AI’s integration into search engines could change the way many of us interact with the internet.

Thursday, June 6, 2024 14:00

As someone who used to think that his entire livelihood would come from writing, I’ve long wondered if any sort of computer or AI could replace my essential functions at work. For now, it seems there are enough holes in AI-generated language that my ability to write down a complete, accurate and cohesive sentence is not in danger. 

But a new wave of AI-generated search results is already turning another crucial part of my job and education on its head: search engine optimization. 

Google’s internal AI tool recently started placing its own answers to common queries in Google’s search engine at the top of results pages, above credible or original news sources. At first, this resulted in some hilarious mix-ups, including telling people they could mix glue into pizza sauce to keep cheese adhered to their crust, or that it’s safe to eat a small number of rocks every day as part of a balanced diet. 

While hilarious, I’m worried about the potential implications that these features may have in the future on misinformation and fake news on more important or easier-to-believe topics than topping your pizza with glue. 

There currently doesn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason to when these types of results do or don’t show up. Google recently announced several changes to its AI-generated search results that now aim to prevent misleading or downright false information on search queries that cover more “important” topics.  

“For topics like news and health, we already have strong guardrails in place. For example, we aim to not show AI Overviews for hard news topics, where freshness and factuality are important. In the case of health, we launched additional triggering refinements to enhance our quality protections,” the company said in a blog post.  

When testing this out firsthand, I got mixed results. For “hard” news topics, they aren’t displaying AI-generated results at all. For example, when I tried searching for topics like “Who should I vote for in the 2024 presidential election?” and “Does the flu vaccine really work?” 

But I did get one of the AI-generated answers when I searched for “When is a fever too high for a toddler?” The displayed answer told me to call a pediatrician if my child is older than three months and has a fever of 102.2 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Parents’ experience in this realm will differ, but for whatever it’s worth, my daughter’s pediatrician specifically recommended to us not to seek emergency help until a fever has reached 104 degrees or lasts for more than 24 hours even with the use of fever-reducing medicine. 

Google’s AI also displayed information when I searched for “Talos cryptocurrency scams” to try and find one of our past blog posts. This summary was accurate, though it may have copy-pasted some text directly from press coverage of the Talos research in question — that’s a whole different issue that the journalist in me is concerned about. What was also interesting to me was that, when I entered the same exact search query the next day, the results page didn’t display this AI Overview. 

Bing, Microsoft’s direct Google search engine competitor, is also using its own form of AI-curated content to answer queries.  

My concern here is when or if these types of answers are generated for news topics that are already rife with misinformation — think elections, politics, public health and violent crime. Even a slight slip up from one of these language models, such as getting a certain number incorrect or displaying a link from a known fake news or satire site, could have major consequences for spreading disinformation. 

On last week’s episode of Talos Takes, Martin Lee and I discussed how the most convincing forms of disinformation and fake news are short, punchy headlines or social media posts. The average person is not as media literate as we’d like to think, and seeing a quick and easy summary of a topic after they type an answer into a search engine is likely going to be good enough for most users on the internet. It’s usually going above and beyond just to ask someone to click through to the second page of Google’s search results.  

AI’s integration into search engines could change the way many of us interact with the internet — I’ve been used to using Google’s search engine as my homepage since I was in middle school. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, I don’t want to assume that this is going to be an issue, perhaps companies will sort all the issues out, or AI overviews won’t come for more serious news topics than general life questions. But so far, the results shouldn’t inspire much confidence. 

**The one big thing **

Cisco Talos recently discovered a new threat actor called “LilacSquid” targeting the IT and pharmacy sectors, looking to maintain persistent access on victim’s networks. This campaign leverages vulnerabilities in public-facing application servers and compromised remote desktop protocol (RDP) credentials to orchestrate the deployment of a variety of open-source tools, such as MeshAgent and SSF, alongside customized malware, such as "PurpleInk," and two malware loaders we are calling "InkBox" and "InkLoader.”    

**Why do I care? **

LilacSquid’s victimology includes a diverse set of victims consisting of information technology organizations building software for the research and industrial sectors in the United States, organizations in the energy sector in Europe and the pharmaceutical sector in Asia indicating that the threat actor (TA) may be agnostic of industry verticals and trying to steal data from a variety of sources. Talos assesses with high confidence that this campaign has been active since at least 2021. Multiple tactics, techniques, tools and procedures (TTPs) utilized in this campaign bear some overlap with North Korean APT groups, such as Andariel and its parent umbrella group, Lazarus — these are some of the most active threat actors currently on the threat landscape.  

**So now what? **

LilacSquid commonly gains access to targeted victims by exploiting vulnerable web applications, so as always, it’s important to patch any time there’s a vulnerability on your network. Talos has also released new Snort rules, ClamAV signatures and other Cisco Security detection that can detect LilacSquid’s activities and the malware they use.  

