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Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence - December 19–23

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence - December 19–23 - Featured Image

Weekly Threat Briefing Dec 23, 2022

The Good

IT systems and the data stored within them are valuable assets for organizations. Keeping the exploitations and misuse of these assets in mind, national authorities have taken several significant steps to protect them. The NIST has set a timeline to phase out SHA-1 and replace it with the latest algorithms with an aim to secure data stored in devices. Meanwhile, the U.S. President has signed the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act to protect systems against quantum tech threats.

  • President Joe Biden signed the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity guidelines into law to motivate federal agencies to adopt technology protected from decryption by quantum computing. Called Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act, the bill will help organizations to protect systems against quantum tech threats.
  • Owing to the evolving security standards, NIST has set a timeline to remove the support for the SHA-1 algorithm from all hardware and software devices. The agency recommends switching to SHA-2 or SHA-3 for securing electronic information.
  • The French government has announced a vast training program to help hospitals and medical facilities protect themselves against cyberattacks. The development comes following repeated attacks against hospitals that see either hackers damaging their critical infrastructures or stealing patients’ sensitive data.

The Bad

Data breaches resulting in the compromise of huge amounts of sensitive data have raised security concerns among researchers. BetMGM confirmed that the personal data of its 1.5 million customers were affected due to unauthorized access. On the other hand, the restaurant CRM platform SevenRooms revealed that hackers stole 427GB of customer records and leaked a sample on a cybercrime forum. Ahead of the Christmas holidays, cybercriminals have also been found luring users with specially-crafted phishing emails to harvest their personal information.

  • A data breach at BetMGM, a sports betting firm, resulted in the compromise of names, contact details, dates of birth, social security numbers, and account identifiers of customers. The number of users affected in the incident remains unknown.
  • Cybercriminals behind the Raspberry Robin worm were linked to a cyberespionage campaign targeting telecommunications and government organizations across Europe, Oceania, and Latin America. The malware was propagated via infected USB drives.
  • FortiGuard researchers came across two holiday-themed phishing campaigns that led to the distribution of AgentTesla and a backdoor malware. Threat actors used specially-crafted emails to trick unsuspecting users into downloading the malware that exfiltrated information from their machines.
  • A phishing campaign impersonating the Chinese Ministry of Finance and other state institutions was used to steal credit card credentials and other sensitive information. Malicious QR codes that came embedded within the attached documents were used to redirect unsuspecting users to sites that prompted them to add their banking details.
  • Comcast Xfinity accounts were hacked through credential stuffing attacks that bypassed the 2FA protection. This enabled the attackers to use the compromised accounts and reset passwords for other sites, such as Coinbase and Gemini.
  • German industrial engineering and steel production giant Thyssenkrupp was again targeted by cybercriminals. However, the company’s IT security team detected the incident at an early stage, preventing the attackers from doing further damage.
  • Some parts of The Guardian’s IT infrastructure were affected in a ransomware attack this week. Reports suggest that the entire data center network is impacted by the attack. The incident occurred on December 20 and it is unclear if any sensitive data has been taken by the attackers.
  • Shoemaker Ecco left 50 indices exposed to the public internet, with over 60GB of data accessible since June 2021. The server misconfiguration could have impacted millions of users. The exposed data ranged from sales to system information. Anyone with access to the misconfigured server could have viewed, edited, copied, or deleted the data.
  • The FBI warned against threat actors using search engine ads to promote websites propagating ransomware or exfiltrating login credentials for crypto exchanges and financial institutions. These attacks are executed by purchasing advertisements that impersonate legitimate services or businesses.
  • The Play ransomware gang claimed responsibility for an attack on Germany-based H-Hotels by listing the company on its Tor site. The data stolen includes client documents, passports, IDs, and more.
  • Sensitive information of more than 100,000 students was left publicly exposed due to misconfigured AWS S3 buckets belonging to McGraw Hill. These unprotected buckets contained more than 22 TB of data and over 117 million files and were fixed on July 20.
  • Restaurant CRM platform SevenRooms confirmed suffering a data breach after a hacker claimed to have stolen 427GB of customer records and leaked a sample on a cybercrime forum. The leaked sample included a folder named after big restaurant chains, clients of SevenRooms, API keys, promo codes, payment reports, reservation lists, and more.
  • Popular authentication services and IAM solutions provider Okta suffered a breach impacting its private GitHub source code repositories. The company said attackers could not access the Okta service or its customers’ data.

