diff --git "a/data/raw/APTNER/APTNERdev.txt" "b/data/raw/APTNER/APTNERdev.txt" new file mode 100644--- /dev/null +++ "b/data/raw/APTNER/APTNERdev.txt" @@ -0,0 +1,40588 @@ +Uses O +RijndaelManaged S-ENCR +instead O +of O +AES S-ENCR +for O +encryption O +. O +( O +with O +ECB B-ENCR +mode E-ENCR +, O +which O +is O +considered O +weak O +) O +. O + +Quasar S-MAL +contains O +the O +NetSerializer B-TOOL +library E-TOOL +that O +handles O +serialization O +of O +high O +level O +IPacket O +objects O +that O +the O +client B-TOOL +and I-TOOL +server E-TOOL +use O +to O +communicate O +. O + +The O +serialization O +assigns O +unique O +IDs O +for O +serializable O +objects O +types O +. O + +The O +open O +source O +and O +several O +other O +samples O +we O +found O +give O +a O +dynamically-assigned O +1 O +byte O +ID O +at O +compile O +time O +. O + +The O +sample O +we O +analyzed O +changed O +that O +behavior O +and O +hard-coded O +DWORD O +for O +each O +object O +type O +. O + +This O +is O +a O +better O +implementation O +, O +as O +it O +allows O +servers O +and O +clients O +from O +different O +versions O +to O +communicate O +with O +each O +other O +to O +some O +extent O +. O + +The O +sample O +we O +analyzed O +is O +most O +likely O +forked O +from O +open O +source O +quasar B-MAL +1.2.0.0 E-MAL +. O + +We O +find O +multiple O +file/object O +names O +hinting O +at O +the O +version O +, O +but O +must O +compelling O +: O + +Quasar B-MAL +version I-MAL +1.1.0.0 E-MAL +names O +the O +encryption O +module O +name O +space O +“ O +Encryption O +” O +, O +while O +subsequent O +Quasar B-MAL +versions E-MAL +use O +“ O +Cryptography O +” O +– O +which O +we O +observe O +in O +this O +sample O +. O + +Quasar B-MAL +version I-MAL +1.3.0.0 E-MAL +changed O +the O +encryption O +key O +generation O +, O +and O +stopped O +saving O +the O +password O +in O +the O +sample O +. O + +There O +are O +more O +indications O +as O +well O +, O +such O +as O +names O +of O +objects O +, O +files O +etc O +. O + +Other O +samples O +we O +analyzed O +had O +different O +combinations O +of O +modification O +to O +cryptography O +and O +serialization O +. O + +Our O +decompilation O +of O +the O +serialization B-TOOL +library E-TOOL +was O +not O +complete O +enough O +to O +allow O +simple O +recompilation O +. O + +Instead O +, O +we O +downloaded O +and O +compiled O +the O +1.2.0.0 O +server O +of O +the O +open-source O +Quasar B-MAL +RAT E-MAL +, O +having O +determined O +that O +this O +seemed O +likely O +the O +most O +similar O +version O +. O + +The O +out-of-the-box B-TOOL +server E-TOOL +could O +not O +communicate O +with O +the O +client O +sample O +owing O +to O +the O +previously O +documented O +modifications O +that O +we O +had O +observed O +. O + +We O +incorporated O +those O +changes O +into O +our O +build O +, O +discovering O +that O +this O +worked O +for O +most O +sample O +versions O +with O +almost O +no O +further O +modification O +. O + +Both O +the O +client O +and O +the O +server S-TOOL +use O +the O +same O +code O +to O +serialize O +and O +encrypt O +the O +communications O +. O + +Instead O +of O +compiling O +a O +different O +server S-TOOL +for O +each O +client O +, O +our B-TOOL +server E-TOOL +uses O +the O +code O +from O +within O +the O +client O +to O +communicate O +with O +it O +. O + +Using O +Reflection O +, O +the O +server S-TOOL +can O +load O +the O +assembly O +of O +the O +client O +to O +find O +the O +relevant O +functions O +and O +passwords O +. O + +This O +was O +more O +complex O +. O + +Both O +the O +client O +and O +server O +uses O +the O +same O +API O +, O +but O +the O +client O +serializer O +cannot O +serialize O +server O +objects O +, O +because O +they O +are O +not O +the O +same O +as O +their O +“ O +mirrored O +” O +objects O +inside O +the O +client O +. O + +In O +some O +cases O +these O +objects O +are O +completely O +different O +, O +for O +example O +the O +server O +commands O +to O +get O +the O +file O +system O +. O + +Our O +solution O +is O +to O +: O + +Translate O +on O +the O +fly O +the O +objects O +the O +server O +send O +to O +mirrored O +matching O +client O +objects O +( O +will O +not O +work O +if O +client O +doesn’t O +have O +this O +object O +, O +or O +renamed O +it O +) O +. O + +Copy O +the O +content O +from O +the O +server O +object O +into O +the O +new O +client O +object O +( O +will O +not O +work O +if O +client O +implementation O +is O +different O +) O +. O + +Serialize O +the O +client O +object O +( O +which O +will O +be O +later O +encrypted O +and O +sent O +) O +. O + +Deserialize O +the O +decrypted O +response O +into O +another O +client O +response O +object O +. O + +Translate O +the O +client O +response O +object O +into O +the O +server O +version O +of O +the O +client O +response O +object O +. O + +Copy O +the O +contents O +from O +the O +client O +response O +object O +into O +the O +translated O +server O +object O +. O + +Return O +the O +translated O +object O +. O + +Our O +sample O +communicates O +with O +app.progsupdate.com S-DOM +, O +which O +resolved O +to O +185.141.25.68 S-IP +, O +over O +TCP S-PROT +port O +4664 O +. O + +The O +server O +sends O +a O +command O +. O +for O +example O +, O +“ O +Get B-FILE +System I-FILE +Information E-FILE +” O +. O + +The O +command O +is O +translated O +to O +an O +IPacket O +of O +type O +GetSystemInfo O +. O + +The O +packet O +is O +serialized O +into O +a O +stream O +of O +bytes O +. O + +The O +stream O +of O +bytes O +is O +encrypted O +( O +in O +some O +versions O +there O +is O +also O +optional O +compression O +step O +) O +. O + +The O +stream O +of O +bytes O +is O +sent O +over O +TCP S-PROT +to O +the O +client O +. O + +The O +client O +receives O +and O +decrypts O +the O +packet O +. O + +The O +client O +deserializes O +the O +packet O +into O +IPacket O +GetSystemInfo O +. O + +The O +relevant O +handler O +of O +the O +client O +is O +called O +, O +collects O +the O +system O +information O +and O +sends O +it O +back O +inside O +IPacket O +of O +GetSystemInfoResponse O +. O + +Each O +of O +these O +layers O +seems O +to O +be O +different O +to O +some O +extent O +in O +the O +various O +samples O +we O +found O +. O + +The O +IPacket O +, O +Serialization O +and O +Encryption O +framework O +code O +is O +shared O +between O +the O +client O +and O +the O +server O +, O +therefore O +we O +can O +use O +it O +with O +Reflection O +. O + +However O +the O +Server O +handlers O +and O +command O +function O +are O +not O +, O +so O +we O +cannot O +create O +a O +completely O +perfect O +simulation O +. O + +The O +attacker O +can O +issue O +commands O +( O +not O +all O +commands O +appear O +in O +different O +samples O +) O +through O +the O +Quasar B-TOOL +server I-TOOL +GUI E-TOOL +for O +each O +client O +: O + +Get O +system O +information O +. O + +Get O +file O +system O +. O + +Upload O +/ O +download O +/ O +execute O +files O +. O + +Startup O +manager O +. O + +Open O +task O +manager O +. O + +Kill O +/ O +start O +processes O +. O + +Edit O +registry O +. O + +Reverse O +Proxy O +. O + +Shutdown O +/ O +restart O +the O +computer O +. O + +Open O +remote O +desktop O +connection O +. O + +Observe O +the O +desktop O +and O +actions O +of O +active O +user O +. O + +Issue O +remote O +mouse O +clicks O +and O +keyboard O +strokes O +. O + +Password O +stealing O +. O + +Retrieve O +Keylogger O +logs O +. O + +Visit O +website O +. O + +Display O +a O +message O +box O +. O + +The O +file B-TOOL +system E-TOOL +commands O +underling O +handlers O +and O +IPacket O +were O +modified O +to O +support O +more O +features O +, O +so O +these O +commands O +don’t O +work O +out O +of O +the O +box O +and O +required O +manual O +implementation O +from O +us O +. O + +With O +further O +analysis O +of O +the O +Quasar B-MAL +RAT E-MAL +C2 S-TOOL +Server O +, O +we O +uncovered O +vulnerabilities O +in O +the O +server O +code O +, O +which O +would O +allow O +remote O +code O +execution O +. O + +This O +might O +allow O +a O +second O +attacker O +to O +install O +code O +of O +their O +choice O +– O +for O +example O +, O +their O +own O +Quasar B-MAL +RAT E-MAL +– O +on O +the O +original O +attacker O +’s O +server O +. O + +We O +refer O +to O +this O +( O +somewhat O +ironic O +) O +technique O +as O +a O +“ O +Double B-ACT +Edged I-ACT +Sword I-ACT +Attack E-ACT +” O +. O + +We O +did O +not O +apply O +this O +to O +any O +live O +C2 S-TOOL +servers O +– O +we O +only O +tested O +this O +with O +our O +own O +servers O +in O +our O +lab O +. O + +In O +the O +lab O +, O +we O +changed O +our O +Quasar B-MAL +RAT E-MAL +source O +code O +to O +use O +the O +known O +encryption O +key O +, O +and O +to O +send O +fake O +victim O +IP S-PROT +address O +, O +City O +, O +Country O +code O +, O +Flag O +, O +and O +Username O +. O + +The O +Quasar S-MAL +serve O +does O +not O +verify O +the O +RAT S-TOOL +data O +, O +and O +displays O +this O +data O +in O +the O +RAT S-TOOL +Server O +GUI O +when O +the O +RAT S-TOOL +is O +executed O +and O +connects O +to O +the O +server O +. O + +We O +found O +this O +could O +be O +used O +to O +supply O +compelling O +“ O +victim O +data O +” O +to O +convince O +the O +attacker O +to O +connect O +to O +this O +“ O +victim O +” O +via O +the O +GUI O +. O + +Quasar S-MAL +serve O +includes O +a O +File B-TOOL +Manager I-TOOL +window E-TOOL +, O +allowing O +the O +attacker O +to O +select O +victim O +files O +, O +and O +trigger O +file O +operations O +– O +for O +example O +, O +uploading O +a O +file O +from O +victim O +machine O +to O +server O +. O + +Uploaded O +files O +are O +written O +to O +the O +server O +sub O +directory O +“ O +clients\user_name@machine_name_ipaddress S-FILE +” O +. O + +Quasar S-MAL +serve O +does O +not O +verify O +that O +the O +size O +, O +filename O +, O +extension O +, O +or O +header O +of O +the O +uploaded O +file O +is O +the O +same O +as O +requested O +. O + +Therefore O +, O +if O +we O +convince O +the O +attacker O +to O +request O +the O +file O +“ O +secret_info.doc S-FILE +( O +20KB S-FILE +) O +” O +, O +we O +can O +instead O +return O +to O +the O +server O +any O +file O +of O +our O +choice O +, O +of O +any O +size O +or O +type O +. O + +When O +the O +Quasar S-MAL +serve O +retrieves O +the O +name O +of O +the O +uploaded O +file O +from O +the O +victim O +, O +it O +does O +not O +verify O +that O +it O +is O +a O +valid O +file O +path O +. O + +Therefore O +sending O +the O +file O +path O +“ O +..\..\ B-FILE +secret_info.doc E-FILE +” O + +will O +result O +in O +writing O +our O +file O +instead O +to O +the O +same O +directory O +as O +the O +Quasar S-MAL +serve O +code O +. O + +Quasar S-MAL +serve O +does O +not O +even O +verify O +that O +a O +file O +was O +requested O +from O +the O +victim O +. O + +Immediately O +when O +the B-TOOL +File I-TOOL +Manager I-TOOL +window E-TOOL +is O +opened O +by O +the O +attacker O +, O +the O +Quasar S-MAL +serve O +sends O +two O +commands O +to O +the O +RAT S-TOOL +: O +GetDrives O +and O +listDirectory O +( O +to O +populate O +the O +list O +of O +the O +victim O +’s O +files O +in O +the O +RAT B-TOOL +Server I-TOOL +GUI E-TOOL +) O +. O + +We O +can O +respond O +to O +those O +commands O +by O +instead O +sending O +two O +files O +of O +our O +choice O +to O +the O +Quasar S-MAL +serve O +. O + +Again O +, O +we O +control O +the O +content O +of O +the O +file O +, O +the O +size O +and O +the O +path O +and O +filename O +. O + +Quasar S-MAL +is O +a O +.NET B-TOOL +Framework E-TOOL +assembly O +, O +loading O +multiple O +DLLs O +upon O +launch O +, O +for O +example O +“ O +dnsapi.dll S-FILE +” O +. O + +Quasar S-MAL +serve O +is O +vulnerable O +to O +a O +simple O +DLL S-TOOL +hijacking O +attack O +, O +by O +using O +this O +technique O +to O +replace O +server O +DLLs O +. O + +When O +the O +attacker O +restarts O +the O +Quasar S-MAL +application O +, O +our O +uploaded O +“ O +dnsapi.dll S-FILE +” O +will O +instead O +be O +loaded O +. O + +Through O +this O +vector O +, O +we O +could O +drop O +our O +own O +Quasar S-MAL +clien O +on O +the O +attacker O +’s O +server O +and O +execute O +it O +. O + +Our O +Quasar B-MAL +RAT E-MAL +will O +connect O +to O +our O +own O +( O +secured O +, O +of O +course O +) O +Quasar S-MAL +serve O +, O +allowing O +us O +to O +control O +that O +attacker O +’s O +server O +with O +his O +own O +RAT S-TOOL +. O + +We O +can O +also O +replace O +“ O +shfolder.dll S-FILE +” O +( O +and O +add O +a O +DLL S-TOOL +export O +proxy O +to O +avoid O +a O +crash O +) O +, O +which O +is O +loaded O +whenever O +the O +attacker O +clicks O +the O +builder O +tab O +– O +allowing O +us O +to O +infect O +the O +server O +while O +it O +runs O +, O +without O +the O +need O +to O +wait O +for O +application O +restart O +. O + +Although O +Downeks S-MAL +has O +been O +publicly O +examined O +to O +some O +extent O +, O +our O +analysis O +found O +several O +features O +not O +previously O +described O +. O + +Earlier O +Downeks S-MAL +samples O +were O +all O +written O +in O +native O +code O +. O + +However O +, O +among O +our O +Downeks S-MAL +samples O +, O +we O +found O +new O +versions O +apparently O +written O +in O +.NET S-TOOL +. O + +We O +observe O +many O +behavioral O +similarities O +and O +unique O +strings O +across O +both O +the O +native-Downeks S-MAL +versions O +, O +and O +the O +new O +.NET S-TOOL +Downeks I-MAL +versions E-MAL +. O + +Almost O +all O +of O +the O +strings O +and O +behaviors O +we O +describe O +in O +this O +analysis O +of O +a O +.NET S-TOOL +version O +are O +also O +present O +in O +the O +native O +version O +. O + +We O +observed O +these O +samples O +deployed O +only O +against O +Hebrew-speaking O +targets O +. O + +Downeks S-MAL +.NET O +internal O +name O +is O +“ O +SharpDownloader S-MAL +” O +, O +“ O +Sharp O +” O +may O +be O +a O +reference O +to O +the O +language O +it O +was O +written O +in O +– O +C# S-TOOL +. O + +As O +seen O +in O +previous O +Downeks S-MAL +versions O +, O +it O +uses O +masquerades B-TOOL +with I-TOOL +icons E-TOOL +, O +filenames S-TOOL +and O +metadata B-TOOL +imitating I-TOOL +popular I-TOOL +legitimate I-TOOL +applications E-TOOL +such O +as O +VMware B-TOOL +workstation E-TOOL +and O +CCleaner S-TOOL +, O +or O +common O +file O +formats O +such O +as O +DOC S-TOOL +and O +PDF S-TOOL +. O + +All O +3 O +samples O +were O +compiled O +with O +the O +same O +timestamp O +. O + +Downeks.NET S-MAL +is O +obfuscated O +using O +“ O +Yano S-TOOL +” O +and O +can O +be O +easily O +de-obfuscated O +using O +the B-TOOL +de4dot I-TOOL +utility E-TOOL +. O + +SHA256 S-ENCR +: O +4dcf5bd2c7a5822831d9f22f46bd2369c4c9df17cc99eb29975b5e8ae7e88606 S-SHA2 +. O + +SHA256 S-ENCR +: O +905f6a62749ca6f0fd33345d6a8b1831d87e9fd1f81a59cd3add82643b367693 S-SHA2 +. O + +SHA256 S-ENCR +: O +c885f09b10feb88d7d176fe1a01ed8b480deb42324d2bb825e96fe1408e2a35f S-SHA2 +. O + +Downeks S-MAL +is O +a O +backdoor O +with O +only O +very O +basic O +capabilities O +. O + +It O +communicates O +with O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +server O +using O +HTTP S-PROT +POST O +requests O +. O + +It O +runs O +in O +an O +infinite O +loop O +, O +in O +each O +iteration O +it O +requests O +a O +command O +from O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +, O +and O +then O +it O +sleeps O +for O +a O +time O +period O +it O +receives O +in O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +response O +( O +defaulting O +to O +1 O +second O +if O +no O +sleep-time O +sent O +) O +. O + +The O +data O +that O +is O +sent O +in O +the O +POST O +is O +serialized O +with O +json S-TOOL +, O +which O +is O +then O +is O +encrypted O +, O +and O +finally O +encoded O +in O +base64 O +. O + +The O +json S-TOOL +format O +is O +typically O +{ O +“mth O +” O +: O + +” O +some_method O +” O +, O +“ O +data O +” O +: O + +” O +some_encrypted_data O +” O +} O +. O + +The O +C2 S-TOOL B-TOOL +server E-TOOL +responds O +using O +the O +same O +format O +and O +serialization/encryption/encoding O +. O + +As O +described O +in O +earlier O +analyses O +, O +Downeks S-MAL +’ O +main O +purpose O +is O +as O +a O +downloader O +. O + +Unfortunately O +, O +we O +were O +unable O +to O +get O +any O +C2 S-TOOL B-TOOL +servers E-TOOL +to O +issue O +download O +commands O +to O +any O +samples O +that O +we O +tested O +in O +our O +lab O +. O + +The O +download O +is O +initiated O +upon O +receiving O +json O +with O +a O +“ O +download O +” O +command O +, O +which O +includes O +the O +URL O +of O +the O +file O +to O +be O +downloaded O +. O + +Downeks S-MAL +can O +also O +be O +instructed O +to O +execute O +binaries O +that O +already O +exist O +on O +the O +victim O +machine O +. O + +After O +successful O +execution O +, O +Downeks S-MAL +returns O +the O +results O +to O +the O +C2 S-TOOL B-TOOL +server E-TOOL +. O + +Downeks S-MAL +also O +has O +a O +self-update O +capability O +, O +if O +instructed O +by O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +. O + +Downeks S-MAL +can O +be O +instructed O +with O +the B-TOOL +“ I-TOOL +img I-TOOL +” I-TOOL +command E-TOOL +to O +capture O +the O +victim O +screen O +and O +transmit O +it O +back O +to O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +. O + +The O +parameters O +“ O +wth O +” O +and O +“ O +qlt O +” O +specify O +“ O +width O +” O +and O +“ O +quality O +” O +. O + +Downeks B-MAL +.NET E-MAL +creates O +a O +file O +in O +the O +“ O +Appdata O +” O +directory O +, O +based O +on O +certain O +properties O +of O +the O +machine O +. O + +During O +our O +analysis O +, O +Downeks S-MAL +created O +a O +file O +in O +“ O +Appdata\Roaming O +” O +containing O +only O +“ O +SD{new O +line} O +0 O +” O +( O +“ O +SD O +” O +possibly O +for O +“ O +SharpDownloader O +” O +) O +. O + +Although O +this O +file O +itself O +is O +not O +particularly O +interesting O +, O +the O +older O +( O +native O +) O +Downeks S-MAL +versions O +also O +creates O +a O +file O +in O +Appdata\Roaming S-TOOL +, O +with O +identical O +data O +. O + +The O +filenames O +across O +the O +two O +variants O +bear O +striking O +similarities O +. O + +The O +.NET S-TOOL +variant O +creates O +“ O +1FABFBFF0000065132F71D94 S-SHA2 +” O +, O +while O +the O +native O +version O +creates O +“ O +000206511FABFBFF S-SHA2 +” O +. O + +We O +observed O +the O +string O +“ O +1FABFBFF0000065132F71D94 S-SHA2 +” O +in O +memory O +during O +debugging O +of O +the O +native O +variant O +. O + +This O +is O +a O +pseudo-unique O +ID O +for O +each O +machine O +, O +based O +on O +install O +date O +taken O +from O +the O +registry O +, O +volume O +serial O +number O +, O +OS O +version O +and O +service O +pack O +, O +Processor O +architecture O +, O +and O +computer O +name O +. O + +Downeks S-MAL +enumerates O +any O +antivirus O +products O +installed O +on O +the O +victim O +machine O +and O +transmits O +the O +list O +to O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +. O + +It O +constructs O +this O +list O +using O +the O +WMI S-OS +query O +: O +“SELECT O +displayName O +FROM O +AntivirusProduct O +” O +. O + +Downeks S-MAL +achieves O +host O +persistence O +through O +either O +the O +registry B-TOOL +“ I-TOOL +run I-TOOL +” I-TOOL +key E-TOOL +or O +with O +a O +shortcut B-TOOL +in I-TOOL +the I-TOOL +start-up I-TOOL +folder E-TOOL +. O + +In O +another O +similarity O +between O +both O +variants O +, O +Dowenks S-MAL +assesses O +the O +victim O +’s O +external O +IP O +using O +an O +HTTP B-TOOL +request E-TOOL +to O +http://www.myexternalIP +. O + +com/raw S-URL +. O + +Downeks S-MAL +can O +be O +instructed O +by O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +to O +perform O +a O +few O +other O +commands O +: O + +Check O +if O +the O +computer O +name O +and O +user O +name O +, O +or O +external O +IP S-PROT +address O +, O +is O +in O +a O +provided O +list O +and O +if O +so O +, O +display O +a O +message O +box O +with O +a O +message O +as O +defined O +by O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +. O + +Kill O +any O +running O +process O +and O +attempt O +to O +delete O +the O +associated O +executable O +. O +“ O +Setup O +” O +command O +– O +sends O +various O +info O +about O +the O +machine O +with O +each O +iteration O +of O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +communications O +loop O +. O + +Downeks S-MAL +has O +static O +encryption O +keys O +hardcoded O +in O +the O +code O +. O + +Palo B-IDTY +Alto I-IDTY +Networks E-IDTY +customers O +are O +protected O +from O +Downeks S-MAL +and O +Quasar S-MAL +used O +in O +this O +attack O +: O + +WildFire S-TOOL +properly O +classifies O +these O +Downeks S-MAL +and O +Quasar S-MAL +samples O +as O +malicious O +. O + +Traps S-TOOL +detects O +and O +blocks O +malicious O +behavior O +exhibited O +by O +new O +, O +unknown O +Quasar S-MAL +samples O +. O + +C2 S-TOOL +servers S-TOOL +associated O +with O +this O +activity O +are O +blocked O +through O +Threat O +Prevention O +DNS S-PROT +signatures O +. O + +URI B-ACT +TERROR I-ACT +ATTACK E-ACT +& O +KASHMIR S-LOC +PROTEST O +THEMED O +SPEAR B-ACT +PHISHING E-ACT +emails S-TOOL +TARGETING O +INDIAN B-IDTY +EMBASSIES E-IDTY +AND O +INDIAN B-IDTY +MINISTRY I-IDTY +OF I-IDTY +EXTERNAL I-IDTY +AFFAIRS E-IDTY +- O +CYSINFO O +. O + +In O +my O +previous O +blog O +I O +posted O +details O +of O +a O +cyber O +attack O +targeting O +Indian B-IDTY +government I-IDTY +organizations E-IDTY +. O + +This O +blog O +post O +describes O +another O +attack O +campaign O +where O +attackers O +used O +the O +Uri B-ACT +terror I-ACT +attack E-ACT +and O +Kashmir S-LOC +protest O +themed O +spear B-ACT +phishing I-ACT +email S-TOOL +to O +target O +officials O +in O +the O +Indian B-IDTY +Embassies E-IDTY +and O +Indian B-IDTY +Ministry I-IDTY +of I-IDTY +External I-IDTY +Affairs E-IDTY +( O +MEA S-IDTY +) O +. O + +In O +order O +to O +infect O +the O +victims O +, O +the O +attackers O +distributed O +spear-phishing S-ACT +emails S-TOOL +containing O +malicious B-TOOL +word E-TOOL +document O +which O +dropped O +a O +malware O +capable O +of O +spying O +on O +infected O +systems O +. O + +The O +email S-TOOL +purported O +to O +have O +been O +sent O +from O +legitimate O +email S-TOOL +ids O +. O + +The O +attackers O +spoofed O +the O +email S-TOOL +ids O +associated O +with O +Indian B-IDTY +Ministry I-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Home I-IDTY +Affairs E-IDTY +to O +send O +out O +email S-TOOL +to O +the O +victims O +. O + +Attackers O +also O +used O +the O +name B-TOOL +of I-TOOL +the I-TOOL +top-ranking I-TOOL +official E-TOOL +associated O +with O +Minister B-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Home I-IDTY +affairs E-IDTY +in O +the O +signature O +of O +the O +email S-TOOL +, O +this O +is O +to O +make O +it O +look O +like O +the O +email S-TOOL +was O +sent O +by O +a O +high-ranking O +Government O +official O +associated O +with O +Ministry B-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Home I-IDTY +Affairs E-IDTY +( O +MHA S-IDTY +) O +. O + +In O +the O +The O +first O +wave O +of O +attack O +, O +The O +attackers O +spoofed O +an O +email S-TOOL +id O +that O +is O +associated O +with O +Indian O +Ministry B-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Home I-IDTY +Affairs E-IDTY +( O +MHA S-IDTY +) O +and O +an O +email S-TOOL +was O +sent O +on O +September B-TIME +20th I-TIME +, I-TIME +2016 E-TIME +( O +just O +2 O +days O +after O +the O +Uri B-ACT +terror I-ACT +attack E-ACT +) O +to O +an O +email S-TOOL +id O +associated O +with O +the O +Indian B-IDTY +Embassy E-IDTY +in O +Japan S-LOC +. O + +The O +email S-TOOL +was O +made O +to O +look O +like O +as O +if O +an O +investigation O +report O +related O +to O +Uri B-ACT +terror I-ACT +attack E-ACT +was O +shared O +by O +the O +MHA S-IDTY +official O +. O + +On O +Sept B-TIME +20th,2016 E-TIME +similar O +Uri O +Terror O +report O +themed O +email S-TOOL +was O +also O +sent O +to O +an O +email S-TOOL +id O +connected O +with O +Indian B-IDTY +embassy E-IDTY +in O +Thailand S-LOC +. O + +This O +email S-TOOL +was O +later O +forwarded O +on O +Oct B-TIME +24th,2016 E-TIME +from O +a O +spoofed O +email S-TOOL +id O +which O +is O +associated O +with O +Thailand S-LOC +Indian B-IDTY +embassy E-IDTY +to O +various O +email S-TOOL +recipients O +connected O +to O +the O +Indian B-IDTY +Ministry I-IDTY +of I-IDTY +External I-IDTY +Affairs E-IDTY +as O +shown O +in O +the O +below O +screen O +shot O +. O + +In O +this O +case O +Attackers O +again O +spoofed O +an O +email S-TOOL +id O +associated O +with O +Indian B-IDTY +Ministry I-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Home I-IDTY +Affairs E-IDTY +and O +the O +mail O +was O +sent O +on O +September B-TIME +1,2016 E-TIME +to O +an O +email S-TOOL +id O +associated O +Thailand S-LOC +Indian B-IDTY +embassy E-IDTY +, O +this O +email S-TOOL +was O +later O +forwarded O +on O +Oct B-TIME +24th,2016 E-TIME +from O +a O +spoofed O +email S-TOOL +of O +Thailand S-LOC +Indian B-IDTY +embassy E-IDTY +to O +various O +email S-TOOL +recipients O +connected O +to O +the O +Indian B-IDTY +Ministry I-IDTY +of I-IDTY +External I-IDTY +Affairs E-IDTY +( O +MEA S-IDTY +) O +. O + +This O +time O +the O +email S-TOOL +was O +made O +to O +look O +like O +an O +investigation O +report O +related O +to O +Jammu B-LOC +& I-LOC +Kashmir E-LOC +protest O +was O +shared O +by O +the O +Ministry B-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Home I-IDTY +Affairs E-IDTY +Official O +and O +the O +forwarded O +email S-TOOL +was O +made O +to O +look O +like O +the O +report O +was O +forwarded O +by O +an O +Ambassador O +in O +Thailand S-LOC +Indian B-IDTY +embassy E-IDTY +to O +the O +MEA S-IDTY +officials O +. O + +From O +the O +emails S-TOOL +( O +and O +the O +attachments O +) O +it O +looks O +like O +the O +goal O +of O +the O +attackers O +was O +to O +infect O +and O +take O +control O +of O +the O +systems O +and O +also O +to O +spy O +on O +the O +actions O +of O +the O +Indian O +Government O +post O +the O +Jammu B-LOC +& I-LOC +Kashmir E-LOC +protest O +and O +Uri B-ACT +Terror I-ACT +attack E-ACT +. O + +When O +the O +victim O +opens O +the O +attached B-TOOL +word I-TOOL +document E-TOOL +it O +prompts O +the O +user O +to O +enable O +macro O +content O +and O +both O +the O +documents O +( O +Uri B-FILE +Terror I-FILE +Report.doc E-FILE +and O +mha-report.doc S-FILE +) O +displayed O +the O +same O +content O +and O +contained O +a O +Show O +Document O +button O +. O + +In O +case O +of O +both O +the O +documents O +( O +Uri B-FILE +Terror I-FILE +Report.doc E-FILE +and O +mha-report.doc S-FILE +) O +the O +malicious O +macro B-TOOL +code E-TOOL +was O +heavily O +obfuscated O +(used O +obscure O +variable/function O +names O +to O +make O +analysis O +harder O +) O +and O +did O +not O +contain O +any O +auto O +execute O +functions O +. O + +Malicious O +activity O +is O +trigged O +only O +on O +user O +interaction O +, O +attackers O +normally O +use O +this O +technique O +to O +bypass O +sandbox/automated O +analysis O +. O + +Reverse O +engineering O +both O +the O +word O +documents O +( O +Uri B-FILE +Terror I-FILE +Report.doc E-FILE +& O +mha-report.doc S-FILE +) O +exhibited O +similar O +behaviour O +except O +the O +minor O +difference O +mentioned O +below O +. O + +In O +case O +of O +mha-report.doc S-FILE +the O +malicious O +activity O +triggered O +only O +when O +the O +show O +document O +button O +was O +clicked O +, O +when O +this O +event O +occurs O +the O +macro B-TOOL +code E-TOOL +calls O +a O +subroutine O +CommandButton1_Click() S-TOOL +which O +in O +turn O +calls O +a O +malicious O +obfuscated O +function O +( O +Bulbaknopka() S-TOOL +) O +. O + +In O +case O +of O +Uri B-FILE +Terror I-FILE +Report.doc E-FILE +the O +malicious O +activity O +triggered O +when O +the O +document O +was O +either O +closed O +or O +when O +the O +show O +document O +button O +was O +clicked O +, O +when O +any O +of O +these O +event O +occurs O +a O +malicious O +obfuscated O +function O +( O +chugnnarabashkoim() S-TOOL +) O +gets O +called O +. O + +The O +malicious B-TOOL +macro I-TOOL +code E-TOOL +first O +decodes O +a O +string O +which O +contains O +a O +reference O +to O +the O +pastebin O +url O +. O + +The O +macro S-TOOL +then O +decodes O +a O +PowerShell S-TOOL +script O +which O +downloads O +base64 B-TOOL +encoded I-TOOL +content E-TOOL +from O +the O +pastebin S-TOOL +url O +. O + +The O +base64 B-TOOL +encoded I-TOOL +content E-TOOL +downloaded O +from O +the O +Pastebin S-TOOL +link O +is O +then O +decoded O +to O +an O +executable O +and O +dropped O +on O +the O +system O +. O + +The O +technique O +of O +hosting O +malicious O +code O +in O +legitimate O +sites O +like O +Pastebin S-TOOL +has O +advantages O +and O +it O +is O +highly O +unlikely O +to O +trigger O +any O +suspicion O +in O +security O +monitoring O +and O +also O +can O +bypass O +reputation O +based O +devices O +. O + +The O +dropped O +file O +was O +determined O +as O +modified O +version O +of O +njRAT B-MAL +trojan E-MAL +. O + +The O +dropped O +file O +( O +officeupdate.exe S-FILE +) O +is O +then O +executed O +by O +the O +macro B-TOOL +code E-TOOL +using O +the O +PowerShell B-TOOL +script E-TOOL +. O +njRAT S-MAL +is O +a O +Remote B-TOOL +Access I-TOOL +Tool E-TOOL +( O +RAT S-MAL +) O +used O +mostly O +by O +the O +actor O +groups O +in O +the O +middle B-LOC +east E-LOC +. O + +Once O +infected O +njRAT S-MAL +communicates O +to O +the O +attacker O +and O +allows O +the O +attacker O +to O +log O +keystrokes O +, O +upload/download O +files O +, O +access O +victims O +web O +camera O +, O +audio O +recording O +, O +steal O +credentials O +, O +view O +victims O +desktop O +, O +open O +reverse O +shell O +etc O +. O + +The O +dropped B-TOOL +file E-TOOL +was O +analyzed O +in O +an O +isolated O +environment O +( O +without O +actually O +allowing O +it O +to O +connect O +to O +the O +c2 S-TOOL +server O +) O +. O + +Once O +the O +dropped O +file O +( O +officeupdate.exe S-FILE +) O +is O +executed O +the B-MAL +malware E-MAL +drops O +additional O +files O +( O +googleupdate.exe S-FILE +, O +malib.dll S-FILE +and O +msccvs.dll S-FILE +) O +into O +the O +%AllUsersProfile%\Google S-IDTY +directory O +and O +then O +executes O +the O +dropped O +googleupdate.exe S-FILE +Upon O +execution O +malware S-MAL +makes O +a O +connection O +to O +the O +c2 S-TOOL +server O +on O +port O +5555 O +and O +sends O +the O +system O +& O +operating O +system O +information O +along O +with O +some O +base64 O +encoded O +strings O +to O +the O +attacker O +as O +shown O +below O +. O + +This O +section O +contains O +the O +details O +of O +the O +c2 S-TOOL +domain O +( O +khanji.ddns.net S-DOM +) O +. O + +Attackers O +used O +the O +DynamicDNS S-TOOL +to O +host O +the O +c2 S-TOOL +server O +, O +this O +allows O +the O +attacker O +to O +quickly O +change O +the O +IP S-PROT +address O +in O +real O +time O +if O +the O +malware O +c2 S-TOOL +server O +infrastructure O +is O +unavailable O +. O + +The O +c2 S-TOOL +domain O +was O +associated O +with O +multiple O +IP S-PROT +addresses O +in O +past O +. O + +During O +the O +timeline O +of O +this O +cyber O +attack O +most O +of O +these O +IP S-PROT +addresses O +were O +located O +in O +Pakistan S-LOC +and O +few O +IP S-PROT +addresses O +used O +the O +hosting B-TOOL +provider I-TOOL +infrastructure E-TOOL +. O + +The O +c2 S-TOOL +domain O +( O +khanji.ddns.net S-DOM +) O +was O +also O +found O +to O +be O +associated O +with O +multiple O +malware O +samples O +in O +the O +past O +, O +Some O +of O +these O +malware O +samples O +made O +connection O +to O +pastebin S-TOOL +urls O +upon O +execution O +, O +which O +is O +similar O +to O +the O +behavior O +mentioned O +previously O +. O + +Based O +on O +the O +base64 B-TOOL +encoded I-TOOL +content E-TOOL +posted O +in O +the O +Pastebin S-TOOL +, O +userid O +associated O +with O +the O +Pastebin S-TOOL +post O +was O +determined O +. O + +The O +same O +user O +posted O +multiple O +similar O +posts O +most O +of O +them O +containing O +similar O +base64 B-TOOL +encoded I-TOOL +content E-TOOL +( O +probably O +used O +by O +the O +malwares O +in O +other O +campaigns O +to O +decode O +and O +drop O +malware O +executable O +) O +, O +these O +posts O +were O +made O +between O +July B-TIME +21st I-TIME +, I-TIME +2016 E-TIME +to O +September B-TIME +30 I-TIME +, I-TIME +2016 E-TIME +. O + +Below O +screen O +shot O +shows O +the O +posts O +made O +by O +the O +user O +, O +the O +hits O +column O +in O +the O +below O +screen O +shot O +gives O +an O +idea O +of O +number O +of O +times O +the O +links O +were O +visited O +( O +probably O +by O +the O +malicious B-TOOL +macro I-TOOL +code E-TOOL +) O +, O +this O +can O +give O +rough O +idea O +of O +the O +number O +of O +users O +who O +are O +probably O +infected O +as O +a O +result O +of O +opening O +the O +malicious O +document O +. O + +Doing O +a O +Google S-IDTY +search O +for O +the O +Pastebin S-TOOL +userid O +landed O +me O +on O +a O +YouTube S-IDTY +video O +posted O +by O +an O +individual O +demonstrating O +his O +modified O +version O +of O +njRAT B-TOOL +control I-TOOL +panel/builder I-TOOL +kit E-TOOL +. O + +The O +Pastebin S-TOOL +userid O +matched O +with O +the O +email S-TOOL +ID O +mentioned O +by O +this O +individual O +in O +the O +YouTube S-IDTY +video O +description O +section O +. O + +This O +same O +keyword O +was O +also O +found O +in O +the O +njRAT S-MAL +c2 S-TOOL +communication O +used O +in O +this O +attack O +. O + +After O +inspecting O +the O +njRAT B-TOOL +builder I-TOOL +kit E-TOOL +it O +was O +determined O +that O +this O +individual O +customized O +the O +existing O +njRAT B-TOOL +builder I-TOOL +kit E-TOOL +to O +bypass O +security O +products O +. O + +The O +product O +information O +in O +the O +builder O +kit O +matched O +with O +this O +individual O +’s O +YouTube S-IDTY +username O +and O +the O +YouTube S-IDTY +channel O +. O + +The O +njRAT S-MAL +used O +in O +this O +cyber O +attack O +was O +built O +from O +this O +builder O +kit O +. O + +Based O +on O +this O +information O +it O +can O +be O +concluded O +that O +espionage O +actors O +used O +this O +individual O +’s O +modified O +version O +of O +njRAT S-MAL +in O +this O +cyber O +attack O +. O + +Even O +though O +this O +individual O +’s O +email S-TOOL +id O +matched O +with O +the O +Pastebin S-TOOL +id O +where O +base64 O +encoded O +malicious O +code O +was O +found O +, O +it O +is O +hard O +to O +say O +if O +this O +individual O +was O +or O +was O +not O +involved O +in O +this O +cyber O +attack O +. O + +It O +could O +be O +possible O +that O +the O +espionage O +actors O +used O +his O +public O +identity O +as O +a O +diversion O +to O +mislead O +and O +to O +hide O +the O +real O +identity O +of O +the O +attackers O +or O +it O +is O +also O +possible O +that O +this O +individual O +was O +hired O +to O +carry O +out O +the O +attack O +. O + +The O +indicators O +are O +provided O +below O +, O +these O +indicators O +can O +be O +used O +by O +the O +organizations O +( O +Government O +, O +Public O +and O +Private O +organizations O +) O +to O +detect O +and O +investigate O +this O +attack O +campaign O +. O +14b9d54f07f3facf1240c5ba89aa2410 S-FILE +( O +googleupdate.exe S-FILE +) O +. O +2b0bd7e43c1f98f9db804011a54c11d6 S-FILE +( O +malib.dll S-FILE +) O +. O +feec4b571756e8c015c884cb5441166b S-FILE +( O +msccvs.dll S-FILE +) O +. O +84d9d0524e14d9ab5f88bbce6d2d2582 S-FILE +( O +officeupdate.exe S-FILE +) O +. O +khanji.ddns.net S-DOM +139.190.6.180 S-IP +39.40.141.25 S-IP +175.110.165.110 S-IP +39.40.44.245 S-IP +39.40.67.219 S-IP +. O +http://pastebin.com/raw/5j4hc8gT S-URL +http://pastebin.com/raw/6bwniBtB S-URL +. O +028caf3b1f5174ae092ecf435c1fccc2 S-FILE +7732d5349a0cfa1c3e4bcfa0c06949e4 S-FILE +9909f8558209449348a817f297429a48 S-FILE +63698ddbdff5be7d5a7ba7f31d0d592c S-FILE +7c4e60685203b229a41ae65eba1a0e10 S-FILE +e2112439121f8ba9164668f54ca1c6af S-FILE +. O + +Attackers O +in O +this O +case O +made O +every O +attempt O +to O +launch O +a O +clever O +attack O +campaign O +by O +spoofing O +legitimate O +email S-TOOL +ids O +and O +using O +an O +email S-TOOL +theme O +relevant O +to O +the O +targets O +. O + +The O +following O +factors O +in O +this O +cyber O +attack O +suggests O +the O +possible O +involvement O +of O +Pakistan S-LOC +state O +sponsored O +cyber O +espionage O +group O +to O +mainly O +spy O +on O +India S-LOC +’s O +actions O +related O +to O +these O +Geo-political O +events O +( O +Uri B-ACT +terror I-ACT +attack E-ACT +and O +Jammu B-LOC +& I-LOC +Kashmir E-LOC +protests O +) O +. O + +Victims/targets O +chosen O +( O +Indian B-IDTY +Embassy E-IDTY +and O +Indian B-IDTY +MEA E-IDTY +officals O +) O +. O + +Use O +of O +email S-TOOL +theme O +related O +to O +the O +Geo-political O +events O +that O +is O +of O +interest O +to O +the O +targets O +. O + +Timing O +of O +the O +spear B-ACT +phishing E-ACT +emails S-TOOL +sent O +to O +the O +victims O +. O + +Location O +of O +the O +c2 S-TOOL +infrastructure O +. O + +Use O +of O +malware O +that O +is O +capable O +of O +spying O +on O +infected O +systems O +. O + +The O +following O +factors O +show O +the O +level O +of O +sophistication O +and O +reveals O +the O +attackers O +intention O +to O +remain O +stealthy O +and O +to O +gain O +long-term O +access O +by O +evading O +anti-virus O +, O +sandbox O +and O +security O +monitoring O +at O +both O +the O +desktop O +and O +network O +levels O +. O + +Use O +of O +obfuscated O +malicious B-TOOL +macro I-TOOL +code E-TOOL +. O + +Use O +of O +macro B-TOOL +code E-TOOL +that O +triggers O +only O +on O +user O +intervention O +( O +to O +bypass O +sandbox O +analysis O +) O +. O + +Use O +of O +legitimate O +site O +( O +Pastebin S-TOOL +) O +to O +host O +malicious O +code O +( O +to O +bypass O +security O +monitoring O +) O +. O + +Use O +of O +customized O +njRAT S-MAL +( O +capable O +of O +evading O +anti-virus O +) O +. O + +The O +Curious O +Case O +of O +Notepad S-TOOL +and O +Chthonic S-MAL +: O +Exposing O +a O +Malicious O +Infrastructure O +. O + +Recently O +, O +I O +’ve O +been O +investigating O +malware O +utilizing O +PowerShell S-TOOL +and O +have O +spent O +a O +considerable O +amount O +of O +time O +refining O +ways O +to O +identify O +new O +variants O +of O +attacks O +as O +they O +appear O +. O + +This O +posting O +is O +a O +follow-up O +of O +my O +previous O +work O +on O +this O +subject O +in O + +“ O +Pulling O +Back O +the O +Curtains O +on O +EncodedCommand O +PowerShell S-TOOL +Attacks O +” O +. O + +In O +a O +sample O +I O +recently O +analyzed O +, O +something O +stood O +out O +as O +extremely O +suspicious O +which O +led O +me O +down O +a O +rabbit O +hole O +, O +uncovering O +malicious O +infrastructure O +supporting O +Chthonic S-MAL +, O +Nymaim S-MAL +, O +and O +other O +malware O +and O +malicious O +websites O +. O + +Throughout O +this O +blog O +post O +I O +present O +my O +analysis O +and O +thought O +process O +during O +this O +research O +, O +but O +if O +you O +would O +just O +like O +a O +list O +of O +the O +findings O +, O +they O +are O +over O +on O +our O +Unit42 S-SECTEAM +GitHub S-TOOL +. O + +Most O +commonly O +, O +PowerShell S-TOOL +is O +launched O +from O +a O +Microsoft B-TOOL +Office I-TOOL +document E-TOOL +that O +uses O +a O +VBA B-TOOL +macro E-TOOL +to O +launch O +PowerShell S-TOOL +to O +perform O +something O +malicious O +– O +typically O +downloading O +the O +“ O +real O +” O +malware O +to O +run O +. O + +I O +focused O +my O +hunting O +on O +the O +PowerShell S-TOOL +activity O +with O +Palo O +Alto O +Networks O +AutoFocus O +to O +determine O +whether O +it O +’s O +worth O +digging O +into O +further O +based O +on O +“ O +uniqueness O +” O +and O +functionality O +. O + +In O +this O +case O +, O +the O +first O +sample O +I O +looked O +at O +stood O +out O +for O +another O +reason O +entirely O +. O + +If O +you O +take O +a O +look O +at O +the O +below O +PowerShell S-TOOL +, O +you O +’ll O +quickly O +understand O +why O +. O + +Most O +commonly O +, O +PowerShell S-TOOL +is O +launched O +from O +a O +Microsoft B-TOOL +Office I-TOOL +document E-TOOL +that O +uses O +a O +VBA B-TOOL +macro E-TOOL +to O +launch O +PowerShell S-TOOL +to O +perform O +something O +malicious O +– O +typically O +downloading O +the O +“ O +real O +” O +malware O +to O +run O +. O + +I O +focused O +my O +hunting O +on O +the O +PowerShell S-TOOL +activity O +with O +Palo O +Alto O +Networks O +AutoFocus O +to O +determine O +whether O +it O +’s O +worth O +digging O +into O +further O +based O +on O +“ O +uniqueness O +” O +and O +functionality O +. O + +My O +initial O +thought O +was O +the O +worst-case O +scenario O +– O +they O +’ve O +been O +compromised O +and O +are O +distributing B-ACT +malware E-ACT +! O +I O +immediately O +downloaded O +the O +file O +from O +the O +website O +, O +but O +everything O +looked O +normal O +. O + +Of O +course O +, O +I O +had O +to O +investigate O +further O +. O + +Looking O +under O +the O +hood O +we O +see O +the O +VBA S-TOOL +code O +that O +builds O +the O +PowerShell B-FILE S-TOOL I-FILE +command E-FILE +and O +launches O +it O +but O +something O +seemed O +off O +. O + +There O +are O +a O +ton O +of O +functions O +that O +are O +clearly O +decoding O +information O +from O +arrays O +after O +which O +it O +executes O +an O +already O +decoded O +PowerShell S-TOOL +command O +. O + +I O +decided O +to O +debug O +the O +macro O +and O +see O +exactly O +what O +it O +’s O +doing O +before O +I O +made O +any O +decisions O +. O + +The O +most O +likely O +conclusion O +that O +can O +be O +drawn O +here O +is O +that O +an O +analyst O +or O +researcher O +obtained O +this O +file O +, O +modified O +it O +to O +see O +the O +content O +( O +misspelling O +the O +variable O +name O +along O +the O +way O +) O +post-decoding O +, O +and O +uploaded O +it O +to O +see O +what O +it O +did O +in O +a O +sandbox O +. O + +To O +be O +sure O +though O +, O +I O +needed O +to O +find O +other O +samples O +and O +see O +how O +they O +stacked O +up O +against O +this O +one O +. O + +Going O +back O +to O +the O +PowerShell S-TOOL +command O +, O +the O +initial O +reason O +I O +stopped O +to O +look O +at O +it O +was O +due O +to O +the O +way O +they O +concatenated O +variables O +to O +form O +the O +download O +command O +and O +output O +. O + +This O +also O +provides O +a O +perfect O +pivot B-TOOL +point E-TOOL +to O +hunt O +for O +samples O +. O + +The O +dates O +were O +all O +fairly O +recent O +, O +having O +been O +received O +in O +the O +past O +few O +days O +since O +the O +beginning B-TIME +of I-TIME +August E-TIME +. O + +The O +documents O +shared O +the O +same O +themes O +for O +lures O +but O +the O +VBA B-TOOL +macro E-TOOL +and O +resulting O +PowerShell S-TOOL +were O +more O +along O +the O +lines O +of O +what O +I O +expected O +. O + +For O +sample O +“ O +538ff577a80748d87b5e738e95c8edd2bd54ea406fe3a75bf452714b17528a87 S-SHA2 +” O +the O +following O +is O +an O +excerpt O +from O +the O +VBA B-TOOL +macro E-TOOL +building O +the O +PowerShell S-TOOL +command O +. O + +Along O +with O +the O +subsequent O +Process O +Activity O +using O +the O +newly O +built O +PowerShell S-TOOL +command O +, O +which O +aligns O +with O +what O +was O +commented O +out O +of O +the O +first O +sample O +analyzed O +. O + +Given O +this O +, O +I O +iterated O +over O +all O +171 O +samples O +and O +extracted O +the O +following O +URL O +’s O +where O +PowerShell S-TOOL +is O +downloading O +a O +payload O +: O + +http://ditetec.com S-DOM/ts.exe S-FILE +http://ditetec.com S-DOM/u2.exe S-FILE +http://domass.com.ua S-DOM/index.gif S-FILE +http://firop.com S-DOM/ego.exe S-FILE +http://unoset.com S-DOM/jpx.exe S-FILE +http://unoset.com S-DOM/sxr.exe S-FILE +https://doci.download S-DOM/inc.exe S-FILE +https://farhenzel.co S-DOM/gls.exe S-FILE +https://farsonka.co S-DOM/trb.exe S-FILE +https://formsonat.co S-DOM/mrb.exe S-FILE +https://fortuma.co S-DOM/scu.exe S-FILE +https://iilliiill.bid S-DOM/6ven.exe S-FILE +https://iilliiill.bid S-DOM/ven.exe S-FILE +https://iilliiill.bid S-DOM/ven.tvv S-FILE +https://lom.party S-DOM/mov.exe S-FILE +https://naiillad.date S-DOM/ex3.exe S-FILE +https://naiillad.date S-DOM/u3.exe S-FILE +https://naiillad.date S-DOM/vmer.exe S-FILE +https://naiillad.date S-DOM/vsync.exe S-FILE +https://notepad-plus-plus.org/repository S-DOM/7.x/7.4.2/npp.7.4.2.Installer.exe S-FILE +https://prof.cricket S-DOM/wp.exe S-FILE +https://tvavi.win S-DOM/pago.exe S-FILE +. O + +After O +iterating O +over O +the O +171 O +samples O +, O +we O +’re O +left O +with O +this O +list O +of O +hashes O +for O +the O +downloaded O +files O +. O + +Note O +that O +there O +are O +fewer O +payloads O +than O +there O +are O +samples O +, O +indicating O +many O +of O +the O +documents O +download O +the O +same O +payload O +. O + +Below O +is O +a O +table O +with O +the O +compile O +date O +and O +some O +PDB O +strings O +found O +within O +a O +few O +of O +the O +binaries O +. O + +Most O +of O +the O +compile O +times O +are O +within O +the B-TIME +past I-TIME +two I-TIME +months E-TIME +, O +with O +6 O +in O +August S-TIME +and O +a O +couple O +from O +as O +recently B-TIME +as I-TIME +two I-TIME +days I-TIME +ago E-TIME +at O +the O +time O +of O +this O +writing O +. O +29c7740f487a461a96fad1c8db3921ccca8cc3e7548d44016da64cf402a475ad S-SHA2 +2016-12-10 B-TIME +01 E-TIME +. O +d5e56b9b5f52293b209a60c2ccd0ade6c883f9d3ec09571a336a3a4d4c79134b S-SHA2 +2016-12-10 B-TIME +03 E-TIME +C:\RAMDrive\Charles\heaven\reams\Teac.pdb O +. O +dd5f237153856d19cf20e80ff8238ca42047113c44fae27b5c3ad00be2755eea S-SHA2 +2016-12-10 B-TIME +16 E-TIME +C:\Cleaner\amuse\rang\AutoPopulate\la.pdb O +. O +a5001e9b29078f532b1a094c8c16226d20c03922e37a4fca2e9172350bc160a0 S-SHA2 +2016-12-20 B-TIME +18 E-TIME +. O +8284ec768a06b606044defe2c2da708ca6b3b51f8e58cb66f61bfca56157bc88 S-SHA2 +2017-07-05 B-TIME +10 E-TIME +. O +f0ce51eb0e6c33fdb8e1ccb36b9f42139c1dfc58d243195aedc869c7551a5f89 S-SHA2 +2017-07-09 B-TIME +20 E-TIME +C:\TableAdapter\encyclopedia\Parik.pdb O +. O +145d47f4c79206c6c9f74b0ab76c33ad0fd40ac6724b4fac6f06afec47b307c6 S-SHA2 +2017-07-10 B-TIME +08 E-TIME +C:\ayakhnin\reprductive\distortedc.pdb O +. O +dc8f34829d5fede991b478cf9117fb18c32d639573a827227b2fc50f0b475085 S-SHA2 +2017-07-11 B-TIME +01 E-TIME +C:\positioning\scrapping\Szets\thi.pdb O +. O +7fe1069c118611113b4e34685e7ee58cb469bda4aa66a22db10842c95f332c77 S-SHA2 +2017-07-11 B-TIME +02 E-TIME +C:\NeXT\volatile\legacyExchangeDNs.pdb O +. O +5edf117e7f8cd176b1efd0b5fd40c6cd530699e7a280c5c7113d06e9c21d6976 S-SHA2 +2017-07-12 B-TIME +23 E-TIME +. O +2a80fdda87127bdc56fd35c3e04eb64a01a159b7b574177e2e346439c97b770a S-SHA2 +2017-07-13 B-TIME +00. E-TIME +a9021e253ae52122cbcc2284b88270ceda8ad9647515d6cca96db264a76583f5 S-SHA2 +2017-07-18 B-TIME +00 E-TIME +. O +dd639d76ff6f33bbfaf3bd398056cf4e95e27822bd9476340c7703f5b38e0183 S-SHA2 +2017-07-18 B-TIME +00 E-TIME +. O +e5a00b49d4ab3e5a3a8f60278b9295f3d252e3e04dadec2624bb4dcb2eb0fada S-SHA2 +2017-07-24 