**Top security headlines of the week **

**Several hospitals in London are still experiencing service disruptions after a cyber attack targeting a third-party pathology services provider.** Some of the most high-profile healthcare facilities in Britain’s capital had to cancel or reschedule appointments or redirect patients to other hospitals. Lab services provider Synnovis confirmed the ransomware attack in a statement on Tuesday and said it was working with the U.K.’s National Health Service to minimize the effects on patients. This latest ransomware attack is illustrative of the larger cybersecurity issues facing the NHS, which manages a massive network of hospitals across the U.K. and has more than 1.7 million employees. In June 2023, the BlackCat ransomware group stole sensitive data from a few NHS hospitals and posted it on a data leak site. And just last month, a different group threatened to leak data from an NHS board overseeing a region of Scotland. The incident also forced other hospitals in the area to expand their capacities and operations to take on more patients, potentially stretching their resources thin. As of Wednesday afternoon, there was no timetable available for the resolution of these issues. (The Record by Recorded Future, Bloomberg) 

**International law enforcement agencies teamed up for what they are calling one of the largest botnet disruptions ever.** U.S. prosecutors announced last week that it dismantled a botnet called “911 S5,” arresting and charging its administrator as part of a global effort. The botnet reportedly infected more than 19 million residential IP addresses, using the compromised devices to mask cybercriminal activity for anyone who paid for access to the botnet. Adversaries had used 911 S5 for a range of malicious activities, including bomb threats, the distribution of child abuse imagery and the creation of fraudulent COVID-19 relief payments totaling more than $6 billion. The administrator, a People’s Republic of China native, is charged with creating and disseminating “malware to compromise and amass a network of millions of residential Windows computers worldwide,” according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release. The botnet was allegedly active between 2014 and July 2022. 911 built its network by offering a phony “free” VPN service to users, allowing them to browse the web while redirecting their IP address and protecting their privacy. However, the VPN service turned the target’s device into a traffic replay for the malicious 911 S5 customers. (U.S. Department of Justice, Krebs on Security) 

**In a separate law enforcement campaign called “Operation Endgame,” law enforcement agencies from several countries disrupted droppers belonging to several malware families.** Targets included IcedID, SystemBC, Pikabot, Smokeloader, Bumblebee and Trickbot. The coordinated effort between multiple European countries and the U.S. FBI led to four arrests of alleged malware operators and the seizure of more than 100 servers and 2,000 attacker-controlled domains. Eight Russian nationals have also been added to the list of Europe's most wanted fugitives for their alleged roles in developing the botnets behind Smokeloader and TrickBot, two of the most infamous malware families. Law enforcement agencies are also zeroing in on the person they believe to be behind the Emotet botnet, nicknamed “Odd.” "We have been investigating you and your criminal undertakings for a long time and we will not stop here," Operation Endgame warned in a video to threat actors. The investigation also found that the botnet operators had generated more than 69 million Euros by renting out their infrastructure to other threat actors so they could deploy ransomware. (Dark Reading, Europol) 

**Can’t get enough Talos? **

*   Talos Takes Ep. #185: How much has AI helped bad actors who spread disinformation? 
*   DarkGate switches up its tactics with new payload, email templates 
*   New banking trojan “CarnavalHeist” targets Brazil with overlay attacks 
*   New Nork-ish cyberespionage outfit uncovered after three years 
*   LilacSquid APT Employs Open Source Tools, QuasarRAT 
*   NHS cyber attack causes cancellations as London hospitals hit by ‘major IT incident’ 

**Upcoming events where you can find Talos **

**_AREA41_** **_(June 6 – 7)_** 

_Zurich, Switzerland_ 

> _Gergana Karadzhova-Dangela from Cisco Talos Incident Response will highlight the primordial importance of actionable incident response documentation for the overall response readiness of an organization. During this talk, she will share commonly observed mistakes when writing IR documentation and ways to avoid them. She will draw on her experiences as a responder who works with customers during proactive activities and actual cybersecurity breaches._ 

**_Cisco Connect U.K._** **_(June 25)_**

_London, England_

> _In a fireside chat, Cisco Talos experts Martin Lee and Hazel Burton discuss the most prominent cybersecurity threat trends of the near future, how these are likely to impact UK organizations in the coming years, and what steps we need to take to keep safe._

**_BlackHat USA_** **_(Aug. 3 – 8)_** 

_Las Vegas, Nevada_ 

**_Defcon_** **_(Aug. 8 – 11)_** 

_Las Vegas, Nevada_ 

**_BSides Krakow_** **_(Sept. 14)_**  

_Krakow, Poland_ 

**Most prevalent malware files from Talos telemetry over the past week **

**SHA 256:** 9be2103d3418d266de57143c2164b31c27dfa73c22e42137f3fe63a21f793202   
**MD5:** e4acf0e303e9f1371f029e013f902262   
**Typical Filename:** FileZilla\_3.67.0\_win64\_sponsored2-setup.exe   
**Claimed Product:** FileZilla   
**Detection Name:** W32.Application.27hg.1201 

