Headline
Ransomware Gangs Use LockBit's Fame to Intimidate Victims in Latest Attacks
Threat actors have been observed abusing Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) Transfer Acceleration feature as part of ransomware attacks designed to exfiltrate victim data and upload them to S3 buckets under their control. “Attempts were made to disguise the Golang ransomware as the notorious LockBit ransomware,” Trend Micro researchers Jaromir Horejsi and Nitesh Surana said. "However, such is
Threat actors have been observed abusing Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) Transfer Acceleration feature as part of ransomware attacks designed to exfiltrate victim data and upload them to S3 buckets under their control.
“Attempts were made to disguise the Golang ransomware as the notorious LockBit ransomware,” Trend Micro researchers Jaromir Horejsi and Nitesh Surana said. “However, such is not the case, and the attacker only seems to be capitalizing on LockBit’s notoriety to further tighten the noose on their victims.”
The ransomware artifacts have been found to embed hard-coded Amazon Web Services (AWS) credentials to facilitate data exfiltration to the cloud, a sign that adversaries are increasingly weaponizing popular cloud service providers for malicious schemes.
The AWS account used in the campaign is presumed to be either their own or compromised. Following responsible disclosure to the AWS security team, the identified AWS access keys and accounts have been suspended.
Trend Micro said it detected more than 30 samples with the AWS Access Key IDs and the Secret Access Keys embedded, signaling active development. The ransomware is capable of targeting both Windows and macOS systems.
It’s not exactly known how the cross-platform ransomware is delivered to a target host, but once it’s executed, it obtains the machine’s universal unique identifier (UUID) and carries out a series of steps to generate the master key required for encrypting the files.
The initialization step is followed by the attacker enumerating the root directories and encrypting files matching a specified list of extensions, but not before exfiltrating them to AWS via S3 Transfer Acceleration (S3TA) for faster data transfer.
“After the encryption, the file is renamed according to the following format: <original file name>.<initialization vector>.abcd,” the researchers said. “For instance, the file text.txt was renamed to text.txt.e5c331611dd7462f42a5e9776d2281d3.abcd.”
In the final stage, the ransomware changes the device’s wallpaper to display an image that mentions LockBit 2.0 in a likely attempt to compel victims into paying up.
“Threat actors might also disguise their ransomware sample as another more publicly known variant, and it is not difficult to see why: the infamy of high-profile ransomware attacks further pressures victims into doing the attacker’s bidding,” the researchers said.
The development comes as Gen Digital released a decryptor for a Mallox ransomware variant that was spotted in the wild from January 2023 through February 2024 by taking advantage of a flaw in the cryptographic schema.
“Victims of the ransomware may be able to restore their files for free if they were attacked by this particular Mallox variant,” researcher Ladislav Zezula said. “The crypto-flaw was fixed around March 2024, so it is no longer possible to decrypt data encrypted by the later versions of Mallox ransomware.”
It should be mentioned that an affiliate of the Mallox operation, also known as TargetCompany, has been discovered using a slightly modified version of the Kryptina ransomware – codenamed Mallox v1.0 – to breach Linux systems.
“The Kryptina-derived variants of Mallox are affiliate-specific and separate from other Linux variants of Mallox that have since emerged, an indication of how the ransomware landscape has evolved into a complex menagerie of cross-pollinated toolsets and non-linear codebases,” SentinelOne researcher Jim Walter noted late last month.
Ransomware continues to be a major threat, with 1,255 attacks claimed in the third quarter of 2024, down from 1,325 in the previous quarter, according to Symantec’s analysis of data pulled from ransomware leak sites.
Microsoft, in its Digital Defense Report for the one-year period from June 2023 to June 2024, said it observed a 2.75x increase year-over-year in human-operated ransomware-linked encounters, while the percentage of attacks reaching the actual encryption phase has decreased over the past two years by threefold.
Some of the major beneficiaries of LockBit’s decline following an international law enforcement operation targeting its infrastructure in February 2024 have been RansomHub, Qilin (aka Agenda), and Akira, the last of which has shifted back to double extortion tactics after briefly flirting with data exfiltration and extortion attacks alone in early 2024.
“During this period, we began to see Akira ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operators developing a Rust variant of their ESXi encryptor, iteratively building on the payload’s functions while moving away from C++ and experimenting with different programming techniques,” Talos said.
Attacks involving Akira have also leveraged compromised VPN credentials and newly disclosed security flaws to infiltrate networks, as well as escalate privileges and move laterally within compromised environments as part of efforts designed to establish a deeper foothold.