B-TIME +17 E-TIME +. O +6263730ef54fbed0c2d3a7c6106b6e8b12a6b2855a03e7caa8fb184ed1eabeb2 S-SHA2 +2017-07-24 B-TIME +22 E-TIME +C:\Snapshot\Diskette\hiding\ROCKMA.pdb O +. O +43bfaf9a2a4d46695bb313a32d88586c510d040844f29852c755845a5a09d9df S-SHA2 +2017-07-25 B-TIME +06 E-TIME +. O +b41660db6dcb0d3c7b17f98eae3141924c8c0ee980501ce541b42dc766f85628 S-SHA2 +2017-07-25 B-TIME +06 E-TIME +C:\mdb\Changed\Container\praise.pdb O +. O +9acdad02ca8ded6043ab52b4a7fb2baac3a08c9f978ce9da2eb51c816a9e7a2e S-SHA2 +2017-07-25 B-TIME +07 E-TIME +. O +2ddaa30ba3c3e625e21eb7ce7b93671ad53326ef8b6e2bc20bc0d2de72a3929d S-SHA2 +2017-07-25 B-TIME +20 E-TIME +C:\helpers\better\Expr\Eight\DS.pdb O +. O +b836576877b2fcb3cacec370e5e6a029431f59d5070da89d94200619641ca0c4 S-SHA2 +2017-07-26 B-TIME +12 E-TIME +C:\V\regard\violates\update\AMBW\a.pdb O +. O +0972fc9602b00595e1022d9cfe7e9c9530d4e9adb5786fea830324b3f7ff4448 S-SHA2 +2017-07-26 B-TIME +20 E-TIME +. O +2c258ac862d5e31d8921b64cfa7e5a9cd95cca5643c9d51db4c2fcbe75fa957a S-SHA2 +2017-07-27 B-TIME +01 E-TIME +C:\executablery\constructed\IIc.pdb O +. O +dd9c558ba58ac81a2142ecb308ac8d0f044c7059a039d2e367024d953cd14a00 S-SHA2 +2017-07-27 B-TIME +02 E-TIME +. O +cb3173a820ac392005de650bbd1dd24543a91e72d4d56300a7795e887a8323b2 S-SHA2 +2017-07-31 B-TIME +14 E-TIME +C:\letterbxing\EVP\Chices\legit.pdb O +. O +a636f49814ea6603534f780b83a5d0388f5a5d0eb848901e1e1bf2d19dd84f05 S-SHA2 +2017-07-31 B-TIME +18 E-TIME +C:\Biomuse\moment\705\cnvincing.pdb O +. O +677dd11912a0f13311d025f88caabeeeb1bda27c7c1b5c78cffca36de46e8560 S-SHA2 +2017-07-31 B-TIME +21 E-TIME +. O +fdedf0f90d42d3779b07951d1e8826c7015b3f3e724ab89e350c9608e1f23852 S-SHA2 +2017-08-01 B-TIME +21 E-TIME +. O +142bf7f47bfbd592583fbcfa22a25462df13da46451b17bb984d50ade68a5b17 S-SHA2 +2017-08-02 B-TIME +09 E-TIME +. O +6f4b2c95b1a0f320da1b1eaa918c338c0bab5cddabe169f12ee734243ed8bba8 S-SHA2 +2017-08-02 B-TIME +12 E-TIME +C:\cataloging\Dr\VarianceShadows11.pdb O +. O +fd5fd7058cf157ea249d4dcba71331f0041b7cf8fd635f37ad13aed1b06bebf2 S-SHA2 +2017-08-04 B-TIME +02 E-TIME +C:\dumplings\That\BIT\Warez\loc.pdb O +. O +5785c2d68d6f669b96c3f31065f0d9804d2ab1f333a90d225bd993e66656b7d9 S-SHA2 +2017-08-07 B-TIME +12 E-TIME +C:\Lgisys\hypothesized\donatedc.pdb O +. O +675719a9366386034c285e99bf33a1a8bafc7644874b758f307d9a288e95bdbd S-SHA2 +2017-08-07 B-TIME +17 E-TIME +C:\work\cr\nata\cpp\seven\seven\release\seven.pdb O +. O + +At O +least O +one O +of O +the O +binaries O +compiled O +in O +August S-TIME +had O +a O +PDB O +string O +I O +was O +able O +to O +locate O +online O +in O +a O +collection O +of O +other O +PDB O +files O +, O +so O +they O +may O +be O +introducing O +their O +malicious O +code O +into O +these O +files O +before O +compiling O +someone O +else O +’s O +project O +. O + +Once O +the O +file O +has O +been O +downloaded O +and O +executed O +, O +the O +new O +process O +will O +launch O +a O +legitimate O +executable O +, O +such O +as O +“ O +msiexec.exe S-FILE +” O +, O +and O +inject O +code O +into O +it O +. O + +This O +code O +will O +then O +download O +further O +payloads O +through O +a O +POST S-PROT +request O +to O +various O +websites O +. O + +This O +pattern O +is O +shared O +across O +the O +original O +samples O +. O + +These O +HTTP S-PROT +requests O +match O +known O +patterns O +for O +a O +banking B-MAL +Trojan E-MAL +named O +Chthonic S-MAL +, O +which O +is O +a O +variant O +of O +Zeus O +. O + +A O +good O +write-up O +from O +2014 S-TIME +on O +the O +malware O +can O +be O +found O +in O +this O +writeup O +from O +Yury O +Namestnikov O +, O +Vladimir O +Kuskov O +, O +Oleg O +Kupreev O +at O +Kaspersky B-LOC +Lab E-LOC +here O +and O +indicates O +that O +the O +returned O +data O +is O +an O +RC4 S-ENCR +encrypted O +loader O +that O +sets-up O +the O +main O +Chthonic S-MAL +module O +which O +can O +download O +additional O +modules O +or O +malware O +. O + +Iterating O +once O +again O +over O +the O +171 O +samples O +and O +scraping O +out O +the O +HTTP S-PROT +POST S-PROT +requests O +, O +I O +ended O +up O +with O +the O +below O +set O +of O +domains O +: O + +amellet.bit S-DOM +danrnysvp.com S-DOM +ejtmjealr.com S-DOM +firop.com S-DOM +gefinsioje.com S-DOM +gesofgamd.com S-DOM +ponedobla.bit S-DOM +unoset.com S-DOM +. O + +Using O +this O +as O +the O +next O +pivot O +, O +we O +have O +6,034 O +unique O +samples O +that O +get O +returned O +in O +AutoFocus O +having O +made O +POST S-PROT +requests O +to O +these O +sites O +. O + +Additionally O +, O +we O +can O +see O +there O +were O +at O +least O +3 O +very O +large O +campaigns O +where O +Palo O +Alto O +Networks O +saw O +activity O +to O +these O +sites O +in O +July S-TIME +. O + +From O +these O +distribution O +sites O +, O +we O +can O +see O +that O +5,520 O +samples O +are O +making O +HTTP S-PROT +requests O +to O +them O +and O +these O +samples O +have O +been O +identified O +as O +another O +downloader O +Trojan S-MAL +named O +Nymaim S-MAL +. O + +The O +majority O +of O +the O +overall O +samples O +came O +from O +the O +following O +four O +sites O +: O + +ejtmjealr.com S-DOM +gefinsioje.com S-DOM +gesofgamd.com S-DOM +ponedobla.bit S-DOM +. O + +The O +‘ O +ejtmjealr.com S-DOM +’ O +domain O +is O +particularly O +interesting O +due O +to O +a O +similar O +domain O +, O +‘ O +ejdqzkd.com S-DOM +’ O +being O +discussed O +by O +Jarosław O +Jedynak O +of O +CERT.PL S-IDTY +in O +this O +analysis O +of O +Nymaim S-MAL +from O +earlier B-TIME +in I-TIME +the I-TIME +year E-TIME +. O + +They O +go O +on O +to O +discuss O +how O +Nymaim S-MAL +uses O +a O +static O +configuration O +to O +contact O +that O +domain O +, O +which O +will O +return O +IP O +’s O +that O +go O +into O +a O +DGA O +and O +output O +the O +actual O +IP O +addresses O +needed O +for O +C2 S-TOOL +communication O +. O + +Ben O +Baker O +, O +Edmund O +Brumaghin O +and O +Jonah O +Samost O +of O +Talos S-IDTY +have O +a O +fantastic O +write-up O +of O +this O +process O +here O +. O + +To O +continue O +my O +analysis O +, O +I O +shifted O +focus O +to O +Maltego S-TOOL +so O +as O +to O +visually O +graph O +the O +infrastructure O +. O + +For O +this O +task O +, O +I O +used O +PassiveTotal B-TOOL +’s I-TOOL +Passive I-TOOL +DNS E-TOOL +and O +AutoFocus B-TOOL +Maltego I-TOOL +transforms E-TOOL +. O + +Pivoting O +off O +the O +five O +highlighted O +IP O +’s O +above O +with O +a O +shared O +infrastructure O +, O +I O +pulled O +the O +reverse O +DNS S-PROT +to O +see O +what O +other O +sites O +may O +be O +present O +. O + +The O +“ O +idXXXXX.top O +” O +pattern O +immediately O +stands O +out O +and O +may O +suggest O +a O +pattern O +in O +the O +static O +configuration O +for O +the O +initial O +domains O +used O +by O +the O +DGA O +for O +Nymaim S-MAL +since O +the O +previous O +two O +started O +with O +“ O +ejX.com S-DOM +. O + +Given O +the O +level O +of O +overlap O +already O +, O +I O +proceeded O +to O +grab O +all O +of O +the O +passive O +DNS S-PROT +available O +for O +each O +of O +the O +707 O +IP O +addresses O +. O + +A O +full O +list O +of O +the O +domains O +can O +be O +seen O +here O +. O + +From O +the O +first O +cluster O +on O +the O +left O +, O +if O +we O +sort O +by O +incoming O +links O +per O +node O +a O +pattern O +stands O +out O +in O +the O +domain O +names O +looking O +similar O +to O +the O +previously O +mentioned O +Nymaim S-MAL +ones O +. O + +A O +quick O +search O +with O +the O +AutoFocus O +transform O +to O +pull O +tag O +information O +shows O +these O +are O +specifically O +related O +to O +Nymaim S-MAL +, O +most O +likely O +for O +the O +DGA O +seed O +; O +however O +, O +looking O +at O +domains O +with O +less O +links O +, O +other B-MAL +malware I-MAL +families E-MAL +begin O +to O +emerge O +. O + +The O +cluster O +on O +the O +right O +is O +actually O +collapsing O +one O +collection O +of O +entities O +due O +to O +the O +sheer O +size O +of O +it O +. O + +All O +of O +these O +connected O +domains O +follow O +a O +pattern O +similar O +to O +phishing B-ACT +attacks E-ACT +masquerading O +as O +legitimate O +services O +– O +in O +this O +case O +“ O +online.verify.paypal O +” O +( O +588 O +) O +and O +“ O +hmrc.secure.refund O +” O +( O +1021 O +) O +. O + +In O +addition O +to O +domains O +of O +that O +type O +, O +there O +is O +evidence O +of O +other O +malware O +distribution O +being O +carried O +out O +on O +this O +infrastructure O +. O + +Collapsing O +the O +collection O +back O +down O +, O +note O +the O +two O +domains O +“ O +brontorittoozzo.com S-DOM +” O +and O +“ O +randomessstioprottoy.net S-DOM +” O +that O +fall O +outside O +of O +the O +collection O +due O +to O +more O +infrastructure O +connections O +. O + +By O +pivoting O +off O +of O +one O +sample O +we O +were O +able O +to O +zoom O +out O +and O +identify O +a O +sizable O +infrastructure O +of O +what O +appears O +to O +be O +707 O +IP O +’s O +and O +2,611 O +domains O +being O +utilized O +for O +malicious O +activity O +. O + +As O +such O +, O +these O +findings O +represent O +a O +collection O +of O +compromised O +websites O +, O +compromised O +registrar O +accounts O +used O +to O +spin O +up O +subdomains O +, O +domains O +used O +by O +malware O +DGA S-MAL +’s O +, O +phishing E-ACT +kits O +, O +carding O +forums O +, O +malware O +C2 S-TOOL +sites O +, O +and O +a O +slew O +of O +other O +domains O +that O +revolve O +around O +criminal O +activity O +. O + +Hopefully O +this O +analysis O +has O +been O +helpful O +in O +understanding O +how O +truly O +connected O +some O +of O +these O +infrastructures O +can O +be O +and O +how O +with O +a O +little O +digging O +, O +you O +can O +uncover O +a O +substantial O +amount O +of O +operationally O +useful O +indicators O +to O +protect O +you O +and O +yours O +. O + +The O +Full O +Shamoon S-MAL +: O +How O +the O +Devastating O +Malware O +Was O +Inserted O +Into O +Networks O + +. O + +Researchers O +from O +the O +IBM B-SECTEAM +X-Force I-SECTEAM +Incident I-SECTEAM +Response I-SECTEAM +and I-SECTEAM +Intelligence I-SECTEAM +Services I-SECTEAM +( I-SECTEAM +IRIS I-SECTEAM +) I-SECTEAM +team E-SECTEAM +identified O +a O +missing O +link O +in O +the O +operations O +of O +a O +threat O +actor O +involved O +in O +recent O +Shamoon O +malware O +attacks O +against O +Gulf B-LOC +state E-LOC +organizations O +. O + +These O +attacks O +, O +which O +occurred O +in O +November B-TIME +2016 E-TIME +and O +January B-TIME +2017 E-TIME +, O +reportedly O +affected O +thousands O +of O +computers O +across O +multiple O +government O +and O +civil O +organizations O +in O +Saudi B-LOC +Arabia E-LOC +and O +elsewhere O +in O +Gulf B-LOC +states E-LOC +. O + +Shamoon S-MAL +is O +designed O +to O +destroy O +computer O +hard O +drives O +by O +wiping O +the O +master O +boot O +record O +( O +MBR O +) O +and O +data O +irretrievably O +, O +unlike O +ransomware O +, O +which O +holds O +the O +data O +hostage O +for O +a O +fee O +. O + +Through O +their O +recent O +investigations O +, O +our O +forensics O +analysts O +pinpointed O +the O +initial O +compromise O +vector O +and O +post-compromise O +operations O +that O +led O +to O +the O +deployment O +of O +the O +destructive O +Shamoon S-MAL +malware O +on O +targeted O +infrastructures O +. O + +It O +’s O +worth O +mentioning O +that O +, O +according O +to O +X-Force B-SECTEAM +IRIS E-SECTEAM +, O +the O +initial O +compromise O +took O +place O +weeks O +before O +the O +actual O +Shamoon S-MAL +deployment O +and O +activation O +were O +launched O +. O + +Since O +Shamoon O +incidents O +feature O +the O +infiltration O +and O +escalation O +stages O +of O +targeted O +attacks O +, O +X-Force B-TOOL +IRIS I-TOOL +responders E-TOOL +sought O +out O +the O +attackers O +’ O +entry O +point O +. O + +Their O +findings O +pointed O +to O +what O +appears O +to O +be O +the O +initial O +point O +of O +compromise O +the O +attackers O +used O +: O +a O +document O +containing O +a O +malicious O +macro O +that O +, O +when O +approved O +to O +execute O +, O +enabled O +C2 S-PROT +communications O +to O +the O +attacker O +’s O +server O +and O +remote O +shell O +via O +PowerShell S-TOOL +. O + +The O +document O +was O +not O +the O +only O +one O +discovered O +in O +the O +recent O +attack O +waves O +. O + +X-Force B-SECTEAM +IRIS E-SECTEAM +researchers O +had O +been O +tracking O +earlier O +activity O +associated O +with O +similar O +malicious O +, O +PowerShell-laden O +documents O +themed O +as O +resumes O +and O +human O +resources O +documents O +, O +some O +of O +which O +related O +to O +organizations O +in O +Saudi B-LOC +Arabia E-LOC +. O + +This O +research O +identified O +several O +bouts O +of O +offensive O +activity O +that O +occurred O +in O +the O +past O +few O +months O +, O +which O +revealed O +similar O +operational O +methods O +in O +which O +the O +attackers O +served O +malicious O +documents O +and O +other O +malware O +executables O +from O +web O +servers O +to O +their O +targets O +to O +establish O +an O +initial O +foothold O +in O +the O +network O +. O + +Although O +Shamoon S-MAL +was O +previously O +documented O +in O +research O +blogs O +, O +the O +specific O +network O +compromise O +methods O +leading O +to O +the O +attacks O +have O +remained O +unclear O +in O +the O +reported O +cases O +. O + +X-Force B-SECTEAM +IRIS E-SECTEAM +researchers O +studied O +Shamoon S-MAL +’s O +attack O +life O +cycle O +and O +observed O +its O +tactics O +at O +Saudi-based O +organizations O +and O +private O +sector O +companies O +. O + +This O +research O +led O +them O +to O +believe O +that O +the O +actor O +using O +Shamoon S-MAL +in O +recent O +attacks O +relied O +heavily O +on O +weaponized O +documents O +built O +to O +leverage O +PowerShell S-TOOL +to O +establish O +their O +initial O +network O +foothold O +and O +subsequent O +operations O +: O + +Attackers O +send O +a O +spear B-ACT +phishing E-ACT +email S-TOOL +to O +employees O +at O +the O +target O +organization O +. O + +The O +email S-TOOL +contains O +a O +Microsoft B-TOOL +Office E-TOOL +document O +as O +an O +attachment O +. O + +Opening O +the O +attachment O +from O +the O +email S-TOOL +invokes O +PowerShell S-TOOL +and O +enables O +command O +line O +access O +to O +the O +compromised O +machine O +. O + +Attackers O +can O +now O +communicate O +with O +the O +compromised O +machine O +and O +remotely O +execute O +commands O +on O +it O +. O + +The O +attackers O +use O +their O +access O +to O +deploy O +additional O +tools O +and O +malware O +to O +other O +endpoints O +or O +escalate O +privileges O +in O +the O +network O +. O + +Attackers O +study O +the O +network O +by O +connecting O +to O +additional O +systems O +and O +locating O +critical O +servers O +. O + +The O +attackers O +deploy O +the O +Shamoon S-MAL +malware O +. O + +A O +coordinated O +Shamoon S-MAL +outbreak O +begins O +and O +computer O +hard O +drives O +across O +the O +organization O +are O +permanently O +wiped O +. O + +X-Force B-SECTEAM +IRIS E-SECTEAM +identified O +the O +below O +malicious O +document O +. O + +X-Force O +IRIS O +File O +name O +: O +cv_itworx.doc S-FILE +. O + +X-Force O +IRIS O +MD5 S-ENCR +: O +45b0e5a457222455384713905f886bd4 S-MD5 +. O + +X-Force O +IRIS O +SHA256 S-ENCR +: O +528714aaaa4a083e72599c32c18aa146db503eee80da236b20aea11aa43bdf62 S-SHA1 +. O + +X-Force O +IRIS O +Hosting O +URL O +: O +http://mol.com-ho.me/cv_itworx.doc S-URL +. O + +Our O +researchers O +examined O +the O +domain O +that O +hosted O +the O +first O +malicious O +file O +, O +mol.com-ho.me S-DOM +. O + +Per O +the O +domain O +’s O +WHOIS S-PROT +record O +, O +an O +anonymized O +registrant O +registered O +com-ho.me S-DOM +in O +October B-TIME +2016 E-TIME +and O +used O +it O +to O +serve O +malicious O +documents O +with O +similar O +macro O +activation O +features O +. O + +The O +following O +list O +of O +documents O +included O +: O + +cv.doc S-FILE +: O +f4d18316e367a80e1005f38445421b1f S-MD5 +. O +cv_itworx.doc S-FILE +: O +45b0e5a457222455384713905f886bd4 S-MD5 +. O +cv_mci.doc S-FILE +: O +f4d18316e367a80e1005f38445421b1f S-MD5 +. O +discount_voucher_codes.xlsm S-FILE +: O +19cea065aa033f5bcfa94a583ae59c08 S-MD5 +. O + +Health_insurance_plan.doc S-FILE +: O +ecfc0275c7a73a9c7775130ebca45b74 S-MD5 +. O + +Health_insurance_registration.doc S-FILE +: O +1b5e33e5a244d2d67d7a09c4ccf16e56 S-MD5 +. O +job_titles.doc S-FILE +: O +fa72c068361c05da65bf2117db76aaa8 S-MD5 +. O +job_titles_itworx.doc S-FILE +: O +43fad2d62bc23ffdc6d301571135222c S-MD5 +. O +job_titles_mci.doc S-FILE +: O +ce25f1597836c28cf415394fb350ae93 S-MD5 +. O + +Password_Policy.xlsm S-FILE +: O +03ea9457bf71d51d8109e737158be888 S-MD5 +. O + +These O +files O +were O +most O +likely O +delivered O +via O +spear B-ACT +phishing E-ACT +emails S-TOOL +to O +lure O +employees O +into O +unwittingly O +launching O +the O +malicious O +payload O +. O + +A O +closer O +review O +of O +the O +file O +names O +revealed O +“ O +IT B-SECTEAM +Worx E-SECTEAM +” O +and O +“ O +MCI S-IDTY +” O +. O + +A O +search O +of O +the O +name O +IT B-SECTEAM +Worx E-SECTEAM +brings O +up O +a O +global B-SECTEAM +software I-SECTEAM +professional I-SECTEAM +services I-SECTEAM +organization E-SECTEAM +headquartered O +in O +Egypt S-LOC +. O + +MCI S-IDTY +is O +Saudi B-IDTY +Arabia I-IDTY +’s I-IDTY +Ministry I-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Commerce I-IDTY +and I-IDTY +Investment E-IDTY +. O + +It O +is O +possible O +these O +names O +were O +used O +in O +spear B-ACT +phishing E-ACT +emails S-TOOL +because O +they O +would O +seem O +benign O +to O +Saudi-based O +employees O +and O +lure O +them O +to O +open O +the O +attachment O +. O + +X-Force B-SECTEAM +IRIS E-SECTEAM +researchers O +further O +identified O +that O +the O +threat O +actor O +behind O +the O +malicious O +documents O +served O +many O +of O +them O +using O +a O +URL-shortening O +scheme O +in O +the O +following O +pattern O +: O +briefl.ink/{a-z0-9}[5] S-URL +. O + +File O +Detail O +: O +Info O +File O +name O +: O +job_titles_itworx.doc S-FILE +. O + +MD5 S-ENCR +: O +43fad2d62bc23ffdc6d301571135222c S-MD5 +. O + +SHA256 S-ENCR +: O +e5b643cb6ec30d0d0b458e3f2800609f260a5f15c4ac66faf4ebf384f7976df6 S-SHA1 +. O + +Hosting O +URL O +: O +http://briefl.ink/qhtma S-URL +. O + +Passive O +DNS S-PROT +results O +on O +a O +communications O +domain O +associated O +with O +the O +Shamoon S-MAL +attack O +revealed O +related O +network O +infrastructure O +, O +identifying O +additional O +domains O +used O +by O +the O +threat O +actors O +. O + +Domain O +Name O +: O +Spoofed O +Site O +ntg-sa.com S-URL +The O +domain O +ntg-sa.com S-URL +appears O +to O +spoof O +the O +legit O +domain O +ntg.sa.com S-URL +associated O +with O +the O +Namer B-IDTY +Trading I-IDTY +Group E-IDTY +. O + +Per O +their O +webpage O +, O +NTG O +“ O +was O +established O +primarily O +to O +cater O +the O +growing O +demands O +of O +Petrochemicals O +waste O +management O +within O +the O +Kingdom O +of O +Saudi O +Arabia O +” O +. O +maps-modon.club S-URL +: O +The O +maps-modon.club S-URL +domain O +appears O +to O +spoof O +maps.modon.gov.sa S-URL +, O +which O +is O +associated O +with O +the O +Saudi B-IDTY +Industrial I-IDTY +Property I-IDTY +Authority E-IDTY +, O +an O +organization O +“ O +responsible O +for O +the O +development O +of O +industrial O +cities O +with O +integrated O +infrastructure O +and O +services O +” O +. O + +X-Force B-SECTEAM +IRIS E-SECTEAM +discovered O +that O +the O +threat O +actor O +was O +hosting O +at O +least O +one O +malicious O +executable O +on O +a O +server O +hosted O +on O +ntg-sa.com S-URL +. O + +This O +file O +duped O +targets O +into O +believing O +it O +was O +a O +Flash B-TOOL +player E-TOOL +installer O +that O +would O +drop O +a O +Windows S-OS +batch O +to O +invoke O +PowerShell S-TOOL +into O +the O +same O +C2 S-PROT +communications O +. O + +Analysis O +of O +one O +of O +the O +threat O +actor O +’s O +documents O +found O +that O +if O +the O +macro O +executes O +, O +it O +launches O +two O +separate O +PowerShell S-TOOL +Scripts O +. O + +The B-MAL +first I-MAL +one E-MAL +executes O +a O +PowerShell S-TOOL +script O +served O +from O +http://139.59.46.154:3485/eiloShaegae1 S-URL +. O + +The O +host O +is O +possibly O +related O +to O +attacks O +that O +served O +the O +Pupy B-TOOL +RAT E-TOOL +, O +a O +publicly O +available O +cross-platform O +remote O +access O +tool O +. O + +The B-MAL +second I-MAL +script E-MAL +calls O +VirtualAlloc O +to O +create O +a O +buffer O +, O +uses O +memset O +to O +load O +Metasploit-related O +shellcode O +into O +that O +buffer O +and O +executes O +it O +through O +CreateThread O +. O + +Metasploit S-TOOL +is O +an O +open O +source O +framework O +popular O +as O +a O +tool O +for O +developing O +and O +executing O +exploit O +code O +against O +a O +remote O +target O +machine O +. O + +The O +shellcode O +performs O +a O +DWORD B-ENCR +XOR E-ENCR +of O +4 O +bytes O +at O +an O +offset O +from O +the O +beginning O +of O +the O +shellcode O +that O +changes O +the O +code O +to O +create O +a O +loop O +so O +the O +XOR O +continues O +0x57 O +times O +. O + +If O +this O +execution O +is O +successful O +, O +it O +creates O +a O +buffer O +using O +VirtualAlloc O +and O +calls O +InternetReadFile O +in O +a O +loop O +until O +all O +the O +file O +contents O +are O +retrieved O +from O +http://45.76.128.165:4443/0w0O6 S-URL +. O + +This O +is O +then O +returned O +as O +a O +string O +to O +PowerShell S-TOOL +, O +which O +calls O +invoke-expression O +( O +iex O +) O +on O +it O +, O +indicating O +that O +the O +expected O +payload O +is O +PowerShell S-TOOL +. O + +Of O +note O +, O +the O +macro O +contained O +a O +DownloadFile() O +function O +that O +would O +use O +URLDownloadToFileA O +, O +but O +this O +was O +never O +actually O +used O +. O + +Based O +on O +observations O +associated O +with O +the O +malicious O +document O +, O +we O +observed O +subsequent O +shell O +sessions O +probably O +associated O +with O +Metasploit B-MAL S-TOOL I-MAL +’s I-MAL +Meterpreter E-MAL +that O +enabled O +deployment O +of O +additional O +tools O +and O +malware O +preceding O +deployment O +of O +three O +Shamoon-related O +files O +: O +ntertmgr32.exe S-FILE +, O +ntertmgr64.exe S-FILE +and O +vdsk911.sys S-FILE +. O + +Although O +the O +complete O +list O +of O +Shamoon S-MAL +’s O +victims O +is O +not O +public O +, O +Bloomberg O +reported O +that O +in O +one O +case O +, O +thousands O +of O +computers O +were O +destroyed O +at O +the O +headquarters O +of O +Saudi B-IDTY +’s I-IDTY +General I-IDTY +Authority I-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Civil I-IDTY +Aviation E-IDTY +, O +erasing O +critical O +data O +and O +bringing O +operations O +to O +a O +halt O +for O +several O +days O +. O + +The O +recent O +activity O +X-Force B-SECTEAM +IRIS E-SECTEAM +is O +seeing O +from O +the O +Shamoon O +attackers O +has O +so O +far O +been O +detected O +in O +two O +waves O +, O +but O +those O +are O +likely O +to O +subside O +following O +the O +public O +attention O +the O +cases O +have O +garnered O +since O +late O +2016 S-TIME +. O + +Saudi B-LOC +Arabia E-LOC +released O +a O +warning O +to O +local O +organizations O +about O +the O +Shamoon S-MAL +malware O +, O +alerting O +about O +potential O +attacks O +and O +advising O +organizations O +to O +prepare O +. O + +Additional O +Insights O +on O +Shamoon2 S-MAL +. O + +IBM S-IDTY +analysts O +recently O +unveiled O +a O +first O +look O +at O +how O +threat O +actors O +may O +have O +placed O +Shamoon2 S-MAL +malware O +on O +systems O +in O +Saudi B-LOC +Arabia E-LOC +. O + +Researchers O +showcased O +a O +potential O +malware O +lifecycle O +which O +started O +with O +spear B-ACT +phishing E-ACT +and O +eventually O +led O +to O +the O +deployment O +of O +the O +disk-wiping O +malware O +known O +as O +Shamoon S-MAL +. O + +Their O +research O +showcased O +a O +set O +of O +downloaders O +and O +domains O +that O +could O +potentially O +lead O +to O +a O +more O +extensive O +malware O +distribution O +campaign O +. O + +While O +researching O +elements O +in O +the O +IBM S-IDTY +report O +, O +ASERT O +discovered O +additional O +malicious O +domains O +, O +IP S-TOOL +addresses O +, O +and O +artifacts O +. O + +The O +basic O +functionality O +of O +the O +new O +documents O +and O +their O +PowerShell S-TOOL +components O +matched O +what O +was O +previously O +disclosed O +. O + +For O +more O +information O +on O +the O +overall O +capabilities O +of O +the O +malware O +, O +please O +review O +IBM S-IDTY +'s O +ongoing O +research O +. O + +It O +is O +our O +hope O +that O +by O +providing O +additional O +indicators O +, O +end-point O +investigators O +and O +network O +defenders O +will O +be O +able O +to O +discover O +and O +mitigate O +more O +Shamoon2 S-MAL +related O +compromises O +. O + +The O +following O +new O +samples O +were O +likely O +delivered O +via O +similar O +spear B-ACT +phishing E-ACT +campaigns O +as O +described O +in O +IBM S-IDTY +'s O +research O +. O + +All O +three O +shared O +the O +same O +IPs S-TOOL +and O +URLs S-TOOL +, O +also O +provided O +below O +. O + +These O +samples O +were O +located O +by O +pivoting O +on O +document O +attributes O +. O + +In O +this O +case O +, O +a O +sample O +from O +the O +IBM S-IDTY +report O +indicated O +the O +document O +author O +‘ O +gerry.knight O +’ O +which O +led O +us O +to O +the O +following O +three O +additional O +samples O +. O +spear B-ACT +phishing E-ACT +: O +2a0df97277ddb361cecf8726df6d78ac S-MD5 +5e5ea1a67c2538dbc01df28e4ea87472 S-MD5 +d30b8468d16b631cafe458fd94cc3196 S-MD5 +. O +spear B-ACT +phishing E-ACT +: O +104.218.120.128 S-IP +. O + +spear B-ACT +phishing E-ACT +: O +69.87.223.26 S-IP +. O + +spear B-ACT +phishing E-ACT +: O +5.254.100.200 S-IP +. O + +spear B-ACT +phishing E-ACT +: O +analytics-google.org B-URL +: I-URL +69/checkFile.aspx E-URL +. O + +spear B-ACT +phishing E-ACT +: O +analytics-google.org S-URL +. O + +spear B-ACT +phishing E-ACT +: O +69.87.223.26:8080/p S-URL +. O + +From O +the O +previous O +samples O +, O +we O +performed O +a O +passive O +DNS S-PROT +lookup O +on O +the O +IPs S-TOOL +. O + +We O +found O +get.adobe.go-microstf.com S-DOM +hosted O +at O +104.218.120.128 S-IP +around O +the O +time O +this O +campaign O +was O +ongoing O +, O +November B-TIME +2016 E-TIME +. O + +Researching O +the O +domain O +go-microstf.com S-DOM +, O +hosted O +at O +45.63.10.99 S-IP +, O +revealed O +yet O +another O +iteration O +of O +malicious O +executables O +. O + +In O +this O +case O +, O +a O +URL S-TOOL +used O +to O +download O +the O +PowerShell S-TOOL +component O +shared O +a O +naming O +convention O +found O +in O +the O +IBM S-IDTY +report O +, O +http://69.87.223.26:8080/eiloShaegae1 S-DOM +and O +connected O +to O +the O +IP O +address O +used O +by O +the O +previous O +three O +samples O +. O + +The O +following O +are O +IOCs S-TOOL +related O +to O +this O +domain O +: O + +83be35956e5d409306a81e88a1dc89fd S-MD5 +. O +45.63.10.99 S-IP +. O +69.87.223.26 S-IP +. O + +URLs B-IP +go-microstf.com E-IP +. O +69.87.223.26:8080/eiloShaegae1 S-IP +. O +go-microstf.com/checkfile.aspx S-IP +. O + +The O +domain O +go-microstf.com S-DOM +was O +originally O +set O +up O +to O +spoof O +Google B-TOOL +Analytics E-TOOL +login O +page O +. O + +Finally O +, O +research O +yielded O +a O +relatively O +unique O +sample O +. O + +This O +particular O +iteration O +was O +submitted O +to O +VirusTotal S-TOOL +on O +September B-TIME +16 I-TIME +, I-TIME +2016 E-TIME +. O + +The O +majority O +of O +samples O +analyzed O +to O +date O +were O +submitted O +no O +earlier O +than O +mid-October S-TIME +, O +with O +most O +being O +submitted O +in O +January B-TIME +2017 E-TIME +or O +later O +. O + +We O +were O +able O +to O +discover O +this O +particular O +version O +by O +diving O +further O +into O +connections O +to O +analytics-google.org S-IP +. O + +Unlike O +newer O +samples O +, O +this O +one O +created O +a O +unique O +file O +O +sloo.exe S-FILE +. O + +The O +file O +was O +created O +at O +C:\Documents O +and O +Settings\Admin\Local O +Settings\Temp\sloo.exe S-FILE +. O + +In O +addition O +to O +this O +file O +, O +the O +sample O +also O +contacted O +104.238.184.252 S-IP +for O +the O +PowerShell S-TOOL +executable O +. O + +Researchers O +at O +Palo B-LOC +Alto E-LOC +have O +attributed O +sloo.exe S-FILE +and O +related O +activities O +to O +threat O +actors O +of O +a O +likely O +Iranian S-LOC +state-sponsored O +origin O +which O +they O +’ve O +named O +Magic B-APT +Hound E-APT +. O + +The O +group O +Magic B-APT +Hound E-APT +is O +linked O +via O +infrastructure O +and O +tools O +to O +the O +Rocket B-APT +Kitten E-APT +threat O +actor O +group O +although O +Palo B-LOC +Alto E-LOC +cannot O +confirm O +the O +extent O +of O +any O +relationship O +between O +the O +two O +groups O +. O + +Dell S-IDTY +Secureworks O +analysts O +recently O +concluded O +that O +domains O +discussed O +in O +the O +IBM S-IDTY +report O +were O +linked O +to O +the O +Iranian S-LOC +PuppyRAT S-APT +. O + +In O +addition O +, O +Dell S-IDTY +analysts O +have O +assessed O +with O +high-confidence O +these O +activities O +are O +attributable O +to O +Iranian O +state-sponsored O +activities O +. O + +IOCs S-TOOL +for O +this O +version O +were O +: O + +Shamoon2 S-MAL +: O +07d6406036d6e06dc8019e3ade6ee7de S-MD5 +. O + +Shamoon2 S-MAL +: O +104.238.184.252 S-IP +. O + +Shamoon2 S-MAL +: O +5.254.100.200 S-IP +Shamoon2 S-MAL +: O +URLs S-TOOL +. O + +Shamoon2 S-MAL +: O +analytics-google.org B-IP +: I-IP +69/checkFile.aspx E-IP +. O + +These O +additional O +IOCs S-TOOL +will O +hopefully O +provide O +more O +context O +into O +the O +ongoing O +threat O +. O + +The O +link O +to O +possible O +Iranian S-LOC +threat O +actors O +supports O +ongoing O +analysis O +that O +Shamoon2 S-MAL +was O +perpetrated O +by O +Iranian S-LOC +state-sponsored O +threat O +actors O +. O + +The O +last O +sample O +discussed O +may O +be O +malware-0 O +or O +at O +least O +part O +of O +the O +overall O +development O +and O +subsequent O +deployment O +of O +tools O +used O +to O +install O +Shamoon S-MAL +on O +Saudi S-TOOL +systems O +. O + +Shamoon2 S-MAL +: O +2a0df97277ddb361cecf8726df6d78ac S-MD5 +. O + +Shamoon2 S-MAL +: O +5e5ea1a67c2538dbc01df28e4ea87472 S-MD5 +. O + +Shamoon2 S-MAL +: O +d30b8468d16b631cafe458fd94cc3196 S-MD5 +. O + +Shamoon2 S-MAL +: O +83be35956e5d409306a81e88a1dc89fd S-MD5 +. O + +Shamoon2 S-MAL +: O +07d6406036d6e06dc8019e3ade6ee7de S-MD5 +. O + +Shamoon2 S-MAL +: O +104.218.120.128 S-IP +. O + +Shamoon2 S-MAL +: O +69.87.223.26 S-IP +. O + +Shamoon2 S-MAL +: O +5.254.100.200 S-IP +. O + +Shamoon2 S-MAL +: O +45.63.10.99 S-IP +. O + +Shamoon2 S-MAL +: O +104.238.184.252 S-IP +. O + +Shamoon2 S-MAL +: O +analytics-google.org B-DOM +: I-DOM +69/checkFile.aspx E-DOM +. O + +Shamoon2 S-MAL +: O +analytics-google.org S-DOM +. O + +Shamoon2 S-MAL +: O +69.87.223.26:8080/p S-DOM +. O + +Shamoon2 S-MAL +: O +go-microstf.com S-DOM +. O + +Shamoon2 S-MAL +: O +69.87.223.26:8080/eiloShaegae1 S-DOM +. O + +Shamoon2 S-MAL +: O +get.adobe.go-microstf.com S-DOM +. O + +FireEye S-SECTEAM +recently O +observed O +a B-ACT +sophisticated I-ACT +campaign E-ACT +targeting O +individuals O +within O +the O +Mongolian B-IDTY +government E-IDTY +. O + +Targeted O +individuals O +that O +enabled O +macros B-MAL +in I-MAL +a I-MAL +malicious I-MAL +Microsoft I-MAL +Word I-MAL +document E-MAL +may O +have O +been O +infected O +with O +Poison B-MAL +Ivy E-MAL +, O +a O +popular O +remote B-TOOL +access I-TOOL +tool E-TOOL +( O +RAT S-TOOL +) O +that O +has O +been O +used O +for O +nearly O +a O +decade O +for O +key O +logging O +, O +screen O +and O +video O +capture O +, O +file O +transfers O +, O +password O +theft O +, O +system O +administration O +, O +traffic O +relaying O +, O +and O +more O +. O + +The B-APT +threat I-APT +actors E-APT +behind O +this O +attack O +demonstrated O +some O +interesting O +techniques O +, O +including O +: O + +Customized B-TOOL +evasion I-TOOL +based I-TOOL +on I-TOOL +victim I-TOOL +profile E-TOOL +– O +The O +campaign O +used O +a O +publicly O +available O +technique O +to O +evade O +AppLocker O +application O +whitelisting O +applied O +to O +the O +targeted O +systems O +. O + +Fileless B-TOOL +execution I-TOOL +and I-TOOL +persistence E-TOOL +– O +In O +targeted O +campaigns O +, O +threat B-APT +actors E-APT +often O +attempt O +to O +avoid O +writing O +an O +executable O +to O +the O +disk O +to O +avoid O +detection O +and O +forensic O +examination O +. O + +The O +campaign O +we O +observed O +used O +four B-TOOL +stages I-TOOL +of I-TOOL +PowerShell I-TOOL +scripts E-TOOL +without O +writing O +the O +the O +payloads O +to O +individual O +files O +. O + +Decoy B-TOOL +documents E-TOOL +– O +This O +campaign O +used O +PowerShell S-TOOL +to O +download O +benign O +documents O +from O +the O +Internet O +and O +launch O +them O +in O +a O +separate O +Microsoft S-IDTY +Word O +instance O +to O +minimize O +user O +suspicion O +of O +malicious O +activity O +. O + +The B-APT +threat I-APT +actors E-APT +used O +social B-TOOL +engineering E-TOOL +to O +convince O +users O +to O +run O +an O +embedded O +macro S-MAL +in O +a O +Microsoft B-TOOL +Word I-TOOL +document E-TOOL +that O +launched O +a O +malicious B-MAL +PowerShell I-MAL +payload E-MAL +. O + +The B-APT +threat I-APT +actors E-APT +used O +two O +publicly O +available O +techniques O +, O +an O +AppLocker B-TOOL +whitelisting I-TOOL +bypass E-TOOL +and O +a O +script S-TOOL +to O +inject O +shellcode O +into O +the O +userinit.exe S-FILE +process O +. O + +The O +malicious B-MAL +payload E-MAL +was O +spread O +across O +multiple B-TOOL +PowerShell I-TOOL +scripts E-TOOL +, O +making O +its O +execution O +difficult O +to O +trace O +. O + +Rather O +than O +being O +written O +to O +disk O +as O +individual O +script O +files O +, O +the O +PowerShell B-TOOL +payloads E-TOOL +were O +stored O +in O +the O +registry S-TOOL +. O + +Targets O +of O +the O +campaign O +received O +Microsoft B-TOOL +Word I-TOOL +documents E-TOOL +via O +email S-TOOL +that O +claimed O +to O +contain O +instructions O +for O +logging O +into O +webmail S-TOOL +or O +information O +regarding O +a O +state O +law O +proposal O +. O + +Microsoft S-IDTY +application B-TOOL +whitelisting I-TOOL +solution E-TOOL +AppLocker S-TOOL +prevents O +unknown O +executables O +from O +running O +on O +a O +system O +. O + +In O +April B-TIME +2016 E-TIME +, O +a O +security O +researcher O +demonstrated O +a O +way O +to O +bypass O +this O +using O +regsvr32.exe S-FILE +, O +a O +legitimate B-TOOL +Microsoft I-TOOL +executable E-TOOL +permitted O +to O +execute O +in O +many O +AppLocker O +policies O +. O + +The O +regsvr32.exe S-FILE +executable O +can O +be O +used O +to O +download O +a O +Windows S-OS +Script B-TOOL +Component E-TOOL +file O +( O +SCT S-TOOL +file O +) O +by O +passing O +the O +URL O +of O +the O +SCT O +file O +as O +an O +argument O +. O + +This O +technique O +bypasses O +AppLocker S-TOOL +restrictions O +and O +permits O +the O +execution O +of O +code O +within O +the O +SCT O +file O +. O + +In O +the O +decrypted O +shellcode O +, O +we O +also O +observed O +content O +and O +configuration O +related O +to O +Poison O +Ivy O +. O + +Correlating O +these O +bytes O +to O +the O +standard O +configuration O +of O +Poison B-VULNAME +Ivy E-VULNAME +, O +we O +can O +observe O +the O +following O +: O + +Active O +setup O +: O +StubPath O +. O + +Encryption/Decryption O +key O +: O +version2013 O +. O + +Mutex O +name O +: O +20160509 O +. O + +Although O +Poison B-VULNAME +Ivy E-VULNAME +has O +been O +a O +proven O +threat O +for O +some O +time O +, O +the O +delivery O +mechanism O +for O +this O +backdoor O +uses O +recent O +publicly O +available O +techniques O +that O +differ O +from O +previously O +observed O +campaigns O +. O + +Through O +the O +use O +of O +PowerShell S-TOOL +and O +publicly B-TOOL +available I-TOOL +security I-TOOL +control I-TOOL +bypasses I-TOOL +and I-TOOL +scripts E-TOOL +, O +most O +steps O +in O +the O +attack O +are O +performed O +exclusively O +in O +memory O +and O +leave O +few O +forensic O +artifacts O +on O +a O +compromised O +host O +. O + +FireEye S-SECTEAM +HX B-TOOL +Exploit I-TOOL +Guard E-TOOL +is O +a O +behavior-based B-TOOL +solution E-TOOL +that O +is O +not O +affected O +by O +the O +tricks O +used O +here O +. O + +It O +detects O +and O +blocks O +this O +threat O +at O +the O +initial O +level O +of O +the O +attack O +cycle O +when O +the O +malicious O +macro O +attempts O +to O +invoke O +the O +first O +stage O +PowerShell S-TOOL +payload O +. O + +Alert O +: O +HIDDEN B-APT +COBRA E-APT +- O +North B-LOC +Korea E-LOC +'s O +DDoS B-TOOL +Botnet I-TOOL S-ACT +Infrastructure E-TOOL +. O + +This O +joint O +Technical O +Alert O +( O +TA O +) O +is O +the O +result O +of O +analytic O +efforts O +between O +the O +Department B-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Homeland I-IDTY +Security E-IDTY +( O +DHS S-IDTY +) O +and O +the O +Federal B-IDTY +Bureau I-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Investigation E-IDTY +( O +FBI S-IDTY +) O +. O + +This O +alert O +provides O +technical O +details O +on O +the O +tools O +and O +infrastructure O +used O +by O +cyber O +actors O +of O +the O +North B-LOC +Korean E-LOC +government O +to O +target O +the O +media O +, O +aerospace O +, O +financial O +, O +and O +critical O +infrastructure O +sectors O +in O +the B-LOC +United I-LOC +States E-LOC +and O +globally O +. O + +Working O +with O +U.S. S-LOC +Government S-IDTY +partners O +, O +DHS S-IDTY +and O +FBI S-IDTY +identified O +Internet B-PROT +Protocol E-PROT +( O +IP S-PROT +) O +addresses O +associated O +with O +a O +malware O +variant O +, O +known O +as O +DeltaCharlie S-MAL +, O +used O +to O +manage O +North B-LOC +Korea E-LOC +'s O +distributed B-ACT +denial-of-service E-ACT +( O +DDoS S-ACT +) O +botnet B-TOOL +infrastructure E-TOOL +. O + +This O +alert O +contains O +indicators B-TOOL +of I-TOOL +compromise E-TOOL +( O +IOCs S-TOOL +) O +, O +malware O +descriptions O +, O +network O +signatures O +, O +and O +host-based O +rules O +to O +help O +network O +defenders O +detect O +activity O +conducted O +by O +the O +North B-LOC +Korean B-IDTY E-LOC I-IDTY +government E-IDTY +. O + +The O +U.S. S-LOC +Government S-IDTY +refers O +to O +the O +malicious O +cyber O +activity O +by O +the O +North B-LOC +Korean E-LOC +government S-IDTY +as O +HIDDEN B-APT +COBRA E-APT +. O + +For O +more O +information O +related O +to O +HIDDEN B-APT +COBRA E-APT +activity O +, O +go O +to O +https://www.us-cert.gov/hiddencobra S-URL +. O + +If O +users O +or O +administrators O +detect O +the O +custom O +tools O +indicative O +of O +HIDDEN B-APT +COBRA E-APT +, O +these O +tools O +should O +be O +immediately O +flagged O +, O +reported O +to O +the O +DHS S-IDTY +National B-IDTY +Cybersecurity I-IDTY +Communications I-IDTY +and I-IDTY +Integration I-IDTY +Center E-IDTY +( O +NCCIC S-IDTY +) O +or O +the O +FBI S-IDTY +Cyber O +Watch O +( O +CyWatch O +) O +, O +and O +given O +highest O +priority O +for O +enhanced O +mitigation O +. O + +This O +alert O +identifies O +IP S-PROT B-TOOL +addresses E-TOOL +linked O +to O +systems O +infected O +with O +DeltaCharlie S-MAL +malware O +and O +provides O +descriptions O +of O +the O +malware O +and O +associated O +malware O +signatures O +. O + +DHS S-IDTY +and O +FBI S-IDTY +are O +distributing O +these O +IP S-PROT B-TOOL +addresses E-TOOL +to O +enable O +network O +defense O +activities O +and O +reduce O +exposure O +to O +the O +DDoS S-ACT +command-and-control O +network O +. O + +FBI S-IDTY +has O +high O +confidence O +that O +HIDDEN B-APT +COBRA E-APT +actors O +are O +using O +the O +IP S-PROT B-TOOL +addresses E-TOOL +for O +further O +network O +exploitation O +. O + +This O +alert O +includes O +technical O +indicators O +related O +to O +specific O +North B-LOC +Korean E-LOC +government S-IDTY +cyber O +operations O +and O +provides O +suggested O +response O +actions O +to O +those O +indicators O +, O +recommended O +mitigation O +techniques O +, O +and O +information O +on O +reporting O +incidents O +to O +the O +U.S. S-LOC +Government S-IDTY +. O + +On O +August B-TIME +23 I-TIME +, I-TIME +2017 E-TIME +, O +DHS S-IDTY +published O +a O +Malware O +Analysis O +Report O +( O +MAR-10132963 O +) O +that O +examines O +malware O +functionality O +to O +provide O +detailed O +code O +analysis O +and O +insight O +into O +specific O +tactics O +, O +techniques O +, O +and O +procedures O +( O +TTPs O +) O +observed O +in O +the O +malware O +. O + +Since O +2009 S-TIME +, O +HIDDEN B-APT +COBRA E-APT +actors O +have O +leveraged O +their O +capabilities O +to O +target O +and O +compromise O +a O +range O +of O +victims O +; O +some O +intrusions O +have O +resulted O +in O +the O +Exfiltration S-ACT +of O +data O +while O +others O +have O +been O +disruptive O +in O +nature O +. O + +Commercial O +reporting O +has O +referred O +to O +this O +activity O +as O +Lazarus S-APT +Group O +and O +Guardians B-APT +of I-APT +Peace E-APT +. O + +DHS S-IDTY +and O +FBI S-IDTY +assess O +that O +HIDDEN B-APT +COBRA E-APT +actors O +will O +continue O +to O +use O +cyber O +operations O +to O +advance O +their O +government O +'s O +military O +and O +strategic O +objectives O +. O + +Cyber O +analysts O +are O +encouraged O +to O +review O +the O +information O +provided O +in O +this O +alert O +to O +detect O +signs O +of O +malicious O +network O +activity O +. O + +Tools O +and O +capabilities O +used O +by O +HIDDEN B-APT +COBRA E-APT +actors O +include O +DDoS B-TOOL +botnet S-ACTs E-TOOL +, O +keyloggers S-TOOL +, O +remote B-TOOL +access I-TOOL +tools E-TOOL +( O +RATs S-TOOL +) O +, O +and O +wiper S-MAL +malware O +. O + +Variants O +of O +malware O +and O +tools O +used O +by O +HIDDEN B-APT +COBRA E-APT +actors O +include O +Destover S-MAL +, O +Wild B-MAL +Positron E-MAL/Duuzer S-MAL +, O +and O +Hangman S-MAL +. O + +DHS S-IDTY +has O +previously O +released O +Alert O +TA14-353A O +, O +which O +contains O +additional O +details O +on O +the O +use O +of O +a O +server B-PROT +message I-PROT +block E-PROT +( O +SMB S-PROT +) O +worm S-MAL +tool O +employed O +by O +these O +actors O +. O + +Further O +research O +is O +needed O +to O +understand O +the O +full O +breadth O +of O +this O +group O +'s O +cyber O +capabilities O +. O + +In O +particular O +, O +DHS S-IDTY +recommends O +that O +more O +research O +should O +be O +conducted O +on O +the O +North B-LOC +Korean E-LOC +cyber O +activity O +that O +has O +been O +reported O +by O +cybersecurity O +and O +threat O +research O +firms O +. O + +HIDDEN B-APT +COBRA E-APT +actors O +commonly O +target O +systems O +running O +older O +, O +unsupported O +versions O +of O +Microsoft S-IDTY +operating O +systems O +. O + +The O +multiple O +vulnerabilities O +in O +these O +older O +systems O +provide O +cyber O +actors O +many O +targets O +for O +exploitation O +. O + +These O +actors O +have O +also O +used O +Adobe S-IDTY +Flash B-TOOL +player E-TOOL +vulnerabilities O +to O +gain O +initial O +entry O +into O +users' O +environments O +. O + +HIDDEN B-APT +COBRA E-APT +is O +known O +to O +use O +vulnerabilities O +affecting O +various O +applications O +. O + +These O +vulnerabilities O +include O +: O + +CVE-2015-6585 S-VULID +: O +Hangul B-TOOL +Word I-TOOL +Processor E-TOOL +Vulnerability O +. O + +CVE-2015-8651 S-VULID +: O +Adobe B-TOOL +Flash I-TOOL +Player E-TOOL +18.0.0.324 O +and O +19.x O +Vulnerability O +. O + +CVE-2016-0034 S-VULID +: O +Microsoft B-TOOL +Silverlight E-TOOL +5.1.41212.0 O +Vulnerability O +. O + +CVE-2016-1019 S-VULID +: O +Adobe B-TOOL +Flash I-TOOL +Player E-TOOL +21.0.0.197 O +Vulnerability O +. O + +CVE-2016-4117 S-VULID +: O +Adobe B-TOOL +Flash I-TOOL +Player E-TOOL +21.0.0.226 O +Vulnerability O +. O + +DHS S-IDTY +recommends O +that O +organizations O +upgrade O +these O +applications O +to O +the O +latest O +version O +and O +patch O +level O +. O + +If O +Adobe S-IDTY +Flash S-TOOL +or O +Microsoft S-IDTY +Silverlight S-TOOL +is O +no O +longer O +required O +, O +DHS S-IDTY +recommends O +that O +those O +applications O +be O +removed O +from O +systems O +. O + +The O +IOCs S-TOOL +provided O +with O +this O +alert O +include O +IP S-PROT B-TOOL +addresses E-TOOL +determined O +to O +be O +part O +of O +the O +HIDDEN B-APT +COBRA E-APT +botnet S-TOOL +infrastructure O +, O +identified O +as O +DeltaCharlie S-MAL +. O + +The O +DeltaCharlie S-MAL +DDoS S-ACT +bot S-TOOL +was O +originally O +reported O +by O +Novetta S-SECTEAM +in O +their O +2016 S-TIME +Operation O +Blockbuster O +Malware O +Report O +. O + +This O +malware O +has O +used O +the O +IP S-PROT B-TOOL +addresses E-TOOL +identified O +in O +the O +accompanying O +.csv S-FILE +and O +.stix S-FILE +files O +as O +both O +source O +and O +destination O +IPs S-TOOL +. O + +In O +some O +instances O +, O +the O +malware O +may O +have O +been O +present O +on O +victims' O +networks O +for O +a O +significant O +period O +. O + +DeltaCharlie S-MAL +is O +a O +DDoS S-ACT +tool O +used O +by O +HIDDEN B-APT +COBRA E-APT +actors O +, O +and O +is O +referenced O +and O +detailed O +in O +Novetta S-SECTEAM +'s O +Operation O +Blockbuster O +Destructive O +Malware O +report O +. O + +The O +information O +related O +to O +DeltaCharlie S-MAL +from O +the O +Operation O +Blockbuster O +Destructive O +Malware O +report O +should O +be O +viewed O +in O +conjunction O +with O +the O +IP S-PROT B-TOOL +addresses E-TOOL +listed O +in O +the O +.csv S-FILE +and O +.stix S-FILE +files O +provided O +within O +this O +alert O +. O + +DeltaCharlie S-MAL +is O +a O +DDoS S-ACT +tool O +capable O +of O +launching O +Domain B-TOOL +Name I-TOOL +System E-TOOL +( O +DNS S-TOOL +) O +attacks O +, O +Network B-PROT +Time I-PROT +Protocol E-PROT +( O +NTP S-PROT +) O +attacks O +, O +and O +Carrier B-TOOL +Grade I-TOOL +NAT E-TOOL +( O +CGN S-TOOL +) O +attacks O +. O + +The O +malware O +operates O +on O +victims' O +systems O +as O +a O +svchost-based O +service O +and O +is O +capable O +of O +downloading O +executables O +, O +changing O +its O +own O +configuration O +, O +updating O +its O +own O +binaries O +, O +terminating O +its O +own O +processes O +, O +and O +activating O +and O +terminating O +denial-of-service O +attacks O +. O + +HIDDEN B-APT +COBRA E-APT +IOCs S-TOOL +related O +to O +DeltaCharlie S-MAL +are O +provided O +within O +the O +accompanying O +.csv S-FILE +and O +.stix S-FILE +files O +of O +this O +alert O +. O + +DHS S-IDTY +and O +FBI S-IDTY +recommend O +that O +network O +administrators O +review O +the O +IP S-PROT B-TOOL +addresses E-TOOL +, O +file B-TOOL +hashes E-TOOL +, O +network B-TOOL +signatures E-TOOL +, O +and O +YARA S-TOOL +rules O +provided O +, O +and O +add O +the O +IPs S-TOOL +to O +their O +watchlist O +to O +determine O +whether O +malicious O +activity O +has O +been O +observed O +within O +their O +organization O +. O + +When O +reviewing O +network O +perimeter O +logs O +for O +the O +IP S-PROT B-TOOL +addresses E-TOOL +, O +organizations O +may O +find