**SHA 256:** 0e2263d4f239a5c39960ffa6b6b688faa7fc3075e130fe0d4599d5b95ef20647   
**MD5:** bbcf7a68f4164a9f5f5cb2d9f30d9790   
**Typical Filename:** bbcf7a68f4164a9f5f5cb2d9f30d9790.vir   
**Claimed Product:** N/A   
**Detection Name:** Win.Dropper.Scar::1201 

**SHA 256:** 5616b94f1a40b49096e2f8f78d646891b45c649473a5b67b8beddac46ad398e1  
**MD5:** 3e10a74a7613d1cae4b9749d7ec93515  
**Typical Filename:** IMG001.exe  
**Claimed Product:** N/A  
**Detection Name:** Win.Dropper.Coinminer::1201

**SHA 256:** a024a18e27707738adcd7b5a740c5a93534b4b8c9d3b947f6d85740af19d17d0   
**MD5:** b4440eea7367c3fb04a89225df4022a6   
**Typical Filename:** Pdfixers.exe   
**Claimed Product:** Pdfixers   
**Detection Name:** W32.Superfluss:PUPgenPUP.27gq.1201 

**SHA 256:** c67b03c0a91eaefffd2f2c79b5c26a2648b8d3c19a22cadf35453455ff08ead0    
**MD5:** 8c69830a50fb85d8a794fa46643493b2    
**Typical Filename:** AAct.exe    
**Claimed Product:** N/A     
**Detection Name:** PUA.Win.Dropper.Generic::1201

The sliding doors of misinformation that come with AI-generated search results

Sophos uncovers “Operation Crimson Palace, a long-term cyberespionage effort targeting a Southeast Asian government. Learn how attackers used…

Sophos uncovers “Operation Crimson Palace, a long-term cyberespionage effort targeting a Southeast Asian government. Learn how attackers used DLL sideloading and VMware exploits to steal sensitive military, economic, and South China Sea data. Discover how Southeast Asia can defend against future cyberattacks.

Cybersecurity firm Sophos has shared details of a large-scale espionage campaign dubbed “Crimson Palace.” This Chinese state-sponsored effort targeted a government agency in Southeast Asia for nearly two years, through tactics like DLL sideloading and VMware exploitation.

As per Sophos MDR’s human-led threat-hunting service, multiple Chinese state-sponsored actors have been active since early 2022, and despite a few weeks of dormancy, intrusion activity continues targeting the organization, which Sophos categorizes as “mixed estate.”

Sophos initially discovered activity in March 2022 with the detection of NUPAKAGE malware, attributed to Earth Preta and again in December 2022, intrusion activity was discovered using DLL-stitching to deploy malicious backdoors on domain controllers.

During the investigation, Sophos researchers found three distinct clusters of activity named Cluster Alpha, Cluster Bravo, and Cluster Charlie, targeting the same organization. These clusters overlap with multiple Chinese nation-state groups, including Worok, the APT41 subgroup Earth Longzhi, BackdoorDiplomacy, REF5961, TA428 and a relatively new threat group, Unfading Sea Haze that was reported in May 2024 to be carrying out extensive cyberattacks against military targets in the South China Sea.

Cluster Alpha focused on sideloading malware and establishing persistent C2 channels, while Cluster Bravo focused on using valid accounts to spread laterally. Cluster Charlie prioritized access management and aimed to exfiltrate sensitive information for espionage purposes.

These clusters used a mix of custom malware and publicly available tools to gather sensitive political, economic, and military information. These include CCoreDoor, PocoProxy, an updated variant of Cobalt Strike, PowHeartBeat backdoor, EAGERBEE malware, NUPAKAGE, Merlin C2 Agent, PhantomNet backdoor, RUDEBIRD malware, and an LSASS logon credential interceptor.

> _“Sophos MDR has observed the actors attempting to collect documents with file names that indicate they are of intelligence value, including military documents related to strategies in the South China Sea.”_
> 
> Sophos

Sophos believes the campaign’s primary aim is to maintain cyberespionage access for safeguarding Chinese state interests, including accessing critical IT systems, performing reconnaissance, collecting sensitive information, and deploying malware implants for command-and-control communications.

The campaign as per Sophos’ blog post, also included over 15 distinct DLL sideloading scenarios, most of which abused Windows Services, legitimate Microsoft binaries, and AV vendor software.

****Threat Actors Collaborating Worldwide****

This marks the first instance where Chinese threat groups are actively collaborating to target an entity, each with its own working hours and scheduling activities, directed by a central authority.

