07-May-2024
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: 1038
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:
Dipsind is a malware family of backdoors that appear to be used exclusively by PLATINUM. MITRE
Dipsind - Malpedia |
Quant Loader is a malware dropper that can be used to proliferate viruses. This trojan was released in September, 2016. Quant Loader's developer, MrRaiX (also known as DamRaiX), sells this trojan license for few hundred dollars on a Russian malware forum.
Furthermore, this malware dropper is easy to use. Therefore, although it is not a sophisticated trojan (not even capable of avoiding detection by anti-virus suites), it is affordable and simplicity keeps it popular amongst cyber criminals who purchase the license and use Quant Loader to proliferate other malware. PCrisk
Quant Loader - Malpedia |
Recently, while researching attacks on targets in Thailand, Unit 42 discovered a tool that initially appeared to be a variant of the well-known PlugX RAT based on similar observed behavior such as the usage of DLL side-loading and a shellcode file. After closer inspection, it appears to be a completely distinct Trojan.
Bookworm’s functional code is radically different from PlugX and has a rather unique modular architecture that warranted additional analysis by Unit 42. Bookworm has little malicious functionality built-in, with its only core ability involving stealing keystrokes and clipboard contents. However, Bookworm expands on its capabilities through its ability to load additional modules directly from its command and control (C2) server.
The following detections were updated this past week with changes to kill chain phase(s) or MITRE ATT&CK tactic(s)/technique(s):
APT38 is a financially-motivated threat group that is backed by the North Korean regime. The group mainly targets banks and financial institutions and has targeted more than 16 organizations in at least 13 countries since at least 2014.
North Korean group definitions are known to have significant overlap, and the name Lazarus Group is known to encompass a broad range of activity. Some organizations use the name Lazarus Group to refer to any activity attributed to North Korea. Some organizations track North Korean clusters or groups such as Bluenoroff, APT37, and APT38 separately, while other organizations may track some activity associated with those group names by the name Lazarus Group. MITRE
Cobalt Strike is a commercial, full-featured, penetration testing tool which bills itself as “adversary simulation software designed to execute targeted attacks and emulate the post-exploitation actions of advanced threat actors”. Cobalt Strike’s interactive post-exploit capabilities cover the full range of ATT&CK tactics, all executed within a single, integrated system.
In addition to its own capabilities, Cobalt Strike leverages the capabilities of other well-known tools such as Metasploit and Mimikatz. MITRE
Ransom malware, or ransomware, is a type of malware that prevents users from accessing their system or personal files and demands ransom payment in order to regain access. The earliest variants of ransomware were developed in the late 1980s, and payment was to be sent via snail mail. Today, ransomware authors order that payment be sent via cryptocurrency or credit card. Malwarebytes
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".
Loaders, for the most part, have one job: grab malicious executables or payloads from an attacker-controlled server. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t more happening under the hood of some, such as a user-friendly UI, self-healing capabilities, or the equivalent of a retail shop where a botmaster can sell his bots to potential clients.
Loaders are essentially basic remote access Trojans that give an attacker the ability to remotely interact with and control a compromised computer, or bot. While traditionally lightweight (smaller than 50 KB in size) in order to bypass detection by antivirus and other security monitoring technology, loaders evolve, and their viability to cybercriminals remains.
Cyber criminals violated the law TDS (Traffic Direction System) platform Keitaro and used it to redirect them users in exploit kits RIG and Fallout in order to infect them with malicious software.
