Security-X

Forum Security-X => News => Discussion démarrée par: igor51 le novembre 03, 2020, 00:00:21

Titre: [FireEye]Unhappy Hour Special: KEGTAP and SINGLEMALT With a Ransomware Chaser
Posté par: igor51 le novembre 03, 2020, 00:00:21
Unhappy Hour Special: KEGTAP and SINGLEMALT With a Ransomware Chaser

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Throughout 2020, ransomware activity has become increasingly
  prolific, relying on an ecosystem of distinct but co-enabling
  operations to gain access to targets of interest before conducting
  extortion. Mandiant Threat Intelligence has tracked several loader and
  backdoor campaigns that lead to the post-compromise deployment of
  ransomware, sometimes within     href="https://thedfirreport.com/2020/10/18/ryuk-in-5-hours/">24
    hours of initial compromise. Effective and fast detection of
  these campaigns is key to mitigating this threat.


 

The malware families enabling these attacks previously reported by
  Mandiant to intelligence subscribers include KEGTAP/BEERBOT,
  SINGLEMALT/STILLBOT and WINEKEY/CORKBOT. While these malware families
  communicate with the same command and control infrastructure (C2) and
  are close to functional parity, there are minimal code overlaps across
  them. Other security researchers have tracked these malware families
  under the names BazarLoader and   href="https://www.vkremez.com/2020/04/lets-learn-trickbot-bazarbackdoor.html">BazarBackdoor
  or Team9.


 

The operators conducting these campaigns have actively targeted
  hospitals, retirement communities, and medical centers, even in the
  midst of a global health crisis, demonstrating a clear disregard for
  human life.


 

Email Campaign TTPs


 

Campaigns distributing KEGTAP, SINGLEMALT and WINEKEY have been sent
  to individuals at organizations across a broad range of industries and
  geographies using a series of shifting delivery tactics, techniques
  and procedures (TTPs). Despite the frequent changes seen across these
  campaigns, the following has remained consistent across recent activity:


 
 

Despite this uniformity, the associated TTPs have otherwise changed
  regularly—both between campaigns and across multiple spam runs seen in
  the same day. Notable ways that these campaigns have varied over time include:


 
 


      src="https://www.fireeye.com/content/dam/fireeye-www/blog/images/botlogger/picture1.png" alt="" />
 
 Figure 1: Email containing internal
    references to target an organization’s name


 


      src="https://www.fireeye.com/content/dam/fireeye-www/blog/images/botlogger/picture2.png" alt="" />
 
 Figure 2: Google Docs PDF document
    containing a target organization’s logo


 

Hiding the final payload behind multiple links is a simple yet
  effective way to bypass some email filtering technologies. Various
  technologies have the ability to follow links in an email to try to
  identify malware or malicious domains; however, the number of links
  followed can vary. Additionally, embedding links within a PDF document
  further makes automated detection and link-following difficult.


 

Post-Compromise TTPs


 

Given the possibility that accesses obtained from these campaigns
  may be provided to various operators to monetize, the latter-stage
  TTPs, including ransomware family deployed, may vary across
  intrusions. A notable majority of cases where Mandiant has had
  visibility into these post-compromise TTPs have been attributable to
  UNC1878, a financially motivated actor that monetizes network access
  via the deployment of RYUK ransomware.


 


  Establish Foothold


 

Once the loader and backdoor have been executed on the initial
  victim host, the actors have used this initial backdoor to download
  POWERTRICK and/or Cobalt Strike BEACON payloads to establish a
  foothold. Notably, the respective loader and backdoor as well as
  POWERTRICK have typically been installed on a small number of hosts in
  observed incidents, suggesting these payloads may be reserved for
  establishing a foothold and performing initial network and host
  reconnaissance. However, BEACON is frequently found on a larger number
  of hosts and used throughout various stages of the attack lifecycle.


 


  Maintain Presence


 

Beyond the preliminary phases of each intrusion, we have seen
  variations in how these attackers have maintained presence after
  establishing an initial foothold or moving laterally within a network.
  In addition to the use of common post-exploitation frameworks such as
  Cobalt Strike, Metasploit and EMPIRE, we have observed the use of
  other backdoors, including ANCHOR, that we also believe to be under
  control of the actors behind TrickBot.


 
 


  Escalate Privileges


 

The most commonly observed methods for escalating privileges in
  these incidents have involved the use of valid credentials. The actors
  used a variety of techniques for accessing credentials stored in
  memory or on disk to access privileged accounts. 