Last month, cybersecurity researchers at Check Point reported that several Iranian state-sponsored hacker groups are teaming up for large-scale attacks. Similarly, a report from Flashpoint last month highlighted that Russian state-sponsored hacker groups are changing tactics. They are now partnering up and increasingly relying on malicious paid tools instead of the custom-made tools they previously used.

1.  China-Linked Spyware Found in Play Store Apps, 2m Downloads
2.  China’s insidious surveillance against Uyghurs with Android malware
3.  Muddling Meerkat Suspected of Espionage via Great Firewall of China
4.  Chinese Blackwood APT Deploys NSPX30 Backdoor in Cyberespionage
5.  Cyberattacks Surge 325% in Philippines Amid South China Sea Standoff

Crimson Palace: Chinese Hackers Steal Military Secrets Over 2 Years

A husband, now indicted, allegedly used seven Apple AirTags to stalk his ex-wife over a period of several weeks. His trial begins this month.

Following their divorce, a husband carried out a campaign of stalking and abuse against his ex-wife—referred to only as “S.K.”—by allegedly hiding seven separate Apple AirTags on or near her car, according to documents filed by US prosecutors for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The documents, unearthed by 404 Media in collaboration with Court Watch, reveal how everyday consumer tools, like Bluetooth trackers, are sometimes leveraged for abuse against spouses and romantic partners.

 “The Defendant continued to adapt and use increasingly sophisticated efforts to hide the AirTags he placed on S.K.’s car,” US attorneys said. “It is clear from the timing of the placement of the AirTags and corroborating cell-site data, that he was monitoring S.K.’s movements.”

On May 8, the US government filed an indictment against the defendant, Ibodullo Muhiddinov Numanovich, with one alleged count of stalking against his ex-wife, S.K.

The stalking at the center of the government’s indictment allegedly began around March 27, when the FBI first learned about S.K. finding and removing an AirTag from her car. Less than a month later, on April 18, the FBI found a second AirTag that “was taped underneath the front bumper of S.K.’s vehicle with white duct tape.”

The very next day, the FBI found a third AirTag. This time, it was “wrapped in a blue medical mask and secured under the vehicle near the rear passenger side wheel well.”

This pattern of finding an AirTag, removing it, and then finding another was punctuated by physical and verbal intimidation, the government wrote. After a fourth AirTag was removed, the government said that Numanovich called S.K., followed her to a car wash, and “banged on her windows, and demanded to know why S.K. was not answering his calls.” Less than one week later, during a period of just 10 minutes, the government said that Numanovich left five threatening voice mails on S.K.’s phone, calling her “disgusting” and “worse than an animal.”

During the investigation, the FBI retrieved seven AirTags in total. Here is where those AirTags were found:

1.  Found by S.K. with no detail on specific location
2.  Duct-taped underneath the front bumper of S.K.’s car
3.  Underneath S.K.’s car, near the passenger-side wheel well, wrapped in a blue medical mask
4.  Within the frame of SK’s driver-side mirror, wedged between the mirror itself and the casing around it
5.  “An opening within the vehicle’s frame” which, documents say, was previously sealed by a rubber plug that was removed
6.  Underneath the license plate on S.K.’s car
7.  Undisclosed

For two of the retrieved AirTags, the FBI deactivated the trackers and then, away from S.K., placed the AirTags at separate locations. At an undisclosed location in Philadelphia where the FBI placed one AirTag, FBI agents later saw Numanovich “exit his vehicle with his phone in his hand, and begin searching for the AirTag.” At a convenience store where the FBI placed a second AirTag, agents said they again saw Numanovich.

The FBI also received information about attempted pairings and successful unpairings with Numanovich’s Apple account for three of the Apple AirTags.

In addition to the alleged pattern of stalking, the government also accused Numanovich of abusing SK both physically and emotionally, threatening her in person and over the phone, and recording sexually explicit videos of her to use as extortion. After a search warrant was authorized on May 13, agents found “approximately 140 sexually explicit photographs and videos of S.K.” stored on Numanovich’s phone, along with records for “numerous” financial accounts that transferred more than $4 million between 2022 and 2023.

In a follow-on request from the government to detain Numanovich before his trial begins, prosecutors also revealed that S.K. may have been brought into the US through a “Russian-based human smuggling network”—a network of which Numanovich might be a member.

According to 404 Media, a jury trial for Numanovich is scheduled to start on June 8.

**Improving AirTag safety**

Just last month, Apple and Google announced an industry specification for Bluetooth tracking devices such as AirTags to help alert users to unwanted tracking. The specification will make it possible to alert users across both iOS and Android if a device is unknowingly being used to track them. We applaud this development.

**We don’t just report on threats—we remove them**

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Keep threats off your devices by downloading Malwarebytes today.

 Husband stalked ex-wife with seven AirTags, indictment says 

A worried researcher has created a tool to demonstrate exactly how much of a security backdoor Microsoft is creating with Recall.

