitimate administrator activities. They relied on encrypted SSH-based tunnels to transfer tools and for remote command/program execution. They routinely deleted dropped attack tools, execution logs, files staged for exfiltration, and other files after they were finished with them. They renamed their tools' filenames in the staging folder so that it would not be possible to identify the malware's purpose, even after it was deleted from the disk through the residual artifacts (e.g. ShimCache entries or WMI Recently Used Apps). - They used timestomping to modify the $STANDARD_INFORMATION attribute of the attack tools | ['T1021.004'] |
Consistent with the perceived goal of credential harvesting, the threat actors dropped and executed open source and free tools such as Hydra, SecretsDump, and CrackMapExec. Forensic analysis indicates that many of these tools were executed during the timeframe in which the actor was accessing the system | ['T1110.002'] |
The files are extracted to a newly created folder with a randomized name under the same path, and the zip file is then deleted. The “AJWrDz.exe” executable path is written to the registry Run key “HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run” to achieve persistency | ['T1547.001'] |
KillDisk’s infection chain . How is it dropped in the system. This KillDisk variant looks like it is intentionally dropped by another process/attacker. The new KillDisk variant’s parameter to shut down the affected machine . KillDisk also has a self-destruct process, although it isn’t really deleting itself. Code snippets showing how KillDisk overwrites then deletes files . How does it wipe the disk. It reads the Master Boot Record (MBR) of every device it successfully opens and proceeds to overwrite the first 0x20 sectors of the device with “0x00”. It uses the information from the MBR to do further damage to the partitions it lists. KillDisk has a numeric parameter that denotes the number of minutes (15 being the default) it will wait before it shuts down the affected machine. To try to reboot the machine, it will try to terminate these processes: This is done most likely to force a reboot or dupe the user into restarting the machine. Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. Vision Impaired Profile: this profile adjusts the website so that it is accessible to the majority of visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others. Accept Cancel Continue Processing the data, please give it a few seconds | ['T1134'] |
Bisonal used multiple lure documents to entice their victims to open and then be infected with Bisonal malware. Finally, in 2018, Ahnlab released a paper about "Operation Bitter Biscuit" where Bisonal was used against Korean and Japanese entities. This is an application document that has been used to provide a decoy to the Bisonal malware. The attacker also implemented a new order: execution of a command by using named pipe to get the output of the executed command. This mechanism allows the malware to execute API functions without ever using the Call instruction, making it difficult to perform the analysis. So that it ensures the thread has a chance to run, it will return the API call sleep() no matter what was originally requested. Office Extension . In 2019, the actor behind Bisonal used a new way to deploy the machine on the target's systems. The purpose of the malware is to deploy Bisonal on the infected system ($tmp$\tmplogon.exe) and to create a Run registry key in order to execute Bisonal at the next reboot of the system. The attacker implements indirect API calls by using GetProcAddress() and LoadLibrary() API. Even if Bisonal could be considered as simple with less than 30 functions, it has spent its life targeting sensitive entities in both the public and private sectors | ['T1082'] |
NetPass.exe: a legitimate utility developed by NirSoft that recovers all network passwords stored on a system for the current logged-on user. This tool can also recover passwords stored in the credentials file of external drives. WebBrowserPassView: a password recovery tool that captures passwords stored by Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, and Opera and passes them to the credential enumerator module. Mail PassView: a password recovery tool that reveals passwords and account details for various email clients such as Microsoft Outlook, Windows Mail, Mozilla Thunderbird, Hotmail, Yahoo. Mail, and Gmail and passes them to the credential enumerator module. Once an available system is found, Emotet then writes the service component on the system, which writes Emotet onto the disk | ['T1552.001'] |
The shellcode invokes PowerShell to issue a HTTP GET request for a random four (4) character URI on the root of autodiscovery[.]2bunny[.]com. The requests contain minimal HTTP headers since the PowerShell command is executed with mostly default parameters. Figure 5 depicts an HTTP GET request generated by the payload, with minimal HTTP headers | ['T1071.001'] |
