28-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: 1057
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:
A consumer-grade spyware app has been found running on the check-in systems of at least three Wyndham hotels across the United States, TechCrunch has learned.
The app, called pcTattletale, stealthily and continually captured screenshots of the hotel booking systems, which contained guest details and customer information. Thanks to a security flaw in the spyware, these screenshots are available to anyone on the internet, not just the spyware’s intended users. Techcrunch
pcTattletale - Malwarebytes |
Dora RAT is a relatively simple type of malware that supports reverse shell and file download/upload functions. There are two types of Dora RAT: a type that operates as a standalone executable file, and a type that operates by being injected into the explorer, that is, the explorer.exe process. Asec
An adversary with sophisticated levels of expertise and significant resources, allowing it through the use of multiple different attack vectors (e.g., cyber, physical, and deception), to generate opportunities to achieve its objectives which are typically to establish and extend its presence within the information technology infrastructure of organizations for purposes of continually exfiltrating information and/or to undermine or impede critical aspects of a mission, program, or organization, or place itself in a position to do so in the future; moreover, the advanced persistent threat pursues its objectives repeatedly over an extended period of time, adapting to a defender’s efforts to resist it, and with determination to maintain the level of interaction needed to execute its objectives. NIST.)
Morto is a RDP based worm. Malpedia
Morto - Microsoft |
ACR Stealer is an information stealer advertised by a threat actor operating under the pseudonym SheldIO, on Russian-speaking cybercrime forums. It is sold as a Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS) since March 2024.
According to SheldIO’s statement, ACR Stealer is a ramification of a previous private MaaS program administered by the threat actor for a year and that was allegedly still maintained as of March 2024. Sekoia.io analysts assess with high confidence that ACR Stealer is an evolved version of the GrMsk Stealer, which likely corresponds to the (previously unnamed) private stealer sold by SheldIO since July 2023. Malpedia
The following detections were updated this past week with changes to kill chain phase(s) or MITRE ATT&CK tactic(s)/technique(s):
Amadey is malicious software categorized as a trojan. Cyber criminals can purchase Amadey on a Russian dark web forum and then use it to perform various malicious tasks: download and install (execute) other malware, steal personal information, log keystrokes, send spam from a victim's computer, and add an infected computer to a botnet. Pcrisk
There are several malicious fake updates campaigns being run across thousands of compromised websites. This campaign appears to have started around July 19th, 2023. Based on a search on PublicWWW of the injection base64 there are at least 434 infected sites. The name is a reference to the majority of the Javascript being used without obfuscation. One noticeable difference from SocGholish is that there appears to be no tracking of visits by IP or cookies. As an analyst you can you go back to the compromised site over and over coming from the same IP and not clearing your browser cache. This also means the site owner is more likely to see the infection as well. When a user visits a compromised website with ClearFake, the page initially loads as normal before the whole page is taken over by a call to action to update Chrome.
On the index page of the compromised site there is a Javascript injection. The Javascript is base64 encoded. Presumably this is a dynamic injection and will change over time to reflect the new host for the initial payload. On the index page of the compromised site there is a Javascript injection. The Javascript is base64 encoded. Presumably this is a dynamic injection and will change over time to reflect the new host for the initial payload. The second web call returns a Javascript that creates an iframe to house the fake update UI. The iframe src is set to a Keitaro endpoint. The response from the Keitaro endpoint is the foundation for the HTML to be rendered within the iframe.
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".
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. 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
Remote Access Trojans are programs that provide the capability to allow covert surveillance or the ability to gain unauthorized access to a victim PC. Remote Access Trojans often mimic similar behaviors of keylogger applications by allowing the automated collection of keystrokes, usernames, passwords, screenshots, browser history, emails, chat lots, etc. Remote Access Trojans differ from keyloggers in that they provide the capability for an attacker to gain unauthorized remote access to the victim machine via specially configured communication protocols which are set up upon initial infection of the victim computer. This backdoor into the victim machine can allow an attacker unfettered access, including the ability to monitor user behavior, change computer settings, browse and copy files, utilize the bandwidth (Internet connection) for possible criminal activity, access connected systems, and more. Malwarebytes
Remcos is a closed-source tool that is marketed as a remote control and surveillance software by a company called Breaking Security.