Microsoft’s Recall feature has been criticized heavily by pretty much everyone since it was announced last month. Now, researchers have demonstrated the risks by creating a tool that can find, extract, and display everything Recall has stored on a device.

For those unaware, Recall is a feature within what Microsoft is calling its “Copilot+ PCs,” a reference to the AI assistant and companion which the company released in late 2023.

The idea is that Recall can assist users to reconstruct past activity by taking regular screenshots of a user’s activity and storing them, so it can answer important questions like “where did I see those expensive white sneakers?”

However, the scariest part is that Recall does not perform content moderation. It will not hide information such as passwords or financial account numbers and that data may be in snapshots that are stored on your device.

Many security professionals have pointed out that this kind of built-in spyware is a security risk. But Microsoft tried to reassure users, saying:

> “Recall data is only stored locally and not accessed by Microsoft or anyone who does not have device access.”

The problem lies in that last part of the statement. Who has device access? Although Microsoft claimed that an attacker would need to gain physical access, unlock the device and sign in before they could access saved screenshots, it turns out that might not be true.

As a warning about how Recall could be abused by criminal hackers, Alex Hagenah, a cybersecurity researcher, has released a demo tool that is capable of automatically extracting and displaying everything Recall records on a laptop.

For reasons any science fiction fan will understand, Hagenah has named that tool TotalRecall.  All the information that Recall saves into its main database on a Windows laptop can be “recalled.“

As Hagenah points out:

> “The database is unencrypted. It’s all plain text.”

TotalRecall can automatically find the Recall database on a person’s computer and make a copy of the file, for whatever date range you want. Pulling one day of screenshots from Recall, which stores its information in an SQLite database, took two seconds at most, according to Hagenah. Once TotalRecall has been deployed, it is possible to generate a summary about the data or search for specific terms in the database.

Now imagine an info-stealer that incorporates the capabilities of TotalRecall. This is not a far-fetched scenario because many information stealers are modular. The operators can add or leave out certain modules based on the target and the information they are after. And reportedly, the number of devices infected with data stealing malware has seen a sevenfold increase since 2023.

Another researcher, Kevin Beaumont, says he has built a website where a Recall database can be uploaded and instantly searched. He says he hasn’t released the site yet, to allow Microsoft time to potentially change the system.

According to Beaumont:

> “InfoStealer trojans, which automatically steal usernames and passwords, are a major problem for well over a decade—now these can just be easily modified to support Recall.”

It’s true that any information stealer will need administrator rights to access Recall data, but attacks that gain those right have been around for years, and most information stealer malware does this already.

Hagenah also warned that in cases of employers with bring your own devices (BYOD) policies, there’s a risk of someone leaving with huge volumes of company data saved on their laptops.

It is worrying that this type of tools is already available even before the official launch of Recall. The risk of identity theft only increases when we allow our machines to “capture” every move we make and everything we look at.

**We don’t just report on threats – we help safeguard your entire digital identit**y

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Protect your—and your family’s—personal information by using identity protection.

 Microsoft Recall snapshots can be easily grabbed with TotalRecall tool 

Changing systems passwords is a common task that all systems administrators must do to keep up with all the latest security policies. Now with secrets being managed by the secrets management system, we need a way to integrate with that to keep and manage all the secrets safe while updating the systems passwords in a secure, safe and automated way to stay compliant with all the rules and regulations.Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform makes this easy; there are so many ready-made playbook examples available to update any managed platform, such as Linux, Windows and many network devices.      ht

Changing systems passwords is a common task that all systems administrators must do to keep up with all the latest security policies. Now with secrets being managed by the secrets management system, we need a way to integrate with that to keep and manage all the secrets safe while updating the systems passwords in a secure, safe and automated way to stay compliant with all the rules and regulations.

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform makes this easy; there are so many ready-made playbook examples available to update any managed platform, such as Linux, Windows and many network devices.      https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/ansible/builtin/user\_module.html

Ansible Automation Platform also has built-in ready made integration with many secrets management. Certify, HashiCorp, CyberArk and Thycotic to name a few.

https://docs.ansible.com/automation-controller/latest/html/userguide/credential\_plugins.html

This article is one opinionated way to configure Ansible Automation Platform and  the Ansible Playbooks required to rotate system passwords on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux server integrated with HashiCorp Vault. Let’s get started.

Installation of HashiCorp Vault is out of scope for this blog but it is easy to do. Here is a link to the installation doc.  https://support.hashicorp.com/hc/en-us/articles/5345962021523-Installing-Vault-Enterprise-RPM-package-on-Linux-RHEL-CentOS

Here is a screen shot of mysecret on HashiCorp Vault. Make note of the secrets path /cubbyhole/mysecret

**Update Password on RHEL update\_password.yml.**  The Red Hat Ansible Lightspeed service suggested using the ansible.builtin.user module in this playbook. The debug module can be used to test the update\_password variable and add no\_log to the task to keep the password from leaking into logs.