The biggest change is the network communication with the C2 server. The malware does not use a raw socket anymore but all the communications are performed with WinInet. The malware performs connection to the C2 server by using InternetOpenA() with an hardcoded User-Agent: "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.0; .NET CLR 1.1.4322". Note the missing parenthesis at the end of the User-Agent. This variant has exactly the same features as the previous variant: file listing, OS version getting, process killing, drive listing, execution via ShellExecuteW(), execution via named pipe, cleaning, file removal, file downloading. On the left a sample from Bisonal 2014 and on the right Bisonal 2011 | ['T1095'] |
We have seen Grandoreiro use DGA functions to generate a connection to a Google Sites page storing C2 information | ['T1102.001'] |
When the .lnk file is initialized, it spawns a CMD process. This process executes a command to maliciously use the legitimate wmic.exe to initialize an XSL Script Processing (MITRE Technique T1220) attack. The attack executes embedded JScript or VBScript in an XSL stylesheet located on a remote domain (qnccmvbrh.wilstonbrwsaq[.]pw | ['T1059.003'] |
Due to its complex infection process that relies in part on registry updates with malware code, Valak can easily infect an unprotected Windows host. With ADS used to hide follow-up malware from a Valak infection, the risk is greatly increased | ['T1012'] |
SchTasks.exe performs operations similar to those in Scheduled Tasks in Control Panel. You can use either tool to create, delete, configure, or display scheduled tasks. The user must be a member of the Administrators group on the computer that the command affects. To verify that a scheduled task ran or to find out why a scheduled task did not run, see the Task Scheduler service transaction log, Systemroot\SchedLgU.txt. This log records attempted runs initiated by all tools that use the service, including Scheduled Tasks and SchTasks.exe. On rare occasions, task files become corrupted. Corrupted tasks do not run. When you try to perform an operation on corrupted tasks, SchTasks.exe displays the following error message: ERROR: The data is invalid. You cannot recover corrupted tasks. To restore the task scheduling features of the system, use SchTasks.exe or Scheduled Tasks to delete the tasks from the system and reschedule them | ['T1053.005'] |
The OilRig group remains highly active in their attack campaigns while they continue to evolve their toolset. On January 8, 2018, Unit 42 observed the OilRig threat group carry out an attack on an insurance agency based in the Middle East. The January 8 attack used a variant of the ThreeDollars delivery document, which we identified as part of the OilRig toolset based on attacks that occurred in August 2017. Instead, this attack involved delivering the OopsIE Trojan directly to the victim, most likely using a link in a spear phishing email. Interestingly, the targeted organization in the January 16 attack had already been targeted by the OilRig group a year ago on January 2017. A New Attack On January 8, 2018, the OilRig threat group sent an email with the subject Beirut Insurance Seminar Invitation to an insurance agency in the Middle East. The OilRig group sent two emails to two different email addresses at the same organization within a six minutes time span. The email contained an attachment named Seminar-Invitation.doc, which is a malicious Microsoft Word document we track as ThreeDollars. In this case, the ThreeDollars delivery document was not used and instead an attempt was made to deliver the OopsIE Trojan directly to the targeted organization, likely via a link within an email. As we have observed throughout our tracking of the OilRig group, adopting proven tactics has been a common behavior over time | ['T1566.002'] |
SMOKEDHAM created a persistence mechanism for NGROK by adding VirtualHost.vbs to the WindNT value under the current users Run registry key | ['T1547.001'] |
The third campaign deployed a different custom RPC backdoor to that used in the second campaign. This backdoor used code derived from the publicly available PowerShellRunner tool to execute PowerShell scripts without using powershell.exe. This was probably done to avoid them being written to the file system | ['T1016', 'T1570'] |
Talos has identified two different infection vectors associated with this particular campaign. In order to compromise their victims, the threat actors sent the trojanized Microsoft Word documents, probably via email. The first vector relies on a trojanized document that fetches a remote template and then uses a known exploit. The second vector is a trojanized Word document that prompts the victim to enable macros and run a Visual Basic script. Once the luncher.doc was downloaded, it used CVE-2017-11882, to execute code on the victim's machine | ['T1566.001'] |
The usage of VMProtected binaries is another very common TTP that we’ve observed this group leverage in multiple intrusions in order to delay analysis of other tools in their toolkit | ['T1027'] |
This script is meant to delete the Pony Loader after execution (works in a loop, in order to wait for the sample to terminate). The same can be found in Pony 1.9 code | ['T1059.003', 'T1070.004'] |
