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Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence - July 17–21

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence - July 17–21 - Featured Image

Weekly Threat Briefing Jul 21, 2023

The Good

The emergence of new technologies often poses new cybersecurity challenges that need to be addressed on time. The one in question here is the 5G network. The CISA issued a new advisory, building upon an earlier advisory from December 2022, recommending network providers to implement advanced monitoring and analytical tactics to protect against 5G network slicing threats. In another update, the HHS and the FTC emphasized risks associated with third-party tracking technologies, urging hospitals and telehealth providers to comply with HIPAA privacy and breach notification rules.

  • The CISA and the NSA jointly issued an advisory to strengthen the 5G network slicing against threats. The advisory builds upon previous guidance that was issued in December 2022, warning that network slicing could expose users to identity theft, jamming, denial-of-service attacks, and adversary-in-the-middle attacks. The latest advisory talks about the requirements of advanced monitoring, auditing, and other analytical tactics to boost the security of network slicing.

  • The GSA released a new program roadmap to improve the identity and verification capabilities of Login.gov and comply with security standards. The plan includes more capabilities such as simplifying MFA processes, and improving the account recovery process, to authenticate the identity of users.

  • The HHS and the FTC sent a joint letter to 130 hospitals and telehealth providers to bring attention to the privacy and security risks associated with third-party tracking technologies. The federal agencies reminded the firms to comply with HIPAA privacy, security, and breach notification rules and encouraged them to consult OCR to navigate compliance in this space.

The Bad

What’s unfortunate is that the health sector remains a lucrative target for attackers in one way or another. Tampa General Hospital in Florida lost the personal information of over 1.2 million patients to a ransomware group. The personal information of 168,000 patients was also compromised in a phishing attack at Henry Ford Health, Detroit. Moving on, the Lazarus group was in the news for launching attacks against JumpCloud and GitHub developers.

  • Tampa General Hospital, Florida, revealed sensitive data of more than 1.2 million patients was stolen during an attempted ransomware attack in May. This sensitive information includes names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, health insurance information, and medical record numbers of patients. The electronic medical record system was not accessed by hackers, reported the hospital.

  • U.S. cosmetics conglomerate Estée Lauder suffered a cyberattack, with BlackCat and Cl0p claiming responsibility by adding the organization to their respective victims’ lists. The BlackCat group claimed that it stole more than 130 GB of the company’s data but did not encrypt the network.

  • GitHub warned of a social engineering campaign targeting developers in the blockchain, cryptocurrency, online gambling, and cybersecurity sectors. The campaign was linked to the Lazarus hacking group, which used compromised accounts or created fake personas of developers and recruiters on GitHub and social media to initiate conversations with victims.

  • In another update, SentinelOne revealed that Lazarus group was behind the recent breach at JumpCloud. CrowdStrike identified the Labyrinth Chollima—one of the groups of Lazarus—for the attacks. Mandiant revealed that the attack was primarily focused on stealing cryptocurrency and associated it with DPRK’s Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB).

  • China-linked hackers accessed at least hundreds of thousands of U.S. government emails in an espionage operation, the Wall Street Journal reported. Some of the victims include the assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the U.S. ambassador to China. This update comes the following the revelation of an espionage operation by Microsoft.

  • VirusTotal had exposed the information of over 5,600 customers after an employee inadvertently uploaded a CSV file containing the data to the website. The incident impacted the names and corporate email addresses of Premium account customers. Upon learning this, the firm took immediate steps to remove the exposed files from the website.

  • Two Suzuki-authorized dealer websites, located in Brazil and Bahrain, were found leaking sensitive information due to misconfigured settings. Attackers could have leveraged these publicly accessible websites to steal passwords and secret tokens. For accessing user data, business management tools, or managing websites.

  • The online gaming platform, Roblox, mistakenly leaked the sensitive information of 4,000 users. The information belonged to the attendees of the 2017-2022 Roblox Developers Conferences and contained full names, birthdates, mail addresses, phone numbers, and IP addresses.

  • Threat actors abused URL redirects in Google Ads to trick users into visiting malicious sites. These URLs were sent in the form of shortened URLs via an email impersonating Microsoft voicemail.

