Cyware Weekly Threat Intelligence - October 10–14

Weekly Threat Briefing • October 14, 2022
Weekly Threat Briefing • October 14, 2022
The U.S is moving in line with Germany’s and Singapore's ways to secure IoT devices. The White House has shared updates on a new IoT cybersecurity labeling program that is aimed at protecting smart devices against hacking and other vulnerabilities. It is expected to go public next year. In another development, the W3C is in the process of standardizing the password reset URLs to a default format. This will simplify the job of users to change their passwords across multiple services.
Cryptocurrency trading platforms have become a lucrative target for attackers seeking quick cash. This week, QANX Bridge and Mango Markets suffered a loss of over $100 million in cryptocurrency after hackers manipulated their smart contracts. There were also reports of different impersonation attacks targeted against Zoom, Zelle, and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) users. These attacks were designed either to pilfer personal details or to steal funds from users.
The operators behind the notorious Magniber ransomware have adopted a new delivery technique with the aim to infect more systems. This involves the use of a JavaScript file embedded within a ZIP file that purports to be an important antivirus or Windows 10 update. Besides, a malicious version of the WhatsApp messenger app, dubbed YoWhatsApp, designed to steal users’ accounts was found doing the rounds on the internet this week. Meanwhile, the European Association of Secure Transactions (EAST) has shared updates on a new type of ATM MiTM/relay attack that enabled attackers to steal funds from around 500 ATMs.
A critical authentication bypass vulnerability affecting multiple Fortinet services was exploited in the wild. Tracked as CVE-2022-40684, the vulnerability can be exploited by sending specially crafted HTTP or HTTPS requests.
During August and September, Cofense observed an effective credential phishing campaign abusing Dropbox to target users across many industries. Some of the convincing email themes included e-sign documents, fax notifications, and project acknowledgments.
A malicious Excel document masquerading as a tool to calculate salaries for Ukrainian military personnel was used in a new attack campaign to deliver a multi-stage Cobalt Strike loader.
More than 800 corporate users have been infected in a new QBot malware attack campaign since September 28, Kaspersky warned. Most of these users were located in the U.S, Italy, Germany, and India.
A new threat cluster tracked as WIP19 has been targeting telecommunications and IT service providers in the Middle East and Asia. Some of the attack tactics and malware of the cluster overlap with Operation Shadow Force.
A malicious version of the WhatsApp messenger app, dubbed YoWhatsApp, was discovered stealing access keys for users’ accounts. The malicious version supports additional features such as customizing the interface or blocking access to individual chats.
An APT known as Budworm targeted an unnamed state legislature in the U.S. for the first time in more than six years. The attack exploited Log4j vulnerabilities to compromise the Apache Tomcat service on servers in order to install web shells.
A new PHP variant of Ducktail infostealer is actively being distributed via cracked software of Office applications, games, subtitle files, and the Telegram app. The malware is designed to exfiltrate sensitive information saved in browsers and Facebook accounts.
A Mirai botnet variant launched a DDoS attack that peaked at 2.5Tbps, according to Cloudflare. The attack was aimed at a Minecraft server named Wynncraft and it involved UDP and TCP floods.
A new attack framework of Chinese origin is being used in the wild. Called Alchimist, it includes a customizable RAT for Windows and Linux machines. The framework can also be used to generate PowerShell-based attack shellcodes or distribute malicious implants on macOS.
In an attempt to evade detection and infect more systems, the operators behind Magniber ransomware are using JavaScript files, rather than MSI and EXE files, to disable the payloads. The JavaScript files are embedded in a ZIP file that appears to be an important antivirus or Windows 10 update.
Attackers used a new type of ATM MitM/relay attack to target around 500 ATMs in Europe to steal funds. The European Association of Secure Transactions (EAST) said it is working with a group of experts to monitor and analyze these attacks.