Recently, a newer version was found in-the-wild, abusing NTFS Alternate Data Streams (ADS) in order to store the content of malicious payloads downloaded during execution. The main vector used by the group is sending malicious files in compressed format, attached to email. File types vary from VBS to LNK; the most recent campaign started to attach an HTML file which executes Javascript for downloading a malicious file | ['T1204.002', 'T1059.005', 'T1564.004'] |
An appetite for stolen code-signing certificates Suckfly has a number of hacktools and malware varieties at its disposal. Figure 1 identifies the malware and tools based on functionality and the number of signed files with unique hashes associated with them | ['T1553.002'] |
In recent weeks, TA551 has changed traffic patterns. 19, 2020, URLs generated by Word macros to retrieve installer binaries followed a noticeable pattern | ['T1105'] |
The attack starts with a malicious XLS attachment, sent in a phishing email, containing an obfuscated macro that downloads a heavily packed second-stage downloader. The second stage fetches the encrypted third-stage, which includes three layered encrypted Lokibot. After a privilege escalation, the third stage deploys Lokibot | ['T1566.001'] |
Naming conventions designed to blend into normal operations (e.g. amsc.exe, msvsvr.dll, alg.exe) - Dropping implants in folders named for legitimate software (e.g | ['T1036.004', 'T1036.005', 'T1036.004'] |
The password-protected ZIP attachments contain a Microsoft Word document with macros to install malware. See Appendix A for examples of these Word documents from June 2020. Prior to April 2020, the most common malware caused by Word documents associated with Shathak/TA551 was Ursnif. Since April 2020, the most common malware distributed by these Word documents has been Valak. Appendix C lists a series of Valak DLL examples from June 2020 | ['T1204.002'] |
The first lateral movement occurred to the domain controller not affected by the use of CVE-2020-1472. An executable was transferred to it via SMB using a domain administrator account | ['T1569.002'] |
It is worth noting at this point that the C2 IP address associated with the cosecman[]com domain appeared to selectively block one of our exit IPs during our research | ['T1016'] |
The tools uploaded to the webshells range from legitimate applications such as cURL to post-exploitation tools such as Mimikatz. We also observed the actors uploading custom backdoors such as HyperBro which is commonly associated with Emissary Panda | ['T1588.002', 'T1027', 'T1046'] |
It is classified by NTT as a variant of the infamous TrickBot malware, which uses DNS tunneling to stealthily communicate with C2 servers. Though this variant was first discovered in October 2019, there is evidence that Anchor_DNS was used as far back as March 2019 | ['T1071.004'] |
Cisco Talos has observed another malware campaign that utilizes malicious Microsoft Office documents (maldocs) to spread the remote access trojan (RAT) ObliqueRAT. This campaign targets organizations in South Asia. ObliqueRAT has been linked to the Transparent Tribe APT group in the past. This campaign hides the ObliqueRAT payload in seemingly benign image files hosted on compromised websites | ['T1204.001', 'T1204.002'] |
This is used to maintain access to a Meterpreter session. It is saved to C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\msupdateconf.exe, granting the executable persistence. Another custom executable used to execute PowerShell scripts. The Mosquito JScript backdoor that uses Google Apps Script as its C&C server. Privilege escalation using the Metasploit module ext_server_priv.x86.dll [8 | ['T1102.002'] |
REvil sends the encrypted stat data containing the host profile and malware information to the C2 URL via the HTTP POST method. Detection of the associated network traffic is challenging because REvil uses the HTTPS protocol, which encrypts the network communication. The malware reads the subsequent C2 server response but implements no logic to act on the received data. Finally, REvil terminates execution | ['T1041'] |
It will then jump to code that decrypts the Lokibot executable using decryption keys from the configuration structure. The first two layers are decrypted using `DecryptionKeyA` and `DecryptionKeyB`, and reverses all the data. After that, the final layer is decrypted using the same decryption method used to decrypt resource data at the start of the third stage.The DLL contains multiple ways to execute a PE file. The shellcode will create a suspended process using the third parameter as a command line command and injects Lokibot into it using process hollowing | ['T1055.012'] |
DEATHRANSOM is written in C while the other two families are written in C++. DEATHRANSOM uses a distinct series of do/while loops to enumerate through network resources, logical drives, and directories | ['T1082'] |
Taking advantage of the unprotected open Docker API port, the attackers are able to instantiate an Ubuntu container with the following entry point | ['T1609'] |