New Threats

A variety of info-stealing malware variants were spotted this week. One of the variants, RisePro, is gaining popularity on the illicit Russian forum on the dark web. The PyPI repository was also bombarded with a pool of new stealer variants that borrowed their source code from the W4SP stealer. In other news, researchers are observing active exploitation of the OWASSRF vulnerability that affects the Microsoft Exchange Server.

  • A new info-stealer named RisePro has garnered popularity on the illicit dark web forum called Russian Market. The malware is a clone of Vidar stealer and has been designed primarily to steal credentials and exfiltrate them in the form of logs.
  • The PyPI repository was the target of multiple attacks this week. In one incident, the malicious packages were embedded with ten stealer variants that borrowed base code from W4SP stealer. In another instance, a malicious package masquerading as SentinelOne SDK was uploaded to the repository to harvest sensitive data from developers.
  • A new Android malware, dubbed BrasDex, was spotted targeting Brazilian users in a new campaign. Developed by threat actors behind the Casbaneiro banking trojan, the malware possesses a complicated keylogging capability that abuses Android Accessibility Services and pilfers credentials from a set of Brazilian banking apps.
  • Researchers discovered a new exploit method that bypasses the URL rewrite mitigations provided for ProxyNotShell. Called OWASSRF, the vulnerability abuses CVE-2022-41080 and CVE-2022-41082 to achieve remote code execution through Outlook Web Access (OWA). As per the latest update, eight organizations have observed such exploitation attempts.
  • The capabilities of the Zerobot botnet have been expanded to target new devices, including firewalls, routers, and cameras. The new variant supports seven additional types of DDoS capabilities, including UDP_RAW, TCP_XMAS, ICMP_FLOOD, TCP_SYN, TCP_ACK, TCP_SYNACK, and TCP_CUSTOM attack methods.
  • The infamous Vice Society ransomware group has added a new ransomware, dubbed PolyVice, to its arsenal. The ransomware implements a robust encryption scheme using NTRUEncrypt and ChaCha20-Poly1305 algorithms.
  • The Fin7 hacking group has created an automated system called Checkmarks to breach corporate networks by exploiting unpatched Microsoft Exchange servers. The attack platform has already breached over 8000 companies, primarily in the U.S.
  • A new version of Godfather Android banking trojan was spotted in the wild. The malware masqueraded as MYT Music app on the Google Play Store to target users in the U.S., Spain, Turkey, Canada, Germany, and the U.K.
  • A new variant of IceID trojan was being distributed in a malvertising campaign that abused Google PPC ads. The variant is tracked as 'TrojanSpy.Win64.ICEDID.SMYXCLGZ' and includes multiple evasion functionalities to bypass security checks.

Related Threat Briefings

Feb 14, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, February 10–14, 2025

Cyber defenders are sharpening their tools, and EARLYCROW is the latest weapon against stealthy APT operations. This method detects C2 activity over HTTP(S) using a novel traffic analysis format called PAIRFLOW. India is taking digital banking security up a notch. The RBI is launching a dedicated domain to curb financial fraud and enhance trust in online banking. Starting April 2025, financial institutions will register under this domain. China’s RedMike hackers are dialing into telecom networks - literally. Between December 2024 and January 2025, they targeted over 1,000 unpatched Cisco devices. Their primary focus? Global telecoms and university networks in Argentina, Bangladesh, and the U.S. Russia’s Sandworm hackers are using pirated software as bait. Their latest attack on Ukrainian Windows users disguises malware inside trojanized KMS activators and fake Windows updates. Love is in the air, but so are phishing scams. In late January, cybercriminals launched a Valentine’s-themed phishing campaign, offering fake gift baskets in exchange for stolen credentials. Cybercriminals are upping their game with Astaroth, a phishing kit that doesn’t just steal credentials but also hijacks entire sessions. By using a reverse proxy, Astaroth intercepts logins and 2FA tokens in real time, allowing attackers to bypass security measures undetected. South America’s foreign ministry was caught in the crosshairs of an advanced cyber-espionage campaign. In November 2024, attackers linked to REF7707 deployed the PATHLOADER and FINALDRAFT malware to infiltrate diplomatic networks. A new malware named Ratatouille is stirring up trouble by bypassing UAC and using I2P for anonymous communications. Spreading through phishing emails and fake CAPTCHA pages, it tricks victims into running an embedded PowerShell script.

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.