Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence - February 19–23

The Good

In a significant stride against cybercrime, law enforcement agencies worldwide collaborated in Operation Cronos, resulting in the arrest of two LockBit ransomware operators and the seizure of over 200 crypto wallets. This coordinated effort also led to the takedown of 34 servers. Concurrently, the Biden administration issued an executive order to fortify cybersecurity at U.S. port facilities, allocating over $20 billion for infrastructure investment.

• In a coordinated effort labeled Operation Cronos, law enforcement agencies across multiple countries arrested two LockBit ransomware operators, seized over 200 crypto wallets, and created a decryption tool to aid victims. The operation, spearheaded by the U.K National Crime Agency and supported by Europol and Eurojust, resulted in the takedown of 34 servers worldwide. Additionally, almost 1,000 decryption keys were retrieved, enabling the development of a LockBit 3.0 decryption tool. It also resulted in the shutdown of over 14,000 accounts on third-party services such as Mega, Tutanota, and Protonmail.
• Meta Platforms revealed taking actions against at least eight spyware operators based in Italy, Spain, and the UAE, as part of its Adversarial Threat Report. These firms, including Cy4Gate/ELT Group and RCS Labs, were spotted deploying spyware across iOS, Android, and Windows devices. These operations involved scraping, social engineering, and phishing across multiple platforms. The firm has removed over 2,000 accounts linked to coordinated inauthentic behavior from China, Myanmar, and Ukraine.
• Google is open-sourcing Magika, an AI-powered tool for identifying file types to enhance digital security. Magika provides a 30% accuracy boost and up to 95% higher precision on VBA, JavaScript, and Powershell content. Google emphasizes the benefits of deploying AI at scale to strengthen digital security and shift the cybersecurity balance from attackers to defenders.
• The Biden administration issued an executive order to strengthen cybersecurity at U.S. port facilities and invest over $20 billion in port infrastructure to bring back manufacturing capacity. The U.S. Coast Guard will have the authority to respond to cyber activity in the marine transportation system, and minimum standards for port cybersecurity will be established to address the growing concerns about the stability of the global supply chain.

The Bad

Amidst growing concerns over data security, American Vision Partners initiated notifications to approximately 2.4 million patients following a security breach dating back to November 2023. Meanwhile, in the cryptocurrency realm, FixedFloat grapples with a significant data breach resulting in the loss of roughly $26 million worth of BTC and ETH. Simultaneously, the ALPHV ransomware group's claim of responsibility for breaches at Prudential Financial and loanDepot underscores the ongoing threats faced by major corporations.

• American Vision Partners notified around 2.4 million patients of a November 2023 security incident. The breach involved unauthorized access to parts of the network, and compromised personal information, including names, contact details, birthdates, medical records, and in some cases, SSNs and insurance information. Affected individuals have been advised to monitor their credit reports and account statements.
• FixedFloat, a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange, fell victim to a significant data breach resulting in the theft of approximately $26 million worth of BTC and ETH. The exchange, known for its non-KYC model, experienced frozen transactions and missing funds, prompting an investigation into the security incident. While initially attributed to technical issues, the attack has been confirmed as an external breach, refuting rumors of insider involvement.
• Zenlayer, a global network services provider, exposed an internal database with 384 million records, including customer contact information, due to a flaw reported by a security researcher. The exposed database contained server logs, VPN records, and various IP addresses, potentially exposing the internal network architecture and posing a risk of further cyberattacks.
• Winter Vivern, the threat group associated with Belarus and Russia, has been discovered targeting European government and military mail servers. The attack chains exploit Roundcube vulnerabilities, deploying JavaScript payloads to extract user credentials sent to a C2 server. The campaign has impacted over 80 organizations, mainly in Georgia, Poland, and Ukraine, to collect intelligence on European political and military activities.
• The ALPHV/Blackcat ransomware gang claimed responsibility for recently breaching Fortune 500 companies Prudential Financial and loanDepot. While loanDepot confirmed a data breach affecting 16.6 million individuals, Prudential is still assessing the full scope of the incident. ALPHV revealed plans to sell loanDepot's stolen data and release Prudential's data for free.
• Hackers operating under the aliases IntelBroker and Sanggiero claim to have breached staffing giant Robert Half International once more, offering a trove of stolen data for $20,000 in Monero. The data purportedly includes confidential records, employee documents, customer information, and service configuration settings. The full extent of the breach and the number of affected individuals remain unclear.
• A recent investigation uncovered a vast network of fraudulent ads promoting utility scams. In this attack campaign, many Pakistani adversaries were seen employing extortion tactics to coerce victims into making immediate payments or divulging sensitive information to restore their connection. Sophisticated tactics like fraudulent ads shown in Google searches are at the core of this campaign.
• The Cactus ransomware group took responsibility for crippling Schneider Electric's network and stealing 1.5TB of data. As proof of its claims, the group leaked 25MB of allegedly stolen data on its dark web leak site, including snapshots of American citizens' passports and NDA document scans. The breach occurred on January 17th, targeting Schneider Electric's Sustainability Business division.
• Internal documents leaked from iSoon, a Chinese hacking contractor, offered a peek into a workforce engaging in government-led hacking operations, mainly for China's Ministry of Public Security. The leak (including spreadsheets, chat logs, and marketing materials) posted on GitHub exposed low wages and shared hacking tools, such as the Winnti backdoor and PlugX RAT. Possibly, criminals also targeted NATO countries.
• Operation at Germany-based PSI Software suffered a ransomware attack that impacted internal systems, leading to external connections and systems being shut down. While the attack vector is being determined, no customer systems appear compromised. Hunters International, a RaaS operation, claimed responsibility for the attack, allegedly stealing over 36,000 files totaling 88GB.
• Prince George’s County Public Schools, a Washington, D.C. suburban school district, disclosed that the ransomware attack from last year also compromised the personal information of nearly 100,000 individuals. The incident led to a network outage, with the Rhysida ransomware gang reportedly posting PGCPS data online in November. Affected data varied per person and included names, financial details, and SSNs.
• Australian telecom provider Tangerine reported a breach affecting 232,000 customers due to the compromised credentials of a third-party contractor. Personal details like names, birthdates, and contact information were exposed. However, no financial or sensitive data was compromised. The company confirmed that no credit or debit card numbers were compromised, as they do not store this information.
• Change Healthcare, a major U.S. healthcare technology company, acknowledged a cyberattack causing a nationwide network interruption. The incident led to login page outages and disruptions in patient payments and prescription processing for local pharmacies. The nature of the cyber incident remains undisclosed.