1) NetPass.exe is a legitimate utility developed by NirSoft that recovers all network passwords stored on a system for the current logged-on user. This tool can also recover passwords stored in the credentials file of external drives. 3) WebBrowserPassView is a password recovery tool that captures passwords stored by Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, and Opera and passes them to the credential enumerator module. 4) Mail PassView is a password recovery tool that reveals passwords and account details for various email clients such as Microsoft Outlook, Windows Mail, Mozilla Thunderbird, Hotmail, Yahoo. Mail, and Gmail and passes them to the credential enumerator module. Once an available system is found, Emotet writes the service component on the system, which writes Emotet onto the disk. Emotet’s access to SMB can result in the infection of entire domains (servers and clients | ['T1552.001'] |
Collect information about each disk, including directory and file lists, disk names, total space, and remaining space | ['T1082'] |
For the first time, the ROKRAT sample used during the "North Korean Human Rights" contained a browser credentials stealer. For Chrome and Firefox, the malware queries the sqlite database containing the URL, username and password: Additionally, they support the Microsoft Vault mechanism. Vault was implemented in Windows 7, it contains any sensitive data (like the credentials) of Internet Explorer. Here is the initialization of the Vault APIs: On the left, we have the ROKRAT sample and on the right the FreeMilk sample | ['T1555.004'] |
This exception invokes the exception handler containing the HTTP communication code, allowing it to run. If either attempt is successful, the C2 server will respond with the session ID and a pre-shared key in cleartext, which it will save to the previously mentioned registry key. The C2 server will provide the pre-shared key within the response data and will provide the session ID value via the Set-Cookie field within the response, specifically the string after the PHPSESSID parameter of the cookie. If both attempts fail and the payload is unable to obtain a session ID and pre-shared key via HTTP or HTTPS, it will try to use DNS tunneling. random number between 100000 and 999999>.<c2 name> This request notifies the C2 server that the payload is about to send system specific data as part of the initial handshake. The script will first attempt to communicate with the C2 server using HTTPS (HTTP if unsuccessful), which involves GET requests using the session ID within the request's cookie in the PHPSESSID field, as seen in the example GET request | ['T1027'] |
Cobalt Strike appears to be one of BRONZE PRESIDENT's preferred remote access tools. During one intrusion, the threat actors installed it on over 70% of accessible hosts. The group's Cobalt Strike installation typically uses a payload named svchost.exe in an attempt to disguise Cobalt Strike activity as the legitimate Windows svchost.exe executable. BRONZE PRESIDENT installs PlugX using DLL side-loading. In June and August 2019, BRONZE PRESIDENT delivered PlugX via government and law enforcement-themed phishing lures. RCSession — This basic RAT is installed via DLL side-loading, and CTU researchers observed BRONZE PRESIDENT installing it on multiple hosts during intrusions. RCSession was extracted from a file called English.rtf and launched via a hollowed svchost.exe process. RCSession connects to its C2 server via a custom protocol, can remotely execute commands, and can launch additional tools. CTU researchers have no evidence of other threat actors using RCSession or of wide proliferation of the tool, suggesting it may be exclusively used by BRONZE PRESIDENT. Nbtscan being used via RCSession to scan an internal IP range | ['T1574.002'] |
Let's use the example data 8,54351-1616479009,0 from a beacon sent from the payload to the C2, which it will encode using base64 to OCw1NDM1MS0xNjE2NDc5MDA5LDA=, append the @ symbol and embed within a BMP image. The 8-bits of this base2 representation are then used to set specific bits within the 3-bytes for each pixel | ['T1027.003'] |
After all of the data is gathered, the malware starts communication with the C&C server by periodically sending HTTP POST requests to the following URL on the received domain | ['T1041'] |
CTU researchers observed WCry variants demanding Bitcoin payments equivalent to $300 and $600. The Bitcoin address is provided in the c.wnry configuration file and can vary across samples. If no configuration file is present, the malware uses a hard-coded Bitcoin address. CTU researchers have identified the following Bitcoin addresses associated with the WCry ransomware | ['T1486'] |
The first evidence of its intrusion dated from May 6, 2015 but activity appeared to have begun in earnest on May 12. The attackers appeared to be interested in one division of the ministry that is responsible for relations with the Asia-Pacific region. They attempted to extract all Word documents stored on a file server belonging to this division by bundling them into a RAR archive by running the following command | ['T1039', 'T1083'] |