O +numerous O +instances O +of O +these O +IP S-PROT B-TOOL +addresses E-TOOL +attempting O +to O +connect O +to O +their O +systems O +. O + +Upon O +reviewing O +the O +traffic O +from O +these O +IP S-PROT B-TOOL +addresses E-TOOL +, O +system S-TOOL +owners O +may O +find O +that O +some O +traffic O +corresponds O +to O +malicious O +activity O +and O +some O +to O +legitimate O +activity O +. O + +System S-TOOL +owners O +are O +also O +advised O +to O +run O +the O +YARA S-TOOL +tool O +on O +any O +system S-TOOL +they O +suspect O +to O +have O +been O +targeted O +by O +HIDDEN B-APT +COBRA E-APT +actors O +. O + +This O +section O +contains O +network B-TOOL +signatures E-TOOL +and O +host-based B-TOOL +rules E-TOOL +that O +can O +be O +used O +to O +detect O +malicious O +activity O +associated O +with O +HIDDEN B-APT +COBRA E-APT +actors O +. O + +Although O +created O +using O +a O +comprehensive O +vetting O +process O +, O +the O +possibility O +of O +false O +positives O +always O +remains O +. O + +These O +signatures O +and O +rules O +should O +be O +used O +to O +supplement O +analysis O +and O +should O +not O +be O +used O +as O +a O +sole O +source O +of O +attributing O +this O +activity O +to O +HIDDEN B-APT +COBRA E-APT +actors O +. O + +A O +successful O +network O +intrusion O +can O +have O +severe O +impacts O +, O +particularly O +if O +the O +compromise O +becomes O +public O +and O +sensitive O +information O +is O +exposed O +. O + +Possible O +impacts O +include O +: O +temporary O +or O +permanent O +loss O +of O +sensitive O +or O +proprietary O +information O +, O +disruption O +to O +regular O +operations O +, O +financial O +losses O +incurred O +to O +restore O +systems O +and O +files O +, O +and O +potential O +harm O +to O +an O +organization O +'s O +reputation O +. O + +Network O +administrators O +are O +encouraged O +to O +apply O +the O +following O +recommendations O +, O +which O +can O +prevent O +as O +many O +as O +85 O +percent O +of O +targeted O +cyber O +intrusions O +. O + +The O +mitigation O +strategies O +provided O +may O +seem O +like O +common O +sense O +. O + +However O +, O +many O +organizations O +fail O +to O +use O +these O +basic O +security O +measures O +, O +leaving O +their O +systems O +open O +to O +compromise O +: O + +Patch O +applications O +and O +operating O +systems O +. O + +Most O +attackers O +target O +vulnerable O +applications O +and O +operating B-TOOL +systems E-TOOL +. O + +Ensuring O +that O +applications O +and O +operating O +systems O +are O +patched O +with O +the O +latest O +updates O +greatly O +reduces O +the O +number O +of O +exploitable O +entry O +points O +available O +to O +an O +attacker O +. O + +Use O +best O +practices O +when O +updating O +software S-TOOL +and O +patches S-TOOL +by O +only O +downloading O +updates O +from O +authenticated O +vendor O +sites O +. O + +Use O +application O +whitelisting O +. O + +Whitelisting O +is O +one O +of O +the O +best O +security O +strategies O +because O +it O +allows O +only O +specified O +programs O +to O +run O +while O +blocking O +all O +others O +, O +including O +malicious B-MAL +software E-MAL +. O + +Restrict O +administrative O +privileges O +. O + +Threat O +actors O +are O +increasingly O +focused O +on O +gaining O +control O +of O +legitimate O +credentials O +, O +especially O +credentials O +associated O +with O +highly O +privileged O +accounts O +. O + +Reduce O +privileges O +to O +only O +those O +needed O +for O +a O +user O +'s O +duties O +. O + +Separate O +administrators O +into O +privilege O +tiers O +with O +limited O +access O +to O +other O +tiers O +. O + +Segment O +networks O +and O +segregate O +them O +into O +security O +zones O +. O + +Segment O +networks O +into O +logical O +enclaves O +and O +restrict O +host-to-host O +communications O +paths O +. O + +This O +helps O +protect O +sensitive O +information O +and O +critical O +services O +, O +and O +limits O +damage O +from O +network O +perimeter O +breaches O +. O + +Validate O +input O +. O + +Input O +validation O +is O +a O +method O +of O +sanitizing O +untrusted O +input O +provided O +by O +users O +of O +a O +web O +application O +. O + +Implementing O +input O +validation O +can O +protect O +against O +the O +security O +flaws O +of O +web O +applications O +by O +significantly O +reducing O +the O +probability O +of O +successful O +exploitation O +. O + +Types O +of O +attacks O +possibly O +averted O +include O +Structured O +Query O +Language O +( O +SQL O +) O +injection O +, O +cross-site O +scripting O +, O +and O +command O +injection O +. O + +Use O +stringent O +file O +reputation O +settings O +. O + +Tune O +the O +file O +reputation O +systems O +of O +your O +anti-virus O +software O +to O +the O +most O +aggressive O +setting O +possible O +. O + +Some O +anti-virus O +products O +can O +limit O +execution O +to O +only O +the O +highest O +reputation O +files O +, O +stopping O +a O +wide O +range O +of O +untrustworthy O +code O +from O +gaining O +control O +. O + +Understand O +firewalls S-TOOL +. O + +Firewalls S-TOOL +provide O +security O +to O +make O +your O +network O +less O +susceptible O +to O +attack O +. O + +They O +can O +be O +configured O +to O +block O +data O +and O +applications O +from O +certain O +locations O +( O +IP S-PROT B-TOOL +whitelisting E-TOOL +) O +, O +while O +allowing O +relevant O +and O +necessary O +data O +through O +. O + +To O +protect O +against O +code O +injections O +and O +other O +attacks O +, O +system O +operators O +should O +routinely O +evaluate O +known O +and O +published O +vulnerabilities O +, O +periodically O +perform O +software O +updates O +and O +technology O +refreshes O +, O +and O +audit O +external-facing B-TOOL +systems E-TOOL +for O +known O +web O +application O +vulnerabilities O +. O + +They O +should O +also O +take O +the O +following O +steps O +to O +harden O +both O +web O +applications O +and O +the O +servers O +hosting O +them O +to O +reduce O +the O +risk O +of O +network O +intrusion O +via O +this O +vector O +. O + +Use O +and O +configure O +available O +firewalls S-TOOL +to O +block O +attacks O +. O + +Take O +steps O +to O +secure O +Windows B-TOOL +systems E-TOOL +, O +such O +as O +installing O +and O +configuring O +Microsoft S-IDTY +'s O +Enhanced B-TOOL +Mitigation I-TOOL +Experience I-TOOL +Toolkit E-TOOL +( O +EMET S-TOOL +) O +and O +Microsoft S-IDTY +AppLocker S-TOOL +. O + +Monitor O +and O +remove O +any O +unauthorized O +code O +present O +in O +any O +www O +directories O +. O + +Disable O +, O +discontinue O +, O +or O +disallow O +the O +use O +of O +Internet B-PROT +Control I-PROT +Message I-PROT +Protocol E-PROT +( O +ICMP S-PROT +) O +and O +Simple B-PROT +Network I-PROT +Management I-PROT +Protocol E-PROT +( O +SNMP S-PROT +) O +as O +much O +as O +possible O +. O + +Remove O +unnecessary O +HTTP S-PROT +verbs O +from O +web B-TOOL +servers E-TOOL +. O + +Typical O +web B-TOOL +servers E-TOOL +and O +applications O +only O +require O +GET O +, O +POST O +, O +and O +HEAD O +. O + +Where O +possible O +, O +minimize O +server O +fingerprinting O +by O +configuring O +web B-TOOL +servers E-TOOL +to O +avoid O +responding O +with O +banners O +identifying O +the O +server O +software O +and O +version O +number O +. O + +Secure O +both O +the O +operating O +system O +and O +the O +application O +. O + +Update O +and O +patch O +production O +servers O +regularly O +. O + +Disable O +potentially O +harmful O +SQL-stored O +procedure O +calls O +. O + +Sanitize O +and O +validate O +input O +to O +ensure O +that O +it O +is O +properly O +typed O +and O +does O +not O +contain O +escaped O +code O +. O + +Consider O +using O +type-safe O +stored O +procedures O +and O +prepared O +statements O +. O + +Audit O +transaction O +logs O +regularly O +for O +suspicious O +activity O +. O + +Perform O +penetration O +testing O +on O +web B-TOOL +services E-TOOL +. O + +Ensure O +error O +messages O +are O +generic O +and O +do O +not O +expose O +too O +much O +information O +. O + +System O +operators O +should O +take O +the O +following O +steps O +to O +limit O +permissions O +, O +privileges O +, O +and O +access O +controls O +. O + +Reduce O +privileges O +to O +only O +those O +needed O +for O +a O +user O +'s O +duties O +. O + +Restrict O +users' O +ability O +( O +permissions O +) O +to O +install O +and O +run O +unwanted O +software O +applications O +, O +and O +apply O +the O +principle O +of O +Least B-TOOL +Privilege E-TOOL +to O +all O +systems O +and O +services O +. O + +Restricting O +these O +privileges O +may O +prevent O +malware O +from O +running O +or O +limit O +its O +capability O +to O +spread O +through O +the O +network O +. O + +Carefully O +consider O +the O +risks O +before O +granting O +administrative O +rights O +to O +users O +on O +their O +own O +machines O +. O + +Scrub O +and O +verify O +all O +administrator O +accounts O +regularly O +. O + +Configure O +Group O +Policy O +to O +restrict O +all O +users O +to O +only O +one O +login O +session O +, O +where O +possible O +. O + +Enforce O +secure O +network O +authentication O +, O +where O +possible O +. O + +Instruct O +administrators O +to O +use O +non-privileged O +accounts O +for O +standard O +functions O +such O +as O +web O +browsing O +or O +checking O +webmail O +. O + +Segment O +networks O +into O +logical O +enclaves O +and O +restrict O +host-to-host O +communication O +paths O +. O + +Containment O +provided O +by O +enclaving O +also O +makes O +incident O +cleanup O +significantly O +less O +costly O +. O + +Configure O +firewalls O +to O +disallow O +Remote B-PROT +Desktop I-PROT +Protocol E-PROT +( O +RDP S-PROT +) O +traffic O +coming O +from O +outside O +of O +the O +network O +boundary O +, O +except O +for O +in O +specific O +configurations O +such O +as O +when O +tunneled O +through O +a O +secondary O +virtual B-TOOL +private I-TOOL +network E-TOOL +( O +VPN S-TOOL +) O +with O +lower O +privileges O +. O + +Audit O +existing O +firewall S-TOOL +rules O +and O +close O +all O +ports O +that O +are O +not O +explicitly O +needed O +for O +business O +. O + +Specifically O +, O +carefully O +consider O +which O +ports O +should O +be O +connecting O +outbound O +versus O +inbound O +. O + +Enforce O +a O +strict O +lockout O +policy O +for O +network O +users O +and O +closely O +monitor O +logs O +for O +failed O +login O +activity O +. O + +Failed O +login O +activity O +can O +be O +indicative O +of O +failed O +intrusion O +activity O +. O + +If O +remote O +access O +between O +zones O +is O +an O +unavoidable O +business O +need O +, O +log O +and O +monitor O +these O +connections O +closely O +. O + +In O +environments O +with O +a O +high O +risk O +of O +interception O +or O +intrusion O +, O +organizations O +should O +consider O +supplementing O +password O +authentication O +with O +other O +forms O +of O +authentication O +such O +as O +challenge/response O +or O +multifactor O +authentication O +using O +biometric O +or O +physical O +tokens O +. O + +System O +operators O +should O +follow O +these O +secure O +logging O +practices O +. O + +Ensure O +event O +logging O +, O +including O +applications O +, O +events O +, O +login O +activities O +, O +and O +security O +attributes O +, O +is O +turned O +on O +or O +monitored O +for O +identification O +of O +security O +issues O +. O + +Configure O +network O +logs O +to O +provide O +adequate O +information O +to O +assist O +in O +quickly O +developing O +an O +accurate O +determination O +of O +a O +security O +incident O +. O + +Upgrade O +PowerShell S-TOOL +to O +new O +versions O +with O +enhanced O +logging O +features O +and O +monitor O +the O +logs O +to O +detect O +usage O +of O +PowerShell S-TOOL +commands O +, O +which O +are O +often O +malware-related O +. O + +Secure O +logs O +in O +a O +centralized O +location O +and O +protect O +them O +from O +modification O +. O + +Phantom O +of O +the O +Opaera O +: O + +New O +KASPERAGENT S-MAL +Malware O +Campaign O +. O + +ThreatConnect S-IDTY +has O +identified O +a O +KASPERAGENT S-MAL +malware O +campaign O +leveraging O +decoy O +Palestinian B-IDTY +Authority E-IDTY +documents O +. O + +The O +samples O +date O +from O +April B-TIME +– I-TIME +May I-TIME +2017 E-TIME +, O +coinciding O +with O +the O +run O +up O +to O +the O +May B-TIME +2017 E-TIME +Palestinian B-IDTY +Authority E-IDTY +elections O +. O + +Although O +we O +do O +not O +know O +who O +is O +behind O +the O +campaign O +, O +the O +decoy O +documents O +’ O +content O +focuses O +on O +timely O +political O +issues O +in O +Gaza S-LOC +and O +the O +IP O +address O +hosting O +the O +campaign O +’s O +command O +and O +control O +node O +hosts O +several O +other O +domains O +with O +Gaza S-LOC +registrants O +. O + +In O +this O +blog O +post O +we O +will O +detail O +our O +analysis O +of O +the O +malware O +and O +associated O +indicators O +, O +look O +closely O +at O +the O +decoy O +files O +, O +and O +leverage O +available O +information O +to O +make O +an O +educated O +guess O +on O +the O +possible O +intended O +target O +. O + +Associated O +indicators O +and O +screenshots O +of O +the O +decoy O +documents O +are O +all O +available O +here O +in O +the O +ThreatConnect S-SECTEAM +platform O +. O + +Some O +of O +the O +indicators O +in O +the O +following O +post O +were O +published O +on O +AlienVault S-IDTY +OTX O +on O +6/13 S-TIME +. O + +KASPERAGENT S-MAL +is O +Microsoft S-IDTY +Windows S-OS +malware O +used O +in O +efforts O +targeting O +users O +in O +the O +United B-LOC +States E-LOC +, O +Israel S-LOC +, O +Palestinian B-LOC +Territories E-LOC +, O +and O +Egypt S-LOC +since O +July B-TIME +2015 E-TIME +. O + +The O +malware O +was O +discovered O +by O +Palo B-IDTY +Alto I-IDTY +Networks E-IDTY +Unit B-SECTEAM +42 E-SECTEAM +and O +ClearSky B-IDTY +Cyber I-IDTY +Security E-IDTY +, O +and O +publicized O +in O +April B-TIME +2017 E-TIME +in O +the O +Targeted B-ACT +Attacks E-ACT +in O +the O +Middle B-LOC +East E-LOC +Using O +KASPERAGENT S-MAL +and O +MICROPSIA S-MAL +blog O +. O + +It O +is O +called O +KASPERAGENT S-MAL +based O +on O +PDB O +strings O +identified O +in O +the O +malware O +such O +as O +“ O +c B-FILE +: I-FILE +UsersUSADocumentsVisual I-FILE +Studio I-FILE +2008ProjectsNew I-FILE +folder I-FILE +( I-FILE +2 I-FILE +) I-FILE +kasperReleasekasper.pdb E-FILE +” O +. O + +The O +threat O +actors O +used O +shortened O +URLs O +in O +spear B-ACT +phishing E-ACT +messages O +and O +fake O +news O +websites O +to O +direct O +targets O +to O +download O +KASPERAGENT S-MAL +. O + +Upon O +execution O +, O +KASPERAGENT S-MAL +drops O +the O +payload O +and O +a O +decoy O +document O +that O +displays O +Arabic O +names O +and O +ID O +numbers O +. O + +The O +malware O +establishes O +persistence O +and O +sends O +HTTP S-PROT +requests O +to O +the O +command O +and O +control O +domain O +mailsinfo.net S-DOM +. O + +Of O +note O +, O +the O +callbacks O +were O +to O +PHP O +scripts O +that O +included O +/ O +dad5 O +/ O +in O +the O +URLs O +. O + +Most O +samples O +of O +the O +malware O +reportedly O +function O +as O +a O +basic O +reconnaissance O +tool O +and O +downloader O +. O + +However O +, O +some O +of O +the O +recently O +identified O +files O +display O +“ O +extended-capability O +” O + +including O +the O +functionality O +to O +steal O +passwords O +, O +take O +screenshots O +, O +log O +keystrokes O +, O +and O +steal O +files O +. O + +These O +“ O +extended-capability O +” O + +samples O +called O +out O +to O +an O +additional O +command O +and O +control O +domain O +, O +stikerscloud.com S-DOM +. O + +Additionally O +, O +early O +variants O +of O +KASPERAGENT S-MAL +used O +“ O +Chrome S-TOOL +” O + +as O +the O +user O +agent O +, O +while O +more O +recent O +samples O +use O +“ O +OPAERA O +” O + +– O +a O +possible O +misspelling O +of O +the O +“ O +Opera S-TOOL +” O + +– O +browser O +. O + +The O +indicators O +associated O +with O +the O +blog O +article O +are O +available O +in O +the O +ThreatConnect S-IDTY +Technical O +Blogs O +and O +Reports O +source O +here O +. O + +The O +samples O +we O +identified O +leverage O +the O +same O +user O +agent O +string O +“ O +OPAERA O +” O + +, O +included O +the O +kasper O +PDB O +string O +reported O +by O +Unit B-SECTEAM +42 E-SECTEAM +, O +and O +used O +similar O +POST O +and O +GET O +requests O +. O + +The O +command O +and O +control O +domains O +were O +different O +, O +and O +these O +samples O +used O +unique O +decoy O +documents O +to O +target O +their O +victims O +. O + +We O +didn’t O +start O +out O +looking O +for O +KASPERAGENT S-MAL +, O +but O +a O +file O +hit O +on O +one O +of O +our O +YARA O +rules O +for O +an O +executable O +designed O +to O +display O +a O +fake O +XLS O +icon O +– O +one O +way O +adversaries O +attempt O +to O +trick O +targets O +into O +thinking O +a O +malicious O +file O +is O +innocuous O +. O + +The O +first O +malicious O +sample O +we O +identified O +( O +6843AE9EAC03F69DF301D024BFDEFC88 S-MD5 +) O +had O +the O +file O +name O +“ O +testproj.exe S-FILE +” O + +and O +was O +identified O +within O +an O +archive O +file O +( O +4FE7561F63A71CA73C26CB95B28EAEE8 S-MD5 +) O +with O +the O +name O +“ O +التفاصيل B-FILE +الكاملة I-FILE +لأغتيال I-FILE +فقهاء.r24 E-FILE +” O +. O + +This O +translates O +to O +“ O +The O +Complete O +Details O +of O +Fuqaha O +’s O +Assassination O +” O + +, O +a O +reference O +to O +Hamas S-IDTY +military O +leader O +Mazen O +Fuqaha O +who O +was O +assassinated O +on O +March B-TIME +24 I-TIME +, I-TIME +2017 E-TIME +. O + +We O +detonated O +the O +file O +in O +VxStream S-TOOL +’s O +automated O +malware O +analysis O +capability O +and O +found O +testproj.exe S-FILE +dropped O +a O +benign O +Microsoft S-IDTY +Word S-TOOL +document O +that O +pulls O +a O +jpg O +file O +from O +treestower.com S-DOM +. O + +Malwr.com S-DOM +observed O +this O +site O +in O +association O +with O +another O +sample O +that O +called O +out O +to O +mailsinfo.net S-DOM +– O +a O +host O +identified O +in O +the O +Targeted B-ACT +Attacks E-ACT +in O +the O +Middle B-LOC +East E-LOC +Using O +KASPERAGENT S-MAL +and O +MICROPSIA S-MAL +blog O +. O + +That O +was O +our O +first O +hint O +that O +we O +were O +looking O +at O +KASPERAGENT S-MAL +. O + +The O +jpg O +pulled O +from O +treestower.com S-DOM +displays O +a O +graphic O +picture O +of O +a O +dead O +man O +, O +which O +also O +appeared O +on O +a O +Palestinian O +news O +website O +discussing O +the O +death O +of O +Hamas S-IDTY +military O +leader O +Mazen O +Fuqaha O +. O + +A O +separate O +malicious O +executable O +– O +2DE25306A58D8A5B6CBE8D5E2FC5F3C5 S-MD5 +( O +vlc.exe S-FILE +) O +– O +runs O +when O +the O +photograph O +is O +displayed O +, O +using O +the O +YouTube B-TOOL +icon E-TOOL +and O +calling O +out O +to O +several O +URLs O +on O +windowsnewupdates.com S-DOM +. O + +This O +host O +was O +registered O +in O +late B-TIME +March E-TIME +and O +appears O +to O +be O +unique O +to O +this O +campaign O +. O + +With O +our O +interest O +piqued O +, O +we O +pivoted O +on O +the O +import O +hashes O +( O +also O +known O +as O +an O +imphash O +) O +, O +which O +captures O +the O +import O +table O +of O +a O +given O +file O +. O + +Shared O +import O +hashes O +across O +multiple O +files O +would O +likely O +identify O +files O +that O +are O +part O +of O +the O +same O +malware O +family O +. O + +We O +found O +nine O +additional O +samples O +sharing O +the O +imphash O +values O +for O +the O +two O +executables O +, O +C66F88D2D76D79210D568D7AD7896B45 S-MD5 +and O +DCF3AA484253068D8833C7C5B019B07 S-MD5 +. O + +Analysis O +of O +those O +files O +uncovered O +two O +more O +imphashes O +, O +0B4E44256788783634A2B1DADF4F9784 S-MD5 +and O +E44F0BD2ADFB9CBCABCAD314D27ACCFC S-MD5 +, O +for O +a O +total O +of O +20 O +malicious O +files O +. O + +These O +additional O +samples O +behaved O +similarly O +to O +the O +initial O +files O +; O + +testproj.exe S-FILE +dropped O +benign O +decoy O +files O +and O +started O +malicious O +executables O +. O + +The O +malicious O +executables O +all O +called O +out O +to O +the O +same O +URLs O +on O +windowsnewupdates.com S-DOM +. O + +These O +malware O +samples O +leverage O +the O +user O +agent O +string O +“ O +OPAERA O +” O +, O +the O +same O +one O +identified O +in O +the O +Targeted B-ACT +Attacks E-ACT +in O +the O +Middle B-LOC +East E-LOC +Using O +KASPERAGENT S-MAL +and O +MICROPSIA S-MAL +blog O +. O + +Although O +the O +command O +and O +control O +domain O +was O +different O +from O +those O +in O +the O +report O +, O +the O +POST O +and O +GET O +requests O +were O +similar O +and O +included O +/ O +dad5 O +/ O +in O +the O +URL O +string O +. O + +In O +addition O +, O +the O +malware O +samples O +included O +the O +kasper O +PDB O +string O +reported O +by O +Unit B-SECTEAM +42 E-SECTEAM +, O +prompting O +us O +to O +conclude O +that O +we O +were O +likely O +looking O +at O +new O +variants O +of O +KASPERAGENT S-MAL +. O + +Several O +of O +the O +decoy O +files O +appeared O +to O +be O +official O +documents O +associated O +with O +the O +Palestinian B-IDTY +Authority E-IDTY +– O +the O +body O +that O +governs O +the O +Palestinian B-LOC +Territories E-LOC +in O +the O +Middle B-LOC +East E-LOC +. O + +We O +do O +not O +know O +whether O +the O +files O +are O +legitimate O +Palestinian B-IDTY +Authority E-IDTY +documents O +, O +but O +they O +are O +designed O +to O +look O +official O +. O + +Additionally O +, O +most O +of O +the O +decoy O +files O +are O +publicly O +available O +on O +news O +websites O +or O +social O +media O +. O + +The O +first O +document O +– O +dated O +April B-TIME +10 I-TIME +, I-TIME +2017 E-TIME +– O +is O +marked O +“ O +Very O +Secret O +” O + +and O +addressed O +to O +Yahya O +Al-Sinwar O +, O +who O +Hamas S-IDTY +elected O +as O +its O +leader O +in O +Gaza S-LOC +in O +February B-TIME +2017 E-TIME +. O + +Like O +the O +photo O +displayed O +in O +the O +first O +decoy O +file O +we O +found O +, O +this O +document O +references O +the O +death O +of O +Mazen O +Fuqaha O +. O + +The O +Arabic-language O +text O +and O +English O +translation O +of O +the O +document O +are O +available O +in O +ThreatConnect S-IDTY +here O +. O + +A O +screenshot O +of O +the O +file O +is O +depicted O +below O +. O + +The O +second O +legible O +file O +, O +dated O +April B-TIME +23 E-TIME +, O +has O +the O +same O +letterhead O +and O +also O +is O +addressed O +to O +Yahya O +al-Sinwar O +. O + +This O +file O +discusses O +the O +supposed O +announcement O +banning O +the O +rival O +Fatah S-IDTY +political O +party O +, O +which O +controls O +the O +West B-LOC +Bank E-LOC +, O +from O +Gaza S-LOC +. O + +It O +mentions O +closing O +the O +Fatah S-IDTY +headquarters O +and O +houses O +that O +were O +identified O +as O +meeting O +places O +as O +well O +as O +the O +arrest O +of O +some O +members O +of O +the O +party O +. O + +We O +don’t O +know O +for O +sure O +who O +is O +responsible O +for O +this O +campaign O +, O +but O +digging O +into O +the O +passive O +DNS S-PROT +results O +led O +us O +to O +some O +breadcrumbs O +. O + +Starting O +with O +195.154.110.237 S-IP +, O +the O +IP O +address O +which O +is O +hosting O +the O +command O +and O +control O +domain O +windowsnewupdates.com S-DOM +, O +we O +found O +that O +the O +host O +is O +on O +a O +dedicated O +server O +. O + +Using O +our O +Farsight S-IDTY +DNSDB S-TOOL +integration O +, O +we O +identified O +other O +domains O +currently O +and O +previously O +hosted O +on O +the O +same O +IP O +. O + +Two O +of O +the O +four O +domains O +that O +have O +been O +hosted O +at O +this O +IP O +since O +2016 S-TIME +— O +upfile2box.com S-DOM +and O +7aga.net S-DOM +— O +were O +registered O +by O +a O +freelance O +web O +developer O +in O +Gaza B-LOC +, I-LOC +Palestine E-LOC +. O + +This O +IP O +has O +been O +used O +to O +host O +a O +small O +number O +of O +domains O +, O +some O +of O +which O +were O +registered O +by O +the O +same O +actor O +, O +suggesting O +the O +IP O +is O +dedicated O +for O +a O +single O +individual O +or O +group O +’s O +use O +. O + +While O +not O +conclusive O +, O +it O +is O +intriguing O +that O +the O +same O +IP O +was O +observed O +hosting O +a O +domain O +ostensibly O +registered O +in O +Gaza S-LOC +AND O +the O +command O +and O +control O +domain O +associated O +with O +a O +series O +of O +targeted O +attacks O +leveraging O +Palestinian B-IDTY +Authority E-IDTY +-themed O +decoy O +documents O +referencing O +Gaza S-LOC +. O + +Just O +like O +we O +can’t O +make O +a O +definitive O +determination O +as O +to O +who O +conducted O +this O +campaign O +, O +we O +do O +not O +know O +for O +sure O +who O +it O +was O +intended O +to O +target O +. O + +What O +we O +do O +know O +is O +that O +several O +of O +the O +malicious O +files O +were O +submitted O +to O +a O +public O +malware O +analysis O +site O +from O +the O +Palestinian B-LOC +Territories E-LOC +. O + +This O +tells O +us O +that O +it O +is O +possible O +either O +the O +threat O +actors O +or O +at O +least O +one O +of O +the O +targets O +is O +located O +in O +that O +area O +. O + +Additionally O +, O +as O +previously O +mentioned O +, O +the O +decoy O +document O +subject O +matter O +would O +likely O +be O +of O +interest O +to O +a O +few O +different O +potential O +targets O +in O +the O +Palestinian B-LOC +Territories E-LOC +. O + +Potential O +targets O +such O +as O +Hamas S-IDTY +who O +controls O +the O +Gaza S-LOC +strip O +and O +counts O +Mazen O +Fuqaha O +and O +Yahya O +al-Sinwar O +as O +members O +, O +Israel S-LOC +which O +is O +accused O +of O +involvement O +in O +the O +assassination O +of O +Mazen O +Fuqaha O +, O +and O +the O +Fatah B-IDTY +party E-IDTY +of O +which O +the O +Prime O +Minister O +and O +President O +of O +the O +Palestinian B-IDTY +Authority E-IDTY +are O +members O +. O + +The O +campaign O +corresponds O +with O +a O +period O +of O +heightened O +tension O +in O +Gaza S-LOC +. O + +Hamas S-IDTY +, O +who O +has O +historically O +maintained O +control O +over O +the O +strip O +, O +elected O +Yahya O +al-Sinwar O +– O +a O +hardliner O +from O +its O +military O +wing O +– O +as O +its O +leader O +in O +February S-TIME +. O + +A O +Humanitarian O +Bulletin O +published O +by O +the O +United B-IDTY +Nations I-IDTY +’ I-IDTY +Office E-IDTY +for O +the O +Coordination B-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Humanitarian I-IDTY +Affairs E-IDTY +indicates O +in O +March B-TIME +2017 E-TIME +( O +just O +before O +the O +first O +malware O +samples O +associated O +with O +this O +campaign O +were O +identified O +in O +early O +April S-TIME +) O +Hamas S-IDTY +created O +“ O +a O +parallel O +institution O +to O +run O +local O +ministries O +in O +Gaza S-LOC +, O +” O + +further O +straining O +the O +relationship O +between O +Hamas S-IDTY +and O +the O +Palestinian B-IDTY +Authority E-IDTY +who O +governs O +the O +West B-LOC +Bank E-LOC +. O + +After O +this O +announcement O +, O +the O +Palestinian B-IDTY +Authority E-IDTY +cut O +salaries O +for O +its O +employees O +in O +Gaza S-LOC +by O +30 O +percent O +and O +informed O +Israel S-LOC +that O +it O +would O +no O +longer O +pay O +for O +electricity O +provided O +to O +Gaza S-LOC +causing O +blackouts O +throughout O +the O +area O +and O +escalating O +tensions O +between O +the O +rival O +groups O +. O + +Then O +, O +in O +early O +May S-TIME +( O +two O +days O +after O +the O +last O +malware O +sample O +was O +submitted O +) O +the O +Palestinian B-IDTY +Authority E-IDTY +held O +local O +elections O +in O +the O +West B-LOC +Bank E-LOC +which O +were O +reportedly O +seen O +as O +a O +test O +for O +the O +Fatah B-IDTY +party E-IDTY +. O + +Elections O +were O +not O +held O +in O +Gaza S-LOC +. O + +All O +of O +that O +is O +to O +say O +, O +the O +decoy O +documents O +leveraged O +in O +this O +campaign O +would O +likely O +be O +relevant O +and O +of O +interest O +to O +a O +variety O +of O +targets O +in O +Israel S-LOC +and O +Palestine S-LOC +, O +consistent O +with O +previously O +identified O +KASPERAGENT S-MAL +targeting O +patterns O +. O + +Additionally O +, O +the O +use O +of O +what O +appear O +to O +be O +carefully O +crafted O +documents O +at O +the O +very O +least O +designed O +to O +look O +like O +official O +government O +correspondence O +suggests O +the O +malware O +may O +have O +been O +intended O +for O +a O +government O +employee O +or O +contractor O +who O +would O +be O +interested O +in O +the O +documents O +’ O +subject O +matter O +. O + +APT28 S-APT +: O +New O +Espionage O +Operations O +Target O +Military B-IDTY +and I-IDTY +Government I-IDTY +Organizations E-IDTY +. O + +Recent O +campaigns O +see O +APT28 S-APT +group O +return O +to O +covert O +intelligence O +gathering O +operations O +in O +Europe B-LOC +and I-LOC +South I-LOC +America E-LOC +. O + +After O +making O +headlines O +during O +2016 S-TIME +due O +to O +its O +involvement O +in O +cyber O +attacks O +against O +an O +organization O +involved O +in O +the O +U.S. S-LOC +presidential B-IDTY +election E-IDTY +, O +APT28 S-APT +( O +aka O +Swallowtail S-APT +, O +Fancy B-APT +Bear E-APT +) O +has O +continued O +to O +mount O +operations O +during O +2017 S-TIME +and O +2018 S-TIME +. O + +The O +espionage O +group O +, O +which O +according O +to O +the O +U.S. S-LOC +Department B-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Homeland I-IDTY +Security E-IDTY +( O +DHS S-IDTY +) O +and O +the O +Federal B-IDTY +Bureau I-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Investigation E-IDTY +( O +FBI S-IDTY +) O +is O +linked O +to O +the O +Russian O +government O +, O +returned O +to O +low-key O +intelligence-gathering O +operations O +during O +2017 S-TIME +and O +into O +2018 S-TIME +, O +targeting O +a O +range O +of O +military O +and O +government O +targets O +in O +Europe S-LOC +and O +South B-LOC +America E-LOC +. O + +APT28 S-APT +has O +been O +active O +since O +at O +least O +January B-TIME +2007 E-TIME +but O +received O +public O +attention O +in O +a O +major O +way O +during O +2016 S-TIME +when O +it O +was O +implicated O +in O +a O +series O +of O +cyber O +attacks O +in O +the O +run O +up O +to O +the O +U.S. S-LOC +presidential B-IDTY +election E-IDTY +. O + +Beginning O +in O +the O +Spring B-TIME +of I-TIME +2016 E-TIME +, O +APT28 S-APT +sent O +spear-phishing S-ACT +emails S-TOOL +to O +political O +targets O +including O +members O +of O +the O +Democratic B-IDTY +National I-IDTY +Committee E-IDTY +( O +DNC S-IDTY +) O +. O + +These O +emails S-TOOL +were O +designed O +to O +trick O +recipients O +into O +supposedly O +changing O +their O +email S-TOOL +passwords O +on O +a O +fake O +webmail O +domain O +. O + +The O +attack O +group O +then O +used O +these O +stolen O +credentials O +to O +gain O +access O +to O +the O +DNC S-IDTY +network O +, O +install O +malware O +, O +move O +across O +the O +network O +, O +and O +steal O +data O +, O +including O +a O +trove O +of O +emails S-TOOL +. O + +The O +compromised O +information O +was O +later O +leaked O +online O +. O + +These O +election O +attacks O +signaled O +a O +change O +of O +tactics O +on O +the O +part O +of O +APT28 S-APT +, O +moving O +away O +from O +their O +prior O +low-key O +intelligence O +gathering O +towards O +more O +overt O +activity O +, O +seemingly O +intended O +to O +destabilize O +and O +disrupt O +victim O +organizations O +and O +countries O +. O + +The O +group O +was O +also O +responsible O +for O +the O +2016 S-TIME +attack O +on O +the O +World B-IDTY +Anti I-IDTY +Doping I-IDTY +Agency E-IDTY +( O +WADA S-IDTY +) O +and O +the O +leaking O +of O +confidential O +drug O +testing O +information O +. O + +In O +keeping O +with O +its O +shift O +to O +more O +overt O +tactics O +, O +the O +group O +appeared O +to O +publicly O +take O +credit O +for O +the O +attack O +, O +leaking O +the O +information O +on O +a O +website O +using O +the O +name O +“ O +Fancy B-APT +Bears E-APT +” O +, O +an O +industry O +codename O +that O +was O +already O +widely O +used O +for O +the O +group O +. O + +After O +receiving O +an O +unprecedented O +amount O +of O +attention O +in O +2016 S-TIME +, O +APT28 S-APT +has O +continued O +to O +mount O +operations O +during O +2017 S-TIME +and O +2018 S-TIME +. O + +However O +, O +the O +group O +’s O +activities O +since O +the O +beginning O +of O +2017 S-TIME +have O +again O +become O +more O +covert O +and O +appear O +to O +be O +mainly O +motivated O +by O +intelligence O +gathering O +. O + +The O +organizations O +targeted O +by O +APT28 S-APT +during O +2017 S-TIME +and O +2018 S-TIME +include O +: O + +A O +well-known O +international O +organization O +Military O +targets O +in O +Europe S-LOC +Governments O +in O +Europe S-LOC +A O +government O +of O +a O +South O +American O +country O +An O +embassy O +belonging O +to O +an O +Eastern O +European O +country O +. O + +APT28 S-APT +uses O +a O +number O +of O +tools O +to O +compromise O +its O +targets O +. O + +The O +group O +’s O +primary O +malware O +is O +Sofacy S-MAL +, O +which O +has O +two O +main O +components O +. O + +Trojan.Sofacy S-FILE +( O +also O +known O +as O +Seduploader S-MAL +) O +performs O +basic O +reconnaissance O +on O +an O +infected O +computer O +and O +can O +download O +further O +malware O +. O + +Backdoor.SofacyX S-FILE +( O +also O +known O +as O +X-Agent S-MAL +) O +is O +a O +second O +stage O +piece O +of O +malware O +, O +capable O +of O +stealing O +information O +from O +the O +infected O +computer O +. O + +A O +Mac S-OS +version O +of O +the O +Trojan S-MAL +also O +exists O +( O +OSX.Sofacy S-FILE +) O +. O + +APT28 S-APT +has O +continued O +to O +develop O +its O +tools O +over O +the O +past O +two O +years O +. O + +For O +example O +, O +Trojan.Shunnael S-FILE +( O +aka O +X-Tunnel S-MAL +) O +, O +malware O +used O +to O +maintain O +access O +to O +infected O +networks O +using O +an O +encrypted O +tunnel O +, O +underwent O +a O +rewrite O +to O +.NET S-TOOL +. O + +In O +addition O +to O +this O +, O +as O +reported O +by O +our O +peers O +at O +ESET S-SECTEAM +last O +week O +, O +the O +group O +has O +also O +begun O +using O +a O +UEFI S-TOOL +( O +Unified B-TOOL +Extensible I-TOOL +Firmware I-TOOL +Interface E-TOOL +) O +rootkit O +known O +as O +Lojax S-MAL +. O + +Because O +the O +rootkit O +resides O +within O +a O +computer O +’s O +flash O +memory O +, O +it O +allows O +the O +attackers O +to O +maintain O +a O +persistent O +presence O +on O +a O +compromised O +machine O +even O +if O +the O +hard O +drive O +is O +replaced O +or O +the O +operating O +system O +is O +reinstalled O +. O + +Symantec S-SECTEAM +products O +block O +attempts O +to O +install O +Lojax S-MAL +with O +the O +detection O +name O +Trojan.Lojax S-FILE +. O + +Another O +attack O +group O +, O +Earworm S-APT +( O +aka O +Zebrocy S-APT +) O +, O +has O +been O +active O +since O +at O +least O +May B-TIME +2016 E-TIME +and O +is O +involved O +in O +what O +appears O +to O +be O +intelligence O +gathering O +operations O +against O +military O +targets O +in O +Europe S-LOC +, O +Central B-LOC +Asia E-LOC +, O +and O +Eastern B-LOC +Asia E-LOC +. O + +The O +group O +uses O +spear-phishing S-ACT +emails S-TOOL +to O +compromise O +its O +targets O +and O +infect O +them O +with O +malware O +. O + +Earworm S-APT +uses O +two O +malware O +tools O +. O + +Trojan.Zekapab S-FILE +is O +a O +downloader O +component O +that O +is O +capable O +of O +carrying O +out O +basic O +reconnaissance O +functions O +and O +downloading O +additional O +malware O +to O +the O +infected O +computer O +. O + +Backdoor.Zekapab S-FILE +is O +installed O +on O +selected O +infected O +computers O +and O +is O +capable O +of O +taking O +screenshots O +, O +executing O +files O +and O +commands O +, O +uploading O +and O +downloading O +files O +, O +performing O +registry O +and O +file O +system O +operations O +, O +and O +carrying O +out O +system O +information O +tasks O +. O + +Earworm S-APT +has O +also O +on O +occasion O +installed O +additional O +tools O +onto O +infected O +computers O +for O +the O +purposes O +of O +keylogging O +and O +password O +capture O +. O + +During O +2016 S-TIME +, O +Symantec S-SECTEAM +observed O +some O +overlap O +between O +the O +command B-TOOL +and I-TOOL +control E-TOOL +( O +C&C S-TOOL +) O +infrastructure O +used O +by O +Earworm S-APT +and O +the O +C&C S-TOOL +infrastructure O +used O +by O +Grizzly B-ACT +Steppe E-ACT +( O +the O +U.S. S-LOC +government O +code O +name O +for O +APT28 S-APT +and O +related O +actors O +) O +, O +implying O +a O +potential O +connection O +between O +Earworm S-APT +and O +APT28 S-APT +. O + +However O +, O +Earworm S-APT +also O +appears O +to O +conduct O +separate O +operations O +from O +APT28 S-APT +and O +thus O +Symantec S-SECTEAM +tracks O +them O +as O +a O +distinct O +group O +. O + +It O +is O +now O +clear O +that O +after O +being O +implicated O +in O +the O +U.S. S-LOC +presidential B-IDTY +election E-IDTY +attacks O +in O +late O +2016 S-TIME +, O +APT28 S-APT +was O +undeterred O +by O +the O +resulting O +publicity O +and O +continues O +to O +mount O +further O +attacks O +using O +its O +existing O +tools O +. O + +After O +its O +foray O +into O +overt O +and O +disruptive O +attacks O +in O +2016 S-TIME +, O +the O +group O +has O +subsequently O +returned O +to O +its O +roots O +, O +mounting O +intelligence O +gathering O +operations O +against O +a O +range O +of O +targets O +. O + +This O +ongoing O +activity O +and O +the O +fact O +that O +APT28 S-APT +continues O +to O +refine O +its O +toolset O +means O +that O +the O +group O +will O +likely O +continue O +to O +pose O +a O +significant O +threat O +to O +nation O +state O +targets O +. O + +Symantec S-SECTEAM +has O +had O +the O +following O +protections O +in O +place O +to O +protect O +customers O +against O +APT28 S-APT +attacks O +: O + +Trojan.Sofacy S-MAL +Backdoor.SofacyX S-MAL +Infostealer.Sofacy S-MAL +OSX.Sofacy S-MAL +Trojan.Shunnael S-MAL +Trojan.Lojax S-MAL +. O + +The O +following O +protections O +are O +in O +place O +to O +protect O +customers O +against O +Earworm S-APT +attacks O +: O + +Trojan.Zekapab S-MAL +Backdoor.Zekapab S-MAL +. O + + +A O +BREXIT-themed O +lure O +document O +that O +delivers O +ZEKAPAB S-MAL +malware O +. O + +SNAKEMACKEREL S-APT +is O +an O +espionage-motivated O +cyber O +threat O +group O +, O +also O +known O +as O +Sofacy S-APT +, O +Pawn B-APT +Storm E-APT +, O +Sednit S-APT +, O +Fancy B-APT +Bear E-APT +, O +APT28 S-APT +, O +Group B-APT +74 E-APT +, O +Tsar B-APT +Team E-APT +, O +and O +Strontium S-APT +. O + +Both O +the O +British S-LOC +and O +Dutch S-LOC +governments O +have O +publicly O +attributed O +SNAKEMACKEREL S-APT +activities O +to O +the O +Russian B-IDTY +military I-IDTY +intelligence I-IDTY +service E-IDTY +( O +RIS S-IDTY +) O +and O +have O +linked O +specific O +cyberattacks O +to O +the O +group O +, O +including O +the O +targeting O +of O +the O +Organisation B-IDTY +for I-IDTY +the I-IDTY +Prohibition I-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Chemical I-IDTY +Weapons E-IDTY +( O +OPCW S-IDTY +) O +, O +the O +United B-IDTY +Kingdom I-IDTY +Defence I-IDTY +and I-IDTY +Science I-IDTY +Technology I-IDTY +Laboratory E-IDTY +( O +DSTL S-IDTY +) O +and O +the O +United B-IDTY +Kingdom I-IDTY +Foreign I-IDTY +and I-IDTY +Commonwealth I-IDTY +Office E-IDTY +( O +FCO S-IDTY +) O +. O + +According O +to O +the O +FBI S-IDTY +, O +the O +SNAKEMACKEREL S-APT +threat O +group O +"is O +part O +of O +an O +ongoing O +campaign O +of O +cyber-enabled O +operations O +directed O +at O +the O +United B-LOC +States E-LOC +government O +and O +its O +citizens O +. O + +These O +cyber O +operations O +have O +included O +spear B-ACT +phishing E-ACT +campaigns O +targeting O +government O +organizations O +, O +critical O +infrastructure O +entities O +, O +think O +tanks O +, O +universities O +, O +political O +organizations O +, O +and O +corporations O +, O +leading O +to O +the O +theft O +of O +information O +. O + +The O +creation O +of O +this O +malicious O +document O +, O +coming O +on O +the O +same O +day O +that O +the O +UK S-LOC +government O +announced O +an O +initial O +agreed O +draft O +of O +the O +BREXIT O +agreement O +, O +suggests O +that O +SNAKEMACKEREL S-APT +is O +a O +group O +that O +pays O +close O +attention O +to O +political O +affairs O +and O +is O +able O +to O +leverage O +the O +latest O +news O +headlines O +to O +develop O +lure O +documents O +to O +deliver O +firststage O +malware O +, O +such O +as O +Zekapab S-MAL +, O +to O +its O +intended O +targets O +. O + +The O +theme O +also O +reflects O +the O +targeting O +of O +the O +group O +which O +primarily O +focuses O +on O +NATO S-IDTY +members O +, O +countries O +in O +Central B-LOC +Asia E-LOC +and O +those O +neighboring O +Russia S-LOC +. O + +Despite O +the O +public O +reporting O +and O +government O +accusations O +, O +SNAKEMACKEREL S-APT +remains O +highly O +active O +. O + +It O +is O +behind O +a O +large O +number O +of O +cyberattacks O +targeting O +global O +aerospace O +and O +defense O +contractors O +, O +military O +units O +, O +political O +parties O +, O +the O +International B-IDTY +Olympic I-IDTY +Committee E-IDTY +( O +IOC S-IDTY +) O +, O +anti-doping O +agencies O +, O +government O +departments O +and O +various O +other O +verticals O +. O + +NATO S-IDTY +and O +EU S-IDTY +member O +countries O +, O +as O +well O +as O +the O +United B-IDTY +States E-IDTY +, O +are O +of O +particular O +interest O +to O +the O +group O +. O + +SNAKEMACKEREL S-APT +operations O +continue O +to O +be O +some O +of O +the O +most O +far-reaching O +and O +sophisticated O +cyber O +espionage O +and O +intelligence O +campaigns O +to O +date O +. O + +This O +report O +provides O +a O +technical O +overview O +of O +a O +BREXIT-themed O +lure O +Microsoft S-IDTY +Office S-IDTY +document O +that O +is O +used O +to O +drop O +a O +Delphi S-TOOL +version O +of O +the O +Zekapab S-MAL +first-stage O +malware O +which O +has O +been O +previously O +reported O +by O +iDefense S-IDTY +analysts O +. O + +However O +, O +additional O +research O +on O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +server O +109.248.148.42 S-IP +revealed O +a O +new O +.NET S-TOOL +version O +of O +Zekapab S-MAL +that O +is O +designed O +for O +the O +same O +purpose O +. O +iDefense S-IDTY +analysts O +recently O +came O +across O +the O +following O +malicious O +document O +that O +is O +purportedly O +related O +to O +the O +recent O +BREXIT O +negotiations O +between O +the O +UK S-LOC +and O +the O +EU S-IDTY +. O + +Brexit B-FILE +15.11.2018.docx E-FILE +: O + +405655be03df45881aa88b55603bef1d S-MD5 +. O + +Of O +note O +, O +the O +Company O +name O +Grizli777 S-IDTY +is O +indicative O +of O +a O +cracked O +version O +of O +Microsoft S-IDTY +Word S-TOOL +. O + +To O +trick O +the O +targeted O +individual O +into O +enabling O +macros O +, O +the O +attackers O +deliberately O +used O +jumbled-up O +text O +as O +content O +. O + +The O +document O +loads O +malicious O +content O +from O +http://109.248.148.42/office/thememl/2012/main/attachedTemplate.dotm S-URL +via O +the O +settings.xml.rels S-FILE +component O +that O +is O +embedded O +within O +the O +DOCX S-TOOL +document O +. O + +The O +downloaded O +macro O +component O +includes O +a O +function O +called O +AutoClose() O +as O +well O +as O +two O +payloads O +embedded O +via O +Base64 S-ENCR +encoded O +strings O +. O + +Research O +on O +the O +malicious O +IP O +address O +109.248.148.42 S-IP +revealed O +two O +different O +.dotm S-FILE +components O +: O + +Filename O +: O +attachedTemplate.dotm S-FILE +MD5 S-ENCR +: O +018611b879b2bbd886e86b62484494da S-MD5 +Filename O +: O +templates.dotm S-FILE +MD5 S-ENCR +: O +2a794b55b839b3237482098957877326 S-MD5 +. O + +The O +two O +components O +are O +dropped O +from O +the O +following O +URLs O +respectively O +: O + +http://109.248.148.42/office/thememl/2012/main/attachedTemplate.dotm S-URL +http://109.248.148.42/officeDocument/2006/relationships/templates.dotm S-URL +. O + +Both O +components O +contain O +an O +identical O +VBA S-TOOL +macro O +code O +as O +shown O +above O +, O +each O +containing O +two O +different O +embedded O +payloads O +: O +one O +is O +an O +executable O +binary O +file O +and O +the O +other O +is O +a O +.docm S-FILE +file O +. O +attachedTemplate.dotm S-FILE +dropped O +the O +following O +: O + +Filename O +: O +ntslwin.exe S-FILE +MD5 S-ENCR +: O +7e67122d3a052e4755b02965e2e56a2e S-MD5 +Filename O +: O +~de03fc12a.docm S-FILE +MD5 S-ENCR +: O +9d703d31795bac83c4dd90527d149796 S-MD5 +. O +templates.dotm S-FILE +dropped O +the O +following O +: O + +Filename O +: O +ntslwin.exe S-FILE +MD5 S-ENCR +: O +a13c864980159cd9bdc94074b2389dda S-MD5 +Filename O +: O +~de03fc12a.docm S-FILE +MD5 S-ENCR +: O +9d703d31795bac83c4dd90527d149796 S-MD5 +. O + +The O +second O +macro O +file O +~de03fc12a.docm S-FILE +dropped O +includes O +a O +simple O +macro O +to O +execute O +the O +dropped O +executable O +. O + +Analysis O +into O +the O +two O +binaries O +shows O +that O +they O +are O +in O +fact O +a O +Delphi S-TOOL +( O +initially O +UPX S-TOOL +packed O +) O +and O +.NET S-TOOL +version O +of O +the O +Zekapab S-MAL +first-stage O +malware O +. O + +The O +following O +network O +traffic O +is O +performed O +by O +the O +Delphi S-TOOL +sample O +which O +has O +the O +following O +metadata O +once O +unpacked O +by O +UPX S-TOOL +: O + +Filename O +: O +ntslwin.exe S-FILE +MD5 S-ENCR +: O +f4cab3a393462a57639faa978a75d10a S-MD5 +. O + +Exhibit O +4 O +shows O +the O +network O +traffic O +generated O +by O +the O +sample O +, O +a O +http S-PROT +POST O +request O +containing O +the O +system O +information O +collected O +. O + +On O +the O +other O +hand O +, O +the O +network O +traffic O +generated O +by O +the O +.NET S-TOOL +version O +is O +unencoded O +. O + +Both O +versions O +are O +designed O +to O +collect O +system O +information O +and O +running O +processes O +and O +send O +them O +to O +the O +designated O +C2 S-TOOL +server O +using O +http S-PROT +POST O +to O +the O +URI O +used O +in O +both O +cases O +is O +/agr-enum/progress-inform/cube.php?res= O +. O + +If O +the O +system O +is O +deemed O +interesting O +, O +the O +next O +stage O +malware O +would O +be O +delivered O +into O +corresponding O +directories O +. O + +The O +second-stage O +malware O +is O +delivered O +to O +different O +destinations O +with O +an O +autorun O +registry O +key O +set O +respectively O +. O + +For O +the O +Delphi S-TOOL +version O +, O +the O +following O +registry O +key O +and O +value O +are O +used O +for O +persistence O +: O + +Key O +: O +HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\AudioMgr O +Value O +: O +%AppData%\Video\videodrv.exe S-FILE +. O + +For O +the O +.NET S-TOOL +version O +, O +the O +following O +registry O +key O +and O +value O +are O +used O +for O +persistence O +: O + +Key O +: O +HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\GoogleIndexer O +Value O +: O +%AppData%\Platform\sslwin.exe S-FILE +. O + +The O +list O +of O +information O +collected O +includes O +: O + +Results O +from O +the O +commands O +systeminfo O +and O +tasklist O +Current O +execution O +path O +Capture O +screenshot O +Drive O +enumeration O +Drive O +serial O +number O +. O + +The O +code O +for O +downloading O +and O +executing O +the O +next O +stage O +malware O +. O + +As O +shown O +, O +the O +delivery O +of O +the O +next-stage O +malware O +is O +dependent O +on O +the O +information O +collected O +. O + +To O +mitigate O +the O +threat O +described O +in O +this O +report O +, O +iDefense S-IDTY +recommends O +blocking O +access O +to O +the O +IP O +address O +and O +URI O +pattern O +: O + +109.248.148.42 S-IP +/agr-enum/progress-inform/cube.php?res= O +. O + +For O +threat O +hunting O +, O +iDefense O +recommends O +searching O +for O +the O +following O +: O + +Network O +: O +Presence O +of O +http S-PROT +and O +DNS S-PROT +traffic O +to O +the O +network O +IOCs O +shared O +above O +. O + +System O +: O +Presence O +of O +the O +following O +artifacts O +. O + +Persistence O +mechanism O +Registry O +Key O +: O + +Key O +: O +HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\AudioMgr O +Key O +: O +HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\GoogleIndexer O +. O + +On O +disk O +artefacts O +File O +with O +the O +full O +path O +: O +%AppData%\Video\videodrv.exe S-FILE +File O +with O +the O +full O +path O +: O +%AppData%\Platform\sslwin.exe S-FILE +Files O +with O +following O +file O +hashes O +. O + + +“ O +Cyber O +Conflict O +” O +Decoy O +Document O +Used O +In O +Real O +Cyber O +Conflict O +. O + +Cisco O +Talos O +discovered O +a O +new O +malicious O +campaign O +from O +the O +well O +known O +actor O +Group B-APT +74 E-APT +( O +aka O +Tsar B-APT +Team E-APT +, O +Sofacy S-APT +, O +APT28 S-APT +, O +Fancy B-APT +Bear E-APT +) O +. O + +Ironically O +the O +decoy O +document O +is O +a O +deceptive O +flyer O +relating O +to O +the O +Cyber O +Conflict O +U.S. S-LOC +conference O +. O + +CyCon S-IDTY +US S-LOC +is O +a O +collaborative O +effort O +between O +the O +Army B-SECTEAM +Cyber I-SECTEAM +Institute E-SECTEAM +at O +the O +United B-IDTY +States I-IDTY +Military I-IDTY +Academy E-IDTY +and O +the O +NATO S-IDTY +Cooperative B-IDTY +Cyber I-IDTY +Military I-IDTY +Academy E-IDTY +and O +the O +NATO S-IDTY +Cooperative B-IDTY +Cyber I-IDTY +Defence I-IDTY +Centre I-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Excellence E-IDTY +. O + +Due O +to O +the O +nature O +of O +this O +document O +, O +we O +assume O +that O +this O +campaign O +targets O +people O +with O +an O +interest O +in O +cyber O +security O +. O + +Unlike O +previous O +campaigns O +from O +this O +actor O +, O +the O +flyer O +does O +not O +contain O +an O +Office O +exploit O +or O +a O +0-day O +, O +it O +simply O +contains O +a O +malicious O +Visual B-TOOL +Basic I-TOOL +for I-TOOL +Applications E-TOOL +( O +VBA S-TOOL +) O +macro O +. O + +The O +VBA S-TOOL +drops O +and O +executes O +a O +new O +variant O +of O +Seduploader S-MAL +. O + +This O +reconnaissance O +malware O +has O +been O +used O +by O +Group B-APT +74 E-APT +for O +years O +and O +it O +is O +composed O +of O +2 O +files O +: O +a O +dropper O +and O +a O +payload O +. O + +The O +dropper O +and O +the O +payload O +are O +quite O +similar O +to O +the O +previous O +versions O +but O +the O +author O +modified O +some O +public O +information O +such O +as O +MUTEX O +name O +, O +obfuscation O +keys.. +. O + +We O +assume O +that O +these O +modifications O +were O +performed O +to O +avoid O +detection O +based O +on O +public O +IOCs O +. O + +The O +article O +describes O +the O +malicious O +document O +and O +the O +Seduploader S-MAL +reconnaissance O +malware O +, O +especially O +the O +difference O +with O +the O +previous O +versions O +. O + +The O +decoy O +document O +is O +a O +flyer O +concerning O +the O +Cyber O +Conflict O +U.S. S-LOC +conference O +with O +the O +following O +filename O +Conference_on_Cyber_Conflict.doc S-FILE +. O + +The O +Office S-TOOL +document O +contains O +a O +VBA S-TOOL +script O +. O + +The O +goal O +of O +this O +code O +is O +to O +get O +information O +from O +the O +properties O +of O +the O +document O +( O +"Subject" O +, O +"Company" O +, O +"Category" O +, O +"Hyperlink O +base" O +and O +finally O +"Comments" O +) O +. O + +Some O +of O +this O +information O +can O +be O +directly O +extracted O +from O +the O +Windows S-OS +explorer O +by O +looking O +at O +the O +properties O +of O +the O +file O +. O + +The O +"Hyperlink O +Base" O +must O +be O +extracted O +using O +another O +tool O +, O +strings O +is O +capable O +of O +obtaining O +this O +by O +looking O +for O +long O +strings O +. O + +Pay O +close O +attention O +to O +the O +contents O +of O +these O +fields O +as O +they O +appear O +base64 S-ENCR +encoded O +. O + +This O +extracted O +information O +is O +concatenated O +together O +to O +make O +a O +single O +variable O +. O + +This O +variable O +is O +decoded O +with O +the O +base64 S-ENCR +algorithm O +in O +order O +to O +get O +a O +Windows S-OS +library O +( O +PE S-TOOL +file O +) O +which O +is O +written O +to O +disk O +. O + +The O +file O +is O +named O +netwf.dat S-FILE +. O + +On O +the O +next O +step O +this O +file O +is O +executed O +by O +rundll32.exe S-FILE +via O +the O +KlpSvc S-TOOL +export O +. O + +We O +see O +that O +this O +file O +drops O +2 O +additional O +files O +: O +netwf.bat S-FILE +and O +netwf.dll S-FILE +. O + +The O +final O +part O +of O +the O +VBA S-TOOL +script O +changes O +the O +properties O +of O +these O +two O +files O +, O +setting O +their O +attributes O +to O +Hidden O +. O + +We O +can O +also O +see O +2 O +VBA S-TOOL +variable O +names O +: O +PathPld O +, O +probably O +for O +Path O +Payload O +, O +and O +PathPldBt O +, O +for O +Path O +Payload O +Batch O +. O + +As O +opposed O +to O +previous O +campaigns O +performed O +by O +this O +actor O +, O +this O +latest O +version O +does O +not O +contain O +privilege O +escalation O +and O +it O +simply O +executes O +the O +payload O +and O +configures O +persistence O +mechanisms O +. O + +The O +dropper O +installs O +2 O +files O +: O + +netwf.bat S-FILE +: O + +executes O +netwf.dll S-FILE +netwf.dll S-FILE +: O + +the O +payload O +. O + +The O +dropper O +implements O +2 O +persistence O +mechanisms O +: O + +HKCU\Environment\UserInitMprLogonScript O +to O +execute O +the O +netwf.bat S-FILE +file O +COM O +Object O +hijack O +of O +the O +following O +CLSID S-TOOL +: O +{BCDE0395-E52F-467C-8E3D-C4579291692E} O +, O +the O +CLSID S-TOOL +of O +the O +class O +MMDeviceEnumerator O +. O + +These O +2 O +techniques O +have O +also O +been O +previously O +used O +by O +this O +actor O +. O + +Finally O +the O +payload O +is O +executed O +by O +rundll32.exe S-FILE +( O +and O +the O +ordinal O +#1 O +in O +argument O +) O +or O +by O +explorer.exe S-FILE +if O +the O +COM O +Object O +hijack O +is O +performed O +. O + +In O +this O +case O +, O +explorer.exe S-FILE +will O +instance O +the O +MMDeviceEnumerator O +class O +and O +will O +execute O +the O +payload O +. O + +The O +payload O +features O +are O +similar O +to O +the O +previous O +versions O +of O +Seduploader S-MAL +. O + +We O +can O +compare O +it O +to O +the O +sample O +e338d49c270baf64363879e5eecb8fa6bdde8ad9 S-SHA1 +used O +in O +May B-TIME +2017 E-TIME +by O +Group B-APT +74 E-APT +. O + +Of O +the O +195 O +functions O +of O +the O +new O +sample O +, O +149 O +are O +strictly O +identical O +, O +16 O +match O +at O +90% O +and O +2 O +match O +at O +80% O +. O + +In O +the O +previous O +campaign O +where O +adversaries O +used O +Office S-TOOL +document O +exploits O +as O +an O +infection O +vector O +, O +the O +payload O +was O +executed O +in O +the O +Office S-TOOL +word O +process O +. O + +In O +this O +campaign O +, O +adversaries O +did O +not O +use O +any O +exploit O +. O + +Instead O +,the O +payload O +is O +executed O +in O +standalone O +mode O +by O +rundll32.exe S-FILE +. O + +Adversaries O +also O +changed O +some O +constants O +, O +such O +as O +the O +XOR S-ENCR +key O +used O +in O +the O +previous O +version O +. O + +The O +key O +in O +our O +version O +is O +: O +key=b"\x08\x7A\x05\x04\x60\x7c\x3e\x3c\x5d\x0b\x18\x3c\x55\x64" O +. O + +The O +MUTEX O +name O +is O +different O +too O +: O +FG00nxojVs4gLBnwKc7HhmdK0h O +. O + +Here O +are O +some O +of O +the O +Seduploader S-MAL +features O +: O + +Screenshot O +capture O +( O +with O +the O +GDI S-TOOL +API S-TOOL +) O +; O + +data/configuration O +Exfiltration S-ACT +; O + +Execution O +of O +code O +; O + +File O +downloading O +; O + +The O +Command B-TOOL +& I-TOOL +Control E-TOOL +( O +CC S-TOOL +) O +of O +the O +analysed O +sample O +is O +myinvestgroup[.]com S-DOM +. O + +During O +the O +investigation O +, O +the O +server O +did O +not O +provide O +any O +configuration O +to O +the O +infected O +machines O +. O + +Based O +on O +the O +metadata O +of O +the O +Office S-TOOL +documents O +and O +the O +PE S-TOOL +files O +, O +the O +attackers O +had O +created O +the O +file O +on O +Wednesday S-TIME +, O +the B-TIME +4th I-TIME +of I-TIME +October E-TIME +. O + +Analysis O +of O +this O +campaign O +shows O +us O +once O +more O +that O +attackers O +are O +creative O +and O +use O +the O +news O +to O +compromise O +the O +targets O +. O + +This O +campaign O +has O +most O +likely O +been O +created O +to O +allow O +the O +targeting O +of O +people O +linked O +to O +or O +interested O +by O +cybersecurity O +, O +so O +probably O +the O +people O +who O +are O +more O +sensitive O +to O +cybersecurity O +threats O +. O + +In O +this O +case O +, O +Group B-APT +74 E-APT +did O +not O +use O +an O +exploit O +or O +any O +0-day S-VULNAME +but O +simply O +used O +scripting O +language O +embedded O +within O +the O +Microsoft S-IDTY +Office S-TOOL +document O +. O + +Due O +to O +this O +change O +, O +the O +fundamental O +compromise O +mechanism O +is O +different O +as O +the O +payload O +is O +executed O +in O +a O +standalone O +mode O +. O + +The O +reasons O +for O +this O +are O +unknown O +, O +but O +, O +we O +could O +suggest O +that O +they O +did O +not O +want O +to O +utilize O +any O +exploits O +to O +ensure O +they O +remained O +viable O +for O +any O +other O +operations O +. O + +Actors O +will O +often O +not O +use O +exploits O +due O +to O +the O +fact O +that O +researchers O +can O +find O +and O +eventually O +patch O +these O +which O +renders O +the O +actors O +weaponized O +platforms O +defunct O +. O + +Additionally O +the O +author O +did O +some O +small O +updates O +after O +publications O +from O +the O +security O +community O +, O +again O +this O +is O +common O +for O +actors O +of O +this O +sophisticated O +nature O +, O +once O +their O +campaigns O +have O +been O +exposed O +they O +will O +often O +try O +to O +change O +tooling O +to O +ensure O +better O +avoidance O +. O + +For O +example O +the O +actor O +changed O +the O +XOR S-ENCR +key O +and O +the O +MUTEX O +name O +. O + + +APT28 S-APT +: O +AT O +THE O +CENTER O +OF O +THE O +STORM O +. O + +The O +Democratic B-IDTY +National I-IDTY +Committee E-IDTY +’s O +( O +DNC S-IDTY +) O +June B-TIME +2016 E-TIME +announcement O +attributing O +its O +network O +breach O +to O +the O +Russian O +Government O +triggered O +an O +international O +debate O +over O +Russia S-LOC +’s O +sponsorship O +of O +information O +operations O +against O +the O +U.S. S-LOC + +Our O +visibility O +into O +the O +operations O +of O +APT28 S-APT +- O +a O +group O +we O +believe O +the O +Russian O +Government O +sponsors O +- O +has O +given O +us O +insight O +into O +some O +of O +the O +government O +’s O +targets O +, O +as O +well O +as O +its O +objectives O +and O +the O +activities O +designed O +to O +further O +them O +. O + +We O +have O +tracked O +and O +profiled O +this O +group O +through O +multiple O +investigations O +, O +endpoint O +and O +network O +detections O +, O +and O +continuous O +monitoring O +. O + +Our O +visibility O +into O +APT28 S-APT +’s O +operations O +, O +which O +date O +to O +at O +least O +2007 S-TIME +, O +has O +allowed O +us O +to O +understand O +the O +group O +’s O +malware O +, O +operational O +changes O +, O +and O +motivations O +. O + +This O +intelligence O +has O +been O +critical O +to O +protecting O +and O +informing O +our O +clients O +, O +exposing O +this O +threat O +, O +and O +strengthening O +our O +confidence O +in O +attributing O +APT28 S-APT +to O +the O +Russian O +Government O +. O + +On O +December B-TIME +29 I-TIME +, I-TIME +2016 E-TIME +, O +the O +Department B-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Homeland I-IDTY +Security E-IDTY +( O +DHS S-IDTY +) O +and O +Federal B-IDTY +Bureau I-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Investigation E-IDTY +( O +FBI S-IDTY +) O +released O +a O +Joint O +Analysis O +Report O +confirming O +FireEye S-SECTEAM +’s O +long O +held O +public O +assessment O +that O +the O +Russian O +Government O +sponsors O +APT28 S-APT +. O + +Since O +at O +least O +2007 S-TIME +, O +APT28 S-APT +has O +engaged O +in O +extensive O +operations O +in O +support O +of O +Russian O +strategic O +interests O +. O + +The O +group O +, O +almost O +certainly O +compromised O +of O +a O +sophisticated O +and O +prolific O +set O +of O +developers O +and O +operators O +, O +has O +historically O +collected O +intelligence O +on O +defense O +and O +geopolitical O +issues O +. O + +APT28 S-APT +espionage O +activity O +has O +primarily O +targeted O +entities O +in O +the O +U.S. S-LOC +, O +Europe S-LOC +, O +and O +the O +countries O +of O +the O +former O +Soviet B-LOC +Union E-LOC +, O +including O +governments O +and O +militaries O +, O +defense O +attaches O +, O +media O +entities O +, O +and O +dissidents O +and O +figures O +opposed O +to O +the O +current O +Russian O +Government O +. O + +Over O +the O +past O +two O +years O +, O +Russia S-LOC +appears O +to O +have O +increasingly O +leveraged O +APT28 S-APT +to O +conduct O +information O +operations O +commensurate O +with O +broader O +strategic O +military O +doctrine O +. O + +After O +compromising O +a O +victim O +organization O +, O +APT28 S-APT +will O +steal O +internal O +data O +that O +is O +then O +leaked O +to O +further O +political O +narratives O +aligned O +with O +Russian O +interests O +. O + +To O +date O +these O +have O +included O +the O +conflict O +in O +Syria S-LOC +, O +NATO-Ukraine O +relations O +, O +the O +European B-IDTY +Union E-IDTY +refugee O +and O +migrant O +crisis O +, O +the O +2016 S-TIME +Olympics S-IDTY +and O +Paralympics S-IDTY +Russian O +athlete O +doping O +scandal O +, O +public O +accusations O +regarding O +Russian O +state-sponsored O +hacking O +, O +and O +the O +2016 S-TIME +U.S. S-LOC +presidential O +election O +. O + +This O +report O +details O +our O +observations O +of O +APT28 S-APT +’s O +targeting O +, O +and O +our O +investigation O +into O +a O +related O +breach O +. O + +We O +also O +provide O +an O +update O +on O +shifts O +in O +the O +group O +’s O +tool O +development O +and O +use O +, O +and O +summarize O +the O +tactics O +APT28 S-APT +employs O +to O +compromise O +its O +victims O +. O + +In O +October B-TIME +2014 E-TIME +, O +FireEye S-SECTEAM +released O +APT28 S-APT +: O +A O +Window S-OS +into O +Russia S-LOC +’s O +Cyber O +Espionage O +Operations? O +, O +and O +characterized O +APT28 S-APT +’s O +activity O +as O +aligning O +with O +the O +Russian O +Government O +’s O +strategic O +intelligence O +requirements O +. O + +While O +tracking O +APT28 S-APT +, O +we O +noted O +the O +group O +’s O +interest O +in O +foreign O +governments O +and O +militaries O +, O +particularly O +those O +of O +European O +and O +Eastern O +European O +nations O +, O +as O +well O +as O +regional O +security O +organizations O +, O +such O +as O +the O +North B-IDTY +Atlantic I-IDTY +Treaty I-IDTY +Organization E-IDTY +( O +NATO S-IDTY +) O +and O +the O +Organization B-IDTY +for I-IDTY +Security I-IDTY +and I-IDTY +Cooperation I-IDTY +in I-IDTY +Europe E-IDTY +( O +OSCE S-IDTY +) O +, O +among O +others O +. O + +Table O +1 O +highlights O +some O +recent O +examples O +of O +this O +activity O +. O + +OSCE S-IDTY +: O + +NOVEMBER B-TIME +2016 E-TIME +, O +The O +OSCE S-IDTY +confirmed O +that O +it O +had O +suffered O +an O +intrusion O +, O +which O +a O +Western O +intelligence O +service O +attributed O +to O +APT28 S-APT +. O + +Germany S-LOC +'s O +Christian B-IDTY +Democratic I-IDTY +Union E-IDTY +( O +CDU S-IDTY +) O +: O + +APRIL B-TIME +- I-TIME +MAY I-TIME +2016 E-TIME +, O +Researchers O +at O +Trend O +Micro O +observed O +APT28 S-APT +establish O +a O +fake O +CDU S-IDTY +email S-TOOL +server O +and O +launch O +phishing E-ACT +emails S-TOOL +against O +CDU S-IDTY +members O +in O +an O +attempt O +to O +obtain O +their O +email S-TOOL +credentials O +and O +access O +their O +accounts O +. O + +Pussy O +Riot O +AUGUST S-TIME +: O + +2015 S-TIME +, O +APT28 S-APT +targets O +Russian O +rockers O +and O +dissidents O +Pussy O +Riot O +via O +spear-phishing S-ACT +emails S-TOOL +. O + +NATO S-IDTY +, O +Afghan B-IDTY +Ministry I-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Foreign I-IDTY +Affairs E-IDTY +, O +Pakistani B-IDTY +Military E-IDTY +: O + +JULY B-TIME +2015 E-TIME +, O +APT28 S-APT +used O +two O +domains O +( O +nato-news.com S-DOM +and O +bbc-news.org S-DOM +) O +to O +host O +an O +Adobe S-IDTY +Flash S-TOOL +zero-day S-VULNAME +exploit O +to O +target O +NATO S-IDTY +, O +the O +Afghan B-IDTY +Ministry I-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Foreign I-IDTY +Affairs E-IDTY +, O +and O +the O +Pakistani B-IDTY +military E-IDTY +. O + +German B-IDTY +Bundestag I-IDTY +& I-IDTY +Political I-IDTY +Parties E-IDTY +: O + +JUNE B-TIME +2015 E-TIME +, O +Germany S-LOC +’s O +Federal O +Office O +for O +Security O +in O +Information O +Technology O +( O +BSI O +) O +announced O +that O +APT28 S-APT +was O +likely O +responsible O +for O +the O +spear B-ACT +phishing E-ACT +emails S-TOOL +sent O +to O +members O +of O +several O +German O +political O +parties O +. O + +The O +head O +of O +Germany S-LOC +’s O +domestic O +intelligence O +agency O +, O +Bundesamt B-IDTY +für I-IDTY +Verfassungsschutz E-IDTY +( O +BfV S-IDTY +) O +, O +also O +attributed O +the O +June B-TIME +2015 E-TIME +compromise O +of O +the O +Bundestag O +’s O +networks O +to O +APT28 S-APT +. O + +Kyrgyzstan B-IDTY +Ministry I-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Foreign I-IDTY +Affairs E-IDTY +: O + +OCTOBER B-TIME +2014 E-TIME +THROUGH O +SEPTEMBER B-TIME +2015 E-TIME +, O +FireEye S-SECTEAM +iSight O +Intelligence O +identified O +changes O +made O +to O +domain O +name O +server O +( O +DNS S-PROT +) O +records O +that O +suggest O +that O +APT28 S-APT +intercepted O +email S-TOOL +traffic O +from O +the O +Kyrgyzstan B-IDTY +Ministry I-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Foreign I-IDTY +Affairs E-IDTY +after O +maliciously O +modifying O +DNS S-PROT +records O +of O +the O +ministry O +’s O +authoritative O +DNS S-PROT +servers O +. O + +Polish O +Government O +& O +Power O +Exchange O +websites O +: O + +JUNE B-TIME +AND I-TIME +SEPTEMBER I-TIME +2014 E-TIME +, O +APT28 S-APT +employed O +“ O +Sedkit S-MAL +” O +in O +conjunction O +with O +strategic O +web O +compromises O +to O +deliver O +“ O +Sofacy S-MAL +” O +malware O +on O +Polish O +Government O +websites O +, O +and O +the O +websites O +of O +Polish O +energy O +company O +Power O +Exchange O +. O + +On O +September B-TIME +13 E-TIME +, O +WADA S-IDTY +confirmed O +that O +APT28 S-APT +had O +compromised O +its O +networks O +and O +accessed O +athlete O +medical O +data O +. O + +On O +September B-TIME +12 I-TIME +, I-TIME +2016 E-TIME +, O +the O +“ O +Fancy B-APT +Bears E-APT +’ O +Hack O +Team O +” O +persona O +claimed O +to O +have O +compromised O +WADA S-IDTY +and O +released O +athletes O +’ O +medical O +records O +as O +“ O +proof O +of O +American O +athletes O +taking O +doping. O +” O + +The O +DNC S-IDTY +announced O +it O +had O +suffered O +a O +network O +compromise O +and O +that O +a O +subsequent O +investigation O +found O +evidence O +of O +two O +breaches O +, O +attributed O +to O +APT28 S-APT +and O +APT29 S-APT +. O + +FireEye S-SECTEAM +analyzed O +the O +malware O +found O +on O +DNC S-IDTY +networks O +and O +determined O +that O +it O +was O +consistent O +with O +our O +previous O +observations O +of O +APT28 S-APT +tools O +. O + +In O +June B-TIME +2016 E-TIME +, O +shortly O +after O +the O +DNC S-IDTY +’s O +announcement O +, O +the O +Guccifer S-APT +2.0 O +persona O +claimed O +responsibility O +for O +the O +DNC S-IDTY +breach O +and O +leaked O +documents O +taken O +from O +the O +organization O +’s O +network O +. O + +Guccifer S-APT +2.0 O +continued O +to O +leak O +batches O +of O +DNC S-IDTY +documents O +through O +September S-TIME +. O + +Investigators O +found O +that O +John O +Podesta O +, O +Hillary O +Clinton O +’s O +presidential O +campaign O +chairman O +, O +was O +one O +of O +thousands O +of O +individuals O +targeted O +in O +a O +mass O +phishing E-ACT +scheme O +using O +shortened O +URLs O +that O +security O +researchers O +attributed O +to O +APT28 S-APT +. O + +Throughout O +October S-TIME +and O +into O +early O +November S-TIME +, O +WikiLeaks S-TOOL +published O +34 O +batches O +of O +email S-TOOL +correspondence O +stolen O +from O +John O +Podesta O +’s O +personal O +email S-TOOL +account O +. O + +Correspondence O +of O +other O +individuals O +targeted O +in O +the O +same O +phishing E-ACT +campaign O +, O +including O +former O +Secretary O +of O +State O +Colin O +Powell O +and O +Clinton O +campaign O +staffer O +William O +Rinehart O +, O +were O +published O +on O +the O +“ O +DC O +Leaks O +” O +website O +. O + +In O +July S-TIME +, O +the O +DCCC S-IDTY +announced O +that O +it O +was O +investigating O +an O +ongoing O +“ O +cybersecurity O +incident O +” O +that O +the O +FBI S-IDTY +believed O +was O +linked O +to O +the O +compromise O +of O +the O +DNC S-IDTY +. O + +House O +Speaker O +Nancy O +Pelosi O +later O +confirmed O +that O +the O +DCCC S-IDTY +had O +suffered O +a O +network O +compromise O +. O + +Investigators O +indicated O +that O +the O +actors O +may O +have O +gained O +access O +to O +DCCC S-IDTY +systems O +as O +early O +as O +March S-TIME +. O + +In O +August S-TIME +, O +the O +Guccifer S-APT +2.0 O +persona O +contacted O +reporters O +covering O +U.S. S-LOC +House B-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Representative E-IDTY +races O +to O +announce O +newly O +leaked O +documents O +from O +the O +DCCC S-IDTY +pertaining O +to O +Democratic O +candidates O +. O + +From O +August S-TIME +to O +October S-TIME +, O +Guccifer S-APT +2.0 O +posted O +several O +additional O +installments O +of O +what O +appear O +to O +be O +internal O +DCCC S-IDTY +documents O +on O +“ O +his O +” O +WordPress O +site O +. O + +In O +February S-TIME +, O +FireEye S-SECTEAM +identified O +CORESHELL S-TOOL +traffic O +beaconing O +from O +TV5Monde S-IDTY +’s O +network O +, O +confirming O +that O +APT28 S-APT +had O +compromised O +TV5Monde S-IDTY +’s O +network O +. O + +In O +April B-TIME +2015 E-TIME +, O +alleged O +pro-ISIS O +hacktivist O +group O +CyberCaliphate S-APT +defaced O +TV5Monde S-IDTY +’s O +websites O +and O +social O +media O +profiles O +and O +forced O +the O +company O +’s O +11 O +broadcast O +channels O +offline O +. O + +FireEye S-SECTEAM +identified O +overlaps O +between O +the O +domain O +registration O +details O +of O +CyberCaliphate S-APT +’s O +website O +and O +APT28 S-APT +infrastructure O +. O + +Ukrainian O +officials O +revealed O +that O +the O +investigation O +into O +the O +compromise O +of O +the O +CEC S-IDTY +’s O +internal O +network O +identified O +malware O +traced O +to O +APT28 S-APT +. O + +During O +the O +May B-TIME +2014 E-TIME +Ukrainian O +presidential O +election O +, O +purported O +pro-Russian O +hacktivists O +CyberBerkut S-APT +conducted O +a O +series O +of O +malicious O +activities O +against O +the O +CEC S-IDTY +including O +a O +system O +compromise O +, O +data O +destruction O +, O +a O +data O +leak O +, O +a O +distributed B-ACT +denial-of-service E-ACT +( O +DDoS S-ACT +) O +attack O +, O +and O +an O +attempted O +defacement O +of O +the O +CEC S-IDTY +website O +with O +fake O +election O +results O +. O + +As O +news O +of O +the O +DNC S-IDTY +breach O +spread O +, O +APT28 S-APT +was O +preparing O +for O +another O +set O +of O +operations O +: O +countering O +the O +condemnation O +that O +Russia S-LOC +was O +facing O +after O +doping O +allegations O +and O +a O +threatened O +blanket O +ban O +of O +the O +Russian O +team O +from O +the O +upcoming O +Rio B-IDTY +Games E-IDTY +. O + +Russia S-LOC +, O +like O +many O +nations O +, O +has O +long O +viewed O +success O +in O +the O +Olympic O +Games O +as O +a O +source O +of O +national O +prestige O +and O +soft O +power O +on O +the O +world O +stage O +. O + +The O +doping O +allegations O +and O +prospective O +ban O +from O +the O +Games O +further O +ostracized O +Russia S-LOC +, O +and O +likely O +provided O +motivation O +to O +actively O +counter O +the O +allegations O +by O +attempting O +to O +discredit O +anti-doping O +agencies O +and O +policies O +. O + +Our O +investigation O +of O +APT28 S-APT +’s O +compromise O +of O +WADA S-IDTY +’s O +network O +, O +and O +our O +observations O +of O +the O +surrounding O +events O +reveal O +how O +Russia S-LOC +sought O +to O +counteract O +a O +damaging O +narrative O +and O +delegitimize O +the O +institutions O +leveling O +criticism O +. O + +Since O +releasing O +our O +2014 S-TIME +report O +, O +we O +continue O +to O +assess O +that O +APT28 S-APT +is O +sponsored O +by O +the O +Russian O +Government O +. O + +We O +further O +assess O +that O +APT28 S-APT +is O +the O +group O +responsible O +for O +the O +network O +compromises O +of O +WADA S-IDTY +and O +the O +DNC S-IDTY +and O +other O +entities O +related O +to O +the O +2016 S-TIME +U.S. S-LOC +presidential O +election O +cycle O +. O + +These O +breaches O +involved O +the O +theft O +of O +internal O +data O +- O +mostly O +emails S-TOOL +– O +that O +was O +later O +strategically O +leaked O +through O +multiple O +forums O +and O +propagated O +in O +a O +calculated O +manner O +almost O +certainly O +intended O +to O +advance O +particular O +Russian O +Government O +aims O +. O + +In O +a O +report O +released O +on O +January B-TIME +7 I-TIME +2017 E-TIME +, O +the O +U.S. S-LOC +Directorate B-IDTY +of I-IDTY +National I-IDTY +Intelligence E-IDTY +described O +this O +activity O +as O +an O +“ O +influence O +campaign. O +” O +This O +influence O +campaign O +- O +a O +combination O +of O +network O +compromises O +and O +subsequent O +data O +leaks O +- O +aligns O +closely O +with O +the O +Russian O +military O +’s O +publicly O +stated O +intentions O +and O +capabilities O +. O + +Influence O +operations O +, O +also O +frequently O +called O +“ O +information O +operations O +, O +” O +have O +a O +long O +history O +of O +inclusion O +in O +Russian O +strategic O +doctrine O +, O +and O +have O +been O +intentionally O +developed O +, O +deployed O +, O +and O +modernized O +with O +the O +advent O +of O +the O +internet O +. O + +The O +recent O +activity O +in O +the O +U.S. S-LOC +is O +but O +one O +of O +many O +instances O +of O +Russian O +Government O +influence O +operations O +conducted O +in O +support O +of O +strategic O +political O +objectives O +, O +and O +it O +will O +not O +be O +the O +last O +. O + +As O +the O +2017 S-TIME +elections O +in O +Europe S-LOC +approach O +- O +most O +notably O +in O +Germany S-LOC +, O +France S-LOC +, O +and O +the O +Netherlands S-LOC +- O +we O +are O +already O +seeing O +the O +makings O +of O +similarly O +concerted O +efforts O +. O + +In O +our O +2014 S-TIME +report O +, O +we O +identified O +APT28 S-APT +as O +a O +suspected O +Russian O +government-sponsored O +espionage O +actor O +. O + +We O +came O +to O +this O +conclusion O +in O +part O +based O +on O +forensic O +details O +left O +in O +the O +malware O +that O +APT28 S-APT +had O +employed O +since O +at O +least O +2007 S-TIME +. O + +We O +have O +provided O +an O +updated O +version O +of O +those O +conclusions O +, O +a O +layout O +of O +the O +tactics O +that O +they O +generally O +employ O +, O +as O +well O +as O +observations O +of O +apparent O +tactical O +shifts O +. O + +For O +full O +details O +, O +please O +reference O +our O +2014 S-TIME +report O +, O +APT28 S-APT +: O +A O +Window S-OS +into O +Russia S-LOC +’s O +Cyber O +Espionage O +Operations O +? O +APT28 S-APT +employs O +a O +suite O +of O +malware O +with O +features O +indicative O +of O +the O +group O +’s O +plans O +for O +continued O +operations O +, O +as O +well O +as O +the O +group O +’s O +access O +to O +resources O +and O +skilled O +developers O +. O + +CHOPSTICK S-MAL +: O + +backdoor O +, O +Xagent S-MAL +, O +webhp S-MAL +, O +SPLM S-MAL +. O + +EVILTOSS S-MAL +: O + +backdoor O +, O +Sedreco S-MAL +, O +AZZY S-MAL +, O +Xagent S-MAL +, O +ADVSTORESHELL S-MAL +, O +NETUI S-MAL +. O + +GAMEFISH S-MAL +: O + +backdoor O +, O +Sednit S-MAL +, O +Seduploader S-MAL +, O +JHUHUGIT S-MAL +, O +Sofacy S-MAL +. O + +SOURFACE S-MAL +: O + +downloader O +, O +Older O +version O +of O +CORESHELL S-MAL +, O +Sofacy S-MAL +. O + +OLDBAIT S-MAL +: O + +credential O +harvester O +, O +Sasfis S-MAL +. O + +CORESHELL S-MAL +: O + +downloader O +, O +Newer O +version O +of O +SOURFACE S-MAL +, O +Sofacy S-MAL +. O + +APT28 S-APT +continues O +to O +evolve O +its O +toolkit O +and O +refine O +its O +tactics O +in O +what O +is O +almost O +certainly O +an O +effort O +to O +protect O +its O +operational O +effectiveness O +in O +the O +face O +of O +heightened O +public O +exposure O +and O +scrutiny O +. O + +In O +addition O +to O +the O +continued O +evolution O +of O +the O +group O +’s O +first O +stage O +tools O +, O +we O +have O +also O +noted O +APT28 S-APT +: O +Leveraging O +zero-day S-VULNAME +vulnerabilities O +in O +Adobe S-IDTY +Flash S-TOOL +Player S-TOOL +, O +Java S-TOOL +, O +and O +Windows S-OS +, O +including O +CVE-2015-1701 S-VULID +, O +CVE-2015-2424 S-VULID +, O +CVE-2015-2590 S-VULID +, O +CVE-2015-3043 S-VULID +, O +CVE-2015-5119 S-VULID +, O +and O +CVE-2015-7645 S-VULID +. O + +Using O +a O +profiling O +script O +to O +deploy O +zero-days S-VULNAME +and O +other O +tools O +more O +selectively O +, O +decreasing O +the O +chance O +that O +researchers O +and O +others O +will O +gain O +access O +to O +the O +group O +’s O +tools O +. O + +Increasing O +reliance O +on O +public O +code O +depositories O +, O +such O +as O +Carberp S-MAL +, O +PowerShell S-TOOL +Empire S-TOOL +, O +P.A.S. S-TOOL +webshell O +, O +Metasploit S-TOOL +modules O +, O +and O +others O +in O +a O +likely O +effort O +to O +accelerate O +their O +development O +cycle O +and O +provide O +plausible O +deniability O +. O + +Obtaining O +credentials O +through O +fabricated O +Google S-IDTY +App O +authorization O +and O +Oauth S-PROT +access O +requests O +that O +allow O +the O +group O +to O +bypass O +two-factor O +authentication O +and O +other O +security O +measures O +. O + +Moving O +laterally O +through O +a O +network O +relying O +only O +on O +legitimate O +tools O +that O +already O +exist O +within O +the O +victims O +’ O +systems O +, O +at O +times O +forgoing O +their O +traditional O +toolset O +for O +the O +duration O +of O +the O +compromise O +. O + + +Threat B-APT +Group I-APT +4127 E-APT +Targets O +Hillary O +Clinton O +Presidential O +Campaign O +. O + +The O +Hillary O +Clinton O +email S-TOOL +leak O +was O +the O +center O +of O +the O +latest O +scandal O +in O +the O +news O +caused O +by O +Threat B-APT +Group-4127 E-APT +( O +TG-4127 S-APT +) O +. O + +SecureWorks B-SECTEAM +Counter I-SECTEAM +Threat I-SECTEAM +Unit E-SECTEAM +( O +CTU S-SECTEAM +) O +researchers O +track O +the O +activities O +of O +Threat B-SECTEAM +Group-4127 E-SECTEAM +, O +which O +targets O +governments O +, O +military O +, O +and O +international O +non-governmental O +organizations O +( O +NGOs O +) O +. O + +Components O +of O +TG-4127 S-APT +operations O +have O +been O +reported O +under O +the O +names O +APT28 S-APT +, O +Sofacy S-APT +, O +Sednit S-APT +, O +and O +Pawn B-APT +Storm E-APT +. O + +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +assess O +with O +moderate O +confidence O +that O +the O +group O +is O +operating O +from O +the O +Russian O +Federation O +and O +is O +gathering O +intelligence O +on O +behalf O +of O +the O +Russian O +government O +. O + +Between O +October B-TIME +2015 E-TIME +and O +May B-TIME +2016 E-TIME +, O +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +analyzed O +8,909 O +Bitly S-TOOL +links O +that O +targeted O +3,907 O +individual O +Gmail S-TOOL +accounts O +and O +corporate O +and O +organizational O +email S-TOOL +accounts O +that O +use O +Gmail S-TOOL +as O +a O +service O +. O + +In O +March B-TIME +2016 E-TIME +, O +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +identified O +a O +spearphishing S-ACT +campaign O +using O +Bitly S-TOOL +accounts O +to O +shorten O +malicious O +URLs O +. O + +The O +targets O +were O +similar O +to O +a O +2015 S-TIME +TG-4127 S-APT +campaign O +— O +individuals O +in O +Russia S-LOC +and O +the O +former O +Soviet O +states O +, O +current O +and O +former O +military O +and O +government O +personnel O +in O +the O +U.S. S-LOC +and O +Europe S-LOC +, O +individuals O +working O +in O +the O +defense O +and O +government O +supply O +chain O +, O +and O +authors O +and O +journalists O +— O +but O +also O +included O +email S-TOOL +accounts O +linked O +to O +the O +November B-TIME +2016 E-TIME +United B-LOC +States E-LOC +presidential O +election O +. O + +Specific O +targets O +include O +staff O +working O +for O +or O +associated O +with O +Hillary O +Clinton's O +presidential O +campaign O +and O +the O +Democratic B-IDTY +National I-IDTY +Committee E-IDTY +( O +DNC S-IDTY +) O +, O +including O +individuals O +managing O +Clinton's O +communications O +, O +travel O +, O +campaign O +finances O +, O +and O +advising O +her O +on O +policy O +. O + +The O +short O +links O +in O +the O +spearphishing S-ACT +emails S-TOOL +redirected O +victims O +to O +a O +TG-4127 S-APT +controlled O +URL O +that O +spoofed O +a O +legitimate O +Google S-IDTY +domain O +. O + +A O +Base64 S-ENCR +encoded O +string O +containing O +the O +victim's O +full O +email S-TOOL +address O +is O +passed O +with O +this O +URL O +, O +prepopulating O +a O +fake O +Google S-IDTY +login O +page O +displayed O +to O +the O +victim O +. O + +If O +a O +victim O +enters O +their O +credentials O +, O +TG-4127 S-APT +can O +establish O +a O +session O +with O +Google S-IDTY +and O +access O +the O +victim's O +account O +. O + +The O +threat O +actors O +may O +be O +able O +to O +keep O +this O +session O +alive O +and O +maintain O +persistent O +access O +. O + +The O +Hillary O +for O +America S-LOC +presidential O +campaign O +owns O +the O +hillaryclinton.com S-DOM +domain O +, O +which O +is O +used O +for O +the O +campaign O +website O +( O +www.hillaryclinton.com S-DOM +) O +and O +for O +email S-TOOL +addresses O +used O +by O +campaign O +staff O +. O + +An O +examination O +of O +the O +hillaryclinton.com S-DOM +DNS S-PROT +records O +shows O +that O +the O +domain's O +MX S-TOOL +records O +, O +which O +indicate O +the O +mail O +server O +used O +by O +the O +domain O +, O +point O +to O +aspmx.l.google.com S-DOM +, O +the O +mail O +server O +used O +by O +Google S-IDTY +Apps O +. O + +Google S-IDTY +Apps O +allows O +organizations O +to O +use O +Gmail S-TOOL +as O +their O +organizational O +mail O +solution O +. O + +TG-4127 S-APT +exploited O +the O +Hillary O +for O +America S-LOC +campaign's O +use O +of O +Gmail S-TOOL +and O +leveraged O +campaign O +employees' O +expectation O +of O +the O +standard O +Gmail S-TOOL +login O +page O +to O +access O +their O +email S-TOOL +account O +. O + +When O +presented O +with O +TG-4127 S-APT +'s O +spoofed O +login O +page O +, O +victims O +might O +be O +convinced O +it O +was O +the O +legitimate O +login O +page O +for O +their O +hillaryclinton.com S-DOM +email S-TOOL +account O +. O + +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +observed O +the O +first O +short O +links O +targeting O +hillaryclinton.com S-DOM +email S-TOOL +addresses O +being O +created O +in O +mid-March B-TIME +2016 E-TIME +; O +the O +last O +link O +was O +created O +in O +mid-May S-TIME +. O + +During O +this O +period O +, O +TG-4127 S-APT +created O +213 O +short O +links O +targeting O +108 O +email S-TOOL +addresses O +on O +the O +hillaryclinton.com S-DOM +domain O +. O + +Through O +open-source O +research O +, O +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +identified O +the O +owners O +of O +66 O +of O +the O +targeted O +email S-TOOL +addresses O +. O + +There O +was O +no O +open-source O +footprint O +for O +the O +remaining O +42 O +addresses O +, O +suggesting O +that O +TG-4127 S-APT +acquired O +them O +from O +another O +source O +, O +possibly O +other O +intelligence O +activity O +. O + +The O +identified O +email S-TOOL +owners O +held O +a O +wide O +range O +of O +responsibilities O +within O +the O +Hillary O +for O +America S-LOC +campaign O +, O +extending O +from O +senior O +figures O +to O +junior O +employees O +and O +the O +group O +mailboxes O +for O +various O +regional O +offices O +. O + +Targeted O +senior O +figures O +managed O +communications O +and O +media O +affairs O +, O +policy O +, O +speech O +writing O +, O +finance O +, O +and O +travel O +, O +while O +junior O +figures O +arranged O +schedules O +and O +travel O +for O +Hillary O +Clinton's O +campaign O +trail O +. O + +Targets O +held O +the O +following O +titles O +: O + +National O +political O +director O +Finance O +director O +Director O +of O +strategic O +communications O +Director O +of O +scheduling O +Director O +of O +travel O +Traveling O +press O +secretary O +Travel O +coordinator O +. O + +Publicly O +available O +Bitly S-TOOL +data O +reveals O +how O +many O +of O +the O +short O +links O +were O +clicked O +, O +likely O +by O +a O +victim O +opening O +a O +spearphishing S-ACT +email S-TOOL +and O +clicking O +the O +link O +to O +the O +fake O +Gmail S-TOOL +login O +page O +. O + +Only O +20 O +of O +the O +213 O +short O +links O +have O +been O +clicked O +as O +of O +this O +publication O +. O + +Eleven O +of O +the O +links O +were O +clicked O +once O +, O +four O +were O +clicked O +twice O +, O +two O +were O +clicked O +three O +times O +, O +and O +two O +were O +clicked O +four O +times O +. O + +The O +U.S. S-LOC +Democratic O +party's O +governing O +body O +, O +the O +Democratic B-IDTY +National I-IDTY +Committee E-IDTY +( O +DNC S-IDTY +) O +, O +uses O +the O +dnc.org S-DOM +domain O +for O +its O +staff O +email S-TOOL +. O + +Between O +mid-March S-TIME +and O +mid-April B-TIME +2016 E-TIME +, O +TG-4127 S-APT +created O +16 O +short O +links O +targeting O +nine O +dnc.org S-DOM +email S-TOOL +accounts O +. O + +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +identified O +the O +owners O +of O +three O +of O +these O +accounts O +; O +two O +belonged O +to O +the O +DNC S-IDTY +'s O +secretary O +emeritus O +, O +and O +one O +belonged O +to O +the O +communications O +director O +. O + +Four O +of O +the O +16 O +short O +links O +were O +clicked O +, O +three O +by O +the O +senior O +staff O +members O +. O + +As O +of O +this O +publication O +, O +dnc.org S-DOM +does O +not O +use O +the O +Google S-IDTY +Apps O +Gmail O +email S-TOOL +service O +. O + +However O +, O +because O +dnc.org S-DOM +email S-TOOL +accounts O +were O +targeted O +in O +the O +same O +way O +as O +hillaryclinton.com S-DOM +accounts O +, O +it O +is O +likely O +that O +dnc.org S-DOM +did O +use O +Gmail S-TOOL +at O +that O +time O +and O +later O +moved O +to O +a O +different O +service O +. O + +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +do O +not O +have O +evidence O +that O +these O +spearphishing S-ACT +emails S-TOOL +are O +connected O +to O +the O +DNC S-IDTY +network O +compromise O +that O +was O +revealed O +on O +June B-TIME +14 E-TIME +. O + +However O +, O +a O +coincidence O +seems O +unlikely O +, O +and O +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +suspect O +that O +TG-4127 S-APT +used O +the O +spearphishing S-ACT +emails S-TOOL +or O +similar O +techniques O +to O +gain O +an O +initial O +foothold O +in O +the O +DNC S-IDTY +network O +. O + +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +identified O +TG-4127 S-APT +targeting O +26 O +personal O +gmail.com O +accounts O +belonging O +to O +individuals O +linked O +to O +the O +Hillary O +for O +America S-LOC +campaign O +, O +the O +DNC S-IDTY +, O +or O +other O +aspects O +of O +U.S. S-LOC +national O +politics O +. O + +Five O +of O +the O +individuals O +also O +had O +a O +hillaryclinton.com S-DOM +email S-TOOL +account O +that O +was O +targeted O +by O +TG-4127 S-APT +. O + +Many O +of O +these O +individuals O +held O +communications O +, O +media O +, O +finance O +, O +or O +policy O +roles O +. O + +They O +include O +the O +director O +of O +speechwriting O +for O +Hillary O +for O +America S-LOC +and O +the O +deputy O +director O +office O +of O +the O +chair O +at O +the O +DNC S-IDTY +. O + +TG-4127 S-APT +created O +150 O +short O +links O +targeting O +this O +group O +. O + +As O +of O +this O +publication O +, O +40 O +of O +the O +links O +have O +been O +clicked O +at O +least O +once O +. O + +Although O +the O +2015 S-TIME +campaign O +did O +not O +focus O +on O +individuals O +associated O +with O +U.S. S-LOC +politics O +, O +open-source O +evidence O +suggests O +that O +TG-4127 S-APT +targeted O +individuals O +connected O +to O +the O +U.S. S-LOC +White O +House O +in O +early O +2015 S-TIME +. O + +The O +threat O +group O +also O +reportedly O +targeted O +the O +German O +parliament O +and O +German O +Chancellor O +Angela O +Merkel's O +Christian O +Democratic O +Union O +party O +. O + +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +have O +not O +observed O +TG-4127 S-APT +use O +this O +technique O +( O +using O +Bitly S-TOOL +short O +links O +) O +to O +target O +the O +U.S. S-LOC +Republican O +party O +or O +the O +other O +U.S. S-LOC +presidential O +candidates O +whose O +campaigns O +were O +active O +between O +mid-March S-TIME +and O +mid-May S-TIME +: O +Donald O +Trump O +, O +Bernie O +Sanders O +, O +Ted O +Cruz O +, O +Marco O +Rubio O +, O +and O +John O +Kasich O +. O + +However O +, O +the O +following O +email S-TOOL +domains O +do O +not O +use O +Google S-IDTY +mail O +servers O +and O +may O +have O +been O +targeted O +by O +other O +means O +: O + +gop.com S-DOM +— O +used O +by O +the O +Republican B-IDTY +National I-IDTY +Committee E-IDTY +, O +donaldjtrump.com S-DOM +— O +used O +by O +the O +Donald O +Trump O +campaign O +, O +johnkasich.com S-DOM +— O +used O +by O +the O +John O +Kasich O +campaign O +. O + +Access O +to O +targets' O +Google S-IDTY +accounts O +allows O +TG-4127 S-APT +to O +review O +internal O +emails S-TOOL +and O +potentially O +access O +other O +Google S-IDTY +Apps O +services O +used O +by O +these O +organizations O +, O +such O +as O +Google S-IDTY +Drive S-TOOL +. O + +In O +addition O +to O +the O +value O +of O +the O +intelligence O +, O +the O +threat O +actors O +could O +also O +exploit O +this O +access O +for O +other O +malicious O +activity O +, O +such O +as O +generating O +spearphishing S-ACT +emails S-TOOL +from O +internal O +email S-TOOL +addresses O +to O +compromise O +the O +organizations' O +networks O +with O +malware O +. O + +The O +Russian O +government O +views O +the O +U.S. S-LOC +as O +a O +strategic O +rival O +and O +is O +known O +to O +task O +its O +intelligence O +agencies O +with O +gathering O +confidential O +information O +about O +individuals O +and O +organizations O +close O +to O +the O +center O +of O +power O +in O +the O +U.S. S-LOC +Individuals O +working O +for O +the O +Hillary O +for O +America S-LOC +campaign O +could O +have O +information O +about O +proposed O +policies O +for O +a O +Clinton O +presidency O +, O +including O +foreign-policy O +positions O +, O +which O +would O +be O +valuable O +to O +the O +Russian O +government O +. O + +Information O +about O +travel O +plans O +and O +campaign O +scheduling O +could O +provide O +short-term O +opportunities O +for O +other O +intelligence O +operations O +. O + +Long-term O +access O +to O +email S-TOOL +accounts O +of O +senior O +campaign O +advisors O +, O +who O +may O +be O +appointed O +to O +staff O +positions O +in O +a O +Clinton O +administration O +, O +could O +provide O +TG-4127 S-APT +and O +the O +Russian O +government O +with O +access O +to O +those O +individual's O +accounts O +. O + +While O +TG-4127 S-APT +continues O +to O +primarily O +threaten O +organizations O +and O +individuals O +operating O +in O +Russia O +and O +former O +Soviet O +states O +, O +this O +campaign O +illustrates O +its O +willingness O +to O +expand O +its O +scope O +to O +other O +targets O +that O +have O +intelligence O +of O +interest O +to O +the O +Russian O +government O +. O + +Non-governmental O +political O +organizations O +may O +provide O +access O +to O +desirable O +national O +policy O +information O +, O +especially O +foreign O +policy O +, O +but O +may O +not O +have O +the O +same O +level O +of O +protection O +and O +security O +as O +governmental O +organizations O +. O + +Targeting O +individuals O +linked O +to O +presidential O +campaigns O +could O +represent O +an O +intelligence O +‘ O +long O +game O +,' O +as O +establishing O +access O +to O +potential O +U.S. S-LOC +administration O +staff O +before O +they O +are O +appointed O +could O +be O +easier O +than O +targeting O +them O +when O +they O +are O +established O +in O +the O +White B-IDTY +House E-IDTY +. O + +Access O +to O +an O +individual's O +personal O +or O +corporate O +email S-TOOL +account O +provides O +a O +substantial O +amount O +of O +useful O +intelligence O +, O +and O +threat O +actors O +could O +also O +leverage O +the O +access O +to O +launch O +additional O +attacks O +to O +penetrate O +the O +network O +of O +an O +associated O +organization O +. O + +Users O +rarely O +check O +the O +full O +URL O +associated O +with O +short O +links O +, O +so O +threat O +groups O +can O +use O +URL-shortening O +services O +to O +effectively O +hide O +malicious O +URLs O +. O + +Threat O +actors O +can O +use O +the O +services' O +detailed O +statistics O +about O +which O +links O +were O +clicked O +when O +, O +and O +from O +what O +location O +, O +to O +track O +the O +success O +of O +a O +spearphishing S-ACT +campaign O +. O + +A O +single O +compromised O +account O +could O +allow O +TG-4127 S-APT +to O +achieve O +its O +operational O +goals O +. O + +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +recommend O +that O +clients O +take O +appropriate O +precautions O +to O +minimize O +the O +risk O +of O +these O +types O +of O +attacks O +: O + +Educate O +users O +about O +the O +risks O +of O +spearphishing S-ACT +emails S-TOOL +. O + +Use O +caution O +and O +exercise O +due O +diligence O +when O +faced O +with O +a O +shortened O +link O +, O +especially O +in O +unsolicited O +email S-TOOL +messages O +. O + +Pasting O +Bitly S-TOOL +URLs O +, O +appended O +with O +a O +plus O +sign O +, O +into O +the O +address O +bar O +of O +a O +web O +browser O +reveals O +the O +full O +URL O +. O + + +Sofacy S-APT +APT O +hits O +high O +profile O +targets O +with O +updated O +toolset O +. O + +Sofacy S-APT +( O +also O +known O +as O +“ O +Fancy B-APT +Bear E-APT +” O +, O +“ O +Sednit S-APT +” O +, O +“ O +STRONTIUM S-APT +” O +and O +“ O +APT28 S-APT +” O +) O +is O +an O +advanced O +threat O +group O +that O +has O +been O +active O +since O +around O +2008 S-TIME +, O +targeting O +mostly O +military O +and O +government O +entities O +worldwide O +, O +with O +a O +focus O +on O +NATO S-IDTY +countries O +. O + +More O +recently O +, O +we O +have O +also O +seen O +an O +increase O +in O +activity O +targeting O +Ukraine S-LOC +. O + +Back O +in O +2011-2012 S-TIME +, O +the O +group O +used O +a O +relatively O +tiny O +implant O +( O +known O +as O +“ O +Sofacy S-APT +” O +or O +SOURFACE S-MAL +) O +as O +its O +first O +stage O +malware O +. O + +The O +implant O +shared O +certain O +similarities O +with O +the O +old O +Miniduke S-APT +implants O +. O + +This O +led O +us O +to O +believe O +the O +two O +groups O +were O +connected O +, O +at O +least O +to O +begin O +with O +, O +although O +it O +appears O +they O +parted O +ways O +in O +2014 S-TIME +, O +with O +the O +original O +Miniduke S-APT +group O +switching O +to O +the O +CosmicDuke S-MAL +implant O +. O + +At O +some O +point O +during O +2013 S-TIME +, O +the O +Sofacy S-APT +group O +expanded O +its O +arsenal O +and O +added O +more O +backdoors O +and O +tools O +, O +including O +CORESHELL S-TOOL +, O +SPLM S-MAL +( O +aka O +Xagent S-MAL +, O +aka O +CHOPSTICK S-MAL +) O +, O +JHUHUGIT S-MAL +( O +which O +is O +built O +with O +code O +from O +the O +Carberp S-MAL +sources O +) O +, O +AZZY S-MAL +( O +aka O +ADVSTORESHELL S-MAL +, O +NETUI S-MAL +, O +EVILTOSS S-MAL +, O +and O +spans O +across O +four O +to O +five O +generations O +) O +and O +a O +few O +others O +. O + +We O +’ve O +seen O +quite O +a O +few O +versions O +of O +these O +implants O +and O +they O +were O +relatively O +widespread O +for O +a O +time O +. O + +Sofacy S-APT +’s O +August B-TIME +2015 E-TIME +attack O +wave O +. O + +In O +the O +months O +leading O +up O +to O +August S-TIME +, O +the O +Sofacy S-APT +group O +launched O +several O +waves O +of O +attacks O +relying O +on O +zero-day S-VULNAME +exploits O +in O +Microsoft S-IDTY +Office S-TOOL +, O +Oracle S-TOOL +Sun O +Java S-TOOL +, O +Adobe S-TOOL +Flash S-TOOL +Player S-TOOL +and O +Windows S-OS +itself O +. O + +For O +instance O +, O +its O +JHUHUGIT S-MAL +implant O +was O +delivered O +through O +a O +Flash S-TOOL +zero-day S-VULNAME +and O +used O +a O +Windows S-OS +EoP S-TOOL +exploit O +to O +break O +out O +of O +the O +sandbox O +. O + +The O +JHUHUGIT S-MAL +implant O +became O +a O +relatively O +popular O +first O +stage O +for O +the O +Sofacy S-APT +attacks O +and O +was O +used O +again O +with O +a O +Java S-TOOL +zero-day S-VULNAME +( O +CVE-2015-2590 S-VULID +) O +in O +July B-TIME +2015 E-TIME +. O + +While O +the O +JHUHUGIT S-MAL +( O +and O +more O +recently O +, O +“ O +JKEYSKW S-MAL +” O +) O +implant O +used O +in O +most O +of O +the O +Sofacy S-APT +attacks O +, O +high O +profile O +victims O +are O +being O +targeted O +with O +another O +first O +level O +implant O +, O +representing O +the O +latest O +evolution O +of O +their O +AZZYTrojan S-MAL +. O + +The O +first O +versions O +of O +the O +new O +AZZY S-MAL +implant O +appeared O +in O +August S-TIME +of O +this O +year O +. O + +During O +a O +high O +profile O +incident O +we O +investigated O +, O +our O +products O +successfully O +detected O +and O +blocked O +a O +“ O +standard O +” O +Sofacy S-APT +“ O +AZZY S-MAL +” O +sample O +that O +was O +used O +to O +target O +a O +range O +of O +defense O +contractors O +. O + +The O +sample O +used O +in O +this O +attack O +( O +MD5 S-ENCR +A96F4B8AC7AA9DBF4624424B7602D4F7 S-MD5 +, O +compiled O +July B-TIME +29th I-TIME +, I-TIME +2015 E-TIME +) O +was O +a O +pretty O +standard O +Sofacy S-APT +x64 O +AZZY S-MAL +implant O +, O +which O +has O +the O +internal O +name O +“ O +advshellstore.dll S-FILE +” O +. O + +Interestingly O +, O +the O +fact O +that O +the O +attack O +was O +blocked O +didn’t O +appear O +to O +stop O +the O +Sofacy S-APT +team O +. O + +Just O +an O +hour O +and O +a O +half O +later O +they O +had O +compiled O +and O +delivered O +another O +AZZY S-MAL +x64 O +backdoor O +( O +md5: O +9D2F9E19DB8C20DC0D20D50869C7A373 S-MD5 +, O +compiled O +August B-TIME +4th I-TIME +, I-TIME +2015 E-TIME +) O +. O + +This O +was O +no O +longer O +detectable O +with O +static O +signatures O +by O +our O +product O +. O + +However O +, O +it O +was O +detected O +dynamically O +by O +the O +host O +intrusion O +prevention O +subsystem O +when O +it O +appeared O +in O +the O +system O +and O +was O +executed O +. O + +This O +recurring O +, O +blindingly-fast O +Sofacy S-APT +attack O +attracted O +our O +attention O +as O +neither O +sample O +was O +delivered O +through O +a O +zero-day S-VULNAME +vulnerability O +— O +instead O +, O +they O +appeared O +to O +be O +downloaded O +and O +installed O +by O +another O +malware O +. O + +This O +separate O +malware O +was O +installed O +by O +an O +unknown O +attack O +as O +“ O +AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\msdeltemp.dll S-FILE +” O +( O +md5: O +CE8B99DF8642C065B6AF43FDE1F786A3 S-MD5 +) O +. O + +The O +top O +level O +malware O +, O +CE8B99DF8642C065B6AF43FDE1F786A3 S-MD5 +( O +named O +by O +its O +authors O +“ O +msdeltemp.dll S-FILE +” O +according O +to O +internal O +strings O +, O +and O +compiled O +July B-TIME +28th I-TIME +, I-TIME +2015 E-TIME +) O +is O +a O +rare O +type O +of O +the O +Sofacy S-APT +AZZY S-MAL +implant O +. O + +It O +has O +been O +modified O +to O +drop O +a O +separate O +C&C S-TOOL +helper O +, O +( O +md5: O +8C4D896957C36EC4ABEB07B2802268B9 S-MD5 +) O +as O +“ O +tf394kv.dll S-FILE +“ O +. O + +The O +dropped O +“ O +tf394kv.dll S-FILE +” O +file O +is O +an O +external O +C&C S-TOOL +communications O +library O +, O +compiled O +on O +July B-TIME +24th I-TIME +, I-TIME +2015 E-TIME +and O +used O +by O +the O +main O +backdoor O +for O +all O +Internet-based O +communications O +. O + +This O +code O +modification O +marks O +an O +unusual O +departure O +from O +the O +typical O +AZZY B-MAL +backdoors E-MAL +, O +with O +its O +C&C S-TOOL +communication O +functions O +moved O +to O +an O +external O +DLL S-TOOL +file O +. O + +In O +the O +past O +, O +the O +Sofacy S-APT +developers O +modified O +earlier O +AZZY B-MAL +backdoors E-MAL +to O +use O +a O +C&C S-TOOL +server O +encoded O +in O +the O +registry O +, O +instead O +of O +storing O +it O +in O +the O +malware O +itself O +, O +so O +this O +code O +modularisation O +follows O +the O +same O +line O +of O +thinking O +. O + +In O +addition O +to O +the O +new O +AZZY B-MAL +backdoors E-MAL +with O +side-DLL S-TOOL +for O +C&C S-TOOL +, O +we O +observed O +a O +new O +set O +of O +data-theft O +modules O +deployed O +against O +victims O +by O +the O +Sofacy S-APT +group O +. O + +Among O +the O +most O +popular O +modern O +defense O +mechanisms O +against O +APTs O +are O +air-gaps O +— O +isolated O +network O +segments O +without O +Internet O +access O +, O +where O +sensitive O +data O +is O +stored O +. O + +In O +the O +past O +, O +we O +’ve O +seen O +groups O +such O +as O +Equation S-APT +and O +Flame S-APT +use O +malware O +to O +steal O +data O +from O +air-gapped O +networks O +. O + +The O +Sofacy S-APT +group O +uses O +such O +tools O +as O +well O +. O + +The O +first O +versions O +of O +these O +new O +USB B-TOOL +stealer E-TOOL +modules O +appeared O +around O +February B-TIME +2015 E-TIME +and O +the O +latest O +appear O +to O +have O +been O +compiled O +in O +May B-TIME +2015 E-TIME +. O + +Older O +versions O +of O +these O +USBSTEALER S-TOOL +modules O +were O +previously O +described O +by O +our O +colleagues O +from O +ESET S-SECTEAM +. O + +One O +example O +of O +the O +new O +Sofacy S-APT +USBSTEALER S-TOOL +modules O +is O +8b238931a7f64fddcad3057a96855f6c S-MD5 +, O +which O +is O +named O +internally O +as O +msdetltemp.dll S-FILE +. O + +This O +data O +theft O +module O +appears O +to O +have O +been O +compiled O +in O +May B-TIME +2015 E-TIME +and O +is O +designed O +to O +watch O +removable O +drives O +and O +collect O +files O +from O +them O +, O +depending O +on O +a O +set O +of O +rules O +defined O +by O +the O +attackers O +. O + +The O +stolen O +data O +is O +copied O +into O +a O +hidden O +directory O +as O +“ O +%MYPICTURES%\%volume O +serial O +number% O +“ O +, O +from O +where O +it O +can O +be O +exfiltrated O +by O +the O +attackers O +using O +one O +of O +the O +AZZY S-MAL +implants O +. O + +More O +details O +on O +the O +new O +USB S-TOOL +stealers O +are O +available O +in O +the O +section O +on O +technical O +analysis O +. O + +Over O +the O +last O +year O +, O +the O +Sofacy S-APT +group O +has O +increased O +its O +activity O +almost O +tenfold O +when O +compared O +to O +previous O +years O +, O +becoming O +one O +of O +the O +most O +prolific O +, O +agile O +and O +dynamic O +threat O +actors O +in O +the O +arena O +. O + +This O +activity O +spiked O +in O +July B-TIME +2015 E-TIME +, O +when O +the O +group O +dropped O +two O +completely O +new O +exploits O +, O +an O +Office S-TOOL +and O +Java S-TOOL +zero-day S-VULNAME +. O + +At O +the O +beginning O +of O +August S-TIME +, O +Sofacy S-APT +began O +a O +new O +wave O +of O +attacks O +, O +focusing O +on O +defense-related O +targets O +. O + +As O +of O +November B-TIME +2015 E-TIME +, O +this O +wave O +of O +attacks O +is O +ongoing O +. O + +The O +attackers O +deploy O +a O +rare O +modification O +of O +the O +AZZY B-MAL +backdoor E-MAL +, O +which O +is O +used O +for O +the O +initial O +reconnaissance O +. O + +Once O +a O +foothold O +is O +established O +, O +they O +try O +to O +upload O +more O +backdoors O +, O +USB S-TOOL +stealers O +as O +well O +as O +other O +hacking O +tools O +such O +as O +“ O +Mimikatz S-TOOL +” O +for O +lateral O +movement O +. O + +Two O +recurring O +characteristics O +of O +the O +Sofacy S-APT +group O +that O +we O +keep O +seeing O +in O +its O +attacks O +are O +speed O +and O +the O +use O +of O +multi-backdoor O +packages O +for O +extreme O +resilience O +. O + +In O +the O +past O +, O +the O +group O +used O +droppers O +that O +installed O +both O +the O +SPLM S-MAL +and O +AZZY B-MAL +backdoors E-MAL +on O +the O +same O +machine O +. O + +If O +one O +of O +them O +was O +detected O +, O +the O +other O +one O +provided O +the O +attacker O +with O +continued O +access O +. O + +Internal O +name O +: O +DWN_DLL_MAIN.dll S-FILE +File O +format O +: O +PE32 O +DLL S-TOOL +MD5: O +ce8b99df8642c065b6af43fde1f786a3 S-MD5 +Linker O +version O +: O +11.0 O +, O +Microsoft S-IDTY +Visual B-TOOL +Studio E-TOOL +Linker O +timestamp O +: O +2015.07.28 B-TIME +13:05:20 E-TIME +( O +GMT S-TOOL +) O +. O + +The O +library O +starts O +its O +main O +worker O +thread O +from O +the O +DllMain O +function O +. O + +Most O +of O +the O +strings O +inside O +the O +module O +are O +encrypted O +with O +a O +homebrew O +XOR-based S-ENCR +algorithm O +. O + +In O +addition O +to O +that O +, O +API O +function O +names O +are O +reversed O +, O +presumably O +to O +avoid O +detection O +in O +memory O +. O + +Once O +started O +, O +the O +code O +in O +the O +main O +thread O +resolves O +the O +basic O +API O +functions O +it O +needs O +and O +loads O +an O +additional O +library O +from O +the O +following O +location O +: O +“ O +%TEMP%\tf394kv.dll S-FILE +” O +. O + +If O +this O +file O +is O +not O +present O +, O +it O +is O +recreated O +from O +a O +hardcoded O +encrypted O +array O +inside O +the O +body O +of O +the O +DLL S-TOOL +. O + +Next O +, O +the O +module O +enters O +an O +infinite O +loop O +. O + +Every O +five O +minutes O +it O +collects O +basic O +system O +information O +and O +sends O +it O +to O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +server O +. O + +The O +main O +thread O +also O +spawns O +a O +separate O +thread O +for O +receiving O +new O +commands O +from O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +servers O +. O + +Every O +10 B-TIME +minutes E-TIME +, O +it O +sends O +a O +new O +request O +to O +the O +server O +. O + +The O +server O +is O +expected O +to O +send O +back O +executable O +code O +and O +one O +of O +the O +following O +commands O +: O + +Write O +a O +new O +file O +“ O +%LOCAL_APPDATA%\dllhost.exe S-FILE +” O +or O +“ O +%TEMP%\dllhost.exe S-FILE +” O +and O +execute O +it O +, O +then O +delete O +the O +file O +, O +Write O +a O +new O +file O +“ O +%LOCAL_APPDATA%\sechost.dll S-FILE +” O +or O +“ O +%TEMP%\sechost.dll S-FILE +” O +and O +call O +its O +first O +exported O +function O +using O +“ O +rundll32.exe S-FILE +” O +or O +Windows S-OS +API O +, O +then O +delete O +the O +file O +, O +Run O +shellcode O +provided O +by O +the O +server O +in O +a O +new O +thread O +While O +processing O +the O +commands O +, O +the O +backdoor O +logs O +all O +errors O +and O +execution O +results O +. O + +The O +module O +also O +reads O +the O +contents O +of O +the O +file O +“ O +%APPDATA%\chkdbg.log S-FILE +” O +and O +appends O +it O +to O +the O +results O +. O + +It O +then O +sends O +the O +aggregated O +log O +back O +to O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +server O +. O + +The O +module O +aborts O +the O +thread O +receiving O +C2 S-TOOL +command O +after O +it O +fails O +to O +correctly O +execute O +commands O +more O +than O +six O +times O +in O +a O +row O +, O +i.e. O +if O +file O +or O +process O +creation O +fails O +. O + +The O +export O +called O +“ O +k O +” O +is O +a O +wrapper O +for O +the O +“ O +LoadLibraryA O +” O +API O +function O +. O + +The O +export O +called O +“ O +SendDataToServer_2 O +” O +does O +exactly O +what O +the O +name O +means O +: O +it O +encrypts O +all O +collected O +data O +, O +encodes O +it O +using O +Base64 S-ENCR +encoding O +and O +calls O +its O +additional O +library O +to O +send O +the O +data O +to O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +server O +. O + +The O +names O +of O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +servers O +are O +hardcoded O +. O + +The O +two O +C&C S-TOOL +’s O +hardcoded O +in O +the O +configuration O +block O +of O +the O +main O +binary O +are O +: O + +intelnetservice.com S-DOM +intelsupport.net S-DOM +The O +export O +called O +“ O +Applicate O +” O +runs O +a O +standard O +Windows S-OS +application O +message O +loop O +until O +a O +“ O +WM_ENDSESSION O +” O +message O +is O +received O +. O + +It O +then O +terminates O +the O +main O +thread O +. O + +Internal O +name O +: O +snd.dll S-FILE +File O +format O +: O +PE32 O +DLL S-TOOL +MD5: O +8c4d896957c36ec4abeb07b2802268b9 S-MD5 +Linker O +version O +: O +11.0 O +, O +Microsoft S-IDTY +Visual B-TOOL +Studio E-TOOL +Linker O +timestamp O +: O +2015.07.24 B-TIME +12:07:27 E-TIME +( O +GMT S-TOOL +) O +Exported O +functions O +: O + +10001580: O +Init O +10001620: O +InternetExchange O +10001650: O +SendData O +This O +external O +library O +implements O +a O +simple O +Wininet-based O +transport O +for O +the O +main O +module O +. O + +The O +strings O +inside O +the O +binary O +are O +encrypted O +using O +3DES S-ENCR +and O +XOR S-ENCR +and O +reversed O +. O + +The O +DllMain O +function O +initializes O +the O +library O +and O +resolves O +all O +required O +Windows S-OS +API O +functions O +. O + +The O +“ O +Init O +” O +export O +establishes O +connection O +to O +port O +80 O +of O +a O +C2 S-TOOL +server O +using O +Wininet S-TOOL +API O +. O + +The O +user O +agent O +string O +employed O +is O +“ O +MSIE S-TOOL +8.0 O +” O +. O + +The O +“ O +SendData O +” O +export O +sends O +a O +HTTP S-PROT +POST O +request O +using O +a O +hardcoded O +URI O +“ O +/store/ O +“ O +. O + +The O +reply O +, O +if O +its O +length O +is O +not O +equal O +to O +six O +and O +its O +contents O +do O +not O +contain O +“ O +OK O +” O +is O +returned O +back O +to O +the O +caller O +. O + +The O +“ O +InternetExchange O +” O +export O +closes O +the O +established O +connection O +and O +frees O +associated O +handles O +. O + +Sofacy S-APT +AZZY S-MAL +4.3 O +dropper O +analysis O +File O +format O +: O +PE32 O +EXE S-TOOL +File O +size O +: O +142,336 O +bytes O +MD5: O +c3ae4a37094ecfe95c2badecf40bf5bb S-MD5 +Linker O +version O +: O +11.0 O +, O +Microsoft S-IDTY +Visual B-TOOL +Studio E-TOOL +Linker O +timestamp O +: O +2015.02.10 B-TIME +10:01:59 E-TIME +( O +GMT S-TOOL +) O +Most O +of O +the O +strings O +and O +data O +in O +the O +file O +are O +encrypted O +using O +3DES S-ENCR +and O +XOR S-ENCR +. O + +The O +code O +makes O +use O +of O +the O +Windows S-OS +Crypto S-TOOL +API O +for O +3DES S-ENCR +and O +the O +decryption O +key O +is O +stored O +as O +a O +standard O +Windows S-OS +PUBLICKEYSTRUC S-TOOL +structure O +. O + +First O +, O +it O +creates O +a O +new O +directory O +: O +“ O +%LOCAL_APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows S-OS +” O +. O + +If O +the O +directory O +creation O +fails O +it O +tries O +to O +install O +into O +“ O +%TEMP% O +” O +directory O +instead O +. O + +Next O +it O +writes O +a O +hardcoded O +binary O +from O +its O +body O +to O +“ O +msdeltemp.dll S-FILE +” O +into O +the O +target O +directory O +. O + +If O +the O +file O +exists O +it O +then O +moves O +it O +to O +“ O +__tmpdt.tmp S-FILE +” O +in O +the O +same O +directory O +and O +continues O +the O +installation O +. O + +Sets O +file O +creation O +timestamp O +to O +that O +of O +“ O +%SYSTEM%\sfc.dll S-FILE +” O +. O + +Finally O +, O +the O +program O +removes O +itself O +by O +starting O +the O +following O +command O +: O +“ O +cmd S-TOOL +/c O +DEL O +%path O +to O +self% O +“ O +The O +MD5 S-ENCR +of O +the O +dropped O +file O +is O +f6f88caf49a3e32174387cacfa144a89 S-MD5 +. O + +Dropper O +payload O +– O +downloader O +DLL S-TOOL +Internal O +name O +: O +msdetltemp.dll S-FILE +File O +format O +: O +PE32 O +DLL S-TOOL +File O +size O +: O +73 O +728 O +bytes O +MD5: O +f6f88caf49a3e32174387cacfa144a89 S-MD5 +Linker O +version O +: O +11.0 O +, O +Microsoft S-IDTY +Visual B-TOOL +Studio E-TOOL +Linker O +timestamp O +: O +2015.02.10 B-TIME +07:20:02 E-TIME +( O +GMT S-TOOL +) O +Exported O +functions O +: O + +10002B55: O +Applicate O +Most O +of O +the O +strings O +inside O +the O +binary O +are O +encrypted O +using O +a O +homebrew O +XOR-based S-ENCR +algorithm O +and O +reversed O +. O + +The O +library O +is O +an O +older O +version O +of O +the O +“ O +DWN_DLL_MAIN.dll S-FILE +” O +( O +md5: O +ce8b99df8642c065b6af43fde1f786a3 S-MD5 +) O +. O + +The O +DllMain O +function O +is O +identical O +and O +starts O +the O +main O +thread O +; O +the O +“ O +Applicate O +” O +function O +is O +identical O +to O +the O +one O +in O +the O +newer O +library O +. O + +This O +version O +of O +the O +module O +does O +not O +rely O +on O +an O +external O +transport O +DLL S-TOOL +for O +communicating O +with O +its O +C2 S-TOOL +servers O +; O +instead O +it O +directly O +uses O +Wininet S-TOOL +API O +functions O +. O + +The O +module O +contains O +the O +following O +hardcoded O +C2 S-TOOL +server O +names O +: O + +drivres-update.info S-DOM +softupdates.info S-DOM +The O +module O +uses O +a O +hardcoded O +URL O +( O +“ O +/check/ O +“ O +) O +for O +sending O +HTTP S-PROT +POST O +requests O +to O +its O +C2 S-TOOL +servers O +. O + + +Sofacy S-APT +APT O +hits O +high O +profile O +targets O +with O +updated O +toolset O +. O + +File O +collection O +module O +( O +“ O +USB B-TOOL +Stealer E-TOOL +” O +) O +Internal O +name O +: O +msdetltemp.dll S-FILE +( O +from O +resources O +) O +File O +size O +: O +50,176 O +bytes O +File O +format O +: O +PE32 O +EXE S-TOOL +MD5: O +0369620eb139c3875a62e36bb7abdae8 S-MD5 +Linker O +version O +: O +10.0 O +, O +Microsoft S-IDTY +Visual B-TOOL +Studio E-TOOL +Linker O +timestamp O +: O +2015.02.09 B-TIME +11:48:01 E-TIME +( O +GMT S-TOOL +) O +Most O +of O +the O +strings O +inside O +the O +binary O +are O +encrypted O +using O +3DES S-ENCR +and O +XOR S-ENCR +and O +reversed O +. O + +The O +program O +creates O +the O +mutex O +“ O +mtx O +” O +and O +an O +event O +named O +“ O +WerTyQ34C O +” O +. O + +Upon O +start O +, O +it O +creates O +a O +window O +with O +the O +class O +name O +“ O +Hello O +” O +and O +title O +“ O +Program O +” O +, O +subscribes O +for O +device O +arrival O +notifications O +for O +that O +window O +and O +enters O +a O +standard O +Windows S-OS +message O +processing O +loop O +. O + +The O +message O +processing O +function O +waits O +for O +the O +WM_DEVICECHANGE O +event O +and O +starts O +a O +new O +thread O +on O +its O +arrival O +. O + +The O +module O +inspects O +every O +new O +disk O +volume O +attached O +to O +the O +system O +. O + +For O +every O +disk O +it O +creates O +a O +“ O +stash O +” O +directory O +in O +“ O +%root O +stash O +directory O +location%\%volume O +serial O +number O +in O +hex% O +” O +with O +attributes O +FILE_ATTRIBUTE_HIDDEN O +and O +FILE_ATTRIBUTE_SYSTEM O +. O + +The O +root O +stash O +directory O +location O +may O +be O +read O +from O +the O +configuration O +file O +or O +set O +to O +the O +default O +location O +which O +is O +“ O +%MYPICTURES% O +” O +. O + +Then O +, O +it O +traverses O +the O +filesystem O +of O +the O +volume O +looking O +for O +files O +. O + +Depending O +on O +the O +settings O +read O +from O +the O +configuration O +file O +, O +the O +scope O +may O +be O +narrowed O +to O +files O +with O +particular O +extensions O +and/or O +files O +created O +after O +a O +specified O +date O +. O + +It O +is O +worth O +noting O +that O +if O +the O +source O +file O +location O +contains O +the O +string O +“ O +System O +Volume O +Information\S-1-5-21-1315235578-283289242\ O +” O +, O +then O +the O +file O +is O +deleted O +after O +copying O +to O +the O +“ O +stash O +” O +directory O +. O + +There O +are O +known O +related O +samples O +that O +are O +able O +to O +create O +such O +directories O +on O +removable O +drives O +, O +i.e O +. O +the O +sample O +with O +md5: O +8cb08140ddb00ac373d29d37657a03cc S-MD5 +. O + +The O +configuration O +file O +is O +loaded O +from O +the O +same O +directory O +as O +the O +module O +and O +is O +expected O +to O +have O +a O +name O +“ O +NvCpld.dat S-FILE +“ O +. O + +It O +is O +a O +text O +file O +that O +may O +contain O +the O +following O +configuration O +parameters O +: O + +Path O +– O +location O +of O +the O +root O +“ O +stash O +” O +directory O +Ext O +– O +search O +for O +files O +with O +one O +of O +these O +extensions O +only O +Date O +– O +search O +for O +files O +not O +earlier O +than O +this O +date O +Internal O +name O +: O +NvCpld.dll S-FILE +( O +from O +export O +table O +) O +, O +msdetltemp.dll S-FILE +( O +from O +resources O +) O +, O +IGFSRVC.dll S-FILE +( O +from O +resources O +) O +File O +format O +: O +PE32 O +DLL S-TOOL +File O +size O +: O +76,288 O +bytes O +MD5s O +: O +8b238931a7f64fddcad3057a96855f6c S-MD5 +, O +ce151285e8f0e7b2b90162ba171a4b90 S-MD5 +Linker O +version O +: O +11.0 O +, O +Microsoft S-IDTY +Visual B-TOOL +Studio E-TOOL +Linker O +timestamps O +: O +2015.05.29 B-TIME +11:20:32 E-TIME +( O +GMT S-TOOL +) O +, O +2006.11.25 B-TIME +04:39:15 E-TIME +( O +GMT S-TOOL +) O +Exported O +functions O +: O + +10002500: O +NvMswt O +10002860: O +NvReg O +10002880: O +NvStart O +10002A80: O +NvStop O +This O +library O +is O +a O +newer O +version O +of O +the O +file O +collection O +module O +( O +md5: O +0369620eb139c3875a62e36bb7abdae8 S-MD5 +) O +wrapped O +in O +a O +DLL S-TOOL +file O +. O + +There O +are O +two O +known O +variants O +of O +this O +module O +; O +they O +only O +differ O +in O +timestamp O +values O +and O +version O +information O +in O +the O +resource O +section O +. O + +The O +DllMain O +function O +only O +decrypts O +the O +data O +structures O +and O +initializes O +Windows S-OS +API O +pointers O +. O + +The O +function O +“ O +NvMswt O +” O +is O +a O +wrapper O +for O +the O +API O +function O +MsgWaitForMultipleObjects O +. O + +The O +function O +“ O +NvReg O +” O +is O +a O +wrapper O +for O +the O +API O +function O +RegisterClassW O +. O + +The O +function O +“ O +NvStart O +” O +is O +similar O +to O +the O +main O +function O +of O +the O +older O +module O +; O +it O +creates O +a O +window O +and O +enters O +the O +message O +loop O +waiting O +for O +device O +arrival O +notifications O +. O + +The O +only O +difference O +introduced O +is O +that O +an O +event O +named O +“ O +WerTyQ34C O +” O +can O +be O +signalled O +by O +the O +function O +“ O +NvStop O +” O +to O +terminate O +the O +message O +loop O +and O +stop O +processing O +. O + + +How O +they O +did O +it O +: O +GRU O +hackers O +vs +. O + +US O +elections O +. O + +In O +a O +press O +briefing O +just O +two O +weeks O +ago O +, O +Deputy O +Attorney O +General O +Rod O +Rosenstein O +announced O +that O +the O +grand O +jury O +assembled O +by O +Special O +Counsel O +Robert O +Mueller O +had O +returned O +an O +indictment O +against O +12 O +officers O +of O +Russia S-LOC +'s O +Main O +Intelligence O +Directorate O +of O +the O +Russian O +General O +Staff O +( O +better O +known O +as O +Glavnoye B-IDTY +razvedyvatel'noye I-IDTY +upravleniye E-IDTY +, O +or O +GRU S-IDTY +) O +. O + +The O +indictment O +was O +for O +conducting O +" O +active O +cyber O +operations O +with O +the O +intent O +of O +interfering O +in O +the O +2016 S-TIME +presidential O +election O +. O +" O +The O +espionage O +operation O +was O +run O +by O +Unit B-APT +26165 E-APT +, O +commanded O +by O +GRU S-IDTY +Officer O +Viktor O +Borisovich O +Netykshko O +. O + +Unit B-APT +26165 E-APT +appears O +to O +be O +the O +organization O +behind O +at O +least O +part O +of O +the O +"threat O +group" O +of O +tools O +, O +techniques O +, O +and O +procedures O +known O +as O +" O +Fancy B-APT +Bear E-APT +, O +" O +" O +Sofacy S-APT +, O +" O +" O +APT28 S-APT +, O +" O +and O +" O +Sednit S-APT +" O +. O + +Within O +the O +unit O +, O +two O +divisions O +were O +involved O +in O +the O +breaches O +: O +one O +specializing O +in O +operations O +and O +the O +second O +in O +development O +and O +maintenance O +of O +hacking O +tools O +and O +infrastructure O +. O + +The O +operations O +division O +, O +supervised O +by O +Major O +Boris O +Alekseyevich O +Antonov O +, O +specialized O +in O +targeting O +organizations O +of O +intelligence O +interest O +through O +spear-phishing S-ACT +campaigns O +and O +the O +exploitation O +of O +stolen O +credentials O +. O + +Antonov's O +group O +included O +Ivan O +Sergeyevich O +Yermakov O +and O +Senior O +Lieutenant O +Aleksey O +Viktorovich O +Lukashev O +, O +according O +to O +the O +indictment O +, O +and O +they O +were O +responsible O +for O +targeting O +the O +email S-TOOL +accounts O +that O +were O +exposed O +on O +the O +" O +DCLeaks S-APT +" O +site O +prior O +to O +the O +election O +operations O +. O + +The O +second O +division O +, O +overseen O +by O +Lieutenant O +Colonel O +Sergey O +Aleksandrovich O +Morgachev O +, O +managed O +the O +development O +and O +maintenance O +of O +malware O +and O +hacking O +tools O +used O +by O +Unit B-APT +26165 E-APT +, O +including O +the O +X-Agent S-MAL +" O +implant O +" O +. O + +X-Agent S-MAL +is O +a O +signature O +tool O +of O +Fancy B-APT +Bear E-APT +operations—a O +cross-platform O +backdoor O +toolset O +with O +variants O +for O +Windows S-OS +, O +MacOS S-OS +, O +Android S-OS +, O +and O +iOS S-OS +. O + +The O +Windows S-OS +and O +MacOS S-OS +versions O +of O +X-Agent S-MAL +are O +capable O +of O +recording O +keystrokes O +, O +taking O +screenshots O +, O +and O +exfiltrating O +files O +from O +infected O +systems O +back O +to O +a O +command O +and O +control O +server O +. O + +Lieutenant O +Captain O +Nikolay O +Kozacheck O +( O +who O +used O +the O +hacker O +monikers O +" O +kazak O +" O +and O +" O +blablabla1234465 O +" O +) O +was O +the O +primary O +developer O +and O +maintainer O +of O +X-Agent S-MAL +, O +according O +to O +the O +indictment O +, O +and O +he O +was O +assisted O +by O +another O +officer O +, O +Pavel O +Yershov O +, O +in O +preparing O +it O +for O +deployment O +. O + +Once O +X-Agent S-MAL +was O +implanted O +on O +the O +DNC S-TOOL +and O +DCCC S-TOOL +networks O +, O +Second O +Lieutenant O +Artem O +Malyshev O +( O +AKA O +" O +djangomagicdev O +" O +and O +" O +realblatr O +" O +) O +monitored O +the O +implants O +through O +the O +command O +and O +control O +network O +configured O +for O +the O +task O +. O + +The O +information O +operations O +unit O +, O +Unit B-APT +74455 E-APT +, O +was O +commanded O +by O +Colonel O +Aleksandr O +Vladimirovich O +Osadchuk O +. O + +Unit B-APT +74455 E-APT +'s O +members O +would O +be O +responsible O +for O +the O +distribution O +of O +some O +of O +the O +stolen O +data O +from O +the O +breaches O +through O +the O +" O +DCLeaks S-APT +" O +and O +" O +Guccifer S-APT +2.0 O +" O +websites O +. O + +This O +group O +famously O +also O +reached O +out O +to O +WikiLeaks S-TOOL +( O +referred O +to O +as O +" O +Organization O +1 O +" O +in O +the O +indictment O +) O +to O +amplify O +their O +information O +operation O +, O +and O +they O +promoted O +the O +leaks O +to O +journalists O +through O +GRU S-IDTY +-controlled O +email S-TOOL +and O +social O +media O +accounts O +. O + +Within O +Unit B-APT +74455 E-APT +, O +Officer O +Aleksy O +Potemkin—a O +department O +supervisor—oversaw O +information O +operations O +infrastructure O +. O + +His O +group O +configured O +the O +DCLeaks S-APT +and O +Guccifer S-APT +2.0 O +blogs O +and O +social O +media O +accounts O +that O +would O +later O +be O +used O +to O +spread O +data O +stolen O +from O +the O +DNC S-TOOL +, O +DCCC S-TOOL +, O +and O +Clinton O +campaigns O +. O + + +Bears O +in O +the O +Midst O +: O +Intrusion O +Into O +the O +Democratic B-IDTY +National I-IDTY +Committee E-IDTY +. O + +There O +is O +rarely O +a O +dull O +day O +at O +CrowdStrike S-SECTEAM +where O +we O +are O +not O +detecting O +or O +responding O +to O +a O +breach O +at O +a O +company O +somewhere O +around O +the O +globe O +. O + +In O +all O +of O +these O +cases O +, O +we O +operate O +under O +strict O +confidentiality O +rules O +with O +our O +customers O +and O +cannot O +reveal O +publicly O +any O +information O +about O +these O +attacks O +. O + +But O +on O +rare O +occasions O +, O +a O +customer O +decides O +to O +go O +public O +with O +information O +about O +their O +incident O +and O +give O +us O +permission O +to O +share O +our O +knowledge O +of O +the O +adversary O +tradecraft O +with O +the O +broader O +community O +and O +help O +protect O +even O +those O +who O +do O +not O +happen O +to O +be O +our O +customers O +. O + +This O +story O +is O +about O +one O +of O +those O +cases O +. O + +CrowdStrike S-SECTEAM +Services O +Inc. O +, O +our O +Incident B-SECTEAM +Response E-SECTEAM +group O +, O +was O +called O +by O +the O +Democratic B-IDTY +National I-IDTY +Committee E-IDTY +( O +DNC S-IDTY +) O +, O +the O +formal O +governing O +body O +for O +the O +US S-LOC +Democratic O +Party O +, O +to O +respond O +to O +a O +suspected O +breach O +. O + +We O +deployed O +our O +IR S-SECTEAM +team O +and O +technology O +and O +immediately O +identified O +two O +sophisticated O +adversaries O +on O +the O +network O +– O +COZY B-APT +BEAR E-APT +and O +FANCY B-APT +BEAR E-APT +. O + +We O +’ve O +had O +lots O +of O +experience O +with O +both O +of O +these O +actors O +attempting O +to O +target O +our O +customers O +in O +the O +past O +and O +know O +them O +well O +. O + +In O +fact O +, O +our O +team O +considers O +them O +some O +of O +the O +best O +threat O +actors O +out O +of O +all O +the O +numerous O +nation-state O +, O +criminal O +and O +hacktivist/terrorist O +groups O +we O +encounter O +on O +a O +daily O +basis O +. O + +Their O +tradecraft O +is O +superb O +, O +operational O +security O +second O +to O +none O +and O +the O +extensive O +usage O +of O +‘ O +living-off-the-land O +’ O +techniques O +enables O +them O +to O +easily O +bypass O +many O +security O +solutions O +they O +encounter O +. O + +In O +particular O +, O +we O +identified O +advanced O +methods O +consistent O +with O +nation-state O +level O +capabilities O +including O +deliberate O +targeting O +and O +‘ O +access O +management O +’ O +tradecraft O +– O +both O +groups O +were O +constantly O +going O +back O +into O +the O +environment O +to O +change O +out O +their O +implants O +, O +modify O +persistent O +methods O +, O +move O +to O +new O +Command B-TOOL +& I-TOOL +Control E-TOOL +channels O +and O +perform O +other O +tasks O +to O +try O +to O +stay O +ahead O +of O +being O +detected O +. O + +Both O +adversaries O +engage O +in O +extensive O +political O +and O +economic O +espionage O +for O +the O +benefit O +of O +the O +government O +of O +the O +Russian O +Federation O +and O +are O +believed O +to O +be O +closely O +linked O +to O +the O +Russian O +government O +’s O +powerful O +and O +highly O +capable O +intelligence O +services O +. O + +COZY B-APT +BEAR E-APT +( O +also O +referred O +to O +in O +some O +industry O +reports O +as O +CozyDuke S-APT +or O +APT B-APT +29 E-APT +) O +is O +the O +adversary O +group O +that O +last O +year O +successfully O +infiltrated O +the O +unclassified O +networks O +of O +the O +White B-IDTY +House E-IDTY +, O +State B-IDTY +Department E-IDTY +, O +and O +US S-LOC +Joint B-IDTY +Chiefs I-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Staff E-IDTY +. O + +In O +addition O +to O +the O +US S-LOC +government O +, O +they O +have O +targeted O +organizations O +across O +the O +Defense O +, O +Energy O +, O +Extractive O +, O +Financial O +, O +Insurance O +, O +Legal O +, O +Manufacturing O +Media O +, O +Think O +Tanks O +, O +Pharmaceutical O +, O +Research O +and O +Technology O +industries O +, O +along O +with O +Universities O +. O + +Victims O +have O +also O +been O +observed O +in O +Western B-LOC +Europe E-LOC +, O +Brazil S-LOC +, O +China S-LOC +, O +Japan S-LOC +, O +Mexico S-LOC +, O +New B-LOC +Zealand E-LOC +, O +South B-LOC +Korea E-LOC +, O +Turkey S-LOC +and O +Central O +Asian O +countries O +. O + +COZY B-APT +BEAR E-APT +’s O +preferred O +intrusion O +method O +is O +a O +broadly O +targeted O +spearphish O +campaign O +that O +typically O +includes O +web O +links O +to O +a O +malicious O +dropper O +. O + +Once O +executed O +on O +the O +machine O +, O +the O +code O +will O +deliver O +one O +of O +a O +number O +of O +sophisticated O +Remote B-TOOL +Access I-TOOL +Tools E-TOOL +( O +RATs S-TOOL +) O +, O +including O +AdobeARM S-TOOL +, O +ATI-Agent S-TOOL +, O +and O +MiniDionis S-TOOL +. O + +On O +many O +occasions O +, O +both O +the O +dropper O +and O +the O +payload O +will O +contain O +a O +range O +of O +techniques O +to O +ensure O +the O +sample O +is O +not O +being O +analyzed O +on O +a O +virtual O +machine O +, O +using O +a O +debugger O +, O +or O +located O +within O +a O +sandbox O +. O + +They O +have O +extensive O +checks O +for O +the O +various O +security O +software O +that O +is O +installed O +on O +the O +system O +and O +their O +specific O +configurations O +. O + +When O +specific O +versions O +are O +discovered O +that O +may O +cause O +issues O +for O +the O +RAT S-TOOL +, O +it O +promptly O +exits O +. O + +These O +actions O +demonstrate O +a O +well-resourced O +adversary O +with O +a O +thorough O +implant-testing O +regime O +that O +is O +highly O +attuned O +to O +slight O +configuration O +issues O +that O +may O +result O +in O +their O +detection O +, O +and O +which O +would O +cause O +them O +to O +deploy O +a O +different O +tool O +instead O +. O + +The O +implants O +are O +highly O +configurable O +via O +encrypted O +configuration O +files O +, O +which O +allow O +the O +adversary O +to O +customize O +various O +components O +, O +including O +C2 S-TOOL +servers O +, O +the O +list O +of O +initial O +tasks O +to O +carry O +out O +, O +persistence O +mechanisms O +, O +encryption O +keys O +and O +others O +. O + +An O +HTTP S-PROT +protocol O +with O +encrypted O +payload O +is O +used O +for O +the O +Command B-TOOL +& I-TOOL +Control E-TOOL +communication O +. O + +FANCY B-APT +BEAR E-APT +( O +also O +known O +as O +Sofacy S-APT +or O +APT B-APT +28 E-APT +) O +is O +a O +separate O +Russian-based O +threat O +actor O +, O +which O +has O +been O +active O +since O +mid B-TIME +2000s E-TIME +, O +and O +has O +been O +responsible O +for O +targeted O +intrusion O +campaigns O +against O +the O +Aerospace O +, O +Defense O +, O +Energy O +, O +Government O +and O +Media O +sectors O +. O + +Their O +victims O +have O +been O +identified O +in O +the O +United B-LOC +States E-LOC +, O +Western B-LOC +Europe E-LOC +, O +Brazil S-LOC +, O +Canada S-LOC +, O +China S-LOC +, O +Georgia S-LOC +, O +Iran S-LOC +, O +Japan S-LOC +, O +Malaysia S-LOC +and O +South B-LOC +Korea E-LOC +. O + +Extensive O +targeting O +of O +defense O +ministries O +and O +other O +military O +victims O +has O +been O +observed O +, O +the O +profile O +of O +which O +closely O +mirrors O +the O +strategic O +interests O +of O +the O +Russian O +government O +, O +and O +may O +indicate O +affiliation O +with O +GRU S-IDTY +, O +Russia S-LOC +’s O +premier O +military O +intelligence O +service O +. O + +This O +adversary O +has O +a O +wide O +range O +of O +implants O +at O +their O +disposal O +, O +which O +have O +been O +developed O +over O +the O +course O +of O +many O +years O +and O +include O +Sofacy S-APT +, O +X-Agent S-MAL +, O +X-Tunnel S-TOOL +, O +WinIDS S-MAL +, O +Foozer S-MAL +and O +DownRage S-MAL +droppers O +, O +and O +even O +malware O +for O +Linux S-OS +, O +OSX S-OS +, O +IOS S-OS +, O +Android S-OS +and O +Windows S-OS +Phones O +. O + +This O +group O +is O +known O +for O +its O +technique O +of O +registering O +domains O +that O +closely O +resemble O +domains O +of O +legitimate O +organizations O +they O +plan O +to O +target O +. O + +Afterwards O +, O +they O +establish O +phishing E-ACT +sites O +on O +these O +domains O +that O +spoof O +the O +look O +and O +feel O +of O +the O +victim O +’s O +web-based O +email S-TOOL +services O +in O +order O +to O +steal O +their O +credentials O +. O + +FANCY B-APT +BEAR E-APT +has O +also O +been O +linked O +publicly O +to O +intrusions O +into O +the O +German S-LOC +Bundestag S-IDTY +and O +France S-LOC +’s O +TV5 B-IDTY +Monde E-IDTY +TV O +station O +in O +April B-TIME +2015 E-TIME +. O + +At O +DNC S-IDTY +, O +COZY B-APT +BEAR E-APT +intrusion O +has O +been O +identified O +going O +back O +to O +summer B-TIME +of I-TIME +2015 E-TIME +, O +while O +FANCY B-APT +BEAR E-APT +separately O +breached O +the O +network O +in O +April B-TIME +2016 E-TIME +. O + +We O +have O +identified O +no O +collaboration O +between O +the O +two O +actors O +, O +or O +even O +an O +awareness O +of O +one O +by O +the O +other O +. O + +Instead O +, O +we O +observed O +the O +two O +Russian O +espionage O +groups O +compromise O +the O +same O +systems O +and O +engage O +separately O +in O +the O +theft O +of O +identical O +credentials O +. O + +While O +you O +would O +virtually O +never O +see O +Western O +intelligence O +agencies O +going O +after O +the O +same O +target O +without O +de-confliction O +for O +fear O +of O +compromising O +each O +other O +’s O +operations O +, O +in O +Russia S-LOC +this O +is O +not O +an O +uncommon O +scenario O +. O +“ O +Putin O +’s O +Hydra O +: O +Inside O +Russia S-LOC +’s O +Intelligence O +Services O +” O +, O +a O +recent O +paper O +from O +European O +Council O +on O +Foreign O +Relations O +, O +does O +an O +excellent O +job O +outlining O +the O +highly O +adversarial O +relationship O +between O +Russia S-LOC +’s O +main O +intelligence O +services O +– O +FSB S-IDTY +, O +the O +primary O +domestic O +intelligence O +agency O +but O +one O +with O +also O +significant O +external O +collection O +and O +‘ O +active O +measures O +’ O + +remit O +, O +SVR O +, O +the O +primary O +foreign O +intelligence O +agency O +, O +and O +the O +aforementioned O +GRU S-IDTY +. O + +Not O +only O +do O +they O +have O +overlapping O +areas O +of O +responsibility O +, O +but O +also O +rarely O +share O +intelligence O +and O +even O +occasionally O +steal O +sources O +from O +each O +other O +and O +compromise O +operations O +. O + +Thus O +, O +it O +is O +not O +surprising O +to O +see O +them O +engage O +in O +intrusions O +against O +the O +same O +victim O +, O +even O +when O +it O +may O +be O +a O +waste O +of O +resources O +and O +lead O +to O +the O +discovery O +and O +potential O +compromise O +of O +mutual O +operations O +. O + +The O +COZY B-APT +BEAR E-APT +intrusion O +relied O +primarily O +on O +the O +SeaDaddy S-MAL +implant O +developed O +in O +Python S-TOOL +and O +compiled O +with O +py2exe S-TOOL +and O +another O +Powershell S-TOOL +backdoor O +with O +persistence O +accomplished O +via O +Windows S-OS +Management B-TOOL +Instrumentation E-TOOL +( O +WMI S-TOOL +) O +system O +, O +which O +allowed O +the O +adversary O +to O +launch O +malicious O +code O +automatically O +after O +a O +specified O +period O +of O +system O +uptime O +or O +on O +a O +specific O +schedule O +. O + +The O +Powershell S-TOOL +backdoor O +is O +ingenious O +in O +its O +simplicity O +and O +power O +. O + +This O +one-line O +powershell S-TOOL +command O +, O +stored O +only O +in O +WMI S-TOOL +database O +, O +establishes O +an O +encrypted O +connection O +to O +C2 S-TOOL +and O +downloads O +additional O +powershell S-TOOL +modules O +from O +it O +, O +executing O +them O +in O +memory O +. O + +In O +theory O +, O +the O +additional O +modules O +can O +do O +virtually O +anything O +on O +the O +victim O +system O +. O + +The O +encryption O +keys O +in O +the O +script O +were O +different O +on O +every O +system O +. O + +Powershell S-TOOL +version O +of O +credential O +theft O +tool O +MimiKatz S-MAL +was O +also O +used O +by O +the O +actors O +to O +facilitate O +credential O +acquisition O +for O +lateral O +movement O +purposes O +. O + +FANCY B-APT +BEAR E-APT +adversary O +used O +different O +tradecraft O +, O +deploying O +X-Agent S-MAL +malware O +with O +capabilities O +to O +do O +remote O +command O +execution O +, O +file O +transmission O +and O +keylogging O +. O + +It O +was O +executed O +via O +rundll32 O +commands O +such O +as O +: O +rundll32.exe S-FILE +“ O +C:\Windows\twain_64.dll S-FILE +” O +. O + +In O +addition O +, O +FANCY B-APT +BEAR E-APT +’s O +X-Tunnel S-TOOL +network O +tunneling O +tool O +, O +which O +facilitates O +connections O +to O +NAT-ed S-TOOL +environments O +, O +was O +used O +to O +also O +execute O +remote O +commands O +. O + +Both O +tools O +were O +deployed O +via O +RemCOM S-IDTY +, O +an O +open-source O +replacement O +for O +PsExec S-TOOL +available O +from O +GitHub S-TOOL +. O + +Intelligence O +collection O +directed O +by O +nation O +state O +actors O +against O +US S-LOC +political O +targets O +provides O +invaluable O +insight O +into O +the O +requirements O +directed O +upon O +those O +actors O +. O + +Regardless O +of O +the O +agency O +or O +unit O +tasked O +with O +this O +collection O +, O +the O +upcoming O +US S-LOC +election O +, O +and O +the O +associated O +candidates O +and O +parties O +are O +of O +critical O +interest O +to O +both O +hostile O +and O +friendly O +nation O +states O +. O + +The O +2016 S-TIME +presidential O +election O +has O +the O +world O +’s O +attention O +, O +and O +leaders O +of O +other O +states O +are O +anxiously O +watching O +and O +planning O +for O +possible O +outcomes O +. O + + +Corporate O +IoT S-TOOL +– O +a O +path O +to O +intrusion O +. O + +Several O +sources O +estimate O +that O +by O +the O +year O +2020 S-TIME +some O +50 O +billion O +IoT S-TOOL +devices O +will O +be O +deployed O +worldwide O +. O + +IoT S-TOOL +devices O +are O +purposefully O +designed O +to O +connect O +to O +a O +network O +and O +many O +are O +simply O +connected O +to O +the O +internet O +with O +little O +management O +or O +oversight.Some O +IoT S-TOOL +devices O +may O +even O +communicate O +basic O +telemetry O +back O +to O +the O +device O +manufacturer O +or O +have O +means O +to O +receive O +software O +updates O +. O + +In O +2016 S-TIME +, O +the O +Mirai B-TOOL +botnet E-TOOL +was O +discovered O +by O +the O +malware O +research O +group O +MalwareMustDie S-SECTEAM +. O + +The O +botnet O +initially O +consisted O +of O +IP O +cameras O +and O +basic O +home O +routers O +, O +two O +types O +of O +IoT S-TOOL +devices O +commonly O +found O +in O +the O +household O +. O + +As O +more O +variants O +of O +Mirai S-TOOL +emerged O +, O +so O +did O +the O +list O +IoT S-TOOL +devices O +it O +was O +targeting O +. O + +The O +source O +code O +for O +the O +malware O +powering O +this O +botnet O +was O +eventually O +leaked O +online O +. O + +In O +2018 S-TIME +, O +hundreds O +of O +thousands O +of O +home O +and O +small O +business O +networking O +and O +storage O +devices O +were O +compromised O +and O +loaded O +with O +the O +so-called O +“ O +VPN B-MAL +Filter E-MAL +” O +malware O +. O + +The O +FBI S-IDTY +has O +publicly O +attributed O +this O +activity O +to O +a O +nation-state O +actor O +and O +took O +subsequent O +actions O +to O +disrupt O +this O +botnet O +, O +although O +the O +devices O +would O +remain O +vulnerable O +to O +re-infection O +unless O +proper O +firmware O +or O +security O +controls O +were O +put O +in O +place O +by O +the O +user O +. O + +In O +April S-TIME +, O +security O +researchers O +in O +the O +Microsoft S-IDTY +Threat B-TOOL +Intelligence I-TOOL +Center E-TOOL +discovered O +infrastructure O +of O +a O +known O +adversary O +communicating O +to O +several O +external O +devices O +. O + +Further O +research O +uncovered O +attempts O +by O +the O +actor O +to O +compromise O +popular O +IoT S-TOOL +devices O +( O +a O +VOIP B-TOOL +phone E-TOOL +, O +an O +office B-TOOL +printer E-TOOL +, O +and O +a O +video B-TOOL +decoder E-TOOL +) O +across O +multiple O +customer O +locations O +. O + +The O +investigation O +uncovered O +that O +an O +actor O +had O +used O +these O +devices O +to O +gain O +initial O +access O +to O +corporate O +networks O +. O + +In O +two O +of O +the O +cases O +, O +the O +passwords O +for O +the O +devices O +were O +deployed O +without O +changing O +the O +default O +manufacturer O +’s O +passwords O +and O +in O +the O +third O +instance O +the O +latest O +security O +update O +had O +not O +been O +applied O +to O +the O +device O +. O + +These O +devices O +became O +points O +of O +ingress O +from O +which O +the O +actor O +established O +a O +presence O +on O +the O +network O +and O +continued O +looking O +for O +further O +access O +. O + +Once O +the O +actor O +had O +successfully O +established O +access O +to O +the O +network O +, O +a O +simple O +network O +scan O +to O +look O +for O +other O +insecure O +devices O +allowed O +them O +to O +discover O +and O +move O +across O +the O +network O +in O +search O +of O +higher-privileged O +accounts O +that O +would O +grant O +access O +to O +higher-value O +data O +. O + +After O +gaining O +access O +to O +each O +of O +the O +IoT S-TOOL +devices O +, O +the O +actor O +ran O +tcpdump O +to O +sniff O +network O +traffic O +on O +local O +subnets O +. O + +They O +were O +also O +seen O +enumerating O +administrative O +groups O +to O +attempt O +further O +exploitation O +. O + +As O +the O +actor O +moved O +from O +one O +device O +to O +another O +, O +they O +would O +drop O +a O +simple O +shell O +script O +to O +establish O +persistence O +on O +the O +network O +which O +allowed O +extended O +access O +to O +continue O +hunting O +. O + +Analysis O +of O +network O +traffic O +showed O +the O +devices O +were O +also O +communicating O +with O +an O +external O +command B-TOOL +and I-TOOL +control E-TOOL +( O +C2 S-TOOL +) O +server O +. O + +The O +following O +IP O +addresses O +are O +believed O +to O +have O +been O +used O +by O +the O +actor O +for O +command B-TOOL +and I-TOOL +control E-TOOL +( O +C2 S-TOOL +) O +during O +these O +intrusions O +: O + +167.114.153.55 S-IP +94.237.37.28 S-IP +82.118.242.171 S-IP +31.220.61.251 S-IP +128.199.199.187 S-IP +. O + +We O +attribute O +the O +attacks O +on O +these O +customers O +using O +three O +popular O +IoT S-TOOL +devices O +to O +an O +activity O +group O +that O +Microsoft S-IDTY +refers O +to O +as O +STRONTIUM S-APT +. O + +Since O +we O +identified O +these O +attacks O +in O +the O +early O +stages O +, O +we O +have O +not O +been O +able O +to O +conclusively O +determine O +what O +STRONTIUM S-APT +’s O +ultimate O +objectives O +were O +in O +these O +intrusions O +. O + +Over O +the O +last O +twelve O +months O +, O +Microsoft S-IDTY +has O +delivered O +nearly O +1400 O +nation-state O +notifications O +to O +those O +who O +have O +been O +targeted O +or O +compromised O +by O +STRONTIUM S-APT +. O + +One O +in O +five O +notifications O +of O +STRONTIUM S-APT +activity O +were O +tied O +to O +attacks O +against O +non-governmental O +organizations O +, O +think O +tanks O +, O +or O +politically O +affiliated O +organizations O +around O +the O +world O +. O + +The O +remaining O +80% O +of O +STRONTIUM S-APT +attacks O +have O +largely O +targeted O +organizations O +in O +the O +following O +sectors O +: O +government O +, O +IT O +, O +military O +, O +defense O +, O +medicine O +, O +education O +, O +and O +engineering O +. O + +We O +have O +also O +observed O +and O +notified O +STRONTIUM S-APT +attacks O +against O +Olympic S-IDTY +organizing O +committees O +, O +anti-doping O +agencies O +, O +and O +the O +hospitality O +industry O +. O + +The O +“ O +VPN B-MAL +Filter E-MAL +” O +malware O +has O +also O +been O +attributed O +to O +STRONTIUM S-APT +by O +the O +FBI S-IDTY +. O + +Below O +are O +a O +series O +of O +indicators O +Microsoft O +has O +observed O +as O +active O +during O +the O +STRONTIUM S-APT +activity O +discussed O +in O +this O +article O +. O + + +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +Targets O +NGOs S-IDTY +. O + +The O +activities O +of O +some O +non-governmental B-IDTY +organizations E-IDTY +( O +NGOs S-IDTY +) O +challenge O +governments O +on O +politically O +sensitive O +issues O +such O +as O +social O +, O +humanitarian O +, O +and O +environmental O +policies O +. O + +As O +a O +result O +, O +these O +organizations O +are O +often O +exposed O +to O +increased O +government-directed O +threats O +aimed O +at O +monitoring O +their O +activities O +, O +discrediting O +their O +work O +, O +or O +stealing O +their O +intellectual O +property O +. O + +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +is O +a O +likely O +People's B-IDTY +Republic I-IDTY +of I-IDTY +China E-IDTY +( O +PRC S-IDTY +)-based O +targeted O +cyberespionage O +group O +that O +uses O +both O +proprietary O +and O +publicly O +available O +tools O +to O +target O +NGO S-IDTY +networks O +. O + +Secureworks B-SECTEAM +Counter I-SECTEAM +Threat I-SECTEAM +Unit E-SECTEAM +( O +CTU S-SECTEAM +) O +researchers O +have O +observed O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +activity O +since O +mid-2018 S-TIME +but O +identified O +artifacts O +suggesting O +that O +the O +threat O +actors O +may O +have O +been O +conducting O +network O +intrusions O +as O +far O +back O +as O +2014 S-TIME +. O + +The O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +cyberespionage O +group O +targets O +NGOs O +, O +as O +well O +as O +political O +and O +law O +enforcement O +organizations O +in O +countries O +in O +South B-LOC +and I-LOC +East I-LOC +Asia E-LOC +. O + +The O +threat O +group O +appears O +to O +have O +developed O +its O +own O +remote O +access O +tools O +that O +it O +uses O +alongside O +publicly O +available O +remote O +access O +and O +post-compromise O +toolsets O +. O + +After O +compromising O +a O +network O +, O +the O +threat O +actors O +elevate O +their O +privileges O +and O +install O +malware O +on O +a O +large O +proportion O +of O +systems O +. O + +The O +group O +runs O +custom O +batch O +scripts O +to O +collect O +specific O +file O +types O +and O +takes O +proactive O +steps O +to O +minimize O +detection O +of O +its O +activities O +. O + +Analysis O +of O +a O +threat O +group's O +targeting O +, O +origin O +, O +and O +competencies O +can O +determine O +which O +organizations O +could O +be O +at O +risk O +. O + +This O +information O +can O +help O +organizations O +make O +strategic O +defensive O +decisions O +in O +relation O +to O +the O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +threat O +group O +. O + +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +have O +observed O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +targeting O +multiple O +NGOs S-IDTY +. O + +The O +threat O +actors O +steal O +data O +from O +compromised O +systems O +over O +a O +long O +period O +of O +time O +, O +which O +likely O +indicates O +a O +long-term O +objective O +of O +monitoring O +the O +target's O +network O +. O + +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +uses O +custom O +batch O +scripts O +to O +collect O +either O +specific O +file O +types O +( O +including O +files O +with O +.pptx S-FILE +, O +.xlsx S-FILE +, O +.pdf S-FILE +extensions O +) O +or O +all O +files O +within O +a O +specific O +location O +. O + +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +also O +observed O +evidence O +that O +the O +threat O +actors O +collect O +credentials O +from O +high-privilege O +network O +accounts O +and O +reputationally O +sensitive O +accounts O +, O +such O +as O +social O +media O +and O +webmail O +accounts O +. O + +Additionally O +, O +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +have O +observed O +evidence O +of O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +targeting O +political O +and O +law O +enforcement O +organizations O +in O +countries O +adjacent O +to O +the O +PRC S-IDTY +, O +including O +Mongolia S-LOC +and O +India S-LOC +. O + +Some O +of O +the O +group's O +phishing E-ACT +lures O +suggest O +an O +interest O +in O +national O +security O +, O +humanitarian O +, O +and O +law O +enforcement O +organizations O +in O +the O +East B-LOC +, I-LOC +South I-LOC +, I-LOC +and I-LOC +Southeast I-LOC +Asia E-LOC +( O +see O +Figure O +1 O +) O +. O + +These O +examples O +reveal O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +'s O +likely O +intent O +to O +conduct O +political O +espionage O +in O +other O +countries O +in O +addition O +to O +targeting O +NGOs S-IDTY +. O + +It O +is O +highly O +likely O +that O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +is O +based O +in O +the O +PRC S-IDTY +due O +to O +the O +following O +observations O +: O + +The O +NGOs S-IDTY +targeted O +by O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +conduct O +research O +on O +issues O +relevant O +to O +the O +PRC S-IDTY +. O + +Strong O +evidence O +links O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +'s O +infrastructure O +to O +entities O +within O +the O +PRC S-IDTY +. O + +There O +are O +connections O +between O +a O +subset O +of O +the O +group's O +operational O +infrastructure O +and O +PRC-based S-IDTY +Internet O +service O +providers O +. O + +Tools O +such O +as O +PlugX S-MAL +have O +historically O +been O +leveraged O +by O +threat O +groups O +operating O +in O +the O +PRC S-IDTY +. O + +It O +is O +likely O +that O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +is O +sponsored O +or O +at O +least O +tolerated O +by O +the O +PRC S-IDTY +government O +. O + +The O +threat O +group's O +systemic O +long-term O +targeting O +of O +NGO S-IDTY +and O +political O +networks O +does O +not O +align O +with O +patriotic O +or O +criminal O +threat O +groups O +. O + +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +has O +deployed O +a O +variety O +of O +remote O +access O +tools O +. O + +The O +use O +of O +tools O +not O +previously O +observed O +by O +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +suggests O +that O +the O +group O +could O +have O +access O +to O +malware O +development O +capabilities O +. O + +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +also O +uses O +widely O +available O +or O +modified O +open-source O +tools O +, O +which O +could O +be O +a O +strategic O +effort O +to O +reduce O +the O +risk O +of O +attribution O +or O +to O +minimize O +the O +need O +for O +tool O +development O +resources O +. O + +Following O +a O +network O +compromise O +, O +the O +threat O +actors O +typically O +delete O +their O +tools O +and O +processes O +. O + +However O +, O +the O +group O +is O +content O +leaving O +some O +malware O +on O +the O +network O +, O +likely O +to O +provide O +a O +contingency O +if O +other O +access O +channels O +are O +removed O +. O + +When O +the O +group's O +activities O +were O +detected O +in O +one O +incident O +, O +it O +had O +elevated O +privileges O +and O +had O +maintained O +access O +to O +the O +targeted O +environment O +for O +several O +months O +. O + +This O +finding O +indicates O +the O +group's O +effectiveness O +at O +maintaining O +long-term O +access O +to O +a O +targeted O +network O +. O + +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +and O +Secureworks O +incident O +responders O +have O +observed O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +using O +the O +following O +tools O +, O +along O +with O +several O +custom O +batch O +scripts O +for O +locating O +and O +archiving O +specific O +file O +types O +: O + +Cobalt B-TOOL +Strike E-TOOL +— O +This O +popular O +and O +commercially O +available O +penetration O +tool O +gains O +shell O +access O +to O +an O +infected O +system O +. O + +It O +allows O +threat O +actors O +to O +execute O +additional O +tools O +and O +perform O +post-intrusion O +actions O +on O +compromised O +systems O +. O + +Cobalt B-TOOL +Strike E-TOOL +appears O +to O +be O +one O +of O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +'s O +preferred O +remote O +access O +tools O +. O + +During O +one O +intrusion O +, O +the O +threat O +actors O +installed O +it O +on O +over O +70% O +of O +accessible O +hosts O +. O + +The O +group's O +Cobalt B-TOOL +Strike E-TOOL +installation O +typically O +uses O +a O +payload O +named O +svchost.exe S-FILE +in O +an O +attempt O +to O +disguise O +Cobalt B-TOOL +Strike E-TOOL +activity O +as O +the O +legitimate O +Windows S-OS +svchost.exe S-FILE +executable O +. O + +PlugX S-MAL +— O +This O +remote O +access O +Trojan S-MAL +( O +RAT O +) O +is O +popular O +among O +PRC-based S-IDTY +targeted O +threat O +groups O +. O + +Its O +functionality O +includes O +uploading O +and O +downloading O +files O +, O +and O +it O +has O +configurable O +network O +protocols O +. O + +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +installs O +PlugX S-MAL +using O +DLL S-TOOL +side-loading O +. O + +In O +June B-TIME +and I-TIME +August I-TIME +2019 E-TIME +, O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +delivered O +PlugX S-MAL +via O +government O +and O +law O +enforcement-themed O +phishing E-ACT +lures O +. O + +ORat S-MAL +— O +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +have O +only O +observed O +this O +basic O +loader O +tool O +in O +the O +context O +of O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +intrusions O +. O + +ORat S-MAL +is O +the O +name O +assigned O +by O +the O +malware O +author O +, O +as O +denoted O +by O +the O +program O +debug O +database O +string O +in O +the O +analyzed O +sample O +: O +D:\vswork\Plugin\ORat\build\Release\ORatServer\Loader.pdb O +. O + +The O +tool O +uses O +the O +Windows S-OS +Management B-TOOL +Instrumentation E-TOOL +( O +WMI S-TOOL +) O +event O +consumer O +for O +persistence O +by O +installing O +a O +script O +to O +the O +system's O +WMI S-TOOL +registry O +. O + +Messages O +sent O +from O +ORat S-MAL +to O +its O +command B-TOOL +and I-TOOL +control E-TOOL +( O +C2 S-TOOL +) O +server O +start O +with O +the O +string O +"VIEWS0018x" O +. O + +If O +the O +data O +received O +from O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +server O +starts O +with O +the O +same O +string O +, O +then O +the O +remainder O +of O +the O +payload O +is O +decompressed O +using O +ORat S-MAL +'s O +"deflate" O +algorithm O +and O +called O +as O +a O +function O +. O + +ORat S-MAL +acts O +as O +a O +flexible O +loader O +tool O +rather O +than O +a O +fully O +featured O +remote O +access O +tool O +. O + +RCSession S-MAL +— O +This O +basic O +RAT O +is O +installed O +via O +DLL S-TOOL +side-loading O +, O +and O +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +observed O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +installing O +it O +on O +multiple O +hosts O +during O +intrusions O +. O + +RCSession S-MAL +was O +extracted O +from O +a O +file O +called O +English.rtf S-FILE +and O +launched O +via O +a O +hollowed O +svchost.exe S-FILE +process O +. O + +RCSession S-MAL +connects O +to O +its O +C2 S-TOOL +server O +via O +a O +custom O +protocol O +, O +can O +remotely O +execute O +commands O +, O +and O +can O +launch O +additional O +tools O +. O + +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +have O +no O +evidence O +of O +other O +threat O +actors O +using O +RCSession S-MAL +or O +of O +wide O +proliferation O +of O +the O +tool O +, O +suggesting O +it O +may O +be O +exclusively O +used O +by O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +. O + +Nbtscan S-TOOL +— O +This O +publicly O +available O +command-line O +tool O +scans O +systems O +for O +NetBIOS S-PROT +name O +information O +( O +see O +Figure O +2 O +) O +. O + +In O +an O +example O +observed O +by O +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +, O +the O +Nbtscan S-TOOL +executable O +was O +named O +Adobe.exe S-FILE +and O +was O +installed O +in O +several O +working O +directories O +on O +compromised O +hosts O +, O +including O +: O +C:\Recovery\ O +. O + +Nmap S-TOOL +— O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +used O +this O +freely O +available O +network O +scanning O +tool O +from O +the O +C:\PerfLogs\ O +folder O +. O + +Wmiexec S-TOOL +— O +This O +publicly O +available O +tool O +uses O +WMI S-TOOL +to O +create O +SYSTEM-level O +shells O +on O +remote O +hosts O +. O + +While O +analyzing O +hosts O +compromised O +by O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +, O +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +identified O +other O +malware O +artifacts O +. O + +Although O +there O +was O +no O +evidence O +of O +the O +group O +using O +the O +malware O +, O +the O +threat O +actors O +may O +have O +leveraged O +its O +access O +or O +capabilities O +during O +earlier O +phases O +of O +the O +intrusions O +. O + +The O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +intrusions O +observed O +by O +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +appear O +to O +have O +taken O +place O +over O +several O +months O +or O +years O +. O + +China S-LOC +Chopper S-TOOL +web O +shell O +files O +named O +error404.aspx S-FILE +included O +the O +"eval O +(Request.Item["|"] O +,"unsafe" O +) O +; O +" O +string O +. O + +To O +successfully O +interact O +with O +the O +web O +shell O +, O +a O +threat O +actor O +sent O +HTTP S-PROT +requests O +that O +included O +the O +"|" O +parameter O +. O + +The O +web O +shell O +files O +appeared O +to O +be O +installed O +during O +the O +timeframe O +that O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +was O +active O +on O +the O +system O +. O + +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +identified O +a O +variety O +of O +post-compromise O +tools O +stored O +under O +%AppData% O +( O +e.g. O +, O +\AppData\Roaming\Temp O +) O +on O +several O +compromised O +systems O +. O + +The O +widespread O +proliferation O +and O +use O +of O +the O +following O +tools O +suggest O +that O +the O +group O +likely O +has O +the O +knowledge O +and O +capability O +to O +use O +them O +as O +part O +of O +its O +operations O +: O + +Powerview.ps1 S-FILE +— O +This O +PowerShell-based S-TOOL +module O +for O +network O +reconnaissance O +is O +part O +of O +the O +PowerSploit S-TOOL +penetration O +testing O +framework O +. O + +PVE B-TOOL +Find I-TOOL +AD I-TOOL +User E-TOOL +— O +This O +command-line O +tool O +identifies O +login O +locations O +of O +Active B-TOOL +Directory E-TOOL +( O +AD S-TOOL +) O +users O +. O + +AdFind S-TOOL +— O +This O +command-line O +tool O +conducts O +AD S-TOOL +queries O +. O + +NetSess S-TOOL +— O +This O +publicly O +available O +tool O +enumerates O +NetBIOS S-TOOL +sessions O +. O + +Netview S-TOOL +— O +This O +tool O +enumerates O +networks O +. O + +TeamViewer S-TOOL +— O +This O +remote O +control O +and O +desktop-sharing O +tool O +has O +applications O +for O +legitimate O +and O +malicious O +system O +users O +. O + +Its O +installation O +in O +a O +temporary O +directory O +alongside O +network O +reconnaissance O +and O +enumeration O +tools O +likely O +indicates O +malicious O +intent O +. O + +At O +the O +time O +of O +detection O +, O +observed O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +incidents O +had O +likely O +been O +ongoing O +for O +several O +months O +or O +even O +years O +. O + +As O +a O +result O +, O +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +were O +unable O +to O +ascertain O +the O +initial O +access O +vector O +. O + +In O +October B-TIME +2019 E-TIME +, O +third-party O +researchers O +described O +a O +phishing E-ACT +campaign O +that O +used O +C2 S-TOOL +infrastructure O +that O +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +attribute O +to O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +. O + +This O +connection O +suggests O +that O +the O +group O +uses O +phishing E-ACT +emails S-TOOL +with O +ZIP S-TOOL +attachments O +that O +contain O +LNK S-TOOL +files O +as O +an O +initial O +access O +vector O +. O + +During O +one O +intrusion O +, O +the O +threat O +actors O +gained O +administrator O +access O +to O +all O +systems O +within O +a O +targeted O +business O +unit O +and O +installed O +their O +remote O +access O +tools O +on O +80% O +of O +the O +hosts O +. O + +The O +group O +installed O +multiple O +tools O +within O +the O +environment O +, O +including O +three O +different O +tools O +on O +a O +strategically O +important O +server O +, O +likely O +to O +provide O +contingency O +access O +options O +. O + +During O +multiple O +intrusions O +, O +the O +threat O +actors O +employed O +various O +tools O +and O +techniques O +to O +understand O +the O +network O +environments O +. O + +For O +example O +, O +they O +used O +Nmap S-TOOL +to O +scan O +various O +internal O +IP O +address O +ranges O +and O +SMB S-PROT +ports O +. O + +They O +also O +relied O +on O +Nbtscan O +, O +net O +user O +, O +and O +ping O +commands O +to O +obtain O +insights O +and O +identify O +opportunities O +for O +lateral O +movement O +. O + +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +regularly O +leverages O +Wmiexec S-TOOL +to O +move O +laterally O +. O + +During O +one O +intrusion O +, O +the O +threat O +actors O +extensively O +used O +this O +tool O +to O +execute O +WMI S-TOOL +commands O +on O +remote O +hosts O +in O +the O +environment O +. O + +The O +threat O +actors O +retrieved O +the O +NTDS.dit S-FILE +file O +from O +the O +volume O +shadow O +copy O +. O + +NTDS.dit S-FILE +contains O +Active B-TOOL +Directory E-TOOL +data O +, O +including O +password O +hashes O +for O +all O +users O +on O +a O +domain O +. O + +Extracting O +hashes O +from O +the O +NTDS.dit S-FILE +file O +requires O +access O +to O +the O +SYSTEM O +file O +in O +the O +system O +registry O +. O + +The O +threat O +actors O +saved O +both O +the O +SYSTEM O +file O +( O +system.hive S-FILE +) O +and O +NTDS.dit S-FILE +in O +the O +compromised O +host's O +c:\windows\temp O +directory O +. O + +These O +files O +were O +likely O +exfiltrated O +and O +exploited O +offline O +to O +retrieve O +user O +password O +hashes O +, O +which O +could O +then O +be O +cracked O +or O +used O +to O +perform O +pass-the-hash O +attacks O +. O + +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +'s O +C2 S-TOOL +techniques O +are O +dictated O +by O +its O +remote O +access O +tools O +. O + +The O +group's O +primary O +and O +likely O +proprietary O +RCSession S-MAL +RAT O +communicates O +with O +a O +hard-coded O +C2 S-TOOL +server O +using O +a O +custom O +protocol O +over O +TCP S-PROT +port O +443 O +. O + +After O +connecting O +to O +its O +C2 S-TOOL +server O +, O +RCSession S-MAL +checks O +in O +with O +an O +encrypted O +beacon O +and O +then O +awaits O +instruction O +. O + +The O +ORat S-MAL +tool O +, O +which O +appears O +to O +be O +used O +less O +frequently O +by O +the O +group O +, O +communicates O +over O +TCP S-PROT +port O +80 O +using O +a O +raw O +socket O +protocol O +( O +not O +HTTP S-PROT +) O +. O + +The O +Cobalt B-TOOL +Strike E-TOOL +tool O +has O +malleable O +C2 S-TOOL +profiles O +. O + +During O +one O +intrusion O +, O +it O +connected O +to O +multiple O +C2 S-TOOL +domains O +on O +TCP S-PROT +port O +80 O +, O +including O +mail O +. O +svrchost O +. O +com O +, O +using O +the O +following O +request O +. O + +Subsequent O +Cobalt B-TOOL +Strike E-TOOL +C2 S-TOOL +servers O +included O +subdomains O +of O +svchosts O +. O +com O +, O +svrchost O +. O +com O +, O +and O +strust O +. O +club O +. O + +Some O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +C2 S-TOOL +domains O +analyzed O +by O +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +were O +hosted O +on O +infrastructure O +owned O +by O +Dutch O +VPS S-TOOL +provider O +Host O +Sailor O +, O +Hong O +Kong-based O +New O +World O +Telecoms O +, O +and O +Malaysia-based O +Shinjiru O +Technology O +( O +see O +Figure O +7 O +) O +. O + +The O +threat O +actors O +have O +used O +discrete O +infrastructure O +clusters O +that O +share O +matching O +hosting O +and O +registration O +characteristics O +. O + +The O +pattern O +of O +infrastructure O +hosting O +suggests O +that O +the O +group O +parks O +its O +domains O +when O +not O +in O +use O +, O +an O +operational O +security O +technique O +that O +limits O +exposure O +of O +the O +group's O +overall O +hosting O +infrastructure O +. O + +Some O +of O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +'s O +malware O +has O +persistence O +capabilities O +. O + +For O +example O +, O +ORat S-MAL +uses O +a O +WMI S-TOOL +event O +consumer O +to O +maintain O +its O +presence O +on O +a O +compromised O +host O +. O + +The O +group O +also O +creates O +and O +maintains O +scheduled O +tasks O +to O +achieve O +this O +purpose O +. O + +Figure O +8 O +shows O +a O +Sysdriver O +scheduled O +task O +that O +periodically O +executes O +a O +Cobalt B-TOOL +Strike E-TOOL +payload O +. O + +The O +threat O +actors O +tend O +to O +install O +malware O +on O +a O +large O +proportion O +of O +hosts O +during O +their O +intrusions O +. O + +However O +, O +the O +group O +exercises O +restraint O +and O +defensive O +evasion O +tactics O +to O +minimize O +opportunities O +for O +network O +defenders O +to O +detect O +or O +investigate O +its O +activities O +. O + +For O +example O +, O +the O +threat O +actors O +deleted O +volume O +shadow O +copies O +after O +using O +them O +for O +NTDS.dit S-FILE +retrieval O +. O + +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +targets O +specific O +data O +types O +. O + +The O +threat O +actors O +use O +custom O +batch O +scripts O +to O +create O +a O +list O +of O +files O +with O +predefined O +criteria O +and O +collate O +the O +identified O +files O +into O +a O +.rar S-FILE +archive O +( O +see O +Figure O +9 O +) O +. O + +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +have O +observed O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +batch O +scripts O +named O +doc.bat S-FILE +, O +xls.bat S-FILE +, O +xlsx.bat S-FILE +, O +ppt.bat S-FILE +, O +pptx.bat S-FILE +, O +pdf.bat S-FILE +, O +and O +txt.bat S-FILE +. O + +The O +group O +also O +uses O +the O +all.bat S-FILE +batch O +script O +to O +collect O +all O +files O +stored O +on O +a O +specific O +user's O +desktop O +. O + +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +observed O +RCSession S-MAL +and O +Cobalt B-TOOL +Strike E-TOOL +on O +systems O +that O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +targeted O +for O +data O +theft O +. O + +Either O +of O +these O +tools O +could O +have O +been O +used O +to O +exfiltrate O +the O +archived O +data O +. O + +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +has O +demonstrated O +intent O +to O +steal O +data O +from O +organizations O +using O +tools O +such O +as O +Cobalt B-TOOL +Strike E-TOOL +, O +PlugX S-MAL +, O +ORat S-MAL +, O +and O +RCSession S-MAL +. O + +The O +concurrent O +use O +of O +so O +many O +tools O +during O +a O +single O +intrusion O +suggests O +that O +the O +group O +could O +include O +threat O +actors O +with O +distinct O +tactics O +, O +roles O +, O +and O +tool O +preferences O +. O + +It O +is O +likely O +that O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +has O +additional O +unobserved O +operational O +tools O +and O +capabilities O +. O + +CTU S-SECTEAM +researchers O +recommend O +that O +organizations O +apply O +controls O +to O +mitigate O +common O +intrusion O +techniques O +and O +behaviors O +along O +with O +controls O +that O +address O +the O +tools O +and O +techniques O +discussed O +in O +this O +analysis O +. O + +PlugX S-MAL +C2 S-TOOL +server O +: O +ipsoftwarelabs.com S-DOM +. O + +RCSession S-MAL +C2 S-TOOL +server O +: O +toshibadrive.com S-DOM +. O + +ORat S-MAL +and O +Cobalt B-TOOL +Strike E-TOOL +C2 S-TOOL +server O +: O +strust.club S-DOM +. O + +Cobalt B-TOOL +Strike E-TOOL +C2 S-TOOL +server O +: O +svchosts.com S-DOM +, O +svrhosts.com S-DOM +. O + +Cobalt B-TOOL +Strike E-TOOL +download O +location O +: O +116.93.154.250 S-IP +. O + +ORat S-MAL +malware O +sample O +: O +a0758535cf8eb689782b95d3791d23d5 S-MD5 +, O +774a9c3ff01a3e734b7bec0c312120126295fad9 S-SHA1 +, O +2e8762c984468ee309dad30a6c5f6d3308676ac721357da442a8a5b9d9d65d82 S-SHA2 +. O + +Cobalt B-TOOL +Strike E-TOOL +payload O +: O +7101fff478290d4db8a1c11a8d3b40cb S-MD5 +, O +4c81777551a772218519fb6dd1a6672aade4a936 S-SHA1 +, O +bdf1452b55b9974f3e9a4aea4439769a02fd931660ed655df92519a2a4df1261 S-SHA2 +. O + +Modified O +DLL S-TOOL +file O +( O +goopdate.dll S-FILE +) O +used O +by O +BRONZE B-APT +PRESIDENT E-APT +to O +install O +RCSession S-MAL +: O +0617cad9e5d559356c43d4037c86227f S-MD5 +, O +f14eaf5d648aebb2ed7b00b2cf4349263b30fb1c S-SHA1 +, O +2ea9ccf653f63bcc3549a313ec9d0bada341556cc32dd2ca4b73e0c034492740 S-SHA2 +. O + + +Operation O +AppleJeus S-ACT +Sequel O +, O +Lazarus S-APT +continues O +to O +attack O +the O +cryptocurrency O +business O +with O +enhanced O +capabilities O +. O + +The O +Lazarus S-APT +group O +is O +currently O +one O +of O +the O +most O +active O +and O +prolific O +APT O +actors O +. O + +In O +2018 S-TIME +, O +Kaspersky O +published O +a O +report O +on O +one O +of O +their O +campaigns O +, O +named O +Operation O +AppleJeus S-ACT +. O + +Notably O +, O +this O +operation O +marked O +the O +first O +time O +Lazarus S-APT +had O +targeted O +macOS S-OS +users O +, O +with O +the O +group O +inventing O +a O +fake O +company O +in O +order O +to O +deliver O +their O +manipulated O +application O +and O +exploit O +the O +high O +level O +of O +trust O +among O +potential O +victims O +. O + +As O +a O +result O +of O +our O +ongoing O +efforts O +, O +we O +identified O +significant O +changes O +to O +the O +group O +’s O +attack O +methodology O +. O + +To O +attack O +macOS S-OS +users O +, O +the O +Lazarus S-APT +group O +has O +developed O +homemade O +macOS S-OS +malware O +, O +and O +added O +an O +authentication O +mechanism O +to O +deliver O +the O +next O +stage O +payload O +very O +carefully O +, O +as O +well O +as O +loading O +the O +next-stage O +payload O +without O +touching O +the O +disk O +. O + +In O +addition O +, O +to O +attack O +Windows S-OS +users O +, O +they O +have O +elaborated O +a O +multi-stage O +infection O +procedure O +, O +and O +significantly O +changed O +the O +final O +payload O +. O + +We O +assess O +that O +the O +Lazarus S-APT +group O +has O +been O +more O +careful O +in O +its O +attacks O +following O +the O +release O +of O +Operation O +AppleJeus S-ACT +and O +they O +have O +employed O +a O +number O +of O +methods O +to O +avoid O +being O +detected O +. O + +After O +releasing O +Operation O +AppleJeus S-ACT +, O +the O +Lazarus S-APT +group O +continued O +to O +use O +a O +similar O +modus O +operandi O +in O +order O +to O +compromise O +cryptocurrency O +businesses O +. O + +We O +found O +more O +macOS S-OS +malware O +similar O +to O +that O +used O +in O +the O +original O +Operation O +AppleJeus S-ACT +case O +. O + +This O +macOS S-OS +malware O +used O +public O +source O +code O +in O +order O +to O +build O +crafted O +macOS S-OS +installers O +. O + +The O +malware O +authors O +used O +QtBitcoinTrader S-TOOL +developed O +by O +Centrabit S-IDTY +. O + +These O +three O +macOS S-OS +installers O +use O +a O +similar O +post O +installer O +script O +in O +order O +to O +implant O +a O +mach-o S-TOOL +payload O +, O +as O +well O +as O +using O +the O +same O +command-line O +argument O +when O +executing O +the O +fetched O +second-stage O +payload O +. O + +However O +, O +they O +have O +started O +changing O +their O +macOS S-OS +malware O +. O + +We O +recognized O +a O +different O +type O +of O +macOS S-OS +malware O +, O +MarkMakingBot.dmg S-FILE +( O +be37637d8f6c1fbe7f3ffc702afdfe1d S-MD5 +) O +, O +created O +on O +2019-03-12 S-TIME +. O + +It O +doesn’t O +have O +an O +encryption/decryption O +routine O +for O +network O +communication O +. O + +We O +speculate O +that O +this O +is O +an O +intermediate O +stage O +in O +significant O +changes O +to O +their O +macOS S-OS +malware O +. O + +During O +our O +ongoing O +tracking O +of O +this O +campaign O +, O +we O +found O +that O +one O +victim O +was O +compromised O +by O +Windows S-OS +AppleJeus S-ACT +malware O +in O +March B-TIME +2019 E-TIME +. O + +Unfortunately O +, O +we O +couldn’t O +identify O +the O +initial O +installer O +, O +but O +we O +established O +that O +the O +infection O +started O +from O +a O +malicious O +file O +named O +WFCUpdater.exe S-FILE +. O + +At O +that O +time O +, O +the O +actor O +used O +a O +fake O +website O +: O +wfcwallet.com S-DOM +. O + +The O +actor O +used O +a O +multi-stage O +infection O +like O +before O +, O +but O +the O +method O +was O +different O +. O + +The O +infection O +started O +from O +.NET S-ACT +malware O +, O +disguised O +as O +a O +WFC S-IDTY +wallet O +updater O +( O +a9e960948fdac81579d3b752e49aceda S-MD5 +) O +. O + +Upon O +execution O +, O +this O +.NET S-FILE +executable O +checks O +whether O +the O +command O +line O +argument O +is O +“ O +/Embedding O +” O +or O +not O +. O + +This O +malware O +is O +responsible O +for O +decrypting O +the O +WFC.cfg S-FILE +file O +in O +the O +same O +folder O +with O +a O +hardcoded O +20-byte O +XOR S-ENCR +key O +. O + +This O +mimics O +the O +wallet O +updater O +connected O +to O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +addresses O +: O +wfcwallet.com S-DOM +( O +resolved O +ip O +: O +108.174.195.134 S-IP +) O +, O +www.chainfun365.com S-DOM +( O +resolved O +ip O +: O +23.254.217.53 S-IP +) O +. O + +After O +that O +, O +it O +carries O +out O +the O +malware O +operator O +’s O +commands O +in O +order O +to O +install O +the O +next O +stage O +permanent O +payload O +. O + +The O +actor O +delivered O +two O +more O +files O +into O +the O +victim O +’s O +system O +folder O +: O +rasext.dll S-FILE +and O +msctfp.dat S-FILE +. O + +They O +used O +the O +RasMan S-TOOL +( O +Remote B-TOOL +Access I-TOOL +Connection I-TOOL +Manager E-TOOL +) O +Windows S-OS +service O +to O +register O +the O +next O +payload O +with O +a O +persistence O +mechanism O +. O + +After O +fundamental O +reconnaissance O +, O +the O +malware O +operator O +implanted O +the O +delivered O +payload O +by O +manually O +using O +the O +following O +commands O +: O + +cmd.exe S-FILE +/c O +dir O +rasext.dll S-FILE +, O +cmd.exe S-FILE +/c O +dir O +msctfp.dat S-FILE +, O +cmd.exe S-FILE +/c O +tasklist O +/svc O +| O +findstr O +RasMan S-TOOL +, O +cmd.exe S-FILE +/c O +reg O +add O +HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\RasMan\ThirdParty O +/v O +DllName O +/d O +rasext.dll S-FILE +/f O +. O + +In O +order O +to O +establish O +remote O +tunneling O +, O +the O +actor O +delivered O +more O +tools O +, O +executing O +with O +command-line O +parameters O +. O + +Unfortunately O +, O +we O +have O +had O +no O +chance O +to O +obtain O +this O +file O +, O +but O +we O +speculate O +that O +Device.exe S-FILE +is O +responsible O +for O +opening O +port O +6378 O +, O +and O +the O +CenterUpdater.exe S-FILE +tool O +was O +used O +for O +creating O +tunneling O +to O +a O +remote O +host O +. O + +Note O +that O +the O +104.168.167.16 S-IP +server O +is O +used O +as O +a O +C2 S-TOOL +server O +. O + +The O +fake O +website O +hosting O +server O +for O +the O +UnionCryptoTrader S-TOOL +case O +will O +be O +described O +next O +. O + +We O +also O +found O +a O +Windows S-OS +version O +of O +the O +UnionCryptoTrader S-TOOL +( O +0f03ec3487578cef2398b5b732631fec S-MD5 +) O +. O + +It O +was O +executed O +from O +the O +Telegram S-TOOL +messenger O +download O +folder O +: O + +C:\Users\[user O +name]\Downloads\Telegram O +Desktop\UnionCryptoTraderSetup.exe S-FILE +. O + +We O +also O +found O +the O +actor O +’s O +Telegram S-TOOL +group O +on O +their O +fake O +website O +. O + +Based O +on O +these O +, O +we O +assess O +with O +high O +confidence O +that O +the O +actor O +delivered O +the O +manipulated O +installer O +using O +the O +Telegram S-TOOL +messenger O +. O + +Unfortunately O +, O +we O +can’t O +get O +all O +the O +related O +files O +as O +some O +payloads O +were O +only O +executed O +in O +memory O +. O + +However O +, O +we O +can O +reassemble O +the O +whole O +infection O +procedure O +based O +on O +our O +telemetry O +. O + +The O +overall O +infection O +procedure O +was O +very O +similar O +to O +the O +WFCWallet S-TOOL +case O +, O +but O +with O +an O +added O +injection O +procedure O +, O +and O +they O +only O +used O +the O +final O +backdoor O +payload O +instead O +of O +using O +a O +tunneling O +tool O +. O + +The O +UnionCryptoTrader S-TOOL +Windows S-OS +version O +has O +the O +following O +window S-OS +showing O +a O +price O +chart O +for O +several O +cryptocurrency O +exchanges O +. O + +The O +Windows S-OS +version O +of O +UnionCryptoTrader S-TOOL +updater O +( O +629b9de3e4b84b4a0aa605a3e9471b31 S-MD5 +) O +has O +similar O +functionality O +to O +the O +macOS S-OS +version O +. O + +According O +to O +the O +build O +path O +( O +Z:\Loader\x64\Release\WinloaderExe.pdb O +) O +, O +the O +malware O +author O +called O +this O +malware O +a O +loader O +. O + +Upon O +launch O +, O +the O +malware O +retrieves O +the O +victim O +’s O +basic O +system O +information O +, O +sending O +it O +in O +the O +following O +HTTP S-PROT +POST O +format O +, O +as O +is O +the O +case O +with O +the O +macOS S-OS +malware O +. O + +If O +the O +response O +code O +from O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +server O +is O +200 O +, O +the O +malware O +decrypts O +the O +payload O +and O +loads O +it O +in O +memory O +. O + +Finally O +, O +the O +malware O +sends O +the O +act=done O +value O +and O +return O +code O +. O + +The O +next O +stage O +payload O +( O +e1953fa319cc11c2f003ad0542bca822 S-MD5 +) O +, O +downloaded O +from O +this O +loader O +, O +is O +similar O +to O +the O +.NET S-TOOL +downloader O +in O +the O +WFCWallet S-TOOL +case O +. O + +This O +malware O +is O +responsible O +for O +decrypting O +the O +Adobe.icx S-FILE +file O +in O +the O +same O +folder O +. O + +It O +injects O +the O +next O +payload O +into O +the O +Internet O +Explorer O +process O +, O +and O +the O +tainted O +iexplore.exe S-FILE +process O +carries O +out O +the O +attacker O +’s O +commands O +. O + +The O +final O +payload O +( O +dd03c6eb62c9bf9adaf831f1d7adcbab S-MD5 +) O +is O +implanted O +manually O +as O +in O +the O +WFCWallet S-TOOL +case O +. O + +This O +final O +payload O +was O +designed O +to O +run O +only O +on O +certain O +systems O +. O + +It O +seems O +that O +the O +malware O +authors O +produced O +and O +delivered O +malware O +that O +only O +works O +on O +specific O +systems O +based O +on O +previously O +collected O +information O +. O + +The O +malware O +checks O +the O +infected O +system O +’s O +information O +and O +compares O +it O +to O +a O +given O +value O +. O + +It O +seems O +the O +actor O +wants O +to O +execute O +the O +final O +payload O +very O +carefully O +, O +and O +wants O +to O +evade O +detection O +by O +behavior-based O +detection O +solutions O +. O + +This O +Windows S-OS +malware O +loads O +the O +encrypted O +msctfp.dat S-FILE +file O +in O +a O +system O +folder O +, O +and O +loads O +each O +configuration O +value O +. O + +Then O +it O +executes O +an O +additional O +command O +based O +on O +the O +contents O +of O +this O +file O +. O + +When O +the O +malware O +communicates O +with O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +server O +, O +it O +uses O +a O +POST O +request O +with O +several O +predefined O +headers O +. O + +Finally O +, O +the O +malware O +downloads O +the O +next O +stage O +payload O +, O +decrypting O +it O +and O +possibly O +executing O +it O +with O +the O +Print O +parameter O +. O + +We O +speculate O +that O +the O +DLL S-TOOL +type O +payload O +will O +be O +downloaded O +and O +call O +its O +Print O +export O +function O +for O +further O +infection O +. O + +We O +can’t O +get O +hold O +of O +the O +final O +payload O +that O +’s O +executed O +in O +memory O +, O +but O +we O +believe O +its O +backdoor-type O +malware O +is O +ultimately O +used O +to O +control O +the O +infected O +victim O +. O + +We O +were O +able O +to O +identify O +several O +victims O +in O +this O +Operation O +AppleJeus S-ACT +sequel O +. O + +Victims O +were O +recorded O +in O +the O +UK S-LOC +, O +Poland S-LOC +, O +Russia S-LOC +and O +China S-LOC +. O + +Moreover O +, O +we O +were O +able O +to O +confirm O +that O +several O +of O +the O +victims O +are O +linked O +to O +cryptocurrency O +business O +entities O +. O + +The O +actor O +altered O +their O +macOS S-OS +and O +Windows S-OS +malware O +considerably O +, O +adding O +an O +authentication O +mechanism O +in O +the O +macOS S-OS +downloader O +and O +changing O +the O +macOS S-OS +development O +framework O +. O + +The O +binary O +infection O +procedure O +in O +the O +Windows S-OS +system O +differed O +from O +the O +previous O +case O +. O + +They O +also O +changed O +the O +final O +Windows S-OS +payload O +significantly O +from O +the O +well-known O +Fallchill S-MAL +malware O +used O +in O +the O +previous O +attack O +. O + +We O +believe O +the O +Lazarus S-APT +group O +’s O +continuous O +attacks O +for O +financial O +gain O +are O +unlikely O +to O +stop O +anytime O +soon O +. O + +Since O +the O +initial O +appearance O +of O +Operation O +AppleJeus S-ACT +, O +we O +can O +see O +that O +over O +time O +the O +authors O +have O +changed O +their O +modus O +operandi O +considerably O +. O + + +NEW O +CYBER B-ACT +ESPIONAGE E-ACT +CAMPAIGNS O +TARGETING O +PALESTINIANS O +Over O +the O +last O +several O +months O +, O +the O +Cybereason B-SECTEAM +Nocturnus E-SECTEAM +team O +has O +been O +tracking O +recent O +espionage O +campaigns O +targeting O +the O +Middle B-LOC +East E-LOC +. O + +These O +campaigns O +are O +specifically O +directed O +at O +entities O +and O +individuals O +in O +the O +Palestinian O +territories O +. O + +This O +investigation O +shows O +multiple O +similarities O +to O +previous O +attacks O +attributed O +to O +a O +group O +called O +MoleRATs S-APT +( O +aka O +The O +Gaza B-APT +Cybergang E-APT +) O +, O +an O +Arabic-speaking O +, O +politically O +motivated O +group O +that O +has O +operated O +in O +the O +Middle B-LOC +East E-LOC +since O +2012 S-TIME +. O + +In O +our O +analysis O +, O +we O +distinguish O +between O +two O +separate O +campaigns O +happening O +simultaneously O +. O + +These O +campaigns O +differ O +in O +tools O +, O +server O +infrastructure O +, O +and O +nuances O +in O +decoy O +content O +and O +intended O +targets O +. O + +The O +Spark S-MAL +Campaign O +: O +This O +campaign O +uses O +social O +engineering O +to O +infect O +victims O +, O +mainly O +from O +the O +Palestinian O +territories O +, O +with O +the O +Spark B-MAL +backdoor E-MAL +. O + +This O +backdoor O +first O +emerged O +in O +January B-TIME +2019 E-TIME +and O +has O +been O +continuously O +active O +since O +then O +. O + +The O +campaign O +’s O +lure O +content O +revolves O +around O +recent O +geopolitical O +events O +, O +espeically O +the O +Israeli-Palestinian O +conflict O +, O +the O +assassination O +of O +Qasem O +Soleimani O +, O +and O +the O +ongoing O +conflict O +between O +Hamas O +and O +Fatah O +Palestinian O +movements O +. O + +The O +Pierogi S-MAL +Campaign O +: O +This O +campaign O +uses O +social O +engineering O +attacks O +to O +infect O +victims O +with O +a O +new O +, O +undocumented O +backdoor O +dubbed O +Pierogi S-MAL +. O + +This O +backdoor O +first O +emerged O +in O +December B-TIME +2019 E-TIME +, O +and O +was O +discovered O +by O +Cybereason S-SECTEAM +. O + +In O +this O +campaign O +, O +the O +attackers O +use O +different O +TTPs O +and O +decoy O +documents O +reminiscent O +of O +previous O +campaigns O +by O +MoleRATs S-APT +involving O +the O +Micropsia S-MAL +and O +Kaperagent S-MAL +malware O +. O + +In O +part O +one O +of O +this O +research O +, O +we O +analyze O +the O +Spark S-MAL +campaign O +. O + +This O +campaign O +is O +named O +after O +a O +rare O +backdoor O +used O +by O +the O +MoleRATs S-APT +Group O +, O +dubbed O +Spark S-MAL +by O +Cybereason S-SECTEAM +and O +previously O +reported O +by O +360 S-SECTEAM +’s O +blog O +. O + +The O +creators O +of O +the O +Spark B-MAL +backdoor E-MAL +use O +several O +techniques O +to O +evade O +detection O +and O +stay O +under O +the O +radar O +. O + +They O +pack O +the O +malware O +with O +a O +powerful O +commercial O +tool O +called O +Enigma B-TOOL +Packer E-TOOL +and O +implement O +language O +checks O +to O +ensure O +the O +victims O +are O +Arabic O +speaking O +. O + +This O +minimizes O +the O +risk O +of O +detection O +and O +infection O +of O +unwanted O +victims O +. O + +Cyber B-ACT +Espionage E-ACT +in O +the O +Middle B-LOC +East E-LOC +: O +The O +Cybereason B-SECTEAM +Nocturnus E-SECTEAM +team O +has O +discovered O +several O +recent O +, O +targeted O +attacks O +in O +the O +Middle B-TOOL +East E-TOOL +. O + +These O +attacks O +deliver O +the O +Spark S-MAL +and O +Pierogi B-MAL +backdoors E-MAL +for O +politically-driven O +cyber B-ACT +espionage E-ACT +operations O +. O + +Targeting O +Palestinians O +: O +The O +campaigns O +seems O +to O +target O +Palestinian O +individuals O +and O +entities O +, O +likely O +related O +to O +the O +Palestinian O +government O +. O + +Politically-motivated O +APT O +: O +Cybereason S-SECTEAM +suspects O +that O +the O +objective O +of O +the O +threat O +actor O +is O +to O +obtain O +sensitive O +information O +from O +the O +victims O +and O +leverage O +it O +for O +political O +purposes O +. O + +Lured O +Into O +Deploying O +a O +Backdoor O +: O +The O +attackers O +use O +specially O +crafted O +lure O +content O +to O +trick O +targets O +into O +opening O +malicious O +files O +that O +infect O +the O +victim O +’s O +machine O +with O +a O +backdoor O +. O + +The O +lure O +content O +in O +the O +malicious O +files O +relates O +to O +political O +affairs O +in O +the O +Middle B-LOC +East E-LOC +, O +with O +specific O +references O +to O +the O +Israeli-Palestinian O +conflict O +, O +tension O +between O +Hamas S-IDTY +and O +Fatah S-IDTY +, O +and O +other O +political O +entities O +in O +the O +region O +. O + +Perpetrated O +by O +an O +Arabic-Speaking O +APT O +Group O +: O +The O +modus-operandi O +of O +the O +attackers O +in O +conjunction O +with O +the O +social O +engineering O +tactics O +and O +decoy O +content O +seem O +aligned O +with O +previous O +attacks O +carried O +out O +by O +the O +Arabic-speaking O +APT O +group O +MoleRATs S-APT +( O +aka O +Gaza B-APT +Cybergang E-APT +) O +. O + +This O +group O +has O +been O +operating O +in O +the O +Middle B-LOC +East E-LOC +since O +2012 S-TIME +. O + +These O +attacks O +show O +significant O +similarities O +to O +previously O +documented O +attacks O +attributed O +to O +the O +Arabic-speaking O +threat O +actor O +, O +commonly O +referred O +to O +as O +the O +MoleRATs S-APT +group O +( O +aka O +, O +The O +Gaza B-APT +Cybergang E-APT +, O +Moonlight S-APT +, O +DustySky S-APT +, O +Gaza B-APT +Hacker I-APT +Team E-APT +) O +. O + +This O +group O +, O +which O +has O +been O +attributed O +by O +various O +security O +teams O +, O +is O +believed O +to O +be O +comprised O +of O +three O +subgroups O +: O + +Gaza B-APT +Cybergang E-APT +Group O +1 O +, O +also O +dubbed O +MoleRATs S-APT +: O +MoleRATs S-APT +has O +been O +active O +since O +at O +least O +2012 S-TIME +. O + +This O +Arabic-speaking O +group O +uses O +spear B-ACT +phishing E-ACT +attacks O +to O +infect O +target O +machines O +in O +the O +Middle B-LOC +East E-LOC +and O +North B-LOC +Africa E-LOC +with O +various O +Remote B-TOOL +Access I-TOOL +Trojans E-TOOL +( O +RATs S-TOOL +) O +. O + +As O +MoleRATs S-APT +most O +prominently O +targets O +Palestinian O +territories O +, O +its O +spear B-ACT +phishing E-ACT +attacks O +often O +use O +attached O +malicious O +documents O +on O +topical O +Palestinian O +Authority-related O +issues O +to O +lure O +their O +victims O +. O + +The O +group O +uses O +a O +mix O +of O +tools O +and O +malware O +, O +some O +developed O +by O +the O +group O +and O +others O +that O +are O +more O +generic O +tools O +. O + +Gaza B-APT +Cybergang E-APT +Group O +2 O +, O +also O +dubbed O +Desert B-APT +Falcons E-APT +, O +APT-C-23 S-APT +, O +Arid B-APT +Viper E-APT +. O + +This O +second O +group O +is O +an O +Arabic-speaking O +group O +that O +mainly O +targets O +the O +Middle B-LOC +East E-LOC +and O +North B-LOC +Africa E-LOC +, O +with O +a O +few O +targets O +in O +European O +and O +Asian O +countries O +as O +well O +. O + +The O +group O +is O +known O +for O +their O +advanced O +attacks O +that O +leverage O +custom-built O +Windows S-OS +malware O +( O +Kasperagent S-MAL +, O +Micropsia S-MAL +) O +as O +well O +as O +Android S-OS +malware O +( O +Vamp S-MAL +, O +GnatSpy S-MAL +) O +. O + +Gaza B-APT +Cybergang E-APT +Group O +3: O +This O +group O +is O +believed O +to O +be O +behind O +Operation O +Parliament O +. O + +It O +is O +considered O +to O +be O +the O +most O +advanced O +group O +of O +the O +three O +, O +and O +is O +focused O +on O +high-profile O +targets O +in O +the O +Middle B-LOC +East E-LOC +, O +North B-LOC +America E-LOC +, O +Europe S-LOC +and O +Asia S-LOC +. O + +The O +group O +is O +reported O +to O +have O +previously O +attacked O +government O +institutions O +, O +parliaments O +, O +senates O +, O +diplomatic O +functions O +, O +and O +even O +Olympic O +and O +other O +sports O +bodies O +. O + +It O +is O +important O +to O +remember O +there O +are O +many O +threat O +actors O +operating O +in O +the O +Middle B-LOC +East E-LOC +, O +and O +often O +there O +are O +overlaps O +in O +TTPs O +, O +tools O +, O +motivation O +, O +and O +victimology O +. O + +There O +have O +been O +cases O +in O +the O +past O +where O +a O +threat O +actor O +attempted O +to O +mimic O +another O +to O +thwart O +attribution O +efforts O +, O +and O +as O +such O +, O +attribution O +should O +rarely O +be O +taken O +as O +is O +, O +but O +instead O +with O +a O +grain O +of O +salt O +and O +critical O +thinking O +. O + +In O +this O +attack O +, O +the O +targets O +are O +lured O +to O +open O +a O +document O +or O +a O +link O +attached O +to O +an O +email S-TOOL +. O + +There O +have O +been O +cases O +in O +the O +past O +where O +victims O +also O +downloaded O +malicious O +content O +from O +fake O +news O +websites O +. O + +The O +names O +of O +the O +files O +and O +their O +content O +play O +a O +major O +part O +in O +luring O +victims O +to O +open O +them O +, O +as O +they O +usually O +relate O +to O +current O +topics O +pertaining O +to O +Hamas S-IDTY +, O +the O +Palestinian O +National O +Authority O +, O +or O +other O +recent O +events O +in O +the O +Middle B-LOC +East E-LOC +. O + +The O +lure O +documents O +analyzed O +by O +Cybereason S-SECTEAM +in O +this O +attack O +concentrate O +on O +the O +following O +themes O +: O + +The O +Conflict O +between O +Hamas S-IDTY +and O +Fatah S-IDTY +: O +The O +historical O +rivalry O +between O +the O +Hamas S-IDTY +and O +Fatah S-IDTY +has O +resulted O +in O +many O +open O +battles O +between O +the O +two O +entities O +. O + +Since O +2006 S-TIME +, O +Hamas S-IDTY +has O +controlled O +the O +Gaza S-APT +strip O +and O +Fatah S-IDTY +has O +controlled O +the O +West O +Bank O +. O + +Matters O +pertaining O +to O +the O +Israeli-Palestinian O +Conflict O +: O +Some O +of O +the O +documents O +in O +this O +campaign O +reference O +different O +aspects O +of O +the O +Israeli-Palestinian O +conflict O +, O +and O +the O +efforts O +for O +ceasefire O +and O +peace O +processes O +between O +the O +Israelis O +and O +the O +Palestinians O +, O +including O +the O +latest O +peace O +plan O +made O +by O +President O +Donald O +Trump O +and O +Senior O +Advisor O +to O +the O +President O +of O +the O +United B-LOC +States E-LOC +Jared O +Kushner O +. O + +Vigilance O +Following O +Soleimani O +’s O +Assassination O +: O +One O +of O +the O +lure O +documents O +mentions O +sources O +in O +Lebanon S-LOC +that O +report O +a O +state O +of O +alert O +and O +vigilance O +amongst O +Iranian O +, O +Syrian O +, O +and O +Lebasense O +militias O +following O +Soleimani O +’s O +assassination O +. O + +Tensions O +Between O +Hamas S-IDTY +and O +the O +Egyptian O +Government O +: O +Egypt S-LOC +plays O +a O +major O +role O +as O +a O +mediator O +in O +the O +Israeli-Palestinian O +confict O +and O +has O +brokered O +several O +ceasefire O +deals O +and O +other O +negotiations O +in O +the O +past O +. O + +Changes O +to O +Egypt S-LOC +’s O +internal O +political O +climate O +are O +known O +to O +have O +affected O +Egyptian O +government O +relations O +with O +Hamas S-IDTY +over O +the O +years O +. O + +It O +was O +recently O +reported O +that O +Ismail O +Haniyeh O +, O +the O +head O +of O +Hamas S-IDTY +’ O +political O +Bureau O +, O +had O +a O +falling-out O +with O +the O +Egyptian O +government O +over O +his O +visit O +to O +Tehran S-LOC +to O +participate O +in O +General O +Qasem O +Soleimani O +’s O +funeral O +, O +following O +Soleimani O +’s O +assassination O +. O + +In O +the O +Spark S-MAL +campaign O +, O +the O +lure O +documents O +and O +links O +point O +to O +one O +of O +two O +file O +sharing O +websites O +, O +Egnyte S-TOOL +or O +Dropbox S-TOOL +. O + +The O +target O +is O +encouraged O +to O +download O +an O +archive O +file O +in O +a O +rar S-TOOL +or O +zip S-TOOL +format O +that O +contains O +an O +executable O +file O +masquerading O +as O +a O +Microsoft S-IDTY +Word S-TOOL +document O +. O + +One O +example O +of O +a O +lure O +document O +used O +in O +the O +Spark S-MAL +campaign O +is O +a O +PDF S-TOOL +file O +that O +is O +used O +to O +deliver O +the O +Spark B-MAL +backdoor E-MAL +to O +the O +victim O +. O + +The O +document O +includes O +a O +special O +report O +allegedly O +quoted O +from O +the O +Egyptian O +newspaper O +Al-Ahram S-IDTY +. O + +This O +document O +reports O +that O +Ismail O +Hanieyh O +, O +the O +political O +leader O +of O +Hamas S-LOC +, O +had O +notified O +the O +Egyptian O +government O +that O +he O +will O +remain O +abroad O +after O +his O +visit O +to O +Tehran S-LOC +to O +take O +part O +in O +Soleimani O +’s O +funeral O +, O +which O +sparked O +tension O +with O +the O +Egyptian O +authorities O +. O + +Haniyeh_will_remain_abroad_and_Hamas_rises_in_Gaza.pdf S-FILE +: O +5b476e05aacea9edc14f7e4bab1b724ef54915f30c39ac87503ed395feae611e S-SHA2 +. O + +The O +target O +is O +encouraged O +to O +click O +on O +the O +link O +to O +read O +the O +entire O +article O +. O + +However O +, O +the O +document O +does O +not O +link O +to O +the O +Egyptian O +Newspaper O +website O +, O +but O +instead O +to O +a O +file O +sharing O +website O +called O +Egnyte S-TOOL +. O + +It O +prompts O +the O +user O +to O +download O +a O +file O +that O +supposedly O +contains O +the O +full O +article O +. O + +Link O +embedded O +in O +the O +PDF S-TOOL +document O +: O +https://csaasd.egnyte.com/dd/h5s7YHzOy5 S-URL +. O + +The O +downloaded O +file O +is O +an O +archive O +file O +( O +.r23 S-FILE +) O +, O +that O +contains O +a O +Windows S-OS +executable O +file O +with O +the O +same O +name O +as O +the O +PDF S-TOOL +and O +with O +a O +fake O +Microsoft S-IDTY +Word S-TOOL +icon O +. O + +Hanieh_will_remain_abroad_and_Hamas_steps_up_in_Gaza.r23 S-FILE +: O + +e8d73a94d8ff18c7791bf4547bc4ee2d3f62082c594d3c3cf7d640f7bbd15614 S-SHA2 +. O + +Hanieh_will_remain_abroad_and_Hamas_steps_up_in_Gaza.exe S-FILE +: O + +7bb719f1c64d627ecb1f13c97dc050a7bb1441497f26578f7b2a9302adbbb128 S-SHA2 +. O + +When O +the O +victim O +double O +clicks O +on O +the O +executable O +file O +, O +it O +unpacks O +and O +installs O +the O +Spark B-MAL +backdoor E-MAL +, O +as O +shown O +in O +the O +attack O +tree O +screenshot O +below O +. O + +The O +extracted O +executable O +file O +contains O +a O +compiled O +Autoit S-TOOL +script O +, O +which O +can O +be O +seen O +in O +the O +RT_RCDATA O +section O +of O +the O +file O +. O + +The O +decompiled O +code O +shows O +the O +decryption O +routine O +that O +unpacks O +the O +embedded O +Spark B-MAL +backdoor E-MAL +. O + +Once O +the O +file O +is O +unpacked O +, O +the O +backdoor O +is O +dropped O +in O +two O +different O +locations O +on O +the O +infected O +operating O +system O +: O + +C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start B-FILE +Menu\Programs\Startup\runawy.exe E-FILE +. O + +C:\Users\user\runawy.exe S-FILE +. O + +In O +addition O +, O +the O +Autoit O +code O +also O +creates O +the O +following O +scheduled O +task O +for O +persistence O +: O + +SCHTASKS O +/Create O +/f O +/SC O +minute O +/TN O +runawy O +/mo O +5 O +/tr O +C:\Users\\runawy.exe S-FILE +. O + +Urgent_Information_Report.exe S-FILE +: O + +6e896099a3ceb563f43f49a255672cfd14d88799f29617aa362ecd2128446a47 S-SHA2 +. O + +The O +executable O +has O +a O +Microsoft S-IDTY +Word S-TOOL +icon O +to O +trick O +victims O +into O +believing O +they O +are O +opening O +a O +Word S-TOOL +document O +. O + +Once O +the O +user O +double-clicks O +on O +the O +executable O +file O +, O +the O +dropper O +drops O +a O +Word S-TOOL +document O +in O +%AppData% O +and O +displays O +the O +following O +decoy O +document O +to O +the O +victim O +, O +while O +the O +dropper O +runs O +in O +the O +background O +and O +installs O +the O +backdoor O +. O +%appdata%\info.docx S-FILE +: O + +2c50eedc260c82dc176447aa4116ad37112864f4e1e3e95c4817499d9f18a90d S-SHA2 +. O + +The O +dropper O +drops O +the O +Spark B-MAL +backdoor E-MAL +binary O +and O +a O +shortcut O +file O +used O +to O +initiate O +persistence O +in O +the O +following O +locations O +. O + +C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start B-FILE +Menu\Programs\Startup\Blaster.lnk E-FILE +: O + +4254dc8c368cbc36c8a11035dcd0f4b05d587807fa9194d58f0ba411bfd65842 S-SHA2 +. O + +C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\Blaster.exe S-FILE +: O + +cf32479ed30ae959c4ec8a286bb039425d174062b26054c80572b4625646c551 S-SHA2 +. O + +The O +Spark S-MAL +payload O +is O +a O +custom O +backdoor O +likely O +developed O +by O +the O +MoleRATs S-APT +group O +. O + +In O +addition O +to O +known O +generic O +malware O +( O +such O +as O +: O +njRAT S-MAL +, O +Poison B-MAL +Ivy E-MAL +, O +XtremeRAT S-MAL +) O +, O +the O +MoleRATs S-APT +group O +has O +been O +known O +to O +develop O +its O +own O +custom O +tools O +such O +as O +DustySky S-MAL +, O +the O +MoleRAT S-MAL +Loader O +and O +Scote S-MAL +. O + +We O +believe O +this O +backdoor O +is O +relatively O +new O +and O +seems O +to O +have O +appeared O +starting O +in O +the O +beginning O +of O +2019 S-TIME +. O + +The O +name O +Spark S-MAL +is O +derived O +from O +the O +PDB S-TOOL +path O +left O +in O +a O +few O +of O +the O +backdoor O +binaries O +: O + +W:\Visual B-FILE +Studio I-FILE +2017\Spark4.2\Release\Spark4.2.pdb E-FILE +. O + +The O +Spark B-MAL +backdoor E-MAL +allows O +the O +attackers O +to O +: O + +Collect O +information O +about O +the O +infected O +machine O +. O + +Encrypt O +the O +collected O +data O +and O +send O +it O +to O +the O +attackers O +over O +the O +HTTP S-PROT +protocol O +. O + +Download O +additional O +payloads O +. O + +Log O +keystrokes O +. O + +Record O +audio O +using O +the O +computer O +’s O +microphone O +. O + +Execute O +commands O +on O +the O +infected O +machine O +. O + +The O +creators O +of O +the O +Spark B-MAL +backdoor E-MAL +use O +a O +few O +techniques O +that O +are O +intended O +to O +keep O +the O +backdoor O +under-the-radar O +, O +including O +: O + +Packing O +the O +payloads O +with O +the O +Enigma S-TOOL +packer O +. O + +Checking O +for O +antivirus O +and O +other O +security O +products O +using O +WMI S-TOOL +. O + +Validating O +Arabic O +keyboard O +and O +language O +settings O +on O +the O +infected O +machine O +. O + +All O +the O +the O +payloads O +observed O +by O +Cybereason S-SECTEAM +in O +this O +campaign O +were O +packed O +by O +a O +powerful O +yet O +commercial O +packer O +called O +Enigma S-TOOL +Packer O +. O + +The O +MoleRATs S-APT +group O +have O +been O +known O +to O +use O +this O +packer O +in O +previous O +attacks O +. O + +Enigma S-TOOL +packer O +artifacts O +in O +file O +metadata O +( O +SHA-256: O +b08b8fddb9dd940a8ab91c9cb29db9bb611a5c533c9489fb99e36c43b4df1eca S-SHA2 +) O +. O + +One O +common O +evasive O +mechanism O +used O +by O +the O +Spark B-MAL +backdoor E-MAL +is O +its O +ability O +to O +check O +for O +installed O +security O +products O +using O +WMI S-TOOL +queries O +( O +WQL O +) O +. O + +If O +certain O +security O +products O +are O +installed O +, O +the O +backdoor O +does O +not O +carry O +out O +its O +malicious O +activity O +. O + +Another O +evasive O +mechanism O +used O +by O +the O +backdoor O +is O +how O +it O +checks O +whether O +an O +Arabic O +keyboard O +and O +Arabic O +language O +settings O +are O +used O +on O +the O +infected O +machine O +. O + +If O +Arabic O +keyboard O +and O +language O +settings O +are O +not O +found O +on O +the O +machine O +, O +the O +backdoor O +will O +not O +carry O +out O +its O +malicious O +activity O +. O + +This O +check O +serves O +two O +purposes O +: O + +It O +minimizes O +the O +risk O +of O +overexposure O +by O +specifically O +targeting O +Arabic O +speakers O +. O + +It O +can O +thwart O +detection O +by O +automated O +analysis O +engines O +and O +sandbox O +solutions O +. O + +After O +unpacking O +itself O +, O +the O +Spark B-MAL +backdoor E-MAL +creates O +a O +hidden O +window S-OS +where O +most O +of O +the O +malicious O +activity O +is O +handled O +. O + +This O +behavior O +can O +be O +detected O +using O +a O +tool O +called O +WinLister S-TOOL +, O +which O +enumerates O +hidden O +windows S-OS +. O + +The O +name O +of O +the O +window O +is O +Spark4.2 S-MAL +. O + +The O +Spark B-MAL +backdoor E-MAL +communicates O +with O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +servers O +over O +the O +HTTP S-PROT +protocol O +. O + +The O +data O +is O +first O +encrypted O +and O +then O +encoded O +with O +Base64 S-ENCR +. O + +In O +this O +instance O +, O +the O +backdoor O +posts O +the O +data O +to O +the O +domain O +Nysura.com S-DOM +( O +For O +more O +domains O +, O +please O +see O +the O +IOC O +section O +of O +this O +research O +) O +. O + +It O +is O +interesting O +to O +see O +that O +the O +HTTP S-PROT +POST O +host O +header O +refers O +to O +a O +legitimate O +domain O +cnet.com S-DOM +, O +however O +, O +in O +acutality O +, O +the O +data O +is O +sent O +to O +nysura.com S-DOM +, O +as O +can O +be O +seen O +in O +the O +traffic O +screenshot O +below O +. O + +The O +data O +sent O +to O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +follows O +a O +structured O +pattern O +that O +uses O +a O +predefined O +keywords O +array O +, O +where O +each O +keyword O +is O +mapped O +to O +a O +certain O +subroutine O +. O + +The O +keywords O +are O +comprised O +of O +the O +names O +of O +individuals O +. O + +They O +are O +mostly O +Western O +names O +, O +but O +there O +were O +some O +Arabic O +names O +in O +a O +few O +of O +the O +samples O +. O + +Prior O +to O +sending O +the O +data O +to O +the O +server O +, O +the O +data O +is O +encrypted O +and O +staged O +in O +an O +array O +like O +this O +: O + +[27089,28618,9833,4170,25722,19977,2369,21426,3435,7442,30146,21719,16140,16280,16688,22550,19867,194,3298] O +. O + +The O +data O +is O +then O +encoded O +with O +Base64 S-ENCR +: O + +" O +WzI3MDg5LDI4NjE4LDk4MzMsNDE3MCwyNTcyMiwxOTk3NywyMzY5LDIxNDI2LDM0MzUsNzQ0MiwzMDE0NiwyMTcxOSwxNjE0MCwxNjI4MCwxNjY4OCwyMjU1MCwxOTg2NywxOTQsMzI5OF0= O +" O +. O + +The O +Base64-encoded S-ENCR +data O +is O +inserted O +into O +the O +following O +json O +object O +, O +which O +contains O +the O +individual O +names O +. O + +Lastly O +, O +the O +entire O +json O +object O +is O +encoded O +with O +Base64 S-ENCR +and O +undergoes O +another O +stage O +of O +encryption O +, O +and O +then O +sent O +to O +the O +server O +: O + +" O +ZjRTc1dTTU9nVW5FaXM3bGgvbU90MTlVMHFkb1c5SFFuRXhhSVR5YytIQkZremk3bk5wY21BUEZRYitJenA1cnlJY1lxREJJZ1RrL0N4UzZWcVVQM0pTUWFISlhKWG8wN1BxWE1hYThHSUdEVnBFakYrNlp1bXBvdUZMRFNYQVhxYk9tSElWYTFOTlpJK0hFVVBmTG9CQUV3VCtqQ2FCVUE1aHQ2SzllSHREMUpOdkdBUXZ3TWgyLzhtVHpha2I0TE81ZlpURTQyUmVjdFY1M0ZpemlRR1FLL1gzNE9mcU0zR0JqQ1ZnN1hCSmFGaC94RHBDMkNBRmZaSTVoVlhsaTBtQW5SR3N5QzVRY2lMNkpZVFJuRTQrUzBjdjU4SjY4ejRCL2FNbW9IakRheHdQd1RPUElkOHNDbDRVbmp2ZDM0ZVZlZTB1QVA0UHo0YllyVHRMZVRnPT0= O +" O +. O + +Using O +names O +as O +keywords O +is O +an O +identical O +technique O +to O +that O +of O +the O +data O +structure O +logic O +previously O +documented O +by O +360 S-SECTEAM +’s O +blog O +post O +. O + +This O +post O +discusses O +an O +earlier O +variant O +of O +the O +backdoor O +attributed O +to O +the O +MoleRATs S-APT +group O +. O + +Using O +other O +individuals O +names O +for O +C2 S-TOOL +communication O +has O +also O +been O +done O +by O +the O +two O +other O +Gaza O +Cybergang O +groups O +: O + +Gaza B-APT +Cybergang E-APT +Group O +2 O +with O +the O +Micropsia B-MAL +backdoor E-MAL +: O + +In O +this O +instance O +, O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +communication O +implemented O +by O +the O +Micropsia B-MAL +backdoor E-MAL +also O +used O +specific O +names O +for O +different O +C2 S-TOOL +commands O +. O + +Gaza B-APT +Cybergang E-APT +Group O +3 O +in O +Operation O +Parliament O +: O +In O +this O +instance O +, O +the O +malware O +also O +used O +people O +’s O +names O +for O +C2 S-TOOL +communication O +to O +send O +and O +receive O +commands O +from O +the O +server O +. O + +Based O +on O +the O +similarity O +of O +the O +naming O +convention O +and O +data O +format O +, O +we O +believe O +the O +Spark B-MAL +backdoor E-MAL +could O +be O +an O +evolution O +of O +the O +backdoor O +mentioned O +in O +Operation O +Parliament O +, O +or O +at O +least O +inspired O +by O +the O +malware O +. O + +The O +Spark S-MAL +campaign O +detailed O +in O +this O +blog O +demonstrates O +how O +the O +tense O +geopolitical O +climate O +in O +the O +Middle B-LOC +East E-LOC +is O +used O +by O +threat O +actors O +to O +lure O +victims O +and O +infect O +them O +with O +the O +Spark B-MAL +backdoor E-MAL +for O +cyber O +espionage O +purposes O +. O + +The O +names O +of O +the O +files O +and O +decoy O +content O +seem O +to O +be O +carefully O +crafted O +, O +often O +referencing O +controversial O +and O +topical O +political O +issues O +. O + +Cybereason S-SECTEAM +estimates O +that O +the O +files O +are O +specifically O +meant O +to O +lure O +and O +appeal O +to O +victims O +from O +the O +Middle B-MAL +East E-MAL +, O +especially O +towards O +individuals O +and O +entities O +in O +the O +Palestinian O +territories O +likely O +related O +to O +the O +Palestinian O +government O +or O +the O +Fatah S-LOC +movement O +. O + +The O +techniques O +, O +tools O +, O +and O +procedures O +used O +in O +this O +campaign O +bear O +great O +resemblance O +to O +previous O +attacks O +attributed O +to O +the O +MoleRATs S-APT +Group O +( O +aka O +Gaza B-APT +Cybergang E-APT +Group O +) O +, O +an O +Arabic-speaking O +, O +politically O +motivated O +group O +that O +has O +operated O +in O +the O +Middle B-LOC +East E-LOC +since O +2012 S-TIME +. O + +Our O +research O +demonstrates O +the O +efforts O +used O +by O +attackers O +to O +reduce O +the O +risk O +of O +detection O +of O +the O +Spark B-MAL +backdoor E-MAL +by O +various O +security O +products O +. O + +The O +backdoor O +checks O +for O +the O +existence O +of O +antivirus O +and O +firewall O +products O +before O +it O +initiates O +its O +malicious O +activity O +. O + +Importantly O +, O +the O +backdoor O +simply O +will O +not O +reveal O +its O +malicious O +nature O +unless O +Arabic O +language O +keyboard O +and O +settings O +are O +found O +on O +the O +infected O +machine O +. O + +This O +shows O +how O +the O +attackers O +use O +this O +backdoor O +in O +a O +surgical O +way O +to O +exclusively O +attack O +specific O +targets O +. O + +In O +addition O +, O +analysis O +of O +these O +backdoor O +delivery O +methods O +also O +highlights O +a O +trend O +by O +many O +threat O +actors O +where O +they O +use O +legitimate O +storage O +platforms O +to O +deliver O +the O +initial O +stages O +of O +the O +attack O +. O + + +Reviving O +MuddyC3 S-TOOL +Used O +by O +MuddyWater S-APT +( O +IRAN S-APT +) O +APT O +. O + +MuddyWater S-APT +is O +a O +well-known O +threat O +actor O +group O +founded O +by O +Iran S-LOC +. O +“ O +that O +has O +been O +active O +since O +2017 S-TIME +. O + +They O +target O +groups O +across O +Middle B-LOC +East E-LOC +and O +Central O +Asia S-LOC +, O +primarily O +using O +spear B-ACT +phishing E-ACT +emails S-TOOL +with O +malicious O +attachments O +. O + +Most O +recently O +they O +were O +connected O +to O +a O +campaign O +in O +March S-TIME +that O +targeted O +” O +organizations O +in O +Turkey S-LOC +, O +Pakistan S-LOC +, O +and O +Tajikistan S-LOC +. O + +MuddyWater S-APT +attacks O +are O +characterized O +by O +the O +use O +of O +a O +slowly O +evolving O +PowerShell-based S-TOOL +first O +stage O +backdoor O +we O +call O +“ O +POWERSTATS S-MAL +” O +. O + +Despite O +broad O +scrutiny O +and O +reports O +on O +MuddyWater S-APT +attacks O +, O +the O +activity O +continues O +with O +only O +incremental O +changes O +to O +the O +tools O +and O +techniques O +. O + +In O +June B-TIME +26 I-TIME +2019 E-TIME +a O +group O +called O +“ O +Green B-APT +Leakers E-APT +” O +on O +telegram O +published O +screenshots O +of O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +admin O +panel O +as O +you O +can O +see O +below O +along O +with O +screenshot O +of O +the O +muddyc3 S-TOOL +c2 S-TOOL +source O +code O +. O +they O +announced O +that O +they O +are O +selling O +all O +the O +leaked O +tools O +for O +0.5BTC O +. O + +At O +that O +time O +i O +got O +the O +source O +code O +from O +github S-TOOL +, O +so O +i O +tried O +the O +code O +to O +find O +that O +the O +core O +of O +the O +c2 S-TOOL +which O +is O +powershell S-TOOL +payload O +is O +messing O +( O +the O +leaker O +didn’t O +include O +the O +payload O +in O +order O +to O +by O +all O +the O +tools O +) O +. O +so O +i O +didn’t O +have O +time O +to O +reverse O +engineer O +the O +source O +code O +and O +i O +left O +it O +. O +last O +week O +i O +got O +3 O +days O +off O +from O +my O +work O +( O +working O +in O +SOC S-TOOL +will O +keep O +you O +for O +ever O +busy O +) O +so O +i O +started O +analyzing O +the O +code O +which O +will O +be O +discussed O +below O +and O +i O +was O +able O +to O +understand O +how O +it O +works O +in O +order O +to O +create O +the O +messing O +powershell S-TOOL +payload O +and O +make O +the O +c2 S-TOOL +come O +to O +life O +. O + +I O +didn’t O +just O +revive O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +but O +also O +added O +more O +advanced O +functionality O +which O +will O +be O +released O +as O +separate O +tool O +soon O +. O + +Lets O +start O +by O +giving O +a O +summary O +about O +the O +muddyc3 S-TOOL +tool O +: O + +Coded O +with O +python2.7 S-TOOL +. O +works O +as O +C2 S-TOOL +server O +that O +serve O +a O +powershell S-TOOL +agent O +script O +when O +requested O +. O +i O +didn’t O +find O +any O +function O +to O +encrypt O +the O +traffic O +between O +the O +the O +agent O +and O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +but O +there O +are O +variables O +with O +name O +private_key O +, O +public_key O +so O +i O +suspect O +the O +functions O +removed O +. O +its O +make O +use O +of O +HTA S-TOOL +and O +bas64 S-ENCR +encoded O +powershell S-TOOL +code O +to O +bypass O +the O +AV S-TOOL +( O +right O +now O +AV S-TOOL +can O +catch O +HTA S-TOOL +) O +. O + +It O +use O +threading O +so O +many O +agent O +can O +connect O +and O +controlled O +at O +the O +same O +time O +. O +the O +agent O +must O +collect O +information O +about O +the O +system O +when O +it O +first O +start O +then O +report O +it O +to O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +. O +there O +is O +template O +for O +agent O +which O +will O +be O +filled O +with O +ip O +and O +port O +when O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +run O +. O +include O +functions O +but O +not O +all O +implemented O +in O +the O +initial O +POC S-TOOL +: O + +upload O +, O +download O +, O +load O +modules O +, O +get O +screenshot O +. O + +The O +initial O +powershell S-TOOL +agent O +POC S-TOOL +i O +created O +can O +bypass O +the O +AV S-TOOL +including O +Kaspersky S-TOOL +, O +Trendmicro S-TOOL +. O + +Now O +we O +dig O +deep O +in O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +to O +explain O +how O +it O +work O +and O +how O +i O +created O +the O +agent O +based O +on O +the O +function O +available O +in O +the O +C2 S-TOOL +. O + +C2 S-TOOL +interface O + +: O + +simple O +CLI S-TOOL +interface O +that O +ask O +when O +started O +for O +IP O +,Port O +and O +proxy O +configuration O +to O +generate O +the O +initial O +payloads O +. O + + +The O +Nitro S-APT +Attacks O +. O + +This O +document O +discusses O +a O +recent O +targeted O +attack O +campaign O +directed O +primarily O +at O +private O +companies O +involved O +in O +the O +research O +, O +development O +, O +and O +manufacture O +of O +chemicals O +and O +advanced O +materials O +. O + +The O +goal O +of O +the O +attackers O +appears O +to O +be O +to O +collect O +intellectual O +property O +such O +as O +design O +documents O +, O +formulas O +, O +and O +manufacturing O +processes O +. O + +In O +addition O +, O +the O +same O +attackers O +appear O +to O +have O +a O +lengthy O +operation O +history O +including O +attacks O +on O +other O +industries O +and O +organizations O +. O + +Attacks O +on O +the O +chemical O +industry O +are O +merely O +their O +latest O +attack O +wave O +. O + +As O +part O +of O +our O +investigations O +, O +we O +were O +also O +able O +to O +identify O +and O +contact O +one O +of O +the O +attackers O +to O +try O +and O +gain O +insights O +into O +the O +motivations O +behind O +these O +attacks O +. O + +As O +the O +pattern O +of O +chemical O +industry O +targets O +emerged O +, O +we O +internally O +code-named O +the O +attack O +campaign O +Nitro S-APT +. O + +The O +attack O +wave O +started O +in O +late B-TIME +July I-TIME +2011 E-TIME +and O +continued O +into O +midSeptember B-TIME +2011 E-TIME +. O + +However O +, O +artifacts O +of O +the O +attack O +wave O +such O +as O +Command B-TOOL +and I-TOOL +Control E-TOOL +( O +C&C S-TOOL +) O +servers O +are O +also O +used O +as O +early O +as O +April B-TIME +2011 E-TIME +and O +against O +targets O +outside O +the O +chemical O +industry O +. O + +The O +purpose O +of O +the O +attacks O +appears O +to O +be O +industrial O +espionage S-ACT +, O +collecting O +intellectual O +property O +for O +competitive O +advantage O +. O + +The O +attackers O +first O +researched O +desired O +targets O +and O +then O +sent O +an O +email S-TOOL +specifically O +to O +the O +target O +. O + +Each O +organization O +typically O +only O +saw O +a O +handful O +of O +employees O +at O +the O +receiving O +end O +of O +these O +emails S-TOOL +. O + +However O +, O +in O +one O +organization O +almost O +500 O +recipients O +received O +a O +mail O +, O +while O +in O +two O +other O +organizations O +, O +more O +than O +100 O +were O +selected O +. O + +While O +the O +attackers O +used O +different O +pretexts O +when O +sending O +these O +malicious O +emails S-TOOL +, O +two O +methodologies O +stood O +out O +. O + +First O +, O +when O +a O +specific O +recipient O +was O +targeted O +, O +the O +mails O +often O +purported O +to O +be O +meeting O +invitations O +from O +established O +business O +partners O +. O + +Secondly O +, O +when O +the O +emails S-TOOL +were O +being O +sent O +to O +a O +broad O +set O +of O +recipients O +, O +the O +mails O +purported O +to O +be O +a O +necessary O +security O +update O +. O + +The O +emails S-TOOL +then O +contained O +an O +attachment O +that O +was O +either O +an O +executable O +that O +appeared O +to O +be O +a O +text O +file O +based O +on O +the O +file O +name O +and O +icon O +, O +or O +a O +password-protected O +archive O +containing O +an O +executable O +file O +with O +the O +password O +provided O +in O +the O +email S-TOOL +. O + +In O +both O +cases O +, O +the O +executable O +file O +was O +a O +self-extracting O +executable O +containing O +PoisonIvy S-MAL +, O +a O +common O +backdoor O +Trojan S-MAL +developed O +by O +a O +Chinese O +speaker O +. O + +When O +the O +recipient O +attempted O +to O +open O +the O +attachment O +, O +they O +would O +inadvertently O +execute O +the O +file O +, O +causing O +PoisonIvy S-MAL +to O +be O +installed O +. O + +Once O +PoisonIvy S-MAL +was O +installed O +, O +it O +contacted O +a O +C&C S-TOOL +server O +on O +TCP S-PROT +port O +80 O +using O +an O +encrypted O +communication O +protocol O +. O + +Using O +the O +C&C S-TOOL +server O +, O +the O +attackers O +then O +instructed O +the O +compromised O +computer O +to O +provide O +the O +infected O +computer O +’s O +IP O +address O +, O +the O +names O +of O +all O +other O +computers O +in O +the O +workgroup O +or O +domain O +, O +and O +dumps O +of O +Windows S-OS +cached O +password O +hashes O +. O + +By O +using O +access O +to O +additional O +computers O +through O +the O +currently O +logged O +on O +user O +or O +cracked O +passwords O +through O +dumped O +hashes O +, O +the O +attackers O +then O +began O +traversing O +the O +network O +infecting O +additional O +computers O +. O + +Typically O +, O +their O +primary O +goal O +is O +to O +obtain O +domain O +administrator O +credentials O +and/or O +gain O +access O +to O +a O +system O +storing O +intellectual O +property O +. O + +Domain O +administrator O +credentials O +make O +it O +easier O +for O +the O +attacker O +to O +find O +servers O +hosting O +the O +desired O +intellectual O +property O +and O +gain O +access O +to O +the O +sensitive O +materials O +. O + +The O +attackers O +may O +have O +also O +downloaded O +and O +installed O +additional O +tools O +to O +penetrate O +the O +network O +further O +. O + +While O +the O +behavior O +of O +the O +attackers O +differs O +slightly O +in O +each O +compromise O +, O +generally O +once O +the O +attackers O +have O +identified O +the O +desired O +intellectual O +property O +, O +they O +copy O +the O +content O +to O +archives O +on O +internal O +systems O +they O +use O +as O +internal O +staging O +servers O +. O + +This O +content O +is O +then O +uploaded O +to O +a O +remote O +site O +outside O +of O +the O +compromised O +organization O +completing O +the O +attack O +. O + +The O +majority O +of O +infected O +machines O +are O +located O +in O +the O +US S-LOC +, O +Bangladesh S-LOC +and O +the O +UK S-LOC +; O + +however O +, O +overall O +there O +is O +wide O +geographical O +spread O +of O +infections O +. O + +As O +mentioned O +above O +, O +the O +threat O +used O +to O +compromise O +the O +targeted O +networks O +is O +Poison B-MAL +Ivy E-MAL +, O +a O +Remote O +Access O +Tool O +( O +RAT O +) O +. O + +This O +application O +is O +freely O +available O +from O +poisonivy-rat.com S-DOM +. O + +It O +comes O +fully O +loaded O +with O +a O +number O +of O +plug-ins O +to O +give O +an O +attacker O +complete O +control O +of O +the O +compromised O +computer O +. O + +The O +method O +of O +delivery O +has O +changed O +over O +time O +as O +the O +attackers O +have O +changed O +targets O +. O + +Older O +attacks O +involved O +a O +self-extracting O +archive O +with O +a O +suggestive O +name O +, O +for O +example O +: O +“ O +Human O +right O +report O +of O +north O +Africa O +under O +the O +war O +. O +scr O +” O +. O + +The O +most O +recent O +attacks O +focusing O +on O +the O +chemical O +industry O +are O +using O +password-protected O +7zip S-TOOL +files O +which O +, O +when O +extracted O +, O +contain O +a O +self-extracting O +executable O +. O + +The O +password O +to O +extract O +the O +7zip S-TOOL +file O +is O +included O +in O +the O +email S-TOOL +. O + +This O +extra O +stage O +is O +used O +to O +prevent O +automated O +systems O +from O +extracting O +the O +self-extracting O +archive O +. O + +Some O +example O +file O +names O +using O +this O +technique O +include O +: O +AntiVirus_update_package.7z S-FILE +, O +acquisition.7z S-FILE +, O +offer.7z S-FILE +, O +update_flashplayer10ax.7z S-FILE +. O + +When O +the O +self-extracting O +archive O +file O +is O +executed O +, O +it O +will O +drop O +two O +files O +. O + +Examples O +of O +file O +names O +that O +are O +used O +include O +: O +%Temp%\happiness.txt S-FILE +, O +%Temp%\xxxx.exe S-FILE +. O + +The O +executable O +file O +, O +xxxx.exe S-FILE +in O +this O +case O +, O +is O +then O +executed O +. O + +The O +second O +file O +, O +happiness.txt S-FILE +, O +contains O +custom O +code O +in O +binary O +format O +that O +is O +encrypted O +and O +used O +by O +xxxx.exe S-FILE +. O + +The O +xxxx.exe S-FILE +file O +copies O +happiness.txt S-FILE +to O +C:\PROGRAM B-FILE +FILES\common I-FILE +files\ODBC\ODUBC.DLL E-FILE +and O +to O +C:\WINDOWS\system32\jql.sys S-FILE +. O + +It O +then O +loads O +the O +contents O +of O +the O +encrypted O +file O +and O +injects O +it O +into O +the O +explorer.exe S-FILE +and O +iexplore.exe S-FILE +processes O +. O + +The O +injected O +code O +copies O +xxxx.exe S-FILE +to O +%System%\winsys.exe S-FILE +and O +connects O +to O +the O +Command B-TOOL +and I-TOOL +Control E-TOOL +( O +C&C S-TOOL +) O +server O +on O +TCP S-PROT +port O +80 O +. O + +The O +communication O +with O +the O +server O +is O +a O +handshake O +using O +an O +encryption O +algorithm O +( O +Camellia S-ENCR +) O +. O + +Once O +the O +Trojan S-MAL +establishes O +the O +server O +’s O +authenticity O +, O +it O +expects O +a O +variable-size O +block O +of O +binary O +code O +that O +is O +read O +from O +the O +server O +straight O +into O +the O +virtual O +space O +for O +iexplore.exe S-FILE +and O +then O +executed O +. O + +When O +executed O +, O +the O +Poison B-MAL +Ivy E-MAL +threat O +, O +or O +Backdoor.Odivy S-FILE +, O +connects O +to O +a O +command B-TOOL +and I-TOOL +control E-TOOL +( O +C&C S-TOOL +) O +server O +over O +TCP S-PROT +port O +80 O +. O + +A O +number O +of O +different O +C&C S-TOOL +domains O +and O +IP O +addresses O +were O +identified O +. O + +The O +majority O +of O +samples O +connect O +to O +a O +domain O +; O +however O +one O +subset O +of O +samples O +connected O +directly O +to O +the O +IP O +address O +204.74.215.58 S-IP +, O +which O +belonged O +to O +the O +Chinese O +QQ S-TOOL +user O +mentioned O +previously O +and O +was O +also O +associated O +with O +antivirus-groups.com S-DOM +. O +pr[REMOVED].noIP +. O + +org S-DOM +: O +173.252.207.71 S-IP +, O +173.252.205.36 S-IP +, O +173.252.205.37 S-IP +, O +173.252.205.64 S-IP +. O +antivirus-groups.com S-DOM +: O +74.82.166.205 S-IP +, O +204.74.215.58 S-IP +. O +domain.rm6.org S-DOM +: O +216.131.95.22 S-IP +, O +222.255.28.27 S-IP +. O +anti-virus.sytes.net S-DOM +: O +173.252.205.36 S-IP +, O +173.252.205.37 S-IP +, O +173.252.205.64 S-IP +. O + +Several O +other O +hacker O +groups O +have O +also O +begun O +targeting O +some O +of O +the O +same O +chemical O +companies O +in O +this O +time O +period O +. O + +Attackers O +are O +sending O +malicious O +PDF S-TOOL +and O +DOC S-TOOL +files O +, O +which O +use O +exploits O +to O +drop O +variants O +of O +Backdoor.Sogu S-FILE +. O + +This O +particular O +threat O +was O +also O +used O +by O +hackers O +to O +compromise O +a O +Korean O +social O +network O +site O +to O +steal O +records O +of O +35 O +million O +users O +. O + +Determining O +if O +the O +two O +groups O +are O +related O +is O +difficult O +, O +but O +any O +relationship O +appears O +unlikely O +. O + +The O +attackers O +described O +in O +this O +document O +use O +a O +very O +basic O +delivery O +platform O +; O +compressed O +self-extracting O +archives O +sometimes O +sent O +to O +a O +large O +number O +of O +recipients O +. O + +The O +Sogu S-IDTY +gang O +, O +in O +contrast O +, O +use O +PDF S-TOOL +and O +DOC S-TOOL +files O +in O +very O +tailored O +, O +targeted O +emails S-TOOL +. O + +The O +Sogu S-IDTY +gang O +use O +a O +custom O +developed O +threat O +– O +Backdoor.Sogu S-FILE +, O +whereas O +the O +group O +described O +in O +this O +document O +use O +an O +off O +the O +shelf O +threat O +– O +Poison B-MAL +Ivy E-MAL +. O + +While O +the O +number O +of O +Sogu S-IDTY +targets O +is O +currently O +small O +relative O +to O +the O +Poison B-MAL +Ivy E-MAL +attacks O +, O +we O +continue O +to O +monitor O +their O +activities O +. O + +Numerous O +targeted O +attack O +campaigns O +are O +occurring O +every O +week O +. O + +However O +, O +relative O +to O +the O +total O +number O +of O +attacks O +, O +few O +are O +fully O +disclosed O +. O + +These O +attacks O +are O +primarily O +targeting O +private O +industry O +in O +search O +of O +key O +intellectual O +property O +for O +competitive O +advantage O +, O +military O +institutions O +, O +and O +governmental O +organizations O +often O +in O +search O +of O +documents O +related O +to O +current O +political O +events O +and O +human O +rights O +organizations O +. O + +This O +attack O +campaign O +focused O +on O +the O +chemical O +sector O +with O +the O +goal O +of O +obtaining O +sensitive O +documents O +such O +as O +proprietary O +designs O +, O +formulas O +, O +and O +manufacturing O +processes O +. O + + +Outlaw S-APT +Updates O +Kit O +to O +Kill O +Older O +Miner O +Versions O +, O +Targets O +More O +Systems O +. O + +As O +we O +’ve O +observed O +with O +cybercriminal O +groups O +that O +aim O +to O +maximize O +profits O +for O +every O +campaign O +, O +silence O +doesn’t O +necessarily O +mean O +inactivity O +. O + +It O +appears O +hacking O +group O +Outlaw S-APT +, O +which O +has O +been O +silent O +for O +the O +past O +few O +months O +, O +was O +simply O +developing O +their O +toolkit O +for O +illicit O +income O +sources O +. O + +While O +they O +have O +been O +quiet O +since O +our O +June S-TIME +analysis O +, O +we O +observed O +an O +increase O +in O +the O +group O +’s O +activities O +in O +December S-TIME +, O +with O +updates O +on O +the O +kits O +’ O +capabilities O +reminiscent O +of O +their O +previous O +attacks O +. O + +The O +updates O +expanded O +scanner O +parameters O +and O +targets O +, O +looped O +execution O +of O +files O +via O +error O +messages O +, O +improved O +evasion O +techniques O +for O +scanning O +activities O +, O +and O +improved O +mining O +profits O +by O +killing O +off O +both O +the O +competition O +and O +their O +own O +previous O +miners O +. O + +We O +analyzed O +the O +kits O +, O +which O +were O +designed O +to O +steal O +information O +from O +the O +automotive O +and O +finance O +industries O +, O +launch O +subsequent O +attacks O +on O +already O +compromised O +systems O +, O +and O +( O +possibly O +) O +sell O +stolen O +information O +. O + +Comparing O +this O +development O +to O +their O +previous O +attacks O +, O +we O +think O +Outlaw S-APT +may O +be O +aiming O +to O +go O +after O +enterprises O +that O +have O +yet O +to O +update O +their O +systems O +, O +assessing O +security O +and O +changes O +with O +their O +previously O +infected O +hosts O +, O +finding O +new O +and O +old O +targets O +, O +and O +possibly O +testing O +their O +updates O +in O +the O +wild O +. O + +We O +will O +continue O +to O +observe O +the O +group O +’s O +activities O +as O +they O +target O +industries O +from O +the O +United B-LOC +States E-LOC +and O +Europe S-LOC +. O + +Based O +on O +the O +samples O +we O +collected O +and O +traced O +to O +456 O +distinct O +IPs O +, O +we O +expect O +the O +group O +to O +be O +more O +active O +in O +the O +coming O +months O +as O +we O +observed O +changes O +on O +the O +versions O +we O +acquired O +. O + +These O +new O +samples O +targeted O +Linux- S-OS +and O +Unix-based S-OS +operating O +systems O +, O +vulnerable O +servers O +, O +and O +internet O +of O +things O +( O +IoT O +) O +devices O +by O +exploiting O +known O +vulnerabilities O +with O +available O +exploits O +. O + +This O +time O +, O +the O +group O +explored O +unpatched O +systems O +vulnerable O +to O +CVE-2016-8655 S-VULID +and O +Dirty B-VULNAME +COW E-VULNAME +exploit O +( O +CVE-2016-5195 S-VULID +) O +as O +attack O +vectors O +. O + +Files O +using O +simple O +PHP-based S-TOOL +web O +shells O +were O +also O +used O +to O +attack O +systems O +with O +weak O +SSH S-PROT +and O +Telnet S-PROT +credentials O +. O + +While O +no O +phishing- O +or O +social O +engineering-initiated O +routines O +were O +observed O +in O +this O +campaign O +, O +we O +found O +multiple O +attacks O +over O +the O +network O +that O +are O +considered O +“ O +loud. O +” O +These O +involved O +large-scale O +scanning O +operations O +of O +IP O +ranges O +intentionally O +launched O +from O +the O +command B-TOOL +and I-TOOL +control E-TOOL +( O +C&C S-TOOL +) O +server O +. O + +The O +honeynet O +graphs O +, O +which O +show O +activity O +peaks O +associated O +with O +specific O +actions O +, O +also O +suggest O +that O +the O +scans O +were O +timed O +. O + +From O +the O +sample O +we O +analyzed O +, O +attacks O +started O +from O +one O +virtual B-TOOL +private I-TOOL +server E-TOOL +( O +VPS S-TOOL +) O +that O +searches O +for O +a O +vulnerable O +machine O +to O +compromise O +( O +previous O +techniques O +used O +malicious O +URLs O +or O +infecting O +legitimate O +websites O +for O +bot O +propagation O +) O +. O + +Once O +infected O +, O +the O +C&C S-TOOL +commands O +for O +the O +infected O +system O +launches O +a O +loud O +scanning O +activity O +and O +spreads O +the O +botnet O +by O +sending O +a O +“ O +whole O +kit O +” O +of O +binary O +files O +at O +once O +with O +naming O +conventions O +same O +as O +the O +ones O +already O +in O +the O +targeted O +host O +, O +likely O +banking O +on O +breaking O +through O +via O +“ O +security O +through O +obscurity. O +” O +They O +attempted O +to O +evade O +traffic O +inspection O +by O +encoding O +the O +code O +for O +the O +scanner O +with O +base-64 S-ENCR +. O + +The O +zombie O +host O +initiates O +the O +scan O +— O +another O +routine O +from O +previous O +campaigns O +— O +but O +updated O +with O +a O +larger O +set O +of O +parameters O +and O +programmed O +to O +run O +in O +the O +background O +. O + +The O +kit O +we O +found O +is O +in O +tgz S-TOOL +format O +, O +though O +we O +have O +observed O +some O +samples O +disguised O +as O +png S-TOOL +or O +jpg S-TOOL +. O + +While O +previous O +routines O +took O +advantage O +of O +competing O +miners O +’ O +activities O +and O +unrelated O +components O +to O +hijack O +the O +profit O +, O +the O +latest O +version O +of O +the O +code O +attempts O +to O +remove O +all O +related O +files O +and O +codes O +from O +previous O +infections O +( O +including O +their O +own O +to O +make O +sure O +the O +running O +components O +are O +updated O +, O +as O +well O +as O +those O +from O +other O +cybercriminals O +to O +maximize O +the O +resources O +of O +the O +zombie O +host O +) O +and O +creates O +a O +new O +working O +directory O +/tmp/.X19-unix O +to O +move O +the O +kit O +and O +extract O +the O +files O +. O + +The O +tsm O +binary O +then O +runs O +in O +the O +background O +, O +forwarding O +a O +series O +of O +error O +messages O +to O +/dev/null O +to O +keep O +the O +code O +running O +, O +ensuring O +the O +continuous O +execution O +of O +the O +code O +referenced O +with O +a O +set O +of O +parameters O +/tmp/up.txt S-FILE +. O + +The O +script O +then O +waits O +20 O +minutes O +before O +it O +runs O +the O +wrapper O +script O +initall O +: O + +2e2c9d08c7c955f6ce5e27e70b0ec78a888c276d71a72daa0ef9e3e40f019a1a S-SHA2 + +initall O +. O + +Another O +variant O +executes O +a O +set O +of O +commands O +once O +a O +system O +is O +successfully O +compromised O +. O + +Most O +of O +these O +commands O +are O +related O +to O +gathering O +information O +from O +the O +infected O +machine O +( O +number O +of O +CPU S-TOOL +cores O +, O +users O +, O +scheduled O +tasks O +, O +running O +processes O +, O +OS O +installed O +, O +and O +CPU S-TOOL +and O +memory O +information O +) O +via O +the O +dota3 S-TOOL +payload O +, O +as O +well O +as O +changing O +the O +password O +to O +a O +random O +string O +also O +stored O +in O +/tmp/up.txt S-FILE +. O + +In O +a O +previous O +execution O +( O +published O +in O +June B-TIME +2019 E-TIME +) O +, O +we O +observed O +that O +dota2 S-TOOL +had O +its O +own O +folder O +but O +it O +was O +hardly O +executed O +. O + +Running O +the O +script O +removes O +the O +remaining O +files O +and O +scripts O +from O +previous O +attacks O +, O +keeping O +a O +low O +profile O +to O +evade O +detection O +. O + +If O +the O +system O +has O +been O +previously O +infected O +with O +a O +cryptominer O +, O +it O +also O +attempts O +to O +kill O +the O +running O +miner O +and O +all O +its O +related O +activities O +. O + +Based O +on O +a O +bashtemp O +directory O +of O +the O +latest O +sample O +we O +found O +, O +there O +are O +other O +compiled O +ELF S-TOOL +scripts O +, O +named O +init O +and O +init2 O +, O +that O +loops O +the O +kit O +to O +keep O +running O +: O + +0c458dfe0a2a01ab300c857fdc3373b75fbb8ccfa23d16eff0d6ab888a1a28f6 S-SHA2 + +init O +. O +93ce211a71867017723cd78969aa4cac9d21c3d8f72c96ee3e1b2712c0eea494 S-SHA2 + +init2 O +. O + +Both O +init O +and O +init2 O +scripts O +make O +sure O +all O +other O +running O +mining O +services O +are O +killed O +, O +and O +that O +all O +the O +files O +in O +the O +working O +directory O +are O +executed O +by O +giving O +777 O +permissions O +. O + +We O +also O +found O +the O +init0 O +script O +running O +; O +the O +script O +cleans O +out O +all O +miners O +regardless O +of O +its O +origin O +. O + +It O +then O +resets O +cron O +and O +removes O +possible O +cache O +files O +from O +other O +programs O +, O +starts O +scripts O +and O +binaries O +a O +, O +init0 O +, O +and O +start O +, O +and O +sets O +the O +persistence O +by O +modifying O +the O +crontab O +. O + +The O +a O +binary O +is O +a O +script O +wrapper O +to O +start