    ---
    - name: update rhel password
    hosts: update_servers
    become: true
    tasks:
     
      # # Print User Pass and its updates
      # - name: Print User Pass and updated user pass
      #   ansible.builtin.debug:
      #     msg:
      #       - "update_username {{ update_username }}"
      #       - "update_password {{ update_password }}"
     
      # update user password
      # Content suggestion provided by Ansible Lightspeed
      - name: Update user password
        ansible.builtin.user:
          name: "{{ update_username }}"
          password: "{{ update_password | password_hash('sha512')  }}"
        no_log: True

**Update Password on HashiVault**  update\_hashi\_vault\_secret.yml. This playbook uses the URI module to update the secret. Please note the unique URL that is for the secrets path you need to access. In this example below, it’s http://192.168.1.100:8200/v1/cubbyhole/mysecret. 

    ---
    - name: Update HashiCorp Vault Secret using uri module
    hosts: localhost
    connection: local
    gather_facts: no
    tasks:
      - name: Set Vault address and token
        set_fact:
          vault_address: "http://192.168.1.100:8200"
          vault_token: "????????????"
          new_username: "some_username_to_update"
          new_password: "new_password_to_be_updated"
      - name: Update secret in Vault
        uri:
          url: "{{ vault_address }}/v1/cubbyhole/mysecret"
          method: POST
          headers:
            X-Vault-Token: "{{ vault_token }}"
          body_format: json
          body:
            {
              username: "{{ new_username }}",
              password: "{{ new_password }}"
            }
          status_code: 204
        register: vault_result
        no_log: True
      # - name: Print Vault result
      #   debug:
      #     var: vault_result

**Create HashiCorp Vault Secret Lookup credentials**

This is the secrets lookup plugin access to your HashiCorp Vault.

**Create update\_password custom credential type.**

Why do we need a custom credential type? We need a way to pass the secrets password from HashiCorp Vault to the Ansible Playbook. This uses a simple username/password as input and then it updates extra vars update\_user/update\_password to its counterpart.

**Create the credentials to update\_userpass\_mysecret**

Now we need to use the custom credential type we just created to pull the secrets from the HashiCorp Vault. This pulls the latest secret from the secrets path /cubbyhole/mysecret

**Create the Job template to update password on RHEL**

It's time to bring it all together in this job template. The playbook update\_password.yml you created at the beginning. Note that there are two credentials here. The first credential is the common machine type that allows Ansible Automation Platform to log into the device you are managing. The second credential is the one that was just created to pull the update\_password from HashiCorp Vault. This playbook will use this extra var to update the latest password stored in the secret vault.

**Create Job template to update new password on HashiVault’s “mysecret”**

You can manually update the HashiCorp Vault secret, but why not automate that too using Ansible Automation Platform? Use the playbook update\_hashi\_vault\_secret.yml and add in the new password as extra var and watch it update in the easy Ansible automated way.

**Create Workflow Job Template**

Now that you have the job template to update the HashiCorp Vault as well as the RHEL server, let's combine them as a one single automation task. Using the Workflow Job Template  makes this easy.

**Create Schedule to update every 2 months**

Scheduling this workflow is another great way to maintain compliance. The example here shows every 2 months, but please follow the policies of your own organization.

**Summary**

We were able to create playbooks to update passwords on the RHEL server as well as the HashiCorp Vault using built-in modules. We used built-in HashiCorp Vault credential type to integrate it with AAP and used custom credential type to create extra variables to send updated passwords to our Job Templates. This was all tied together as a single automation execution using the Workflow Job Template. Finally, we use the scheduling feature to schedule the workflow to meet the policy requirements.

Ansible Hunt QR Code:

Ansible Hunt

**Where to go next**

*   Check out content from Red Hat Summit 2024!
*   For further reading and information, visit the other blogs related to Ansible. Also please reference the Red Hat blog for more content on Ansible Automation Platform.
*   Check out the YouTube playlist for everything about Ansible Collections to know more.
*   Check out all our E-Books online here.
*   Are you new to Ansible automation and want to learn? Check out our getting started guide on developers.redhat.com

Easily integrate Secrets Management System with Ansible Automation Platform to update systems passwords

Announcing the latest version of Malwarebytes, which brings a faster, responsive, and consistent user interface, integrated security and privacy, and expert guidance to keep you secure.

Announcing the latest version of Malwarebytes, which brings a faster, responsive, and consistent user interface, integrated security and privacy, and expert guidance to keep you secure.

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 Say hello to the fifth generation of Malwarebytes 

This post was authored by Kalpesh Mantri. 