Remcos has been observed being used in malware campaigns.
Smoke Loader is a malicious bot application that can be used to load other malware.Smoke Loader has been seen in the wild since at least 2011 and has included a number of different payloads. It is notorious for its use of deception and self-protection. It also comes with several plug-ins. MITRE
It leverages compromised websites and performs some of the most creative fingerprinting checks we’ve seen, before delivering its payload (NetSupport RAT). 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
Group targeting Indian Army or related assets in India, as well as activists and civil society in Pakistan. Attribution to a Pakistani connection has been made by TrendMicro and others. Malpedia
Again, the generic nature of this detection means that the Payloads performed by this group of trojans may be highly variable, and therefore difficult to describe specifically. This group of trojans has been observed to perform any, or all, of the following actions:
redirect Web traffic
- manipulate certain Windows or third-party applications including settings or configurations
- drop or install additional malicious programs
- download and run additional malicious programs
Please note that this list is not exhaustive.
Microsoft
Winnti for Windows is a Trojan that has been used by multiple groups to carry out intrusions in varied regions from at least 2010 to 2016. One of the groups using this malware is referred to by the same name, Winnti Group; however, reporting indicates a second distinct group, Axiom, also uses the malware. [1] [2] [3] The Linux variant is tracked separately under Winnti for Linux. 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 | ||
| ACR Stealer | 42 | command and control, actions on objectives | http, dns, tls | 42 | command and control, actions on objectives | http, dns, tls | 2024-05-24 |
| Amadey | 3 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 29 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery | dns, http, tls | 2024-05-25 |
| ClearFake | 9 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 125 | command and control, exploitation | dns, http, tls | 2024-05-24 |
| Command and Control | 4 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 489 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, installation | dns, http, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2024-05-22 |
| Dora RAT | 3 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 3 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 2024-05-24 |
| Fake Browser | 18 | exploitation | dns, tls, http | 560 | delivery, exploitation | dns, http, tls | 2024-05-24 |
| Lumma | 45 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 841 | actions on objectives, command and control, installation | dns, http, tls | 2024-05-21 |
| Molerats | 3 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 266 | command and control, delivery | dns, http, tcp, tls | 2024-05-22 |
| Morto | 12 | command and control | dns, http, tls | 12 | command and control | dns, http, tls | 2024-05-24 |
| Parrot TDS | 3 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 52 | command and control, delivery | dns, http, tls | 2024-05-23 |
| RAT Generic | 1 | command and control | tcp | 110 | actions on objectives, command and control, installation | dns, http, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2024-05-21 |
| Remcos | 15 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 915 | command and control, delivery | dns, http, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2024-05-24 |
| Smoke Loader | 21 | command and control | dns, http, tls | 95 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery | dns, http, tcp, tls | 2024-05-24 |
| SocGholish | 6 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 968 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, exploitation, reconnaissance | dns, http, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2024-05-24 |
| TA4903 | 9 | delivery | dns, tls, http | 819 | delivery | dns, http, tls | 2024-05-22 |
| TA582 | 3 | command and control | dns, http, tls | 103 | command and control | dns, http, tls | 2024-05-21 |
| TransparentTribe | 3 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 34 | command and control, delivery | dns, http, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2024-05-25 |
| Trojan Agent | 2 | command and control | http | 587 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, installation | dns, http, ip, smtp, tcp, tcp-pkt, tcp-stream, tls, udp | 2024-05-25 |
| Unknown APT | 31 | command and control, delivery | tls, dns, http | 31 | command and control, delivery | tls, dns, http | 2024-05-24 |
| Winnti | 5 | command and control | dns, tls, tcp, http | 22 | command and control | dns, http, tcp, tls | 2024-05-22 |
| pcTattletale | 8 | command and control, installation | http, dns, tls | 8 | command and control, installation | http, dns, tls | 2024-05-24 |
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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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