  • The FBI warned of a surge in tech support scams targeting the elderly, where scammers are now instructing victims to send cash concealed within magazines through shipping companies. More recently, victims were instructed to send parcels containing money to pharmacies and retail businesses that are equipped to receive shipping company packages.

  • Henry Ford Health notified 168,000 patients that an unauthorized party may have compromised their protected health information. The unauthorized party conducted a phishing scheme to access its business email accounts and pilfered patients’ PHI.

New Threats

Unpatched systems and software add to the woes of organizations as threat actors could weaponize those to launch massive malware attacks. Palo Alto Networks researchers highlighted this issue as it revealed the exploitation of unsecured MS-SQL servers as one of the reasons for the surge in Mallox ransomware attacks. Meet a new cross-platform worm in the town - P2PInfect. It was found exploiting vulnerable Redis servers to move laterally across networks. Also, rebranding ransomware is never out of fashion and that’s what the Avaddon group did by releasing the new NoEscape ransomware.

  • According to CERT-UA, the Russian hacking group Turla is attacking Ukrainian defense forces with Capibar and Kazuar spyware. The threat actors aim to exfiltrate files containing messaging from the Signal desktop messaging app, as well as documents, images, and archive files from targeted systems.
  • Two serious vulnerabilities in AMI MegaRAC BMC, which is used by millions of devices, can allow threat actors to take control of systems and cause physical damage. The vulnerabilities (tracked as CVE-2023-34329 and CVE-2023-34330) are collectively called BMC&C. CVE-2023-34329 is a critical authentication bypass flaw that can be exploited by spoofing HTTP headers, whereas CVE-2023-34330 is a code injection flaw.
  • A new and insidious cybersecurity threat—the P2PInfect worm—has emerged in the threat landscape. It exploits vulnerabilities within Redis servers to move laterally through networks. It exhibits cross-platform capabilities, targeting both Linux and Windows systems. The Windows variant of P2PInfect includes a Monitor component for self-updating and launching the new version.
  • Malwarebytes researchers uncovered a potential competitor of FakeUpdates (SocGholish) in the wild named FakeSG. The attack campaign pushes NetSupport RAT, allowing threat actors to gain remote access and deliver additional payloads onto victims’ systems. The malware relies on compromised WordPress sites to display a custom landing page mimicking the victim’s browser.
  • Winnti was linked to a cyberespionage campaign that dropped two spyware strains, dubbed WyrmSpy and DragonEgg, on Android mobiles. Both share similar Android signing certificates and come with extensive data collection and exfiltration capabilities, harvesting users’ photos, locations, SMS messages, and audio recordings from compromised mobile devices.
  • Palo Alto’s Unit 42 Network revealed that Mallox (aka TargetCompany) ransomware activity in 2023 increased by almost 174% as compared to the previous year. The group has been putting efforts into expanding its new Mallox RaaS program by recruiting affiliates. Another reason for the surge is linked to the exploitation of insecure MS-SQL servers to infiltrate networks.
  • FIN8 revamped the Sardonic backdoor malware to deliver BlackCat ransomware on victims’ systems. This Sardonic backdoor variant leverages a PowerShell script to infect systems. Once executed, the backdoor receives a number of commands, including the ones to arbitrarily drop new files, exfiltrate data, upload and download DLL plugins, and execute shellcode.
  • Dark.IoT, a Mirai variant, and Katana botnets are targeting a command injection vulnerability (CVE-2-023-28771) in Zyxel firewalls to launch DDoS attacks. The attackers utilize tools such as curl or wget to download scripts for further actions. These scripts are tailored for the MIPS architecture and are downloaded from several distinct IP addresses.
  • SophosEncrypt is a new Rust-based RaaS that appears to have been used in different attacks. The ransomware impersonates the cybersecurity firm Sophos. It includes both RAT and ransomware capabilities, using the Jabber instant messaging platform to communicate with its operators.
  • A rebranded version of Avaddon, dubbed NoEscape, is targeting enterprises in double extortion attacks. Since its inception, the ransomware group has listed 10 different companies on its data leak site, from different verticals. It steals data and encrypts files on Windows, Linux, and VMWare ESXi servers.

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Feb 14, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, February 10–14, 2025

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Feb 7, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, February 03–07, 2025

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Jan 10, 2025

Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence, January 06–10, 2025

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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.