 
 


  Reconnaissance


 

The approaches taken to perform host and network reconnaissance
  across these incidents varied; however, a significant portion of
  observed reconnaissance activity has revolved around Activity
  Directory enumeration using publicly available utilities such as
  BLOODHOUND, SHARPHOUND or ADFind, as well as the execution of
  PowerShell cmdlets using Cobalt Strike BEACON.


 
 


  Lateral Movement


 

Lateral movement was most commonly accomplished using valid
  credentials in combination with Cobalt Strike BEACON, RDP and SMB, or
  using the same backdoors used to establish a foothold in victim networks.


 
 


  Complete Mission


 

Mandiant is directly aware of incidents involving KEGTAP that
  included the post-compromise deployment of RYUK ransomware. We have
  also observed instances where ANCHOR infections, another backdoor
  associated with the same actors, preceded CONTI or MAZE deployment.


 
 

Hunting Strategies


 

If an organization identifies a host with an active infection
  believed to be an instance of KEGTAP or a parallel malware family, the
  following containment actions are recommended. Note that due to the
  velocity of this intrusion activity, these actions should be taken in parallel.


 
 

An enterprise-wide effort should be made to identify host-based
  artifacts related to the execution of first-stage malware and all
  post-intrusion activity associated with this activity. Some baseline
  approaches to this have been captured as follows.


 

Activity associated with the KEGTAP loader can often be identified
  via a review of system startup folders and Userinit values under the
  HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon registry key.


 
   
     

%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start
        Menu\Programs\Startup\adobe.lnk


 


  Figure 3: Example LNK file associated with
    KEGTAP persistence within a system’s startup folders

 


 

SINGLEMALT employs BITS to maintain persistence through reboot and
  can often be identified via a review of anomalous BITS jobs.
  SINGLEMALT uses a well-documented BITS persistence mechanism that
  intentionally creates a job to download a non-existent URL, which will
  trigger a failure event. The job is set to retry on a regular
  interval, thus ensuring the malware continues to run. To review the
  BITS job on a host run the command bitsadmin /list.


 
 

WINEKEY maintains persistence through reboot via the use of registry
  RUN keys. Searching for anomalous RUN keys enterprise-wide can help to
  identify systems impacted by this malware.


 
   
     

Key:
          HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\Backup
        Mgr

Value: Path to the backdoor


 


  Figure 4: Example registry RUN key used by
    WINEKEY to maintain persistence


 

The ANCHOR backdoor has been seen across a subset of intrusions
  associated with this activity and can often be identified via the
  scheduled tasks it uses to maintain persistence through reboot. The
  scheduled tasks created by ANCHOR are often unnamed, although that is
  not always the case.


 
 

Although it is a low fidelity indicator, ANCHOR activity may also
  sometimes be identified by searching for binaries within the
  C:\Windows\SysWOW64 directory that have a file name matching the
  following pattern: <8 random lowercase chars>.exe.
  Stacking or sorting on file creation timestamps in the
  C:\Windows\SysWOW64 directory may also help identify malicious files,
  as the directory should be mostly static.


 

Post-exploitation activity associated with the deployment of
  ransomware following these campaigns is typically conducted using the
  Cobalt Strike attack framework. The BEACON payload associated with
  Cobalt Strike can often be identified via a review of existing
  registered services and service creation events (Event ID 7045), both
  markers of the mechanism it most commonly employs to maintain persistence.


 

The following are additional strategies that may aid in identifying
  associated activity:


 
 

Hardening Strategies


 

The actions taken by the actors to escalate privileges and move
  laterally in an environment use well-documented techniques that search
  the network and Active Directory for common misconfigurations that
  expose credentials and systems for abuse. Organizations can take steps
  to limit the impact and effectiveness of these techniques. For more
  in-depth recommendations see our     href="https://www.fireeye.com/content/dam/fireeye-www/current-threats/pdfs/wp-ransomware-protection-and-containment-strategies.pdf">ransomware
    protection white paper.


 
 

For more intelligence on ransomware and other threats, please
  register for     href="https://www.fireeye.com/mandiant/advantage.html">Mandiant
    Advantage Free, a no-cost version of our threat intelligence
  platform. Check out this episode of
    State of the
  Hack
for additional information on this threat.


