10-October-2023
Welcome to the weekly threat detection update report from Stamus Networks. Each week, you will receive this email with a summary of the updates.
Current Stamus Threat Intelligence (STI) release version: 868
This week, in addition to daily ruleset and IOC updates, we provided Stamus Security Platform customers with the following improved defense(s):
Note: a "method" as referenced below, is a discrete detection vector for a given threat.
The following detections were added to your Stamus Security Platform (SSP) this past week:
An advanced persistent threat (APT) is a stealthy computer network threat actor, typically a nation state or state-sponsored group, which gains unauthorized access to a computer network and remains undetected for an extended period. In recent times, the term may also refer to non-state sponsored groups conducting large-scale targeted intrusions for specific goals.
Such threat actors' motivations are typically political or economic. To date, every major business sector has recorded instances of attacks by advanced actors with specific goals seeking to steal, spy or disrupt. These include government, defense, financial services, legal services, industrial, telecoms, consumer goods, and many more. Some groups utilize traditional espionage vectors, including social engineering, human intelligence and infiltration to gain access to a physical location to enable network attacks. The purpose of these attacks is to place custom malicious code on one or multiple computers for specific tasks.
Source: Wikipedia
ScamClub utilizes RTB integration with ad exchanges to push bid responses upstream containing malicious javascript. This code will attempt to redirect victims' web browsers to a malicious landing page without any action or intent on the part of the victims. Forced redirect attacks are harmful because ad recipients can encounter fraudulent landing pages designed to deceive and exploit them. Attacks from ScamClub lead victims to financial scams, gift card scams, phishing pages designed to steal user information, and more. These attacks not only harm ad recipients, they harm websites by damaging their reputation, while also undermining the trust and credibility of DSPs and SSPs, potentially leading to financial losses and strained relationships with advertisers and publishers. Malvertising Attack Matrix
The AtlasAgent program made by AtlasCross has a standby CnC mechanism, which can traverse a CnC list to obtain the CnC address that can communicate correctly. In particular, the AtlasAgent Trojan has up to 11 standby CnC addresses, which are all high-value public websites invaded and hijacked by AtlasCross through network attacks.
In previous analysis, few attackers will invest such large-scale network resources in a Trojan program. This characteristic of the AtlasAgent Trojan indicates that the attacker has high requirements for the normal operation of the CnC servers, further confirming the targeted strike and advanced threat nature of this activity. Nsfocus
BlackDolphin (namesake of a high-security prison in Russia) seems to be planned to support Windows, Linux and MacOS. Moreover, it supports encrypting #ESXI servers. PRODAFT
BunnyLoader is the name of malware available for purchase (for $250) by cybercriminals across multiple online forums. It is presented as a Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS) and provides a range of features, such as downloading and executing a second-stage payload and harvesting browser credentials and system information. PCrisk
BunnyLoader - Zscaler |
The following detections were updated this past week with changes to kill chain phase(s) or MITRE ATT&CK tactic(s)/technique(s):
Adversaries may communicate using a custom command and control protocol instead of encapsulating commands/data in an existing Standard Application Layer Protocol. Implementations include mimicking well-known protocols or developing custom protocols (including raw sockets) on top of fundamental protocols provided by TCP/IP/another standard network stack.
Attackers are utilizing hacked web sites that promote fake browser updates to infect targets with banking trojans. In some cases, post exploitation toolkits are later executed to encrypt the compromised network with ransomware.
Between May and September 2019, FireEye has conducted multiple incident response cases where enterprise customers were infected with malware through fake browser updates.
Hacked sites would display these "fakeupdates" through JavaScript alerts that state the user is using an old version of a web browser and that they should download an offered "update" to keep the browser running "smoothly and securely".
gh0st RAT is a remote access tool (RAT). The source code is public and it has been used by multiple groups.
Source: MITRE
Glupteba is a trojan-type program, malicious software that installs other programs of this type. Cyber criminals distribute Glupteba through malicious advertisements that can be injected into legitimate websites or advertising networks. Research shows that Glubteba can be used to distribute a browser stealer or router exploiter. In any case, this malware should be uninstalled immediately. Pcrisk
The IcedID banking Trojan was discovered by IBM X-Force researchers in 2017. At that time, it targeted banks, payment card providers, mobile services providers, payroll, webmail and e-commerce sites, mainly in the U.S. IcedID has since continued to evolve, and while one of its more recent versions became active in late-2019, X-Force researchers have identified a new major version release that emerged in 2020 with some substantial changes. securityintelligence.com
Lumma is an information stealer written in C, sold as a Malware-as-a-Service by LummaC on Russian-speaking underground forums and Telegram since at least August 2022. Lumma's capabilities are those of a classic stealer, with a focus on cryptocurrency wallets, and file grabber capabilities. Malpedia
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution. PowerShell is a powerful interactive command-line interface and scripting environment included in the Windows operating system. [1] Adversaries can use PowerShell to perform a number of actions, including discovery of information and execution of code. Examples include the Start-Process cmdlet which can be used to run an executable and the Invoke-Command cmdlet which runs a command locally or on a remote computer (though administrator permissions are required to use PowerShell to connect to remote systems). MITRE
Adversaries may use rootkits to hide the presence of programs, files, network connections, services, drivers, and other system components. Rootkits are programs that hide the existence of malware by intercepting/hooking and modifying operating system API calls that supply system information. [1] Rootkits or rootkit enabling functionality may reside at the user or kernel level in the operating system or lower, to include a hypervisor, Master Boot Record, or System Firmware. [2] Rootkits have been seen for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X systems. MITRE
The Sabsik virus is a type of malware that is used as advanced espionage tool capable of learning your passwords, credit and debit card numbers, and other sensitive info about you. The methods used by the Sabsik Scam are keylogging, presenting the user with phishing forms, and screen-monitoring. Howtoremove
It leverages compromised websites and performs some of the most creative fingerprinting checks we’ve seen, before delivering its payload (NetSupport RAT). Malwarebytes
The term info stealer is self-explanatory. This type of malware resides in an infected computer and gathers data in order to send it to the attacker. Typical targets are credentials used in online banking services, social media sites, emails, or FTP accounts.
