Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence - May 01–05

The Good

As new technologies continue to emerge and transform various industries, it has become equally important to protect them from the abuse of bad actors. In the same light, the FBI was able to disrupt nine cryptocurrency exchange websites that were involved in facilitating illegal scams and cybercrime operations. In other news, Facebook took action against rising cases of ChatGPT-themed malware attacks and blocked over 1,000 malicious URLs that were targeting user accounts.

• The U.S. and Ukrainian authorities seized nine cryptocurrency exchange websites advertised on private hacker forums. These websites were used to launder the profits from online scams and cybercrime operations. The nine exchanges were hosted across Europe and were tracked as 24xbtc[.]com, 100btc[.]pro, pridechange[.]com, 101crypta[.]com, uxbtc[.]com, trust-exchang[.]org, bitcoin24[.]exchange, paybtc[.]pro, and owl[.]gold.

• Meta blocked more than 1,000 ChatGPT-themed malicious URLs from being shared on its platforms as they were found distributing about 10 different malware families, including a new malware dubbed NodeStealer. The development comes following the increase in the use of fake ChatGPT web browser extensions to steal Facebook account credentials.

• Washington state governor signed the ‘My Health My Data Act’ into law to bolster the health data privacy for its people. The act aims to modernize the state’s consumer protection framework by giving individuals the right to withdraw consent, request data deletion, and prohibit the collection and sharing of health data without their consent.

The Bad

Meanwhile, the growing ransomware landscape has made it easier for cybercriminals to launch attacks. This week, the Royal ransomware group scored another bunch of victims by targeting the city of Dallas and a for-profit virtual learning provider with its presence in the U.S. and the U.K. In another instance, a law firm based in Australia fell victim to the BlackCat ransomware attack, affecting 4 TB worth of the company’s data. Meanwhile, T-Mobile reported suffering yet another data breach in 2023.

• T-Mobile was subjected to a data breach between February and March. This is the second time in 2023 that the telecommunication company has suffered a data breach that impacted the personal information of hundreds of its customers. While the exposed information varied for each of the affected customers, it could include full names, account numbers, contact information, Social Security numbers, government IDs, balance due, and dates of birth.
• United Healthcare, Maryland, notified its customers about a data breach that enabled threat actors to access the personal information of those enrolled in the company’s healthcare plans. Officials believe that the exposed information includes first and last names, dates of birth, addresses, dates of services, health insurance identification numbers, and claim information of members.
• Personal information of thousands of people based in Missouri was accessible to anyone using the Casenet website, the state’s judicial record system. The issue arose due to a vulnerability that is now fixed. However, thousands more documents containing sensitive information remain available on the website as they are considered open records.
• In a new update, the BlackCat ransomware group published 29 screenshots of internal emails and video conferences related to Western Digital. It is believed that these files were stolen after the company detected the attack and while response actions were taken to block unauthorized access to their systems.
• Bitmarck, an IT service provider based in Germany, suffered a cyberattack that temporarily disrupted its website. While the company is yet to determine whether any data was stolen, it has taken systems offline to isolate the scope of the attack.
• The city of Dallas, Texas, was hit by a Royal ransomware attack, impacting several of its functional areas, and the Dallas Police Department and City Hall websites. The city was forced to shut down some of its IT systems to prevent the spread of the attack. Meanwhile, the officials are also working along with its vendors to restore the impacted services.
• The virtual learning provider Edison Learning was targeted by the Royal ransomware gang. The gang stole 20GB of the company’s data including personal information of employees and students and threatened to post the data early next week.
• The Australian commercial law firm HWL Ebsworth fell victim to a BlackCat ransomware attack. The group claimed to have stolen 4 TB of company data, including financial reports, accounting data, client documentation, credit card information, and a blueprint containing the network map of the entire HWL Ebsworth computer network.
• Customers in the Nordic countries were the target of a massive phishing campaign that leveraged emails purporting to be from PostNord DK service. The email informed recipients about the status of an unclaimed package which could be tracked by clicking on a link embedded in the email.
• The Adna School District lost $346,000 in a sophisticated phishing campaign. The scam involved a construction project, where a multi-step procedure was established for reviewing and approving payments for the work done.

New Threats

Now, let's go through new threat updates this week where several new malware affecting Android devices were discovered. One of these is named Fleckpe which was discovered in at least 11 apps. Active since 2022, it has infected over 620,000 devices so far. In another case, a malware strain called FluHorse reportedly infected over one million Android users across Vietnam and Taiwan by mimicking legitimate apps. Furthermore, the CISA warned against multiple threat groups actively exploiting bugs in TP-Link, Apache Log4j2, and Oracle WebLogic Server.

• The Iranian government used an Android malware, called BouldSpy, to surveil minority groups and traffickers in the country. Upon execution, the malware collected account usernames, a list of installed apps and services, browser data, call logs, clipboard content, contact lists, device information, and SMS messages. The malware also enabled operators to log keystrokes, record audio, take screenshots, and capture device locations.
• Over the years, the deployment methods of ROKRAT backdoor malware have evolved. Presently, archives containing LNK files are being used to deliver the malware that is attributed to the APT37 threat group. The lures used as part of the infection chain are largely focused on South Korean foreign and domestic affairs.
• Russian cyberespionage group Nomadic Octopus has been associated with a new campaign, dubbed Operation PaperBug, that used the Octopus malware to spy on government officials, telecommunication services, and public service infrastructures in Tajikistan. The campaign used a broad range of devices, including individuals’ computers and OT devices, as part of the operation and was executed by hacking a telecoms provider that was linked to the 18 targeted entities.
• Earth Longzhi, a subgroup of APT41, launched attacks on organizations in Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, and Fiji. The campaign leveraged a new DoS technique, dubbed stack rumbling, to disable security products. The attackers targeted public-facing applications, IIS servers, and Microsoft Exchange servers to initiate attacks.
• The CISA added three actively exploited flaws, impacting TP-Link Archer AX-21 routers, Apache Log4j2 library, and Oracle WebLogic Server, to its KEV catalog. The flaws are tracked as CVE-2023-1389, CVE-2021-45046, and CVE-2023-21839. The agency urged the FCEB agencies to apply vendor-provided security patches by May 1 to prevent attacks.
• The North Korean Kimsuky hacking group was observed employing a new version of its reconnaissance malware in a cyberespionage campaign to expand its targeting scope. Called ReconShark, the malware is considered to overlap with BabyShark, another malware from Kimusky, and was also seen to be deployed by APT43.
• Kaspersky researchers discovered 11 Android apps available through the Google Play Store that were infected with a malware named Fleckpe. The malware operates by subscribing users to unwanted premium services. So far, more than 620,000 devices have been infected by the malware.
• Check Point researchers also spotted a new Android malware called FluHorse. It mimicked legitimate applications to infect users and steal mobile banking credentials, bypass 2FA, and pilfer funds from their accounts. The malware was distributed via two apps on the Google Play Store, both of which were installed more than one million times by users located in Vietnam and Taiwan.