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Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence - January 20–24

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence - January 20–24 - Featured Image

Weekly Threat Briefing Jan 24, 2020

The Good

We come to the end of another week and as we look forward to the weekend, let’s take a quick glance at all the major developments that happened in the cybersecurity world. NIST has officially released version 1.0 of its Privacy Framework to help organizations optimize the beneficial uses of data while protecting individual privacy. In other news, a New York senator has introduced Senate Bill S7289 that would ban the paying of a ransom.

  • A New York senator has introduced Senate Bill S7289 that will prohibit municipal corporations or other government entities from paying ransom in the event of a cyberattack against them.

  • Lawmakers in the state of Maryland are considering to penalize anyone who is in the possession of ransomware and intends to use it to cause harm. The state also further plans to grant victims of a ransomware attack the right to sue the hacker for damages in a civil court.

  • The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released version 1.0 of its Privacy Framework to help improve organizations’ approach to using and protecting personal data.

The Bad

The week was no good when it comes to breaches. Mitsubishi Electric Corp. disclosed that it had suffered a massive cyberattack, impacting the confidential data of government agencies and other business partners. Microsoft came under the scanner for leaking 250 million call records last year due to unsecured Elasticsearch servers. Buchbinder car rental company was also in soup for exposing the personal information of over 3.1 million customers.

  • Mitsubishi Electric Corp. had disclosed a massive cyberattack that affected the information of government agencies and other business partners. Among the potentially leaked information were the email exchanges with the Defense Ministry and the Nuclear Regulation Authority.

  • Researched noted that Microsoft had briefly exposed call center data of almost 250 million customers due to unsecured Elasticsearch servers. The incident had occurred last year and the exposed information included customer emails, IP addresses, support agent emails, and internal notes.

  • Magecart-type attacks were experienced on websites belonging to Hanna Andersson and resellers of tickets for the Euro Cup and the Tokyo Summer Olympics. The attacks enabled the attackers to steal payment card details of customers.

  • The main server of the Insurance company SAOG in Oman was hit in a ransomware attack, causing the loss of some data created between December 10, 2019, and January 1, 2020. The terror of Sodinokibi ransomware was also seen as the threat actors came up with a new threat of publishing 50 GB of data stolen from the GEDIA Automotive Group.

  • An unsecured Amazon S3 bucket owned by THSuite had leaked Personally Identifiable Information (PII) of 30,000 individuals connected to the medical and recreational marijuana industry. In total, over 85,000 files were leaked due to the unguarded bucket.

  • A data breach at the German car rental company Buchbinder had affected the personal information of over 3.1 million customers. The incident had occurred due to an unprotected database.

New Threats

Variants of several existing malware were also noticed this week. Some of the newly discovered variants belonged to Trickbot trojan, BitPyLock ransomware, and Muhstik botnet families. These malware variants were used to infect individuals and organizations across the globe. A new malware called CARROTBALL, distributed via a phishing email, was used in targeted attacks against a US government agency and two non-US foreign nationals professionally affiliated with North Korea.

  • A new variant of FTCode ransomware was uncovered harvesting and exfiltrating saved user credentials from email clients and web browsers. The variant steals this data before it encrypts victims’ files.
  • A ransomware variant belonging to the BitPyLock family was also spotted targeting individual workstations to compromise networks and stealing files before encrypting devices. The variant used .bitpy extension to append every encrypted file.
  • Various organizations were targeted with fake business emails containing a new variant of NetWire trojan. The purpose of the campaign was to steal victims’ banking credentials.
  • The Muhstik botnet was evolved to include exploits for Tomato routers. The variant scanned Tomato routers on TCP port 8080 and bypassed the admin web authentication by brute-forcing with default credentials.
  • Over 2000 WordPress sites were hacked to redirect victims to scam sites containing unwanted browser notification subscriptions, fake surveys, giveaways, and fake Adobe Flash downloads. The sites were hacked by exploiting vulnerabilities in plugins.
  • Trickbot trojan was upgraded with a new module called ‘ADII’ to target the Active Directory database stored on compromised Windows domain controllers. The new module takes advantage of the ‘Install from Media’ command to dump the Active Directory database and various Registry hives into the Windows Temp folder.
  • Researchers detected a new malware named CARROTBALL that was used as a second-stage payload to target a US government agency and non-US foreign nationals professionally affiliated with current activities in North Korea.

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.