Talos has discovered an unknown Remote Administration Tool that we believe has been in use for over 3 years. During this time it has managed to avoid scrutiny by the security community. The current version of the malware allows the operator to steal files, keystrokes, perform screenshots, and execute arbitrary code on the infected host. Talos has named this malware KONNI. Throughout the multiple campaigns observed over the last 3 years, the actor has used an email attachment as the initial infection vector. They then use additional social engineering to prompt the target to open a .scr file, display a decoy document to the users, and finally execute the malware on the victim's machine. The malware has evolved over time | ['T1082'] |
While historically TA416 has delivered Zip files from cloud hosting providers containing a decoy file, legitimate PE file, a DLL loader, and a PlugX malware configuration DAT file, recent campaigns used a different tactic. Proofpoint researchers noted that the malicious Zip files delivered from DropBox now contain a rudimentary executable which is a dropper malware. This malware establishes persistence for a legitimate executable file used in DLL search order hijacking, as well as initiates the download of four components. These components are included below and resemble the components used in the past to install PlugX malware. Public research has previously documented TA416’s propensity for including PlugX Trident Loader components and decoy in the initial delivered Zip file. The method of installing PlugX via DLL Search Order hijacking that displays a PDF decoy remains constant | ['T1105'] |
uid= and writes a JSS Loader binary to %TEMP%\PaintHelper.exe. JSS Loader, which has both .NET and C++ versions, has multiple capabilities, including the ability to load additional executables, PowerShell (PS) and JavaScript (JS) files | ['T1059.007', 'T1105', 'T1059.001'] |
The actor behind Bisonal is clearly motivated and has an interest in Russian, Korean and Japanese victims. The development of Bisonal has been active for more than a decade. However, specific functions are still used today, many years after the original implementation of the Bional malware. Even if Bisonal could be considered as simple with less than 30 functions, it has spent its life targeting sensitive entities in both the public and private sectors. For example, in one campaign they put the domain name of the C2 server in plaintext in the malware which had the function to generate a non-ASCII string for the C2 servers once decoded. In this condition, the malware cannot work on the compromised system. With this investigation and the analysis of this decade of activity, we hope to force this actor to innovate by providing a better understanding of his arsenal and more specifically how Bisonal works | ['T1140'] |
Figure 5: Registry Activity The script then determines the version of Powershell that is being used on the infected system. This is essentially the WMI equivalent of a registry-based run key from a persistence perspective. The Stage 3 malware is by default set to run 'onidle' after 30 minutes | ['T1012'] |
TA505 briefly distributed the Kegotip information stealer in April 2017. Across two campaigns of several million messages each, the actor used both macro-laden Microsoft Word documents and zipped VBScript attachments to install the Trojan on potential victim PCs. Kegotip is an infostealer (credentials and email addresses) used to facilitate other crimeware activities. It steals credentials from various FTP clients, Outlook, and Internet Explorer. It also will gather email addresses scraped from files stored on the computer. This information can be used to facilitate future spam campaigns by the perpetrator or may be sold to other actors | ['T1555.003', 'T1552.001'] |
Note: see the appendix for a list of the domains, file names, and malware MD5 hash values used to facilitate this activity | ['T1027.003'] |
Register as a startup program in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Run if it has no privileged (Figure 6). Otherwise, it will register itself as a system service (Figure 7 | ['T1543.003'] |
The two resources that contain commands that ISMInjector uses for persistence are named “Tsk1” and “Tsk2”. The specific commands within each of these resources are within Table 1. At a high level, the“Tsk1” command creates a scheduled task named “ReportHealth” that is meant to run a payload saved to "%localappdata%\srvHealth.exe” every 4 minutes. The “Tsk2” command creates a scheduled task that runs every 2 minutes that is responsible for saving the payload to srvHealth.exe. This task saves the payload to this location using the “certutil” command to decode the original payload saved to “srvBS.txt | ['T1053.005', 'T1140'] |
Stage2.exe is a downloader for a malicious file corrupter malware. Upon execution, stage2.exe downloads the next-stage malware hosted on a Discord channel, with the download link hardcoded in the downloader. The next-stage malware can best be described as a malicious file corrupter | ['T1105'] |