O +run O +, O +a O +Perl-obfuscated S-TOOL +script O +for O +installation O +of O +a O +Shellbot S-MAL +to O +gain O +control O +of O +the O +infected O +system O +. O + +The O +Shellbot S-MAL +disguises O +itself O +as O +a O +process O +named O +rsync O +, O +commonly O +the O +binary O +seen O +on O +many O +Unix- S-OS +and O +Linux-based S-OS +systems O +to O +automatically O +run O +for O +backup O +and O +synchronization O +. O + +This O +allows O +the O +malicious O +activity O +to O +evade O +detection O +. O + +The O +Shellbot S-MAL +script O +is O +added O +to O +run O +after O +the O +victim O +’s O +system O +reboots O +, O +and O +scripts O +/a/upd O +, O +/b/sync/ O +, O +and O +/c/aptitude/ O +are O +added O +to O +the O +crontab O +. O + +However O +, O +while O +we O +observed O +the O +presence O +of O +the O +codes O +, O +the O +functions O +of O +upd O +, O +sync O +and O +aptitude O +were O +disabled O +in O +the O +kits O +’ O +latest O +version O +. O + +It O +remains O +unclear O +whether O +these O +are O +leftover O +code O +from O +the O +previous O +versions O +or O +their O +particular O +purposes O +were O +served O +. O + +Shellbot S-MAL +is O +also O +used O +to O +control O +the O +botnet O +, O +with O +a O +command O +that O +is O +sent O +and O +run O +from O +the O +C&C S-TOOL +to O +determine O +if O +there O +is O +a O +code O +execution O +in O +the O +shell O +, O +the O +hostname O +, O +and O +its O +architecture O +. O + +All O +results O +and O +system O +information O +collected O +from O +the O +infected O +system O +are O +stored O +locally O +in O +the O +device O +for O +a O +period O +before O +Outlaw S-APT +retrieves O +them O +via O +the O +C&C S-TOOL +. O + +Since O +discovering O +the O +operations O +of O +this O +group O +in O +2018 S-TIME +, O +Outlaw S-APT +continues O +to O +use O +scripts O +, O +codes O +, O +and O +commands O +that O +have O +been O +previously O +used O +and O +deployed O +. O + +These O +routines O +are O +indicative O +of O +the O +group O +’s O +aim O +to O +get O +quantitative O +returns O +through O +varied O +cybercriminal O +profit O +streams O +. O + +This O +was O +also O +reinforced O +by O +their O +naming O +conventions O +, O +wherein O +different O +versions O +are O +simply O +named O +after O +the O +code O +iterations O +, O +following O +a O +specific O +format O +regardless O +of O +the O +actual O +function O +of O +the O +code O +. O + +Trojan.SH.MALXMR.UWEJP S-MAL +: O +1800de5f0fb7c5ef3c0d9787260ed61bc324d861bc92d9673d4737d1421972aa S-SHA2 +. O + +Backdoor.SH.SHELLBOT.AA S-MAL +: O +b68bd3a54622792200b931ee5eebf860acf8b24f4b338b5080193573a81c747d S-SHA2 +. O + +Trojan.Linux.SSHBRUTE.B S-MAL +: O +620635aa9685249c87ead1bb0ad25b096714a0073cfd38a615c5eb63c3761976 S-SHA2 +. O + +Coinminer.Linux.MALXMR.SMDSL32 S-MAL +: O +fc57bd66c27066104cd6f8962cd463a5dfc05fa59b76b6958cddd3542dfe6a9a S-SHA2 +. O + +Coinminer.Linux.MALXMR.SMDSL64 S-MAL +: O +649280bd4c5168009c1cff30e5e1628bcf300122b49d339e3ea3f3b6ff8f9a79 S-SHA2 +. O + + +Actors O +Still O +Exploiting O +SharePoint S-TOOL +Vulnerability O +to O +Attack O +Middle B-LOC +East E-LOC +Government O +Organizations O +. O + +On O +September B-TIME +10 I-TIME +, I-TIME +2019 E-TIME +, O +we O +observed O +unknown S-APT +threat O +actors O +exploiting O +a O +vulnerability O +in O +SharePoint S-TOOL +described O +in O +CVE-2019-0604 S-VULID +to O +install O +several O +webshells O +on O +the O +website O +of O +a O +Middle B-LOC +East E-LOC +government O +organization O +. O + +One O +of O +these O +webshells O +is O +the O +open O +source O +AntSword S-TOOL +webshell O +freely O +available O +on O +Github S-TOOL +, O +which O +is O +remarkably O +similar O +to O +the O +infamous O +China S-LOC +Chopper S-TOOL +webshell O +. O + +On O +January B-TIME +10 I-TIME +, I-TIME +2020 E-TIME +, O +we O +used O +Shodan S-TOOL +to O +search O +for O +Internet O +accessible O +servers O +running O +versions O +of O +SharePoint S-TOOL +vulnerable O +to O +CVE-2019-0604 S-VULID +. O + +While O +admittedly O +the O +version O +numbers O +provided O +by O +SharePoint S-TOOL +within O +HTTP S-PROT +responses O +do O +not O +always O +provide O +the O +precise O +SharePoint S-TOOL +version O +number O +, O +we O +decided O +to O +use O +it O +to O +check O +if O +it O +was O +less O +than O +the O +version O +numbers O +of O +the O +patched O +SharePoint S-TOOL +versions O +from O +the O +Microsoft S-IDTY +advisory O +. O + +We O +performed O +this O +comparison O +and O +found O +28,881 O +servers O +that O +advertised O +a O +vulnerable O +version O +of O +SharePoint S-TOOL +. O + +We O +did O +not O +actively O +check O +each O +server O +to O +verify O +if O +they O +were O +indeed O +vulnerable O +, O +so O +it O +is O +possible O +that O +many O +of O +these O +public-facing O +SharePoint S-TOOL +servers O +were O +not O +vulnerable O +or O +since O +patched O +. O + +Regardless O +, O +the O +sheer O +number O +of O +servers O +and O +publicly O +available O +exploit O +code O +suggests O +that O +CVE-2019-0604 S-VULID +is O +still O +a O +major O +attack O +vector O +. O + +Using O +this O +collection O +of O +webshells O +, O +the O +actors O +moved O +laterally O +to O +other O +systems O +on O +the O +network O +by O +dumping O +credentials O +with O +a O +variant O +of O +the O +notorious O +Mimikatz S-TOOL +tool O +and O +using O +Impacket S-TOOL +’s O +atexec O +tool O +to O +use O +dumped O +credentials O +to O +run O +commands O +on O +other O +systems O +. O + +On O +September B-TIME +19 I-TIME +, I-TIME +2019 E-TIME +, O +we O +observed O +the O +same O +exact O +Mimikatz S-TOOL +variant O +uploaded O +to O +a O +webshell O +hosted O +at O +another O +government O +organization O +in O +a O +second O +country O +in O +the O +Middle B-LOC +East E-LOC +. O + +The O +Mimikatz S-TOOL +variant O +uploaded O +to O +these O +two O +organizations O +is O +unique O +, O +as O +it O +involves O +a O +seemingly O +custom O +loader O +application O +written O +in O +.NET S-TOOL +. O + +Therefore O +, O +we O +believe O +that O +the O +same O +threat O +group O +is O +behind O +both O +intrusions O +. O + +Back O +in O +April B-TIME +2019 E-TIME +, O +we O +first O +observed O +the O +Emissary B-APT +Panda E-APT +threat O +group O +exploiting O +CVE-2019-0604 S-VULID +to O +install O +webshells O +on O +SharePoint S-TOOL +servers O +at O +government O +organizations O +in O +two O +Middle B-LOC +Eastern E-LOC +countries O +. O + +Fast O +forward O +five O +months O +to O +the O +current O +attacks O +and O +we O +see O +exploitation O +of O +the O +same O +vulnerability O +at O +government O +organizations O +in O +two O +different O +countries O +compared O +to O +the O +April S-ACT +attacks O +. O + +We O +do O +not O +have O +any O +strong O +ties O +to O +connect O +the O +current O +attacks O +exploiting O +this O +vulnerability O +in O +SharePoint S-TOOL +with O +the O +Emissary B-APT +Panda E-APT +attacks O +carried O +out O +in O +April S-ACT +. O + +The O +overlaps O +between O +these O +two O +sets O +of O +attacks O +include O +exploitation O +of O +a O +common O +vulnerability O +, O +similar O +toolset O +and O +a O +shared O +government O +victimology O +, O +but O +no O +strong O +pivot O +points O +to O +connect O +these O +attack O +campaigns O +together O +. O + +The O +exploitation O +of O +this O +vulnerability O +is O +not O +unique O +to O +Emissary B-APT +Panda E-APT +, O +as O +multiple O +threat O +groups O +are O +using O +this O +vulnerability O +to O +exploit O +SharePoint S-TOOL +servers O +to O +gain O +initial O +access O +to O +targeted O +networks O +. O + +We O +would O +like O +to O +acknowledge O +the O +possibility O +of O +an O +overlap O +in O +the O +AntSword S-TOOL +webshell O +, O +as O +we O +stated O +that O +Emissary B-APT +Panda E-APT +used O +China S-LOC +Chopper S-TOOL +in O +the O +April S-ACT +attacks O +and O +AntSword S-TOOL +and O +China S-LOC +Chopper S-TOOL +webshells O +are O +incredibly O +similar O +. O + +However O +, O +at O +this O +time O +we O +do O +not O +believe O +the O +April S-ACT +attacks O +used O +AntSword O +based O +on O +artifacts O +analyzed O +on O +the O +SharePoint S-TOOL +server O +, O +specifically O +none O +of O +the O +IIS S-TOOL +logs O +in O +the O +April S-ACT +attacks O +used O +the O +AntSword S-TOOL +User-Agent S-TOOL +in O +requests O +to O +the O +webshell O +that O +were O +observed O +in O +the O +current O +attacks O +. O + +Palo B-TOOL +Alto I-TOOL +Networks E-TOOL +customers O +are O +protected O +from O +the O +threat O +described O +in O +this O +blog O +through O +Threat O +Prevention O +signatures O +for O +the O +exploits O +and O +C2 S-TOOL +traffic O +as O +well O +as O +through O +WildFire S-TOOL +. O + +More O +details O +on O +this O +protection O +is O +available O +in O +the O +conclusion O +of O +the O +report O +. O + +On O +September B-TIME +10 I-TIME +, I-TIME +2019 E-TIME +, O +we O +observed O +an O +HTTP S-PROT +POST O +request O +to O +the O +following O +URL O +that O +we O +believe O +was O +the O +exploitation O +of O +CVE-2019-0604 S-VULID +in O +a O +publicly O +facing O +SharePoint S-TOOL +server O +( O +T1190 O +) O +: O +/_layouts/15/picker.aspx S-FILE +. O + +The O +command O +uses O +the O +echo O +command O +to O +write O +a O +large O +chunk O +of O +base64 S-ENCR +encoded O +data O +to O +a O +text O +file O +named O +cmd.txt S-FILE +. O + +The O +command O +then O +uses O +the O +certutil O +application O +to O +convert O +the O +base64 S-ENCR +encoded O +data O +( O +T1132 O +) O +in O +the O +cmd.txt S-FILE +file O +to O +c.aspx S-FILE +in O +three O +different O +SharePoint S-TOOL +related O +folders O +. O + +The O +result O +of O +this O +entire O +command O +saves O +a O +variant O +of O +the O +Awen S-TOOL +asp.net S-FILE +webshell O +( O +T1100 O +) O +to O +the O +SharePoint S-TOOL +server O +to O +further O +interact O +with O +the O +compromise O +server O +. O + +The O +Awen S-TOOL +webshell O +deployed O +in O +the O +exploitation O +of O +this O +SharePoint S-TOOL +vulnerability O +had O +a O +SHA256 S-ENCR +hash O +of O +5d4628d4dd89f31236f8c56686925cbb1a9b4832f81c95a4300e64948afede21 S-SHA2 +. O + +Just O +40 O +seconds O +after O +the O +suspected O +exploitation O +of O +CVE-2019-0604 S-VULID +, O +we O +observed O +the O +first O +HTTP S-PROT +GET O +request O +to O +a O +webshell O +at O +c.aspx S-FILE +, O +which O +is O +a O +modified O +version O +of O +the O +freely O +available O +awen S-TOOL +asp.net S-FILE +webshell O +. O + +We O +believe O +this O +HTTP S-PROT +GET O +request O +was O +the O +actor O +visiting O +the O +webshell O +after O +exploitation O +and O +prior O +to O +executing O +commands O +. O + +The O +actor O +uses O +the O +Awen S-TOOL +webshell O +to O +run O +various O +commands O +to O +do O +an O +initial O +discovery O +on O +the O +system O +and O +network O +, O +including O +user O +accounts O +( O +T1033 O +and O +T1087 O +) O +, O +files O +and O +folders O +( O +T1083 O +) O +, O +privileged O +groups O +( O +T1069 O +) O +, O +remote O +systems O +( O +T1018 O +) O +and O +network O +configuration O +( O +T1016 O +) O +. O + +Table O +1 O +not O +only O +shows O +the O +commands O +used O +for O +discovery O +, O +but O +also O +the O +commands O +used O +to O +deploy O +another O +webshell O +to O +the O +server O +using O +the O +echo O +command O +to O +write O +base64 S-ENCR +encoded O +data O +to O +a.txt S-FILE +and O +using O +the O +certutil O +application O +to O +decode O +and O +save O +to O +bitreeview.aspx S-FILE +. O + +The O +webshell O +named O +bitreeview.aspx S-FILE +was O +saved O +to O +a O +folder O +within O +the O +SharePoint S-TOOL +server O +’s O +install O +path O +. O + +The O +bitreeview.aspx S-FILE +file O +is O +a O +variant O +of O +the O +AntSword S-TOOL +webshell O +that O +has O +undeniably O +similar O +traits O +as O +the O +infamous O +China S-LOC +Chopper S-TOOL +webshell O +. O + +After O +installing O +this O +AntSword S-TOOL +webshell O +, O +the O +actor O +no O +longer O +uses O +the O +Awen S-TOOL +webshell O +and O +issues O +the O +first O +command O +to O +AntSword S-TOOL +35 O +seconds O +after O +the O +last O +command O +issued O +to O +the O +Awen S-TOOL +webshell O +. O + +AntSword S-TOOL +is O +a O +modular O +webshell O +that O +involves O +a O +very O +simple O +webshell O +that O +the O +actor O +would O +deploy O +to O +the O +compromised O +server O +and O +a O +client O +application O +referred O +to O +as O +the O +AntSword S-TOOL +Shell B-TOOL +Manager E-TOOL +. O + +The O +use O +of O +the O +client O +application O +differs O +from O +many O +other O +webshells O +that O +the O +actor O +would O +interact O +with O +in O +a O +browser O +window O +. O + +The O +actor O +would O +use O +the O +AntSword S-TOOL +Shell B-TOOL +Manager E-TOOL +to O +interact O +with O +the O +AntSword S-TOOL +webshell O +on O +the O +compromised O +server O +, O +as O +the O +Shell B-TOOL +Manager E-TOOL +sends O +the O +appropriate O +script O +to O +the O +webshell O +that O +will O +execute O +to O +carry O +out O +the O +desired O +action O +. O + +To O +provide O +a O +sense O +of O +the O +limited O +functionality O +within O +the O +webshell O +itself O +, O +the O +bitreeview.aspx S-FILE +AntSword S-TOOL +webshell O +deployed O +in O +this O +attack O +( O +SHA256: O +15ecb6ac6c637b58b2114e6b21b5b18b0c9f5341ee74b428b70e17e64b7da55e S-SHA2 +) O +was O +only O +162 O +bytes O +. O + +AntSword S-TOOL +webshell O +has O +no O +functionality O +other O +than O +running O +a O +script O +provided O +by O +the O +AntSword S-TOOL +Shell B-TOOL +Manager E-TOOL +, O +specifically O +within O +a O +field O +named O +Darr1R1ng O +of O +an O +HTTP S-PROT +POST O +request O +. O + +The O +code O +above O +also O +tells O +us O +the O +actors O +had O +created O +their O +own O +custom O +“ O +encoder O +” O +within O +the O +AntSword S-TOOL +Shell B-TOOL +Manager E-TOOL +to O +be O +able O +to O +interact O +with O +the O +code O +above O +, O +which O +we O +will O +discuss O +in O +detail O +in O +the O +next O +section O +. O + +In O +addition O +to O +the O +Mimikatz S-TOOL +tool O +, O +the O +actor O +uploaded O +other O +tools O +to O +the O +webshell O +hosted O +at O +this O +second O +organization O +. O +es.exe S-FILE +: O +Mimikatz S-TOOL +with O +custom O +loader O +, O +da53dcaeede03413ba02802c4be10883c4c28d3d28dee11734f048b90eb3d304 S-SHA2 +. O + +Rar.exe S-FILE +: O +Legitimate O +WinRAR S-TOOL +, O +26d9212ec8dbca45383eb95ec53c05357851bd7529fa0761d649f62e90c4e9fd S-SHA2 +. O +atec.exe S-FILE +: O +Compiled O +Impacket S-TOOL +atexec O +tool O +, O +a4aca75bcc8f18b8a2316fd67a7e545c59b871d32de0b325f56d22584038fa10 S-SHA2 +. O +dmp.exe S-FILE +: O +Dumpert S-TOOL +tool O +, O +e4e05c9a216c2f2b3925293503b5d5a892c33db2f6ea58753f032b80608c3f2e S-SHA2 +. O + +One O +of O +the O +tools O +seen O +above O +that O +caught O +our O +interest O +was O +the O +Dumpert S-TOOL +tool O +, O +which O +is O +freely O +available O +on O +Outflanknl S-TOOL +’s O +GitHub S-TOOL +repository O +. O + +The O +author O +of O +Dumpert S-TOOL +describes O +the O +tool O +as O +an O +LSASS S-TOOL +dumping O +tool O +that O +uses O +direct O +system O +calls O +and O +API O +unhooking O +to O +evade O +antivirus O +and O +EDR S-TOOL +solutions O +. O + +Dumpert S-TOOL +is O +a O +relatively O +new O +tool O +with O +its O +initial O +commit O +to O +GitHub S-TOOL +occurring O +on O +June B-TIME +17 I-TIME +, I-TIME +2019 E-TIME +. O + +While O +the O +Dumpert S-TOOL +tool O +is O +meant O +to O +help O +red O +teams O +emulate O +an O +adversary O +, O +we O +had O +not O +seen O +this O +tool O +used O +by O +threat O +actors O +until O +it O +was O +uploaded O +to O +this O +related O +webshell O +on O +September B-TIME +23 I-TIME +, I-TIME +2019 E-TIME +. O + +Threat O +actors O +continue O +to O +exploit O +the O +CVE-2019-0604 S-VULID +vulnerability O +to O +compromise O +SharePoint S-TOOL +servers O +, O +which O +is O +a O +vulnerability O +that O +Microsoft S-IDTY +released O +a O +patch O +for O +in O +March B-TIME +2019 E-TIME +. O + +We O +observed O +actors O +installing O +webshells O +to O +the O +SharePoint S-TOOL +server O +that O +they O +use O +to O +run O +commands O +and O +upload O +additional O +tools O +to O +in O +order O +to O +dump O +credentials O +and O +move O +laterally O +to O +other O +systems O +on O +the O +network O +. O + +We O +were O +also O +able O +to O +find O +a O +related O +webshell O +based O +on O +the O +threat O +group O +’s O +tool O +reuse O +, O +specifically O +a O +custom O +Mimikatz S-TOOL +sample O +. O + +Thanks O +to O +this O +tool O +reuse O +, O +we O +found O +the O +threat O +group O +uploading O +a O +credential O +dumping O +tool O +called O +Dumpert S-TOOL +that O +we O +had O +not O +seen O +used O +in O +prior O +incidents O +involving O +the O +exploitation O +of O +CVE-2019-0604 S-VULID +. O + +Digital O +Attack O +on O +German O +Parliament: O +Investigative O +Report O +on O +the O +Hack O +of O +the O +Left O +Party O +Infrastructure O +in O +Bundestag S-IDTY +. O + +Two O +suspicious O +artifacts O +have O +been O +retrieved O +from O +two O +separate O +servers O +within O +the O +Die O +Linke O +infrastructure O +. O + +One O +is O +an O +open O +source O +utility O +used O +to O +remotely O +issue O +commands O +on O +a O +Windows S-OS +host O +from O +a O +Linux S-OS +host O +. O + +The O +other O +is O +a O +custom O +utility O +which O +, O +despite O +its O +large O +size O +, O +has O +limited O +functionality O +and O +acts O +as O +a O +tunnel O +, O +possibly O +used O +by O +the O +attackers O +to O +maintain O +persistence O +within O +the O +compromised O +network O +. O + +Attributes O +of O +one O +of O +the O +artifacts O +and O +intelligence O +gathered O +on O +the O +infrastructure O +operated O +by O +the O +attackers O +suggest O +that O +the O +attack O +was O +perpetrated O +by O +a O +state-sponsored O +group O +known O +as O +Sofacy S-APT +( O +or O +APT28 S-APT +) O +. O + +Previous O +work O +published O +by O +security O +vendor O +FireEye S-SECTEAM +in O +October B-TIME +2014 E-TIME +suggests O +the O +group O +might O +be O +of O +Russian O +origin O +. O + +The O +first O +artifact O +– O +identified O +across O +this O +report O +as O +Artifact O +#1 O +– O +has O +the O +following O +attributes O +: O + +Name O +winexesvc.exe S-FILE +Size O +23552 O +MD5 S-ENCR +77e7fb6b56c3ece4ef4e93b6dc608be0 S-MD5 +SHA1 S-ENCR +f46f84e53263a33e266aae520cb2c1bd0a73354e S-SHA1 +SHA256 S-ENCR +5130f600cd9a9cdc82d4bad938b20cbd2f699aadb76e7f3f1a93602330d9997d S-SHA2 +. O + +The O +second O +artifact O +– O +identified O +across O +this O +report O +as O +Artifact O +#2 O +– O +-has O +the O +following O +attributes O +: O + +Name O +svchost.exe S-FILE +Size O +1062912 O +MD5 S-ENCR +5e70a5c47c6b59dae7faf0f2d62b28b3 S-MD5 +SHA1 S-ENCR +cdeea936331fcdd8158c876e9d23539f8976c305 S-SHA1 +SHA256 S-ENCR +730a0e3daf0b54f065bdd2ca427fbe10e8d4e28646a5dc40cbcfb15e1702ed9a S-SHA2 +Compile O +Time O +2015-04-22 B-TIME +10:49:54 E-TIME +. O + +Artifact O +#1 O +was O +retrieved O +from O +a O +File B-TOOL +Server E-TOOL +operated O +by O +Die O +Linke O +. O + +The O +file O +is O +a O +64bit-compatible O +compiled O +binary O +of O +the O +open O +source O +utility O +Winexe S-TOOL +. O + +Winexe S-TOOL +is O +software O +similar O +to O +the O +more O +popular O +PSExec S-TOOL +and O +is O +designed O +to O +allow O +system O +administrators O +to O +execute O +commands O +on O +remote O +servers O +. O + +While O +commercial O +solutions O +like O +Symantec S-SECTEAM +pcAnywhere O +provide O +a O +larger O +feature-set O +, O +Winexe S-TOOL +is O +lightweight O +, O +and O +doesn’t O +require O +any O +installation O +or O +configuration O +. O + +One O +of O +the O +reasons O +Winexe S-TOOL +is O +preferred O +over O +PSExec S-TOOL +, O +is O +that O +it O +provides O +a O +Linux S-OS +client O +, O +while O +PSExec S-TOOL +doesn’t O +. O + +Attackers O +are O +making O +growing O +use O +of O +utilities O +like O +Winexe S-TOOL +and O +PSExec S-TOOL +to O +perform O +lateral O +movement O +across O +compromised O +networks O +. O + +Besides O +providing O +the O +ability O +to O +execute O +arbitrary O +commands O +on O +the O +target O +system O +, O +these O +utilities O +normally O +don’t O +raise O +suspicion O +as O +they O +are O +commonly O +whitelisted O +by O +Antivirus O +and O +other O +commercial O +security O +software O +. O + +Winexe S-TOOL +acts O +as O +a O +Windows S-OS +service O +that O +can O +be O +configured O +to O +automatically O +start O +at O +boot O +and O +silently O +wait O +for O +incoming O +commands O +over O +a O +named O +pipe O +. O + +Named O +pipes O +are O +a O +Windows S-OS +inter-process O +communication O +method O +. O + +Through O +named O +pipes O +, O +processes O +are O +able O +to O +communicate O +and O +exchange O +data O +even O +over O +a O +network O +. O + +In O +the O +case O +of O +Artifact O +#1 O +, O +the O +name O +of O +the O +pipe O +is O +ahexec O +, O +computers O +over O +the O +network O +could O +access O +the O +pipe O +server O +by O +simply O +opening O +a O +file O +handle O +on O +\ServerNamepipeahexec O +. O + +Once O +connected O +to O +the O +pipe O +, O +a O +user O +or O +a O +program O +can O +easily O +provide O +information O +required O +to O +execute O +command O +( O +just O +as O +they O +would O +normally O +through O +a O +command-line O +) O +. O + +The O +provided O +information O +is O +then O +passed O +to O +a O +CreateProcessAsUserA O +call O +and O +the O +specified O +command O +is O +executed O +. O + +Once O +inside O +the O +network O +, O +Artifact O +#1 O +can O +be O +enough O +for O +the O +attacker O +to O +download O +or O +create O +additional O +scripts O +, O +execute O +commands O +and O +exfiltrate O +data O +( O +for O +example O +, O +simply O +through O +ftp S-PROT +) O +. O + +It O +is O +plausible O +that O +Artifact O +#1 O +could O +be O +present O +on O +other O +servers O +under O +different O +names O +, O +although O +it O +is O +also O +likely O +that O +the O +attacker O +only O +left O +it O +on O +servers O +to O +which O +they O +required O +maintainenance O +of O +persistent O +access O +. O + +Artifact O +#2 O +was O +recovered O +from O +the O +Admin B-TOOL +Controller E-TOOL +operated O +by O +Die O +Linke O +. O + +This O +is O +custom O +malware O +, O +which O +despite O +large O +file O +size O +( O +1,1 O +MB O +) O +, O +provides O +limited O +functionality O +. O + +Artifact O +#2 O +operates O +as O +a O +backchannel O +for O +the O +attacker O +to O +maintain O +a O +foothold O +inside O +the O +compromised O +network O +. O + +The O +properties O +of O +the O +artifact O +show O +that O +the O +same O +authors O +of O +the O +malware O +seem O +to O +have O +called O +it O +Xtunnel S-MAL +. O + +As O +the O +same O +name O +suggests O +, O +the O +artifact O +appears O +in O +fact O +to O +act O +as O +a O +tunnel O +for O +the O +attacker O +to O +remotely O +access O +the O +internal O +network O +and O +maintain O +persistence O +. O + +After O +initialization O +, O +the O +artifact O +will O +attempt O +to O +establish O +a O +connection O +by O +creating O +a O +socket O +. O + +In O +case O +of O +failure O +, O +it O +will O +sleep O +for O +three O +seconds O +and O +try O +again O +. O + +The O +authors O +of O +the O +malware O +didn’t O +appear O +to O +have O +spent O +any O +effort O +in O +concealing O +indicators O +or O +obfuscating O +code O +– O +the O +IP O +address O +with O +which O +it O +tries O +to O +communicate O +is O +hardcoded O +in O +clear-text O +inside O +the O +binary O +. O + +We O +can O +observe O +below O +, O +the O +procedure O +through O +which O +the O +artifact O +attempts O +to O +establish O +a O +connection O +with O +the O +IP O +address O +176.31.112.10 S-IP +. O + +This O +specific O +IP O +address O +is O +a O +critical O +piece O +of O +information O +that O +enables O +us O +to O +connect O +this O +attack O +to O +a O +spree O +of O +previous O +targeted O +campaigns O +. O + +The O +details O +of O +this O +attribution O +is O +explained O +in O +a O +dedicated O +section O +below O +. O + +We O +will O +refer O +to O +this O +IP O +address O +as O +Command B-TOOL +& I-TOOL +Control E-TOOL +( O +or O +C&C S-TOOL +) O +. O + +If O +the O +argument O +-SSL S-PROT +is O +given O +through O +command-line O +to O +the O +artifact O +, O +these O +beacons O +will O +be O +encapsulated O +in O +an O +SSL S-PROT +connection O +and O +a O +proper O +TLS S-PROT +handshake O +will O +be O +initiated O +with O +the O +C&C S-TOOL +. O + +Interestingly O +, O +the O +artifact O +bundles O +a O +copy O +of O +OpenSSL S-TOOL +1.0.1e O +, O +from O +February B-TIME +2013 E-TIME +, O +which O +causes O +the O +unusually O +large O +size O +of O +the O +binary O +. O + +More O +importantly O +, O +the O +Command B-TOOL +& I-TOOL +Control E-TOOL +server O +( O +176.31.112.10 S-IP +) O +also O +appears O +to O +be O +using O +an O +outdated O +version O +of O +OpenSSL S-TOOL +and O +be O +vulnerable O +to O +Heartbleed S-VULNAME +attacks O +. O + +While O +unlikely O +, O +it O +is O +worth O +considering O +that O +the O +same O +C&C S-TOOL +server O +might O +have O +been O +the O +subject O +of O +3rd-party O +attacks O +due O +to O +this O +vulnerability O +. O + +If O +connections O +to O +the O +C&C S-TOOL +are O +blocked O +or O +terminated O +through O +a O +firewall O +, O +the O +artifact O +will O +be O +inhibited O +, O +as O +it O +doesn’t O +seem O +to O +have O +any O +fallback O +protocol O +. O + +Additionally O +, O +since O +it O +does O +not O +execute O +any O +other O +functionality O +autonomously O +, O +it O +would O +no O +longer O +be O +a O +direct O +threat O +. O + +While O +attribution O +of O +malware O +attacks O +is O +rarely O +simple O +or O +conclusive O +, O +during O +the O +course O +of O +this O +investigation O +I O +uncovered O +evidence O +that O +suggests O +the O +attacker O +might O +be O +affiliated O +with O +the O +state-sponsored O +group O +known O +as O +Sofacy S-APT +Group O +( O +also O +known O +as O +APT28 S-APT +or O +Operation B-APT +Pawn I-APT +Storm E-APT +) O +. O + +Although O +we O +are O +unable O +to O +provide O +details O +in O +support O +of O +such O +attribution O +, O +previous O +work O +by O +security O +vendor O +FireEye S-SECTEAM +suggests O +the O +group O +might O +be O +of O +Russian O +origin O +, O +however O +no O +evidence O +allows O +to O +tie O +the O +attacks O +to O +governments O +of O +any O +particular O +country O +. O + +Sofacy S-APT +is O +a O +group O +dedicated O +to O +the O +compromise O +of O +high-profile O +targets O +and O +the O +theft O +of O +confidential O +information O +. O + +They O +appear O +to O +have O +been O +active O +since O +2006 S-TIME +. O + +They O +are O +believed O +to O +have O +successfully O +attacked O +the O +Ministries B-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Internal E-IDTY +and O +Foreign B-IDTY +Affairs E-IDTY +of O +several O +ex-Soviet O +countries O +, O +as O +well O +as O +Eastern O +European O +governments O +and O +military O +institutions O +, O +and O +NATO S-IDTY +and O +the O +White B-IDTY +House E-IDTY +. O + +Sofacy S-APT +is O +known O +for O +making O +extensive O +use O +of O +phishing E-ACT +attacks O +to O +lure O +targets O +into O +revealing O +their O +credentials O +via O +realistic O +reconstruction O +of O +internal O +systems O +, O +such O +as O +webmails O +, O +as O +employed O +against O +the O +Georgian B-IDTY +Ministry I-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Internal I-IDTY +Affairs E-IDTY +in O +the O +infamous O +attacks O +that O +preceded O +the O +Georgian S-LOC +invasion O +of O +2008 S-TIME +. O + +While O +Sofacy S-APT +is O +also O +known O +to O +use O +of O +custom O +exploit O +frameworks O +and O +spear-phishing S-ACT +attacks O +, O +it O +is O +possible O +in O +this O +case O +that O +they O +managed O +to O +obtain O +privileged O +credentials O +of O +network O +administrators O +within O +the O +Bundestag S-IDTY +through O +the O +use O +of O +a O +phishing E-ACT +attack O +, O +which O +then O +allowed O +them O +to O +navigate O +through O +the O +network O +and O +gain O +access O +to O +more O +data O +. O + +It O +is O +worth O +noting O +that O +shortly O +before O +the O +attack O +, O +security O +vendors O +reported O +the O +use O +of O +0-day S-VULNAME +exploits O +in O +Flash B-TOOL +Player E-TOOL +and O +Microsoft S-IDTY +Windows S-OS +by O +the O +same O +threat O +actor O +. O + +During O +investigation O +of O +the O +Command B-TOOL +& I-TOOL +Control E-TOOL +server O +( O +with O +IP O +176.31.112.10 S-IP +hardcoded O +in O +Artifact O +#2 O +) O +, O +we O +managed O +to O +identify O +some O +operational O +mistakes O +made O +by O +the O +attackers O +, O +allowing O +us O +to O +connect O +the O +incident O +with O +attacks O +previously O +associated O +with O +the O +Sofacy S-APT +Group O +. O + +The O +address O +, O +176.31.112.10 S-IP +, O +is O +a O +dedicated O +server O +provided O +by O +the O +French O +OVH S-TOOL +hosting O +company O +, O +but O +is O +apparently O +operated O +by O +an O +offshore O +secure O +hosting O +company O +called O +CrookServers.com S-IDTY +. O + +By O +researching O +historical O +data O +relevant O +to O +C&C S-TOOL +176.31.112.10 S-IP +, O +we O +discovered O +that O +on O +February B-TIME +16th I-TIME +2015 E-TIME +, O +the O +server O +was O +sharing O +an O +SSL S-PROT +certificate O +with O +another O +IP O +address O +allocated O +to O +CrookServers S-IDTY +and O +also O +hosted O +at O +OVH S-TOOL +: O +213.251.187.145 S-IP +. O + +The O +recovered O +shared O +SSL S-PROT +certificate O +, O +obtained O +by O +a O +public O +internet-wide O +scanning O +initiative O +, O +at O +the O +time O +had O +the O +following O +attributes O +: O + +MD5 S-ENCR +b84b66bcdecd4b4529014619ed649d76 S-MD5 +SHA1 S-ENCR +fef1725ad72e4ef0432f8cb0cb73bf7ead339a7c S-SHA1 +Algorithm O +sha1 S-ENCR +With O +RSA S-ENCR +Encryption O +. O + +As O +shown O +, O +the O +certificate O +uses O +mail.mfa.gov.ua S-DOM +as O +a O +Common O +Name O +. O + +This O +suggests O +that O +this O +certificate O +might O +have O +been O +previously O +used O +for O +a O +similar O +attack O +against O +the O +Ukrainian B-IDTY +Ministry I-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Foreign I-IDTY +Affairs E-IDTY +, O +or O +associated O +targets O +, O +although O +there O +is O +no O +documentation O +of O +such O +attack O +available O +to O +the O +public O +. O + +More O +importantly O +, O +the O +IP O +address O +this O +certificate O +was O +shared O +with O +213.251.187.145 S-IP +was O +previously O +identified O +as O +used O +by O +Sofacy S-APT +Group O +for O +phishing E-ACT +attacks O +against O +Albanian O +government O +institutions O +by O +registering O +the O +domain O +qov.al S-DOM +and O +creating O +realistic O +subdomains O +to O +lure O +victims O +into O +visiting O +. O + +The O +domain O +was O +active O +on O +the O +IP O +213.251.187.145 S-IP +from O +July B-TIME +2014 E-TIME +up O +until O +March B-TIME +2015 E-TIME +. O + +These O +attacks O +against O +Albanian O +government O +institutions O +by O +the O +Sofacy S-APT +Group O +were O +documented O +and O +reported O +by O +consultancy O +corporate O +PwC S-IDTY +in O +December B-TIME +2014 E-TIME +. O + +It O +is O +worth O +noting O +that O +this O +server O +also O +seems O +to O +be O +operated O +by O +CrookServers S-IDTY +, O +since O +among O +other O +domains O +, O +454-reverse.crookservers.net S-DOM +resolved O +to O +the O +same O +IP O +address O +. O + +While O +the O +evidence O +presented O +strongly O +suggests O +a O +connection O +with O +the O +Sofacy S-APT +Group O +, O +the O +artifacts O +( O +in O +particular O +Artifact O +#2 O +) O +are O +not O +publicly O +recognized O +to O +be O +part O +of O +the O +more O +traditional O +arsenal O +of O +these O +attackers O +. O + +Nevertheless O +, O +on O +May B-TIME +12th I-TIME +2015 E-TIME +( O +a O +few O +weeks O +after O +the O +attack O +against O +Bundestag S-IDTY +appears O +to O +have O +started O +) O +the O +American O +security O +firm O +root9B O +released O +a O +report O +containing O +details O +on O +malware O +samples O +very O +similar O +to O +Artifact O +#2 O +. O + +The O +report O +also O +includes O +a O +mention O +of O +the O +same O +IP O +address O +used O +as O +Command B-TOOL +& I-TOOL +Control E-TOOL +server O +in O +the O +attack O +against O +Bundestag S-IDTY +( O +176.31.112.10 S-IP +) O +. O + +While O +the O +report O +appears O +to O +contain O +numerous O +inaccuracies O +, O +some O +of O +the O +indicators O +of O +compromises O +are O +legitimate O +and O +appear O +to O +be O +correctly O +attributed O +to O +Sofacy S-APT +. O + + +A O +Slice O +of O +2017 S-TIME +Sofacy S-APT +Activity O +. O + +Sofacy S-APT +, O +also O +known O +as O +APT28 S-APT +, O +Fancy B-APT +Bear E-APT +, O +and O +Tsar B-APT +Team E-APT +, O +is O +a O +highly O +active O +and O +prolific O +APT O +. O + +From O +their O +high O +volume O +0day S-VULNAME +deployment O +to O +their O +innovative O +and O +broad O +malware O +set O +, O +Sofacy S-APT +is O +one O +of O +the O +top O +groups O +that O +we O +monitor O +, O +report O +, O +and O +protect O +against O +. O +2017 S-TIME +was O +not O +any O +different O +in O +this O +regard O +. O + +Our O +private O +reports O +subscription O +customers O +receive O +a O +steady O +stream O +of O +YARA S-TOOL +, O +IOC S-TOOL +, O +and O +reports O +on O +Sofacy S-APT +, O +our O +most O +reported O +APT O +for O +the O +year O +. O + +This O +high O +level O +of O +cyber-espionage O +activity O +goes O +back O +years O +. O + +In O +2011-2012 S-TIME +, O +the O +group O +used O +a O +relatively O +tiny O +implant O +( O +known O +as O +“ O +Sofacy S-APT +” O +or O +SOURFACE S-APT +) O +as O +their O +first O +stage O +malware O +, O +which O +at O +the O +time O +had O +similarities O +with O +the O +old O +Miniduke O +implants O +. O + +This O +made O +us O +believe O +the O +two O +groups O +were O +connected O +, O +although O +it O +looks O +they O +split O +ways O +at O +a O +certain O +point O +, O +with O +the O +original O +Miniduke S-APT +group O +switching O +to O +the O +CosmicDuke S-MAL +implant O +in O +2014 S-TIME +. O + +The O +division O +in O +malware O +was O +consistent O +and O +definitive O +at O +that O +point O +. O + +In O +2013 S-TIME +, O +the O +Sofacy S-APT +group O +expanded O +their O +arsenal O +and O +added O +more O +backdoors O +and O +tools O +, O +including O +CORESHELL S-MAL +, O +SPLM S-MAL +( O +aka O +Xagent S-MAL +, O +aka O +CHOPSTICK S-MAL +) O +, O +JHUHUGIT S-MAL +( O +which O +is O +built O +with O +code O +from O +the O +Carberp S-MAL +sources O +) O +, O +AZZY S-MAL +( O +aka O +ADVSTORESHELL S-MAL +, O +NETUI S-MAL +, O +EVILTOSS S-MAL +, O +and O +spans O +across O +4-5 O +generations O +) O +and O +a O +few O +others O +. O + +We O +’ve O +seen O +quite O +a O +few O +versions O +of O +these O +implants O +, O +which O +were O +relatively O +widespread O +at O +some O +point O +or O +still O +are O +. O + +In O +2015 S-TIME +we O +noticed O +another O +wave O +of O +attacks O +which O +took O +advantage O +of O +a O +new O +release O +of O +the O +AZZY S-MAL +implant O +, O +largely O +undetected O +by O +antivirus O +products O +. O + +The O +new O +wave O +of O +attacks O +included O +a O +new O +generation O +of O +USB B-MAL +stealers E-MAL +deployed O +by O +Sofacy S-APT +, O +with O +initial O +versions O +dating O +to O +February B-TIME +2015 E-TIME +. O + +It O +appeared O +to O +be O +geared O +exclusively O +towards O +high O +profile O +targets O +. O + +Sofacy S-APT +’s O +reported O +presence O +in O +the O +DNC S-TOOL +network O +alongside O +APT29 S-APT +brought O +possibly O +the O +highest O +level O +of O +public O +attention O +to O +the O +group O +’s O +activities O +in O +2016 S-TIME +, O +especially O +when O +data O +from O +the O +compromise O +was O +leaked O +and O +“ O +weaponized O +” O +. O + +And O +later B-TIME +2016 E-TIME +, O +their O +focus O +turned O +towards O +the O +Olympics S-IDTY +’ O +and O +the O +World B-IDTY +Anti-Doping I-IDTY +Agency E-IDTY +( O +WADA S-IDTY +) O +and O +Court B-IDTY +of I-IDTY +Arbitration I-IDTY +for I-IDTY +Sports E-IDTY +( O +CAS S-IDTY +) O +, O +when O +individuals O +and O +servers O +in O +these O +organizations O +were O +phished O +and O +compromised O +. O + +In O +a O +similar O +vein O +with O +past O +CyberBerkut S-ACT +activity O +, O +attackers O +hid O +behind O +anonymous O +activist O +groups O +like O +“ O +anonpoland O +” O +, O +and O +data O +from O +victimized O +organizations O +were O +similarly O +leaked O +and O +“ O +weaponized O +” O +. O + +This O +write-up O +will O +survey O +notables O +in O +the O +past O +year O +of O +2017 S-TIME +Sofacy S-APT +activity O +, O +including O +their O +targeting O +, O +technology O +, O +and O +notes O +on O +their O +infrastructure O +. O + +No O +one O +research O +group O +has O +100% O +global O +visibility O +, O +and O +our O +collected O +data O +is O +presented O +accordingly O +. O + +Here O +, O +external O +APT28 S-APT +reports O +on O +2017 S-TIME +Darkhotel-style S-ACT +activity O +in O +Europe S-LOC +and O +Dealer O +’s O +Choice O +spearphishing S-ACT +are O +of O +interest O +. O + +From O +where O +we O +sit O +, O +2017 S-TIME +Sofacy S-APT +activity O +starts O +with O +a O +heavy O +focus O +on O +NATO S-IDTY +and O +Ukrainian O +partners O +, O +coinciding O +with O +lighter O +interest O +in O +Central B-LOC +Asian E-LOC +targets O +, O +and O +finishing O +the O +second O +half O +of O +the O +year O +with O +a O +heavy O +focus O +on O +Central B-LOC +Asian E-LOC +targets O +and O +some O +shift O +further O +East S-LOC +. O + +Sofacy S-APT +kicked O +off O +the O +year O +deploying O +two O +0day S-VULNAME +in O +a O +spearphish O +document O +, O +both O +a O +Microsoft S-IDTY +Office S-TOOL +encapsulated O +postscript O +type O +confusion O +exploit O +( O +abusing O +CVE-2017-0262 S-VULID +) O +and O +an O +escalation O +of O +privilege O +use-after-free O +exploit O +( O +abusing O +CVE-2017-0263 S-VULID +) O +. O + +The O +group O +attempted O +to O +deploy O +this O +spearphish O +attachment O +to O +push O +a O +small O +30kb O +backdoor O +known O +as O +GAMEFISH S-MAL +to O +targets O +in O +Europe S-LOC +at O +the O +beginning B-TIME +of I-TIME +2017 E-TIME +. O + +They O +took O +advantage O +of O +the O +Syrian O +military O +conflict O +for O +thematic O +content O +and O +file O +naming O +“ O +Trump B-FILE +’s_Attack_on_Syria_English.docx E-FILE +” O +. O + +Again O +, O +this O +deployment O +was O +likely O +a O +part O +of O +their O +focus O +on O +NATO S-IDTY +targets O +. O + +Meanwhile O +in O +early-to-mid B-TIME +2017 E-TIME +, O +SPLM S-MAL +/ O +CHOPSTICK S-MAL +/ O +XAgent S-MAL +detections O +in O +Central B-LOC +Asia E-LOC +provided O +a O +glimpse O +into O +ongoing O +focus O +on O +ex-Soviet O +republics O +in O +Central B-LOC +Asia E-LOC +. O + +These O +particular O +detections O +are O +interesting O +because O +they O +indicate O +an O +attempted O +selective O +2nd O +stage O +deployment O +of O +a O +backdoor O +maintaining O +filestealer O +, O +keylogger O +, O +and O +remoteshell O +functionality O +to O +a O +system O +of O +interest O +. O + +As O +the O +latest O +revision O +of O +the O +backdoor O +, O +portions O +of O +SPLM S-MAL +didn’t O +match O +previous O +reports O +on O +SPLM S-MAL +/ O +XAgent S-MAL +while O +other O +similarities O +were O +maintained O +. O + +SPLM S-MAL +64-bit O +modules O +already O +appeared O +to O +be O +at O +version O +4 O +of O +the O +software O +by O +May B-TIME +of I-TIME +the I-TIME +year E-TIME +. O + +Targeting O +profiles O +included O +defense O +related O +commercial O +and O +military O +organizations O +, O +and O +telecommunications O +. O + +Since O +mid-November B-TIME +2015 E-TIME +, O +the O +threat O +actor O +referred O +to O +as O +“ O +Sofacy S-APT +” O +or O +“ O +APT28 S-APT +” O +has O +been O +utilizing O +a O +unique O +payload O +and O +delivery O +mechanism O +written O +in O +Delphi S-TOOL +and O +AutoIT S-TOOL +. O + +We O +collectively O +refer O +to O +this O +package O +and O +related O +activity O +as O +“ O +Zebrocy S-MAL +” O +and O +had O +written O +a O +few O +reports O +on O +its O +usage O +and O +development O +by O +June B-TIME +2017 E-TIME +– O +Sofacy S-APT +developers O +modified O +and O +redeployed O +incremented O +versions O +of O +the O +malware O +. O + +The O +Zebrocy S-MAL +chain O +follows O +a O +pattern O +: O +spearphish S-ACT +attachment O +-> O +compiled O +Autoit S-TOOL +script O +( O +downloader O +) O +-> O +Zebrocy S-MAL +payload O +. O + +In O +some O +deployments O +, O +we O +observed O +Sofacy S-APT +actively O +developing O +and O +deploying O +a O +new O +package O +to O +a O +much O +smaller O +, O +specific O +subset O +of O +targets O +within O +the O +broader O +set O +. O + +Targeting O +profiles O +, O +spearphish S-ACT +filenames O +, O +and O +lures O +carry O +thematic O +content O +related O +to O +visa O +applications O +and O +scanned O +images O +, O +border O +control O +administration O +, O +and O +various O +administrative O +notes O +. O + +Targeting O +appears O +to O +be O +widely O +spread O +across O +the O +Middle B-LOC +East E-LOC +, O +Europe S-LOC +, O +and O +Asia S-LOC +. O + +We O +identified O +new O +MSIL S-TOOL +components O +deployed O +by O +Zebrocy S-MAL +. O + +While O +recent O +Zebrocy S-MAL +versioning O +was O +7.1 O +, O +some O +of O +the O +related O +Zebrocy S-MAL +modules O +that O +drop O +file-stealing O +MSIL S-TOOL +modules O +we O +call O +Covfacy S-TOOL +were O +v7.0 O +. O + +The O +components O +were O +an O +unexpected O +inclusion O +in O +this O +particular O +toolset O +. O + +For O +example O +, O +one O +sent O +out O +to O +a O +handful O +of O +countries O +identifies O +network O +drives O +when O +they O +are O +added O +to O +target O +systems O +, O +and O +then O +RC4 S-ENCR +like-encrypts O +and O +writes O +certain O +file O +metadata O +and O +contents O +to O +a O +local O +path O +for O +later O +Exfiltration S-ACT +. O + +The O +stealer O +searches O +for O +files O +60mb O +and O +less O +with O +these O +extensions O +: O +.doc S-FILE +, O +.docx S-FILE +, O +.xls S-FILE +, O +.xlsx S-FILE +, O +.ppt S-FILE +, O +.pptx S-FILE +, O +.exe S-FILE +, O +.zip S-FILE +, O +.rar S-FILE +. O + +At O +execution O +, O +it O +installs O +an O +application-defined O +Windows S-OS +hook O +. O + +The O +hook O +gets O +windows S-OS +messages O +indicating O +when O +a O +network O +drive O +has O +been O +attached O +. O + +Upon O +adding O +a O +network O +drive O +, O +the O +hook O +calls O +its O +“ O +RecordToFile O +” O +file O +stealer O +method O +. O + +SPLM S-MAL +/ O +CHOPSTICK S-MAL +components O +deployed O +throughout O +2017 S-TIME +were O +native O +64-bit O +modular O +C++ S-TOOL +Windows S-OS +COM S-TOOL +backdoors O +supporting O +http S-PROT +over O +fully O +encrypted O +TLSv1 S-PROT +and O +TLSv1.2 S-PROT +communications O +, O +mostly O +deployed O +in O +the O +second B-TIME +half I-TIME +of I-TIME +2017 E-TIME +by O +Sofacy S-APT +. O + +Earlier O +SPLM S-MAL +activity O +deployed O +32-bit O +modules O +over O +unencrypted O +http S-PROT +( O +and O +sometimes O +smtp S-PROT +) O +sessions O +. O + +In O +2016 S-TIME +we O +saw O +fully O +functional O +, O +very O +large O +SPLM S-MAL +/ O +X-Agent S-MAL +modules O +supporting O +OS B-OS +X E-OS +. O + +The O +executable O +module O +continues O +to O +be O +part O +of O +a O +framework O +supporting O +various O +internal O +and O +external O +components O +communicating O +over O +internal O +and O +external O +channels O +, O +maintaining O +slightly O +morphed O +encryption O +and O +functionality O +per O +deployment O +. O + +Sofacy S-APT +selectively O +used O +SPLM S-MAL +/ O +CHOPSTICK S-MAL +modules O +as O +second O +stage O +implants O +to O +high O +interest O +targets O +for O +years O +now O +. O + +The O +newer O +SPLM S-MAL +modules O +are O +deployed O +mostly O +to O +Central B-LOC +Asian E-LOC +based O +targets O +that O +may O +have O +a O +tie O +to O +NATO S-IDTY +in O +some O +form O +. O + +These O +targets O +include O +foreign O +affairs O +government O +organizations O +both O +localized O +and O +abroad O +, O +and O +defense O +organizations O +’ O +presence O +localized O +, O +located O +in O +Europe S-LOC +and O +also O +located O +in O +Afghanistan S-LOC +. O + +One O +outlier O +SPLM S-MAL +target O +profile O +within O +our O +visibility O +includes O +an O +audit O +and O +consulting O +firm O +in O +Bosnia S-LOC +and O +Herzegovina S-LOC +. O + +Minor O +changes O +and O +updates O +to O +the O +code O +were O +released O +with O +these O +deployments O +, O +including O +a O +new O +mutex O +format O +and O +the O +exclusive O +use O +of O +encrypted O +HTTP S-PROT +communications O +over O +TLS S-PROT +. O + +The O +compiled O +code O +itself O +already O +is O +altered O +per O +deployment O +in O +multiple O +subtle O +ways O +, O +in O +order O +to O +stymie O +identification O +and O +automated O +analysis O +and O +accommodate O +targeted O +environments O +. O + +Strings O +( O +c2 S-TOOL +domains O +and O +functionality O +, O +error O +messages O +, O +etc O +) O +are O +custom O +encrypted O +per O +deployment O +. O + +This O +subset O +of O +SPLM S-MAL +/ O +CHOPSTICK S-MAL +activity O +leads O +into O +several O +small O +surprises O +that O +take O +us O +into O +2018 S-TIME +, O +to O +be O +discussed O +in O +further O +detail O +at O +SAS S-IDTY +2018 S-TIME +. O + +The O +group O +demonstrates O +malleability O +and O +innovation O +in O +maintaining O +and O +producing O +familiar O +SPLM S-MAL +functionality O +, O +but O +the O +pragmatic O +and O +systematic O +approach O +towards O +producing O +undetected O +or O +difficult-to-detect O +malware O +continues O +. O + +Changes O +in O +the O +second O +stage O +SPLM B-MAL +backdoor E-MAL +are O +refined O +, O +making O +the O +code O +reliably O +modular O +. O + +It O +’s O +interesting O +to O +note O +that O +this O +version O +of O +SPLM S-MAL +implements O +communications O +that O +are O +fully O +encrypted O +over O +HTTPS S-PROT +. O + +As O +an O +example O +, O +we O +might O +see O +extraneous O +data O +in O +their O +SSL S-PROT +/ O +TLS S-PROT +certificates O +that O +give O +away O +information O +about O +their O +provider O +or O +resources O +. O + +Leading O +up O +to O +summer B-TIME +2017 E-TIME +, O +infrastructure O +mostly O +was O +created O +with O +PDR O +and O +Internet O +Domain O +Service O +BS O +Corp O +, O +and O +their O +resellers O +. O + +Hosting O +mostly O +was O +provided O +at O +Fast O +Serv O +Inc O +and O +resellers O +, O +in O +all O +likelihood O +related O +to O +bitcoin O +payment O +processing O +. O + +Accordingly O +, O +the O +server O +side O +certificates O +appear O +to O +be O +generated O +locally O +on O +VPS S-TOOL +hosts O +that O +exclusively O +are O +paid O +for O +at O +providers O +with O +bitcoin O +merchant O +processing O +. O