 

Campaign Indicators


 


  Sample Email Subjects / Patterns


 
 


  Example Malware Family MD5s


 
 


  Code Signing Certificate CNs


 
 

UNC1878 Indicators


 

A significant proportion of the post-compromise activity associated
  with these campaigns has involved the distribution of RYUK ransomware
  by a threat group tracked by Mandiant as UNC1878. As such, we are
  releasing indicators associated with this group.


 


  BEACON C2s


 
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     
   
     


          First Seen


          Domain

12/11/19

        valign="top">

updatemanagir[.]us

12/20/19

        valign="top">

cmdupdatewin[.]com

12/26/19

        valign="top">

scrservallinst[.]info

1/10/20

        valign="top">

winsystemupdate[.]com

1/11/20

        valign="top">

jomamba[.]best

1/13/20

        valign="top">

updatewinlsass[.]com

1/16/20

        valign="top">

winsysteminfo[.]com

1/20/20

        valign="top">

livecheckpointsrs[.]com

1/21/20

        valign="top">

ciscocheckapi[.]com

1/28/20

        valign="top">

timesshifts[.]com

1/29/20

        valign="top">

cylenceprotect[.]com

1/30/20

        valign="top">

sophosdefence[.]com

1/30/20

        valign="top">

taskshedulewin[.]com

1/30/20

        valign="top">

windefenceinfo[.]com

1/30/20

        valign="top">

lsasswininfo[.]com

1/30/20

        valign="top">

update-wind[.]com

1/30/20

        valign="top">

lsassupdate[.]com

1/30/20

        valign="top">

renovatesystem[.]com

1/31/20

        valign="top">

updatewinsoftr[.]com

2/2/20

        valign="top">

cleardefencewin[.]com

2/2/20

        valign="top">

checkwinupdate[.]com

2/2/20

        valign="top">

havesetup[.]net

2/3/20

        valign="top">

update-wins[.]com

2/3/20

        valign="top">

conhostservice[.]com

2/4/20

        valign="top">

microsoftupdateswin[.]com

2/4/20

        valign="top">

iexploreservice[.]com

2/12/20

        valign="top">

avrenew[.]com

2/12/20

        valign="top">

target-support[.]online

2/12/20

        valign="top">

web-analysis[.]live

2/14/20

        valign="top">

freeallsafe[.]com

2/17/20

        valign="top">

windefens[.]com

2/17/20

        valign="top">

defenswin[.]com

2/17/20

        valign="top">

easytus[.]com

2/17/20

        valign="top">

greattus[.]com

2/17/20

        valign="top">

livetus[.]com

2/17/20

        valign="top">

comssite[.]com

2/17/20

        valign="top">

findtus[.]com

2/17/20

        valign="top">

bigtus[.]com

2/17/20

        valign="top">

aaatus[.]com

2/17/20

        valign="top">

besttus[.]com

2/17/20

        valign="top">

firsttus[.]com

2/17/20

        valign="top">

worldtus[.]com

2/26/20

        valign="top">

freeoldsafe[.]com

2/26/20

        valign="top">

serviceupdates[.]net

2/26/20

        valign="top">

topserviceupdater[.]com

2/27/20

        valign="top">

myserviceupdater[.]com

2/29/20

        valign="top">

myservicebooster[.]net

2/29/20

        valign="top">

servicesbooster[.]org

2/29/20

        valign="top">

brainschampions[.]com

2/29/20

        valign="top">

myservicebooster[.]com

2/29/20

        valign="top">

topservicesbooster[.]com

2/29/20

        valign="top">

servicesbooster[.]com

2/29/20

        valign="top">

topservicesecurity[.]org

2/29/20

        valign="top">

topservicesecurity[.]net

2/29/20

        valign="top">

topsecurityservice[.]net

2/29/20

        valign="top">

myyserviceupdater[.]com

2/29/20

        valign="top">

topservicesupdate[.]com

2/29/20

        valign="top">

topservicesecurity[.]com

2/29/20

        valign="top">

servicesecurity[.]org

2/29/20

        valign="top">

myserviceconnect[.]net

3/2/20

        valign="top">

topservicesupdates[.]com

3/2/20

        valign="top">

yoursuperservice[.]com

3/2/20

        valign="top">

topservicehelper[.]com

3/2/20

        valign="top">

serviceuphelper[.]com

3/2/20

        valign="top">

serviceshelpers[.]com

3/2/20

        valign="top">

boostsecuritys[.]com

3/3/20

        valign="top">

hakunamatatata[.]com

3/8/20

        valign="top">

service-updater[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

secondserviceupdater[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

twelvethserviceupdater[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

twentiethservicehelper[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

twelfthservicehelper[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

tenthservicehelper[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

thirdserviceupdater[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

thirdservicehelper[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

tenthserviceupdater[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

thirteenthservicehelper[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

seventeenthservicehelper[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