Some of the vulnerabilities exploited by Akira affiliates are listed below -
- CVE-2020-3259
- CVE-2023-20263
- CVE-2023-20269
- CVE-2023-27532
- CVE-2023-48788
- CVE-2024-37085
- CVE-2024-40711, and
- CVE-2024-40766
“Throughout 2024, Akira has targeted a significant number of victims, with a clear preference for organizations in the manufacturing and professional, scientific, and technical services sectors,” Talos researchers James Nutland and Michael Szeliga said.
“Akira may be transitioning from the use of the Rust-based Akira v2 variant and returning to previous TTPs using Windows and Linux encryptors written in C++.”
Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.
Related news
Credential theft was the main goal in 25% of incidents last quarter, and new ransomware variants made their appearance - read more about the top trends, TTPs, and security weaknesses that facilitated adversary actions.
As the Akira ransomware group continues to evolve its operations, Talos has the latest research on the group's attack chain, targeted verticals, and potential future TTPs.
As the Akira ransomware group continues to evolve its operations, Talos has the latest research on the group's attack chain, targeted verticals, and potential future TTPs.
As the Akira ransomware group continues to evolve its operations, Talos has the latest research on the group's attack chain, targeted verticals, and potential future TTPs.
As the Akira ransomware group continues to evolve its operations, Talos has the latest research on the group's attack chain, targeted verticals, and potential future TTPs.
As the Akira ransomware group continues to evolve its operations, Talos has the latest research on the group's attack chain, targeted verticals, and potential future TTPs.
As the Akira ransomware group continues to evolve its operations, Talos has the latest research on the group's attack chain, targeted verticals, and potential future TTPs.
As the Akira ransomware group continues to evolve its operations, Talos has the latest research on the group's attack chain, targeted verticals, and potential future TTPs.
As the Akira ransomware group continues to evolve its operations, Talos has the latest research on the group's attack chain, targeted verticals, and potential future TTPs.
Hi there! Here’s your quick update on the latest in cybersecurity. Hackers are using new tricks to break into systems we thought were secure—like finding hidden doors in locked houses. But the good news? Security experts are fighting back with smarter tools to keep data safe. Some big companies were hit with attacks, while others fixed their vulnerabilities just in time. It's a constant battle.
Threat actors are actively attempting to exploit a now-patched security flaw in Veeam Backup & Replication to deploy Akira and Fog ransomware. Cybersecurity vendor Sophos said it has been tracking a series of attacks in the past month leveraging compromised VPN credentials and CVE-2024-40711 to create a local account and deploy the ransomware. CVE-2024-40711, rated 9.8 out of 10.0 on the
The first patch lets threat actors with low-level credentials still exploit the vulnerability, while the second fully resolves the flaw.
With an immature codebase and a "rather chaotic encryption scheme" prone to failure, the group targets small businesses with custom malware.
The threat actor known as CosmicBeetle has debuted a new custom ransomware strain called ScRansom in attacks targeting small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America, while also likely working as an affiliate for RansomHub. "CosmicBeetle replaced its previously deployed ransomware, Scarab, with ScRansom, which is continually improved," ESET researcher Jakub
CISA has added CVE-2024-40766 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
SonicWall has revealed that a recently patched critical security flaw impacting SonicOS may have come under active exploitation, making it essential that users apply the patches as soon as possible. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2024-40766, carries a CVSS score of 9.3 out of a maximum of 10. "An improper access control vulnerability has been identified in the SonicWall SonicOS management
Veeam has shipped security updates to address a total of 18 security flaws impacting its software products, including five critical vulnerabilities that could result in remote code execution. The list of shortcomings is below - CVE-2024-40711 (CVSS score: 9.8) - A vulnerability in Veeam Backup & Replication that allows unauthenticated remote code execution. CVE-2024-42024 (CVSS score: 9.1
Threat actors linked to the RansomHub ransomware group encrypted and exfiltrated data from at least 210 victims since its inception in February 2024, the U.S. government said. The victims span various sectors, including water and wastewater, information technology, government services and facilities, healthcare and public health, emergency services, food and agriculture, financial services,
The threat actors behind the BlackByte ransomware group have been observed likely exploiting a recently patched security flaw impacting VMware ESXi hypervisors, while also leveraging various vulnerable drivers to disarm security protections. "The BlackByte ransomware group continues to leverage tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) that have formed the foundation of its tradecraft since its
In recent investigations, Talos Incident Response has observed the BlackByte ransomware group using techniques that depart from their established tradecraft. Read the full analysis.
SonicWall has released security updates to address a critical flaw impacting its firewalls that, if successfully exploited, could grant malicious actors unauthorized access to the devices. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2024-40766 (CVSS score: 9.3), has been described as an improper access control bug. "An improper access control vulnerability has been identified in the SonicWall SonicOS
With sufficient privileges in Active Directory, attackers only have to create an "ESX Admins" group in the targeted domain and add a user to it.