New Threats

In the realm of cybersecurity, new threats have surfaced, underscoring the constant challenges faced in safeguarding digital systems and data integrity. Iranian-origin threat group Charming Kitten launched a sophisticated espionage campaign targeting Middle East policy experts. The attackers distribute malware-laden RAR archives containing LNK files, initiating a multi-stage infection sequence deploying BASICSTAR and KORKULOADER. In a parallel development, a new ransomware threat dubbed M.O.R.E has surfaced on the dark web, boasting unprecedented compatibility with Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. Additionally, security researchers have uncovered two authentication bypass vulnerabilities, CVE-2023-52160 and CVE-2023-52161, in open-source Wi-Fi software used in Android, Linux, and ChromeOS, posing significant risks of malware infections and data theft.

• ASEC laid bare malware strains disguised as security programs on a Korean construction-related association's website. Users were prompted to install security programs, including one named NX_PRNMAN, which contained malware. The malicious installer, signed with a valid certificate stolen from a Korean defense company, installs malware (TrollAgent) and legitimate security software, making detection challenging. The attack has affected over 3,000 users so far.
• Iranian-origin threat group Charming Kitten has launched an espionage campaign targeting Middle East policy experts. The attackers are using social engineering tactics and a fake webinar portal to distribute malware-laden RAR archives containing LNK files. The multi-stage infection sequence deploys BASICSTAR and KORKULOADER, capable of executing remote commands and displaying decoy PDF files. Some phishing attacks dropped customized backdoors, POWERLESS for Windows and NokNok for macOS, based on the victim's operating system.
• A new threat dubbed M.O.R.E (Multi OS Ransomware Executable) has emerged on the dark web, boasting compatibility with Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. This multi-OS ransomware is capable of encrypting hefty files in just 4 seconds, using RSA/Chacha20Poly1305 algorithms. Furthermore, this new tool can infiltrate networks and encrypt target files across different platforms simultaneously.
• A critical vulnerability CVE-2024-23204 in Apple's Shortcuts application allows attackers to bypass the Transparency, Consent, and Control (TCC) security framework, accessing sensitive data without user permission. Bitdefender researchers demonstrated how malicious shortcuts can silently gather data, affecting macOS and iOS versions preceding macOS Sonoma 14.3, iOS 17.3, and iPadOS 17.3. Apple has urged users to update their devices promptly.
• The CISA included a patched security vulnerability, CVE-2020-3259, affecting Cisco ASA and FTD software, in its KEV catalog. This comes following reports of likely exploitation by the Akira ransomware group, although no publicly available exploit code exists. Truesec, a cybersecurity firm, uncovered evidence indicating that Akira ransomware actors have weaponized it to exploit numerous vulnerable Cisco AnyConnect SSL VPN appliances in 2023.
• A crypto-stealing malware, dubbed Agniane Stealer, has emerged in the wild. It leverages advanced techniques and employs ConfuserEx Protector for obfuscation. The stealer aims to extract sensitive data from unsuspecting users, including credentials, passwords, credit cards, and wallets. As per sources, the malware was actively marketed on Telegram.
• Researchers from Cisco Talos identified a surge in campaigns leveraging the Google Cloud Run service to distribute banking malware, including Astaroth, Mekiotio, and Ousaban. The attackers use themes related to invoices or financial documents to lure victims, often posing as local government tax agencies. The malicious links in these emails lead to threat actor-controlled Cloud Run Web services, where the malware is dropped.
• Cado, a cloud forensics firm, uncovered the new Migo malware targeting Redis servers, deploying a user mode rootkit and cryptocurrency miners. Threat actors disable server protections, allowing deployment of Migo, written in Golang. The malware retrieves an XMRig installer from GitHub and executes shell commands for persistence, system information gathering, and process hiding.
• Security researchers uncovered two authentication bypass vulnerabilities, CVE-2023-52160 and CVE-2023-52161, in open-source Wi-Fi software used in Android, Linux, and ChromeOS. These flaws could enable attackers to create malicious network clones or join trusted networks without passwords, potentially leading to malware infections and data theft. While CVE-2023-52160 affects Android devices using wpa_supplicant, CVE-2023-52161 impacts Linux devices running Intel's iNet Wireless Daemon (IWD).
• Cofense Intelligence identified an advanced phishing campaign compromising oil and gas firms using the sophisticated Rhadamanthys Stealer. The campaign exploits an open redirect on legitimate domains, such as Google Maps, leading victims to interact with an interactive PDF file hosted on a newly registered domain. This triggers the download of a ZIP archive containing the stealer executable that aims to steal credentials and sensitive information from hosts.