sixteenthservicehelper[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

sixthservicehelper[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

seventhservicehelper[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

seventhserviceupdater[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

sixthserviceupdater[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

secondservicehelper[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

ninthservicehelper[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

ninethserviceupdater[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

fourteenthservicehelper[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

fourthserviceupdater[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

firstserviceupdater[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

firstservisehelper[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

fifthserviceupdater[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

eleventhserviceupdater[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

fifthservicehelper[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

fourservicehelper[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

eighthservicehelper[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

eighteenthservicehelper[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

eighthserviceupdater[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

fifteenthservicehelper[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

nineteenthservicehelper[.]com

3/9/20

        valign="top">

eleventhservicehelper[.]com

3/14/20

        valign="top">

thirdservice-developer[.]com

3/14/20

        valign="top">

fifthservice-developer[.]com

3/15/20

        valign="top">

firstservice-developer[.]com

3/16/20

        valign="top">

fourthservice-developer[.]com

3/16/20

        valign="top">

ninethservice-developer[.]com

3/16/20

        valign="top">

seventhservice-developer[.]com

3/16/20

        valign="top">

secondservice-developer[.]com

3/16/20

        valign="top">

sixthservice-developer[.]com

3/16/20

        valign="top">

tenthservice-developer[.]com

3/16/20

        valign="top">

eithtservice-developer[.]com

3/17/20

        valign="top">

servicedupdater[.]com

3/17/20

        valign="top">

service-updateer[.]com

3/19/20

        valign="top">

sexyservicee[.]com

3/19/20

        valign="top">

serviceboostnumberone[.]com

3/19/20

        valign="top">

servicedbooster[.]com

3/19/20

        valign="top">

service-hunter[.]com

3/19/20

        valign="top">

servicedhunter[.]com

3/19/20

        valign="top">

servicedpower[.]com

3/19/20

        valign="top">

sexycservice[.]com

3/23/20

        valign="top">

yourserviceupdater[.]com

3/23/20

        valign="top">

top-serviceupdater[.]com

3/23/20

        valign="top">

top-servicebooster[.]com

3/23/20

        valign="top">

serviceshelps[.]com

3/23/20

        valign="top">

servicemonsterr[.]com

3/23/20

        valign="top">

servicehunterr[.]com

3/23/20

        valign="top">

service-helpes[.]com

3/23/20

        valign="top">

servicecheckerr[.]com

3/23/20

        valign="top">

newservicehelper[.]com

3/23/20

        valign="top">

huntersservice[.]com

3/23/20

        valign="top">

helpforyourservice[.]com

3/23/20

        valign="top">

boostyourservice[.]com

3/26/20

        valign="top">

developmasters[.]com

3/26/20

        valign="top">

actionshunter[.]com

5/4/20

        valign="top">

info-develop[.]com

5/4/20

        valign="top">

ayechecker[.]com

5/4/20

        valign="top">

service-booster[.]com

9/18/20

        valign="top">

zapored[.]com

9/22/20

        valign="top">

gtrsqer[.]com

9/22/20

        valign="top">

chalengges[.]com

9/22/20

        valign="top">

caonimas[.]com

9/22/20

        valign="top">

hakunaman[.]com

9/22/20

        valign="top">

getinformationss[.]com

9/22/20

        valign="top">

nomadfunclub[.]com

9/22/20

        valign="top">

harddagger[.]com

9/22/20

        valign="top">

errvghu[.]com

9/22/20

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reginds[.]com

9/22/20

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gameleaderr[.]com

9/22/20

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razorses[.]com

9/22/20

        valign="top">

vnuret[.]com

9/22/20

        valign="top">

regbed[.]com

9/22/20

        valign="top">

bouths[.]com

9/23/20

        valign="top">

ayiyas[.]com

9/23/20

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serviceswork[.]net

9/23/20

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moonshardd[.]com

9/23/20

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hurrypotter[.]com

9/23/20

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biliyilish[.]com

9/23/20

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blackhoall[.]com

9/23/20

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checkhunterr[.]com

9/23/20<