TDS platforms are designed for redirection of users in particular sites. Legitimate TDS platforms, such as Keitaro, are mainly used by individuals and companies that want to advertise services or their products. Platforms drive users to the pages that companies want, targeting specific customers and promoting an ad campaign. techbizweb
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
Molerats is a politically-motivated threat group that has been operating since 2012. The group's victims have primarily been in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. MITR
Neshta is malicious software that infects executable (.exe) system files and uses them to collect system information. It might also target removable storage devices and network shares. Neshta sends the information to a web server controlled by cyber criminals. Research shows that this malware is mainly used to attack companies that specialize in finance, consumer goods, and energy. It is also used to attack the manufacturing industry. In any case, Neshta should be removed from operating systems immediately. pcrisk
Adversaries may attempt to make an executable or file difficult to discover or analyze by encrypting, encoding, or otherwise obfuscating its contents on the system or in transit. This is common behavior that can be used across different platforms and the network to evade defenses. MITRE
Parrot TDS acts as a gateway for further malicious campaigns to reach potential victims. In this particular case, the infected sites’ appearances are altered by a campaign called FakeUpdate (also known as SocGholish), which uses JavaScript to display fake notices for users to update their browser, offering an update file for download. The file observed being delivered to victims is a remote access tool. Avast
BI.ZONE Cyber Threat Intelligence team has detected a new campaign by Red Wolf, a hacker group that specializes in corporate espionage. Similar to its previous campaigns, the group continues to leverage phishing emails to gain access to the target organizations. To deliver malware on a compromised system, Red Wolf uses IMG files containing LNK files. By opening such a file an unsuspecting victim runs an obfuscated DLL file, which in its turn downloads and executes RedCurl.FSABIN on the victim’s device. This enables the attackers to run commands in the compromised environment and transfer additional tools for post‑exploitation. Bizone
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
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
Xeno Rat stands out from the crowd for several reasons:
HVNC (Hidden Virtual Network Computing): Xeno Rat offers HVNC, which is typically a paid feature in other RATs, but here, it's freely available to enhance your remote access experience. Live Microphone: Enjoy real-time audio surveillance with Xeno Rat, which provides a live microphone feature. Socks5 Reverse Proxy: Xeno Rat includes a Socks5 reverse proxy, allowing you to bypass network restrictions and access remote systems with ease. Regular Updates and Much More: We are committed to keeping Xeno Rat up to date and continually improving its features and functionality to better meet your needs. Built Completely from Scratch: Xeno Rat is developed entirely from scratch, ensuring a unique and tailored approach to remote access tools. Github
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 | ||
| APT38 | 2 | command and control | tls | 295 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery | dns, http, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2024-05-03 |
| Bookworm Trojan | 3 | command and control | http, tcp | 3 | command and control | http, tcp | 2024-05-03 |
| Cobalt Strike | 1 | command and control | http | 573 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, exploitation | dns, http, smb, tcp, tls, udp | 2024-05-01 |
| DarkGate | 1 | command and control | http | 63 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery | dns, http, tls | 2024-04-30 |
| Dipsind | 5 | command and control | http | 5 | command and control | http | 2024-05-03 |
| Fake Browser | 15 | exploitation | dns, tls, http | 506 | delivery, exploitation | dns, http, tls | 2024-05-04 |
| Generic Loader | 3 | delivery | http | 32 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery | http, tcp | 2024-05-03 |
| Keitaro | 6 | exploitation | dns, tls, http | 339 | command and control, delivery, exploitation | dns, http, tls | 2024-05-01 |
| Lumma | 43 | command and control | tls, dns, http | 745 | actions on objectives, command and control, installation | dns, http, tls | 2024-05-04 |
| Molerats | 1 | command and control | http | 263 | command and control, delivery | dns, http, tcp, tls | 2024-05-02 |
| Neshta | 1 | command and control | http | 29 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery | dns, http, tcp, tls | 2024-04-30 |
| Obfuscated File | 1 | delivery | http | 2 | delivery | http | 2024-05-03 |
| Parrot TDS | 41 | command and control | http, dns, tls | 46 | command and control, delivery | dns, http, tls | 2024-05-03 |
| Quant Loader | 4 | delivery | http | 4 | delivery | http | 2024-05-03 |
| Red Wolf | 9 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 37 | command and control, delivery | dns, http, tls | 2024-05-03 |
| SocGholish | 6 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 956 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, exploitation, reconnaissance | dns, http, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2024-04-30 |
| Stealer and Exfiltration | 5 | command and control | http | 428 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, exploitation, installation | dns, ftp, http, smtp, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2024-05-03 |
| TA4903 | 24 | delivery | dns, tls, http | 792 | delivery | dns, http, tls | 2024-05-04 |
| TA582 | 3 | command and control | dns, http, tls | 94 | command and control | dns, http, tls | 2024-04-30 |
| Xeno-RAT | 3 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 5 | command and control | dns, http, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2024-05-04 |
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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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