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Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, August 01 - 05, 2022

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence,  August 01 - 05, 2022 - Featured Image

Weekly Threat Briefing Aug 5, 2022

The Good

The widely used Traffic Light Protocol (TLP) gets a makeover after five years of the release of its first version. Under the new TLP 2.0, the TLP:WHITE level has been renamed TLP:CLEAR, and TLP:AMBER has an additional sub-level named TLP:AMBER+STRICT. Meanwhile, the NIST and CISA are finalizing a guideline for Identity and Access Management (IAM) that comes in the wake of the SolarWinds attacks where threat actors took advantage of poor identity management to compromise nine federal agencies.

  • NIST and CISA are working on finalizing guidance for Identity and Access Management (IAM) as a part of the roadmap for improving critical infrastructure security. The development comes in the wake of the SolarWinds security incident where adversaries took advantage of poor identity management to compromise at least nine federal agencies.
  • The Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) has released the 2.0 version of Traffic Light Protocol (TLP), five years after the release of the initial version. In the new update, the TLP:WHITE level has now been renamed TLP:CLEAR. Similarly, TLP:Amber has another sub-level named TLP:AMBER+STRICT.
  • Meta, Facebook's parent company, took action against two threat actor groups—Bitter and APT36—for using their platforms to launch attacks against various targets across Southeast Asia.

The Bad

Unfortunately, cryptocurrency and blockchain firms are at the mercy of threat actors as Solana and Nomad confirmed losing more than $200 million in different hacking incidents. Ransomware threat actors continued to wreak havoc across multiple organizations, with Semikron suffering a loss of 2TB worth of documents and Aetna AEC reporting the personal data of nearly 326,000 of its users being impacted.

  • Microsoft disclosed a potential connection between the Raspberry Robin malware and a Russian cybercrime group - Evil Corp. The company’s researchers discovered that the Raspberry Robin Windows worm was being used to deliver the FakeUpdates malware. It is believed that the Raspberry Robin malware was deployed on the networks of hundreds of organizations from a wide range of industry sectors.

  • An unknown actor drained funds from approximately 8,000 wallets on the Solana network, causing a loss of approximately $8 million. The funds were drained from internet-connected hot wallets that include Phantom, Slope, and TrustWallet.

  • Cryptocurrency service Nomad suffered a major setback after hackers drained almost $200 million in digital funds from the company within a few hours. The attacker exploited a security flaw in the blockchain bridge to steal the funds.

  • Spinneys, a major retailer in UAE, suffered a ransomware attack on its internal server. The hackers accessed an internal server that contained customer data, including names, contact numbers, email addresses, delivery addresses, and previous order info. The investigation into the incident is ongoing.

  • Football fans have been warned to exercise caution after news emerged that fraudsters are increasingly leveraging social media to sell non-existent tickets. Some victims have lost thousands of pounds on fake tickets for big matches such as cup finals.

  • Popular app JusTalk was found exposing a humongous database of private messages to the public internet for months. The database was not password-locked and the messages were unencrypted.

  • Health insurer Aetna ACE reported that a ransomware incident involving OneTouchPoint had affected the personal data of nearly 326,000 of its customers. The affected information included names, addresses, dates of birth, and limited medical information.

  • Germany-based semiconductor manufacturer company, Semikron, was hit by a ransomware attack, resulting in the partial encryption of IT systems and files. LV ransomware gang is behind the attack and stole 2TB worth of documents.

  • At least four Taiwanese websites suffered an outage owing to DDoS attacks. The affected websites belonged to President Tsai Ing-wen’s, the National Defense Ministry, the Foreign Affairs Ministry, and Taiwan Taoyuan International airport.

  • Over 35,000 software repositories on GitHub were discovered distributing malware. Threat actors created copies of legitimate projects including crypto, golang, python, docker, Js, and bash to trick unsuspecting developers into downloading the malware.

  • INKY discovered many instances where malicious redirects were at the heart of a slew of recent phishing attacks. Phishers took advantage of open redirect vulnerabilities affecting American Express and Snapchat domains to harvest credentials.

