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Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence - August 02–06

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence - August 02–06 - Featured Image

Weekly Threat Briefing Aug 6, 2021

The Good

Following the REvil decryptor for Kaseya victims, the week witnessed the release of another decryptor for Prometheus ransomware victims. Such a wonderful ray of sunshine, yes? Now, vulnerabilities are out to bite malicious actors as one of their favorite tools was found to be flawed. In another camp, following the repeated cyberattacks on the nation, the U.S. has decided to join hands with tech firms to strengthen the country’s cyber defenses.

  • The NSA and CISA provided hardening guidance in a new technical report describing security challenges in setting up and securing a Kubernetes cluster.

  • SentinelOne discovered DoS vulnerabilities in Cobalt Strike—a legitimate penetration testing tool, which is often misused by blackhat hackers—that can hamper beacon C2 communication channels and new payloads.

  • Starting this month, Microsoft Defender and Microsoft Edge on Windows 10 will automatically—and by default—block Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUAs).

  • A free decryptor for Prometheus ransomware has been released for victims to retrieve their encrypted files.

  • The CISA launched the federal civilian enterprise-wide Vulnerability Disclosure Policy (VDP) platform to manage security gaps in critical government systems.

  • The U.S. government has announced to partner with Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and other tech companies to reinforce the nation’s cybersecurity defenses. The initiative has been dubbed the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC) and will have the CISA working alongside various firms.

The Bad

It is 2021 and companies are still leaving their databases unsecured and people are suffering because of such a mistake. Around 35 million U.S. residents had their personal information exposed this week. Coming to the topic of data breaches, the educational sector is still bearing the brunt of cyberattacks as a Candian school district was breached. Scammers can be called the shameless scum of the cyberworld as they are now targeting people who are seeking unemployment insurance.

  • Italian energy firm ERG suffered minor disruptions in its ICT infrastructure following a ransomware attack by the LockBit 2.0 group.

  • WizCase reported a breach affecting Reindeer, an American marketing company. The incident exposed over 50,000 files in a 32GB trove of data, owing to a misconfigured Amazon S3 bucket.

  • An alleged ransomware group attacked the vaccination registration system in Italy’s Lazio region, preventing residents from booking new vaccination appointments for days.

  • An unsecured Elasticsearch database had left the details of about 35 million residents across Chicago, San Diego, and Los Angeles exposed online. The data included gender, full names, dates of birth, and marital status of users.

  • Canada’s School District No.73 suffered a breach, impacting the personal information—identity and contact information—of students.

  • Scammers are masquerading as members of the SEC, FINRA, and other state securities regulators to trick investors into sharing more information. They created fake social media profiles and fake websites as a part of the phishing campaign.

  • Thailand’s vaccine registration platform had publicly exposed emails and personal details of over 20,000 applicants. The security issue has been patched now.

  • WeTransfer is being abused by threat actors to target Microsoft Office 365 users. The attackers aim to exfiltrate their credentials.

  • An unsecured database at OneMoreLead laid bare a glut of personally identifiable information containing around 126 million records for 63 million people in the U.S.

  • The FTC is warning people who have applied for unemployment insurance against a phishing campaign. The emails and text messages impersonate states’ workforce agencies and aim to pilfer your social security numbers and other personal information.

New Threats

The notorious APT31, also known as Zirconium, attacked Russia for the first time ever! It is also propagating a new RAT. The week was a hard one as various sets of vulnerabilities kept coming forth, along with their potentially devastating consequences. This includes a set of DNS vulnerabilities that can allow attackers to rip data off of corporate networks. Cannot finish this without talking about cryptostealers. Raccoon stealer got upgraded and can now exfiltrate cryptocurrency from victims.

  • A new cybercrime service dubbed Prometheus TDS is available for sale on underground platforms for $250 a month. Attackers have used this new malware-as-a-service to deploy Campo Loader, Hancitor, IcedID, QBot, Buer Loader, and SocGholish malware.
  • The Chinese threat actor group APT31 has been found using a new RAT to target entities in Mongolia, Russia, Belarus, Canada, and the U.S. In addition to this, the group has attacked Russia for the first time.
  • Sophos stumbled across a new attack campaign by Raccoon Stealer that uses clippers to rip off cryptocurrency, alongside financial information from the users.
  • The new FatalRAT is being spread via different software or media articles on Telegram channels. The malware includes several evasion techniques and can log user keystrokes, collect system information, and exfiltrate over a C2 channel.
  • Cybereason exposed DeadRinger - three clustered activities by different Chinese espionage groups that targeted at least five global telecom providers in Southeast Asia.
  • Kaspersky documented a new Chinese-speaking threat actor—GhostEmperor—targeting Microsoft Exchange flaws in high-profile attacks in Southeast Asia.
  • Security experts discovered a set of nine vulnerabilities, aka PwnedPiper, in the TransLogic Pneumatic Tube Systems from Swisslog Healthcare. The flaws impact around 80% of U.S. hospitals, with a possibility of complete system takeover.
  • A set of new DNS vulnerabilities have been found affecting major DNS-as-a-service providers, which could enable threat actors to swipe confidential data from corporate networks.

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.