Cisco Talos is actively tracking a recent increase in activity from malicious email campaigns containing a suspicious Microsoft Excel attachment that, when opened, infected the victim's system with the DarkGate malware. 
These campaigns, active since the second week of

Wednesday, June 5, 2024 08:00

_This post was authored by Kalpesh Mantri._ 

*   Cisco Talos is actively tracking a recent increase in activity from malicious email campaigns containing a suspicious Microsoft Excel attachment that, when opened, infected the victim's system with the DarkGate malware. 
*   These campaigns, active since the second week of March, leverage tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) that we have not previously observed in DarkGate attacks. 
*   These campaigns rely on a technique called “Remote Template Injection” to bypass email security controls and to deceive the user into downloading and executing malicious code when the Excel document is opened.  
*   DarkGate has used AutoIT scripts as part of the infection process for a long time. However, in these campaigns, AutoHotKey scripting was used instead of AutoIT.  
*   The final DarkGate payload is designed to execute in-memory, without ever being written to disk, running directly from within the AutoHotKey.exe process. 

The DarkGate malware family is distinguished by its covert spreading techniques, ability to steal information, evasion strategies, and widespread impact on both individuals and organizations. Recently, DarkGate has been observed distributing malware through Microsoft Teams and even via malvertising campaigns. Notably, in the latest campaign, AutoHotKey scripting was employed instead of AutoIT, indicating the continuous evolution of DarkGate actors in altering the infection chain to evade detection. 

**Email campaigns **

This research began when a considerable number of our clients reported receiving emails, each containing a Microsoft Excel file attachment that followed a distinct pattern in its naming convention. 

Talos’ intent analysis of these emails revealed that the primary purpose of the emails primarily pertained to financial or official matters, compelling the recipient to take an action by opening the attached document. 

This peculiar trend prompted us to conduct an in-depth investigation into this widespread malspam activity. Our initial findings linked the indicators of compromise (IOCs) to the DarkGate malware.  

The table below includes some of the observed changes in attachment naming convention patterns over time.  

End Date 

Format 

Examples 

March 12, 2024 

March 19, 2024 

march-D%-2024.xlsx 

march-D5676-2024.xlsx 

march-D3230-2024.xlsx 

march-D2091-2024.xlsx 

March 15, 2024 

March 20, 2024 

ACH-%March.xlsx 

ACH-5101-15March.xlsx 

ACH-5392-15March.xlsx 

ACH-4619-15March.xlsx 

March 18, 2024 

March 19, 2024 

attach#%-2024.xlsx 

attach#4919-18-03-2024.xlsx 

attach#8517-18-03-2024.xlsx 

attach#4339-18-03-2024.xlsx 

March 19, 2024 

March 20, 2024 

march19-D%-2024.xlsx 

march19-D3175-2024.xlsx 

march19-D5648-2024.xlsx 

march19-D8858-2024.xlsx 

March 26, 2024 

March 26, 2024 

re-march-26-2024-%.xls? 

re-march-26-2024-4187.xlsx 

re-march-26-2024-7964.xlsx 

re-march-26-2024-4187.xls 

April 3, 2024 

April 5, 2024 

april2024-%.xlsx 

april2024-2032.xlsx 

april2024-3378.xlsx 

april2024-4268.xlsx 

April 9, 2024 

April 9, 2024 

statapril2024-%.xlsx 

statapril2024-9505.xlsx 

statapril2024-9518.xlsx 

statapril2024-9524.xlsx 

April 10, 2024 

April 10, 2024 

4\_10\_AC-%.xlsx\* 

4\_10\_AC-1177.xlsx 

4\_10\_AC-1288.xlsx 

4\_10\_AC-1301.xlsx 

_\*Variant redirecting to JavaScript file instead of VBS._ 

**Victimology **

Based on Cisco Talos telemetry, this campaign targets the U.S. the most often compared to other geographic regions.

Healthcare technologies and telecommunications were the most-targeted sectors, but campaign activity was observed targeting a wide range of industries. 

**Technical analysis **

Our telemetry indicates that malspam emails were the primary source of delivery for this campaign. It is an active campaign using attached Excel documents attempting to lure users to download and execute remote payloads.  

As shown below, the Excel spreadsheet has an embedded object with an external link to an attacker-controlled Server Message Block (SMB) file share. 

The overall infection process associated with this campaign is shown below. 

The infection process begins when the malicious Excel document is opened. These files were specially crafted to utilize a technique, called “Remote Template Injection,” to trigger the automatic download and execution of malicious contents hosted on a remote server. 

Remote Template Injection is an attack technique that exploits a legitimate Excel functionality wherein templates can be imported from external sources to expand a document’s functions and features. By exploiting the inherent trust users place in document files, this method skilfully evades security protocols that may not be as stringent for document templates compared to executable files. It represents a refined tactic for attackers to establish a presence within a system, sidestepping the need for conventional executable malware.  

When the Excel file is opened, it downloads and executes a VBS file from an attacker-controlled server. 