  • Community healthcare provider First Choice notified its customers of a data security incident that occurred due to a discrepancy in its technological environment. The incident may have exposed the personal and protected health information of individuals treated at the firm.

  • The BlackCat ransomware actors took the responsibility for the attack on Luxembourg-based energy firm Creos. The attackers claim to have stolen 150GB of information, containing agreements, contracts, bills, emails, and passports.

  • A cyberattack against Avamere Health Services, an IT service provider to healthcare entities, resulted in two health data breaches that impacted 100 covered entities and 381,000 individuals.

  • Blockchain security firm Halborn warned about a new phishing campaign targeting crypto wallet MetaMask’s users. The scammers attempt to lure targets into giving up their passphrases.

  • Healthback Holdings, a home health company based in Oklahoma, disclosed a data breach that impacted around 21,114 individuals. The firm discovered unauthorized activity within its employee email environment on June 1.

  • The Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) suffered a massive cyberattack, forcing it to shut down all of its IT systems as well as telephones, email servers, and digital services. The investigation is in progress.

  • Malware installed on the computer of an employee of fintech company Wiseasy enabled attackers to steal passwords for more than 140,000 Wiseasy payment terminals around the world. The hackers gained access to two dashboards that managed these payment terminals.

New Threats

New attack frameworks and platforms are the rage on underground forums. This week, Cisco Talos spotted Manjusaka, a new attack framework that is being used in the wild. Likewise, a new C2 platform named Dark Utilities has become popular for facilitating attackers to launch DDoS attacks and perform cryptocurrency mining.

  • A fake website masquerading as the official Atomic Wallet website was found spreading copies of Mars infostealer. The website was promoted on social media, with direct messages on various platforms, SEO poisoning, and spam emails. The fake site even featured a contact form, email address, and FAQ section.
  • Projector Libra is a newly spotted threat actor group distributing Bumblebee malware loader. Threat actors use phishing emails and file-sharing services to disperse the malware that eventually deploys Cobalt Strike on victims’ systems.
  • A rapidly evolving IoT botnet known as RapperBot has been found in the wild. First appearing in June, the botnet borrows heavily from the original Mirai source code. The botnet targets ARM, MIPS, SPARC, and x86 architectures.
  • Zscaler identified a large-scale phishing campaign that used the adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) technique to evade security protections and infect enterprise email accounts. The AiTM technique can enable attackers to bypass multi-factor authentication.
  • A new malware called Woody Rat has been in the wild for at least one year. This advanced custom trojan is used to target Russian entities by using lures in archive file format and more recently Office documents leveraging the Follina vulnerability.
  • A new variant of SolidBit ransomware has been found targeting users of popular video games and social media platforms. The malware disguises as different applications, including a League of Legends account checker tool and an Instagram follower bot, to lure in victims. The malware is also being promoted on underground forums as Ransomware-as-a-Service.
  • Cisco Talos spotted Manjusaka, a new attack framework that is being used in the wild. The implants are coded in Rust and the framework is promoted as a spitting image of the Cobalt Strike framework.
  • Security researchers discovered a new vulnerability called ParseThru affecting Golang-based applications. The issue stems from changes introduced to Golang's URL parsing logic that's implemented in the "net/url" library. It could be abused to gain unauthorized access to cloud-based applications.
  • A newly found Gwisin ransomware is actively targeting Korean companies. It is similar to Magniber ransomware and leverages an MSI installer form to execute payloads.
  • Attackers are leveraging a new C2 platform named Dark Utilities to perform malware campaigns. The platform offers a variety of services such as remote system access, command execution, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, and cryptocurrency mining operations.
  • Mandiant has issued technical details of a new ransomware family dubbed ROADSWEEP that targets the Albanian government. A previously unknown backdoor CHIMNEYSWEEP and a new variant of the ZEROCLEAR wiper may have been involved to propagate the ransomware.

