5-July-2022
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: 484
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 NDR this past week:
TA459 is a threat group believed to operate out of China that has targeted countries including Russia, Belarus, Mongolia, and others. MITR
Silent Librarian is a group that has targeted research and proprietary data at universities, government agencies, and private sector companies worldwide since at least 2013. Members of Silent Librarian are known to have been affiliated with the Iran-based Mabna Institute which has conducted cyber intrusions at the behest of the government of Iran, specifically the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).[ MITRE
Based on our analysis, the spyware, which we named “Hermit,” is likely developed by Italian spyware vendor RCS Lab S.p.A and Tykelab Srl, a telecommunications solutions company we suspect to be operating as a front company. Lookout
The following detections were updated this past week with changes to kill chain phase(s) or MITRE ATT&CK tactic(s)/technique(s):
VICEROY TIGER is an adversary with a nexus to India that has historically targeted entities throughout multiple sectors. Older activity targeted multiple sectors and countries; however, since 2015 this adversary appears to focus on entities in Pakistan with a particular focus on government and security organizations. This adversary consistently leverages spear phishing emails containing malicious Microsoft Office documents, malware designed to target the Android mobile platform, and phishing activity designed to harvest user credentials. In March 2017, the 360 Chasing Team found a sample of targeted attacks that confirmed the previously unknown sample of APT's attack actions, which the organization can now trace back at least in April 2016. The chasing team named the attack organization APT-C-35. In June 2017, the 360 Threat Intelligence Center discovered the organization’s new attack activity, confirmed and exposed the gang’s targeted attacks against Pakistan, and analyzed in detail. The unique EHDevel malicious code framework used by the organization. Malpedia
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
DarkCrystal, also known as dcRAT, is a Remote Access Trojan (RAT). Malware of this type is designed to enable remote access and control over an infected device. RATs can manipulate machines in various ways and can have likewise varied functionalities. DarkCrystal is a dangerous piece of software, which poses a significant threat to device and user safety. DcRat
ESET has analyzed the operations of Evilnum, the APT group behind the Evilnum malware previously seen in attacks against financial technology companies. While said malware has been seen in the wild since at least 2018 and documented previously, little has been published about the group behind it and how it operates. The group’s targets remain fintech companies, but its toolset and infrastructure have evolved and now consist of a mix of custom, homemade malware combined with tools purchased from Golden Chickens, a Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS) provider whose infamous customers include FIN6 and Cobalt Group. Malpedia
Gamaredon Group is a threat group that has been active since at least 2013 and has targeted individuals likely involved in the Ukrainian government. The name Gamaredon Group comes from a misspelling of the word "Armageddon", which was detected in the adversary's early campaigns. MITRE
Joker is one of the most prominent malware families that continually targets Android devices. Despite awareness of this particular malware, it keeps finding its way into Google’s official application market by employing changes in its code, execution methods, or payload-retrieving techniques. This spyware is designed to steal SMS messages, contact lists, and device information along with silently signing up the victim for premium wireless application protocol (WAP) services. Zscaler
CTU researchers discovered the COBALT LYCEUM threat group in mid-2019 and determined that it has been active since at least 2018. The group is assessed with moderate confidence to operate on behalf of Iran, with a relatively small scope of operations in comparison to other Iranian groups. Known targets include critical infrastructure organizations, such as telecommunications and oil and gas companies. The threat actors use malicious Excel files with the DanDrop macro to deliver the unsophisticated DanBot first-stage malware, which deploys post-intrusion tools taken from public code repositories. A mid-2018 COBALT LYCEUM campaign focused on South African targets. In February 2019, the threat actors shifted their focus to Kuwait following a period of testing and development. COBALT LYCEUM’s targeting, tactics, and development style are similar to those of COBALT GYPSY along with the use of RGDoor, an IIS backdoor previously only associated with COBALT GYPSY. Document metadata anomalies suggest that the malware developer may work natively in an Arabic or Persian script. Secureworks
FIN6(Magecart) is a cyber crime group that has stolen payment card data and sold it for profit on underground marketplaces. This group has aggressively targeted and compromised point of sale (PoS) systems in the hospitality and retail sectors. MITRE
An adversary may rely upon a user opening a malicious file in order to gain execution. Users may be subjected to social engineering to get them to open a file that will lead to code execution. This user action will typically be observed as follow-on behavior from Spearphishing Attachment. Adversaries may use several types of files that require a user to execute them, including .doc, .pdf, .xls, .rtf, .scr, .exe, .lnk, .pif, and .cpl.
