16-July-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: 1097
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 this past week:
An Indian APT actor, tracked by Proofpoint as TA425 PFPT
Penetration testing is a form of testing whereby an actor, either internal or external, is contracted to perform cyberattacks in order to identify vulnerabilities in systems or processes. In wargaming setups, those actors are also commonly referred to as "Red Team".
A number of tools have been developed to perform these attacks. Those tools can be available publicly or be sold with commercial license. In some cases, private tools might have leaked and be available in the public domain, or even be sold in the dark web.
Note that wide availability and ease of use of these tools have made them popular with real threat actors. And such tools are commonly used to perform real attacks.
The following detections were updated this past week with changes to kill chain phase(s) or MITRE ATT&CK tactic(s)/technique(s):
AutoIt backdoor is malware that has been used by the actors responsible for the MONSOON campaign. The actors frequently used it in weaponized .pps files exploiting CVE-2014-6352. [1] This malware makes use of the legitimate scripting language for Windows GUI automation with the same name. MITRE
First analyzed in early 2014 [1] [2], the Blackmoon banking Trojan targets a user’s online banking credentials using a type of pharming that involves modifying or replacing the local Hosts file with one that redirects online banking domain lookups to an IP address controlled by the attacker. Blackmoon has been observed targeting primarily customers of South Korean online banking sites and services, and is usually distributed via drive-by download. Proofpoint
A botnet is a number of Internet-connected devices, each of which is running one or more bots. Botnets can be used to perform Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, steal data, send spam, and allows the attacker to access the device and its connection. The owner can control the botnet using command and control (C&C) software. The word "botnet" is a portmanteau of the words "robot" and "network". The term is usually used with a negative or malicious connotation.
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.
A typical infostealer, capable of obtaining credentials for browsers, crypto currency wallets, browser cookies, credit cards, and creates screenshots of the infected system. All stolen data is bundled into a zip-file that is uploaded to the c2. Malpedia
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".
Havoc is a modern and malleable post-exploitation command and control framework, created by @C5pider Github
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
The MS-ISAC has recently observed an increase in malware that is most often disseminated through malvertising. Malvertising, or malicious advertising, is the use of online, malicious advertisements to spread malware and compromise systems. Generally this occurs through the injection of unwanted or malicious code into ads. Malicious actors then pay legitimate online advertising networks to display the infected ads on various websites, exposing every user visiting these sites to the potential risk of infection. Generally, the legitimate advertising networks and websites are not aware they are serving malicious content. CIS
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
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
The service behind this PrivateLoader PPI campaign and its operators are unknown, as it was not possible to connect the downloader to a specific underground PPI service at the time of this report. However, we observed PrivateLoader’s main command and control (C2) servers also host the administration panel, which is based on the AdminLTE 3 dashboard template.
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
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
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
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.)
During a routine threat-hunting exercise, Cyble research labs discovered a dark web post where a malware developer was advertising a powerful Windows RAT. Cyble
njRAT is a remote access tool (RAT) that was first observed in 2012. It has been used by threat actors in the Middle East. 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 | ||
| AutoIt | 2 | delivery | http | 68 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, installation | dns, http, tcp, tcp-pkt | 2024-07-11 |
| Blackmoon | 1 | command and control | tcp-pkt | 76 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, installation | dns, http, smtp, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2024-07-10 |
| Botnet Generic | 9 | command and control | http, dns, tls | 17 | command and control, delivery | dns, http, tls | 2024-07-11 |
| ClearFake | 9 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 192 | command and control, exploitation | dns, http, tls | 2024-07-13 |
| CryptBot | 22 | command and control | dns | 93 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery | dns, http, tls | 2024-07-09 |
| Fake Browser | 18 | exploitation, command and control | dns, tls, http | 728 | command and control, delivery, exploitation | dns, http, tls | 2024-07-12 |
| Havoc | 1 | command and control | http | 6 | command and control | dns, http, tls | 2024-07-11 |
| Keitaro | 3 | exploitation | http | 379 | command and control, delivery, exploitation | dns, http, tls | 2024-07-10 |
| Lumma | 54 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 1291 | actions on objectives, command and control, installation | dns, http, tls | 2024-07-13 |
| Malvertising Domain | 24 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 141 | command and control | dns, http, tls | 2024-07-12 |
| MetaStealer | 1 | command and control | tcp | 11 | command and control | http, tcp | 2024-07-09 |
| Parrot TDS | 1 | command and control | http | 63 | command and control, delivery | dns, http, tls | 2024-07-11 |
| Pentest Tools | 1 | command and control | http | 1 | command and control | http | 2024-07-11 |
| PrivateLoader | 1 | command and control | http | 5 | command and control | dns, http, tls | 2024-07-11 |
| RAT Generic | 2 | command and control | tcp | 134 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, installation | dns, http, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls, udp | 2024-07-10 |
| SocGholish | 3 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 997 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, exploitation, reconnaissance | dns, http, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2024-07-09 |
| Stealer and Exfiltration | 2 | command and control, actions on objectives | tcp-pkt | 437 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, exploitation, installation | dns, ftp, http, smtp, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2024-07-11 |
| TA425 | 6 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 6 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 2024-07-11 |
| TA4903 | 6 | delivery | dns, tls, http | 906 | delivery | dns, http, tls | 2024-07-12 |
| TA582 | 6 | command and control | dns, http, tls | 133 | command and control | dns, http, tls | 2024-07-09 |
| Trojan Agent | 8 | command and control, actions on objectives | http, dns, tls | 594 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, installation | dns, http, ip, smtp, tcp, tcp-pkt, tcp-stream, tls, udp | 2024-07-10 |
| Unknown APT | 30 | command and control | dns, tls, http | 106 | command and control, delivery | dns, http, tls | 2024-07-11 |
| XWorm | 40 | command and control | tcp-pkt | 1234 | command and control, delivery | dns, http, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2024-07-13 |
| njRAT | 2 | command and control | tcp | 132 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery | http, tcp, tcp-pkt | 2024-07-11 |
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