Related Threat Briefings

Feb 7, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, February 03–07, 2025

PyPI is taking a "dead but not gone" approach to abandoned software with Project Archival, a new system that flags inactive projects while keeping them accessible. Developers will see warnings about outdated dependencies, helping them make smarter security choices and avoid relying on unmaintained code. The U.K is bringing earthquake-style metrics to cybersecurity with its new Cyber Monitoring Centre, designed to track digital disasters as precisely as natural ones. Inspired by the Richter scale, the CMC will quantify cyber incidents based on financial impact and affected users, offering clearer insights for national security planning. Kimsuky is back with another phishing trick, this time using fake Office and PDF files to sneak forceCopy malware onto victims' systems. Its latest campaign delivers PEBBLEDASH and RDP Wrapper by disguising malware as harmless shortcuts, ultimately hijacking browser credentials and sensitive data. Hackers have found a new way to skim credit card data - by hiding malware inside Google Tag Manager scripts. CISA is flagging major security holes in Microsoft Outlook and Sophos XG Firewall, urging agencies to patch them before February 27. One flaw allows remote code execution in Outlook, while another exposes firewall users to serious risks. Bitcoin scammers are switching tactics, swapping static images for video attachments in MMS to make their schemes more convincing. A recent case involved a tiny .3gp video luring victims into WhatsApp groups where scammers apply pressure to extract money or personal data. XE Group has shifted from credit card skimming to zero-day exploitation, now targeting manufacturing and distribution companies. A new version of ValleyRAT is making the rounds, using stealthy techniques to infiltrate systems. Morphisec found the malware being spread through fake Chrome downloads from a fraudulent Chinese telecom site.

Jan 10, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, January 06–10, 2025

The U.K is fortifying its digital defenses with the launch of Cyber Local, a £1.9 million initiative to bridge cyber skills gaps and secure the digital economy. Spanning 30 projects across England and Northern Ireland, the scheme emphasizes local business resilience, neurodiverse talent, and cybersecurity careers for youth. Across the Atlantic, the White House introduced the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark, a consumer-friendly cybersecurity labeling program for smart devices. Overseen by the FCC, the initiative tests products like baby monitors and security systems for compliance with rigorous cybersecurity standards, ensuring Americans can make safer choices for their connected homes. China-linked threat actor RedDelta has ramped up its cyber-espionage activities across Asia, targeting nations such as Mongolia, Taiwan, Myanmar, and Vietnam with a modified PlugX backdoor. Cybercriminals have weaponized trust by deploying a fake PoC exploit tied to a patched Microsoft Windows LDAP vulnerability. CrowdStrike reported a phishing operation impersonating the company, using fake job offers to lure victims into downloading a fraudulent CRM application. Once installed, the malware deploys a Monero cryptocurrency miner. A new Mirai-based botnet, dubbed Gayfemboy, has emerged as a formidable threat, leveraging zero-day exploits in industrial routers and smart home devices. With 15,000 active bot nodes daily across China, the U.S., and Russia, the botnet executes high-intensity DDoS attacks exceeding 100 Gbps. In the Middle East, fraudsters are posing as government officials in a social engineering scheme targeting disgruntled customers. Cybercriminals have weaponized WordPress with a malicious plugin named PhishWP to create realistic fake payment pages mimicking services like Stripe. The plugin not only captures payment details in real time but also sends fake confirmation emails to delay detection.

Dec 20, 2024

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, December 16–20, 2024

In a digital age where borders are blurred, governments are sharpening their strategies to outpace cyber adversaries. The draft update to the National Cyber Incident Response Plan (NCIRP) introduces a comprehensive framework for managing nationwide cyberattacks that impact critical infrastructure and the economy. Meanwhile, the fiscal year 2025 defense policy bill, recently approved by the Senate, emphasizes strengthening cybersecurity measures both at home and abroad. A deceptive health app on the Amazon Appstore turned out to be a Trojan horse for spyware. Masquerading as BMI CalculationVsn, the app recorded device screens, intercepted SMS messages, and scanned for installed apps to steal sensitive data. Malicious extensions targeting developers and cryptocurrency projects have infiltrated the VSCode marketplace and NPM. Disguised as productivity tools, these extensions employed downloader functionality to deliver obfuscated PowerShell payloads. The BADBOX botnet has resurfaced, compromising over 192,000 Android devices, including high-end smartphones and smart TVs, directly from the supply chain. Industrial control systems are facing heightened risks as malware like Ramnit and Chaya_003 targets engineering workstations from Mitsubishi and Siemens. Both malware families exploit legitimate services, complicating detection and mitigation efforts in ICS environments. The Chinese hacking group Winnti has been leveraging a PHP backdoor called Glutton, targeting organizations in China and the U.S. This modular ELF-based malware facilitates tailored attacks across industries and even embeds itself into software packages to compromise other cybercriminals. A tax-themed phishing campaign, dubbed FLUX#CONSOLE, is deploying backdoor payloads to compromise systems in Pakistan. Threat actors employ phishing emails with double-extension files masquerading as PDFs.