Adversaries may employ various forms of Masquerading on the file to increase the likelihood that a user will open it.
While Malicious File frequently occurs shortly after Initial Access it may occur at other phases of an intrusion, such as when an adversary places a file in a shared directory or on a user's desktop hoping that a user will click on it. This activity may also be seen shortly after Internal Spearphishing. MITRE
In February 2021, BelialDemon advertised a new malware-as-a-service (MaaS) called Matanbuchus Loader and charged an initial rental price of $2,500. Malware loaders are malicious software that typically drop or pull down second-stage malware from command and control (C2) infrastructures. Unit42
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
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.
In November 2020, CERT-In, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team, detected ShadowPad and alerted the national grid operator's regional units, the Times of India reports. Bankinfosecurity
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
StormKitty is a stealer, clipper and keylogger written in the C# programming language. Cyber criminals can use it to steal various sensitive information, which could be misused for malicious purposes and to generate revenue. Research shows that StormKitty is not detected by a number of antivirus programs. Therefore, it is likely that many users will be unaware that they have StormKitty installed on their computers. Pcrisk
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
A dropper is a kind of Trojan that has been designed to "install" some sort of malware (virus, backdoor, etc.) to a target system. The malware code can be contained within the dropper (single-stage) in such a way as to avoid detection by virus scanners or the dropper may download the malware to the target machine once activated (two stage). Wikipedia
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
This Trojan arrives on a system as a file dropped by other malware or as a file downloaded unknowingly by users when visiting malicious sites. Trendmicro
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 | ||
| APT-C-35 | 2 | command and control | dns | 142 | command and control, delivery | dns, http, tcp, tls | 2022-06-28 |
| Cobalt Strike | 1 | command and control | http | 364 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, exploitation | dns, http, smb, tcp, tls, udp | 2022-06-30 |
| DCRAT | 2 | command and control, actions on objectives | dns, http | 36 | actions on objectives, command and control | dns, http, tls | 2022-06-28 |
| Evilnum | 5 | command and control | dns | 52 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery | dns, http, tls | 2022-06-30 |
| Gamaredon | 1 | delivery | http | 92 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery | dns, http | 2022-06-29 |
| Joker | 1 | command and control | http | 18 | actions on objectives, command and control | ftp, http, tls | 2022-06-29 |
| Lyceum | 1 | command and control | tcp | 45 | command and control, delivery | dns, http, tcp | 2022-06-29 |
| MageCart | 2 | delivery | tls | 176 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery | dns, http, tls | 2022-07-01 |
| MalDoc | 1 | command and control | http | 472 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery | dns, http, tcp, tls | 2022-06-30 |
| Matanbuchus | 2 | command and control | dns | 10 | command and control, delivery | dns, http | 2022-06-28 |
| Molerats | 2 | command and control | dns, tls | 44 | command and control, delivery | dns, http, tls | 2022-07-01 |
| Remcos | 7 | command and control | tcp | 827 | command and control, delivery | dns, http, tcp | 2022-07-02 |
| ShadowPad | 1 | command and control | dns | 18 | command and control | dns, http | 2022-06-30 |
| Silent Librarian | 13 | command and control | tls, dns | 13 | command and control | tls, dns | 2022-07-02 |
| Stealer and Exfiltration | 5 | actions on objectives | tcp-pkt | 224 | actions on objectives, command and control, exploitation, installation | dns, ftp, http, smtp, tcp, tcp-pkt, tls | 2022-06-30 |
| StormKitty | 1 | actions on objectives | smtp | 10 | actions on objectives | http, smtp | 2022-06-30 |
| TA459 | 4 | command and control | http, dns | 4 | command and control | http, dns | 2022-06-30 |
| Trojan Agent | 2 | actions on objectives | tcp-pkt | 338 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, installation | dns, http, ip, smtp, tcp, tcp-pkt, tcp-stream, udp | 2022-07-01 |
| Trojan Dropper | 1 | command and control | dns | 236 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery, installation | dns, http, tcp, tls, udp | 2022-06-28 |
| Wacatac | 3 | delivery, command and control, actions on objectives | http, tcp-pkt, tcp | 11 | actions on objectives, command and control, delivery | http, tcp, tcp-pkt | 2022-07-01 |
| Ymacco | 1 | command and control | http | 10 | command and control, delivery | http | 2022-06-28 |
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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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