Info stealers may use many methods of data acquisition. The most common are:
hooking browsers (and sometimes other applications) and stealing credentials that are typed by the user using web injection scripts that are adding extra fields to web forms and submitting information from them to a server owned by the attacker form grabbing (finding specific opened windows and stealing their content) keylogging stealing passwords saved in the system and cookies Modern info stealers are usually parts of botnets. Sometimes the target of attack and related events are configured remotely by the command sent from the Command and Control server (C&C). Malwarebytes
An advanced persistent threat (APT) is a stealthy computer network threat actor, typically a nation state or state-sponsored group, which gains unauthorized access to a computer network and remains undetected for an extended period. In recent times, the term may also refer to non-state sponsored groups conducting large-scale targeted intrusions for specific goals.
Such threat actors' motivations are typically political or economic. To date, every major business sector has recorded instances of attacks by advanced actors with specific goals seeking to steal, spy or disrupt. These include government, defense, financial services, legal services, industrial, telecoms, consumer goods, and many more. Some groups utilize traditional espionage vectors, including social engineering, human intelligence and infiltration to gain access to a physical location to enable network attacks. The purpose of these attacks is to place custom malicious code on one or multiple computers for specific tasks.
Source: Wikipedia
A TOAD attack is a relatively new form of phishing attack that combines voice and email phishing techniques. Attackers aim to trick users into disclosing sensitive information over the phone, such as login credentials or financial data, by impersonating a trusted authority figure. They will get on a call with the victim, claiming to be a representative from a reputable company or organization. Then, they will follow up with an email that contains a phishing link or attachment. Proofpoint
Ursnif is a banking trojan and variant of the Gozi malware observed being spread through various automated exploit kits, Spearphishing Attachments, and malicious links.[1][2] Ursnif is associated primarily with data theft, but variants also include components (backdoors, spyware, file injectors, etc.) capable of a wide variety of behaviors. MITRE
The following threat detection(s) were improved this past week with new or updated threat methods.
| Name of threat | New coverage | Total coverage | Last updated | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Detection methods | Kill chain phases | Protocols involved | Detection methods | Kill chain phases | Protocols involved | ||
| AtlasAgent | 2 | command and control | http | 2 | command and control | http | 2023-10-06 |
| BlackDolphin | 5 | installation, delivery | http | 5 | installation, delivery | http | 2023-10-06 |
| BunnyLoader | 9 | command and control, actions on objectives | http | 9 | command and control, actions on objectives | http | 2023-10-06 |
| Command and Control | 18 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 301 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, installation | dns, http, tls | 2023-10-10 |
| Fake Browser | 10 | exploitation | dns, tls, http | 80 | delivery, exploitation | dns, http, tls | 2023-10-05 |
| Gh0st | 1 | command and control | tcp-pkt | 179 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery | dns, http, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2023-10-07 |
| Glupteba | 1 | command and control | tls | 107 | command and control | dns, http, tcp, tls | 2023-10-03 |
| IcedID | 8 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 793 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery | dns, http, tcp, tls | 2023-10-07 |
| Lumma | 1 | actions on objectives | http | 15 | actions on objectives, command and control, installation | dns, http, tls | 2023-10-05 |
| Powershell | 5 | actions on objectives, delivery | tcp, http | 32 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery | dns, http, tcp, tcp-pkt | 2023-10-06 |
| Rootkit | 1 | command and control | tcp | 30 | command and control, delivery | dns, http, tcp, tls | 2023-10-06 |
| Sabsik | 3 | command and control | dns, http, tls | 20 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, installation | dns, http, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2023-10-06 |
| ScamClub | 36 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 36 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 2023-10-06 |
| SocGholish | 3 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 836 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, exploitation, reconnaissance | dns, http, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2023-10-10 |
| Stealer and Exfiltration | 3 | command and control | http | 373 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, exploitation, installation | dns, ftp, http, smtp, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2023-10-03 |
| TA409 | 3 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 3 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 2023-10-06 |
| TA4903 | 18 | delivery | dns, tls, http | 123 | delivery | dns, http, tls | 2023-10-07 |
| TOAD Phishing | 4 | delivery | dns, tls, http | 115 | delivery | dns, http, tls | 2023-10-07 |
| Ursnif | 7 | command and control, delivery | dns, http, tls | 588 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, installation, weaponization | dns, http, tcp, tls, udp | 2023-10-07 |
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Stamus Networks believes in a world where defenders are heroes, and a future where those they protect remain safe. As organizations face threats from well-funded adversaries, we relentlessly pursue solutions that make the defender’s job easier and more impactful. The global leader in Suricata-based network security solutions, Stamus Networks helps enterprise security teams know more, respond sooner and mitigate their risk with insights gathered from cloud and on-premise network activity. Our Stamus Security Platform combines the best of intrusion detection (IDS), network security monitoring (NSM), and network detection and response (NDR) systems into a single solution that exposes serious and imminent threats to critical assets and empowers rapid response.
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