Dec 13, 2024

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, December 09–13, 2024

Cybercrime’s web of deception unraveled in South Korea as authorities dismantled a fraud network responsible for extorting $6.3 million through fake online trading platforms. Dubbed Operation Midas, the effort led to the arrest of 32 individuals and the seizure of 20 servers. In a significant move to combat surveillance abuses, the U.S. defense policy bill for 2025 introduced measures to shield military and diplomatic personnel from commercial spyware threats. The legislation calls for stringent cybersecurity standards, a review of spyware incidents, and regular reporting to Congress. The subtle art of deception found a new stage with a Microsoft Teams call, as attackers used social engineering to manipulate victims into granting remote access. By convincing users to install AnyDesk, they gained control of systems, executing commands to download the DarkGate malware. Russian APT Secret Blizzard has resurfaced and used the Amadey bot to infiltrate Ukrainian military devices and deploy their Tavdig backdoor. In a phishing spree dubbed "Aggressive Inventory Zombies (AIZ)," scammers impersonated brands like Etsy, Amazon, and Binance to target retail and crypto audiences. Surveillance has reached unsettling new depths with the discovery of BoneSpy and PlainGnome, two spyware families linked to the Russian group Gamaredon. Designed for extensive espionage, these Android malware tools track GPS, capture audio, and harvest data. A new Android banking trojan has already caused havoc among Indian users, masquerading as utility and banking apps to steal sensitive financial information. With 419 devices compromised, the malware intercepts SMS messages, exfiltrates personal data via Supabase, and even tricks victims into entering details under the pretense of bill payment. Iranian threat actors have set their sights on critical infrastructure, deploying IOCONTROL malware to infiltrate IoT and OT/SCADA systems in Israel and the U.S.

Dec 6, 2024

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, December 02–06, 2024

NIST sharpened the tools for organizations to measure their cybersecurity readiness, addressing both technical and leadership challenges. The two-volume guidance blends data-driven assessments with managerial insights, emphasizing the critical role of leadership in applying findings. The Manson Market, a notorious hub for phishing networks, fell in a sweeping Europol-led takedown. With over 50 servers seized and 200TB of stolen data recovered, the operation spanned multiple countries, including Germany and Austria. Russian APT group BlueAlpha leveraged Cloudflare Tunnels to cloak its GammaDrop malware campaign from prying eyes. The group deployed HTML smuggling and DNS fast-fluxing to bypass detection, targeting Ukrainian organizations with precision. Earth Minotaur intensified its surveillance operations against Tibetan and Uyghur communities through the MOONSHINE exploit kit. The kit, now updated with newer exploits, enables the installation of the DarkNimbus backdoor on Android and Windows devices. Cloudflare Pages became an unwitting ally in the sharp rise of phishing campaigns, with a staggering 198% increase in abuse cases. Cybercriminals exploited the platform's infrastructure to host malicious pages, fueling a surge from 460 incidents in 2023 to over 1,370 by October 2024. DroidBot has quietly infiltrated over 77 cryptocurrency exchanges and banking apps, building a web of theft across Europe. Active since June 2024, this Android malware operates as a MaaS platform, enabling affiliates to tailor attacks. Rockstar 2FA, a phishing platform targeting Microsoft 365 users, has set the stage for large-scale credential theft. With over 5,000 phishing domains launched, the platform is marketed on Telegram. The Gafgyt malware is shifting gears, targeting exposed Docker Remote API servers through legitimate Docker images, creating botnets capable of launching DDoS attacks.