A recently patched security flaw impacting VMware ESXi hypervisors has been actively exploited by "several" ransomware groups to gain elevated permissions and deploy file-encrypting malware. The attacks involve the exploitation of CVE-2024-37085 (CVSS score: 6.8), an Active Directory integration authentication bypass that allows an attacker to obtain administrative access to the host. "A
Although there was a decrease in BEC engagements from last quarter, it was still a major threat for the second quarter in a row.
A now-patched security flaw in Veeam Backup & Replication software is being exploited by a nascent ransomware operation known as EstateRansomware. Singapore-headquartered Group-IB, which discovered the threat actor in early April 2024, said the modus operandi involved the exploitation of CVE-2023-27532 (CVSS score: 7.5) to carry out the malicious activities. Initial access to the target
Within BEC attacks, adversaries will send phishing emails appearing to be from a known or reputable source making a valid request, such as updating payroll direct deposit information.
A remote SQL injection vulnerability exists in FortiNet FortiClient EMS (Endpoint Management Server) versions 7.2.0 through 7.2.2 and 7.0.1 through 7.0.10. FortiClient EMS serves as an endpoint management solution tailored for enterprises, offering a centralized platform for overseeing enrolled endpoints. The SQL injection vulnerability is due to user controller strings which can be sent directly into database queries. FcmDaemon.exe is the main service responsible for communicating with enrolled clients. By default it listens on port 8013 and communicates with FCTDas.exe which is responsible for translating requests and sending them to the database. In the message header of a specific request sent between the two services, the FCTUID parameter is vulnerable to SQL injection. It can be used to enable the xp_cmdshell which can then be used to obtain unauthenticated remote code execution in the context of NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM. Upgrading to either 7.2.3, 7.0.11 or above is recommended by Fo...
Hello everyone! In this episode, I will talk about the February updates of my open source projects, also about projects at my main job at Positive Technologies and interesting vulnerabilities. Alternative video link (for Russia): https://vk.com/video-149273431_456239140 Let’s start with my open source projects. Vulremi A simple vulnerability remediation utility, Vulremi, now has a logo and […]
The threat actors associated with the Medusa ransomware have ramped up their activities following the debut of a dedicated data leak site on the dark web in February 2023 to publish sensitive data of victims who are unwilling to agree to their demands. “As part of their multi-extortion strategy, this group will provide victims with multiple options when their data is posted on their
Categories: Threat Intelligence In September, two high-profile casino breaches taught us about the nuances of the RaaS affiliate landscape, the asymmetric dangers of phishing, and of two starkly different approaches to ransomware negotiation. (Read more...) The post Ransomware review: October 2023 appeared first on Malwarebytes Labs.
Plus: Mozilla patches 10 Firefox bugs, Cisco fixes a vulnerability with a rare maximum severity score, and SAP releases updates to stamp out three highly critical flaws.
A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco HyperFlex HX Data Platform could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to redirect a user to a malicious web page. This vulnerability is due to improper input validation of the parameters in an HTTP request. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by persuading a user to click a crafted link. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to redirect a user to a malicious website.
A vulnerability in the remote access VPN feature of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to conduct a brute force attack in an attempt to identify valid username and password combinations or an authenticated, remote attacker to establish a clientless SSL VPN session with an unauthorized user. This vulnerability is due to improper separation of authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) between the remote access VPN feature and the HTTPS management and site-to-site VPN features. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by specifying a default connection profile/tunnel group while conducting a brute force attack or while establishing a clientless SSL VPN session using valid credentials. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to achieve one or both of the following: Identify valid credentials that could then be used to establish an unauthorized remote a...
Microsoft on Thursday disclosed that it found a new version of the BlackCat ransomware (aka ALPHV and Noberus) that embeds tools like Impacket and RemCom to facilitate lateral movement and remote code execution. "The Impacket tool has credential dumping and remote service execution modules that could be used for broad deployment of the BlackCat ransomware in target environments," the company's
The notorious cybercrime group known as FIN7 has been observed deploying Cl0p (aka Clop) ransomware, marking the threat actor's first ransomware campaign since late 2021. Microsoft, which detected the activity in April 2023, is tracking the financially motivated actor under its new taxonomy Sangria Tempest. "In these recent attacks, Sangria Tempest uses the PowerShell script POWERTRASH to load
Microsoft has confirmed that the active exploitation of PaperCut servers is linked to attacks designed to deliver Cl0p and LockBit ransomware families. The tech giant's threat intelligence team is attributing a subset of the intrusions to a financially motivated actor it tracks under the name Lace Tempest (formerly DEV-0950), which overlaps with other hacking groups like FIN11, TA505, and Evil
Vulnerability in Veeam Backup & Replication component allows encrypted credentials stored in the configuration database to be obtained. This may lead to gaining access to the backup infrastructure hosts.