The VBS file is appended with a command that executes a PowerShell script from the DarkGate command and control (C2) server. 

This PowerShell script retrieves the next stage’s components and executes them, as shown below. 

**Payload analysis **

On March 12, 2024, the DarkGate campaign transitioned from deploying AutoIT scripts to employing AutoHotKey scripts. 

AutoIT and AutoHotKey are scripting languages designed for automating tasks on Windows. While both languages serve similar purposes, their differences lie in their syntax complexity, feature sets and community resources. AutoHotKey offers more advanced text manipulation features, extensive support for hotkeys, and a vast library of user-contributed scripts for various purposes. While both AutoIT and AutoHotKey have legitimate purposes, they are often abused by adversaries to run malicious scripts, consistent with other scripting languages often observed in infection chains. 

As shown in the screenshot above, one of the files retrieved is ‘test.txt.’ Within this file, there is base64-encoded blob that, when decoded, transforms into binary data. This binary data is then processed to execute the DarkGate malware payload directly within memory on infected systems. 

As shown in the previous PowerShell code, payloads are initially saved to disk within a directory (C:\\rimz\\) on the system. The directory name changes across infection chains that were analyzed. 

In this case, the attacker was using a legitimate copy of the AutoHotKey binary (AutoHotKey.exe) to execute a malicious AHK script (script.ahk). 

The executed AHK script reads content from the text file (test.txt), decodes it in memory, and executes it without ever saving the decoded DarkGate payload to disk. This file also contains shellcode that is loaded and executed by the AHK script, as shown below. 

**Persistence mechanisms **

Components used during the final stage of the infection process are stored at the following directory location: 

*   C:\\ProgramData\\cccddcb\\AutoHotKey.exe 
*   C:\\ProgramData\\cccddcb\\hafbccc.ahk 
*   C:\\ProgramData\\cccddcb\\test.txt 

Persistence across reboots is established through the creation of a shortcut file within the Startup directory on the infected system. 

C:\\Users\\<USERNAME>\\AppData\\Roaming\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Start Menu\\Programs\\Startup\\DfAchhd.lnk 

C:\\ProgramData\\cccddcb\\AutoHotkey.exe  C:\\ProgramData\\cccddcb"C:\\ProgramData\\cccddcb\\hafbccc.ahk 

Talos’ threat intelligence and detection response teams have successfully developed detection for these campaigns and blocked them as appropriate on Cisco Secure products. However, because of the evolving nature of recent DarkGate campaigns — as demonstrated by the shift from AutoIT to AutoHotKey scripts and use of remote template injection — serves as a stark reminder of the continuous arms race in cybersecurity. 

**Coverage **

 Ways our customers can detect and block this threat are listed below.  

Cisco Secure Endpoint (formerly AMP for Endpoints) is ideally suited to prevent the execution of the malware detailed in this post. Try Secure Endpoint for free here.  

Cisco Secure Web Appliance web scanning prevents access to malicious websites and detects malware used in these attacks.  

Cisco Secure Email (formerly Cisco Email Security) can block malicious emails sent by threat actors as part of their campaign. You can try Secure Email for free here.  

Cisco Secure Firewall (formerly Next-Generation Firewall and Firepower NGFW) appliances such as Threat Defense Virtual, Adaptive Security Appliance and Meraki MX can detect malicious activity associated with this threat.  

Cisco Secure Malware Analytics (Threat Grid) identifies malicious binaries and builds protection into all Cisco Secure products.  

Umbrella, Cisco's secure internet gateway (SIG), blocks users from connecting to malicious domains, IPs, and URLs, whether users are on or off the corporate network. Sign up for a free trial of Umbrella here.  

Cisco Secure Web Appliance (formerly Web Security Appliance) automatically blocks potentially dangerous sites and tests suspicious sites before users access them. 

Additional protections with context to your specific environment and threat data are available from the Firewall Management Center.  

Cisco Duo provides multi-factor authentication for users to ensure only those authorized are accessing your network.  

Open-source Snort Subscriber Rule Set customers can stay up to date by downloading the latest rule pack available for purchase on Snort.org.  

The following Snort SIDs apply to this threat:  

*   **Snort 2 SIDs:** 3, 12, 11192, 13667, 15306, 16642, 19187, 23256, 23861, 44484, 44485, 44486, 44487, 44488, 63521, 63522, 63523, 63524 
*   **Snort 3 SIDs:** 1, 16, 260, 11192, 15306, 36376, 44484, 44486, 44488, 63521, 63522, 63523, 63524 

The following ClamAV detections are also available for this threat:  

*   Doc.Malware.DarkGateDoc 
*   Ps1.Malware.DarkGate-10030456-0 
*   Vbs.Malware.DarkGate-10030520-0 

**Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) **

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) associated with this threat can be found here.  

Below is an example of the configuration parameters extracted from one of the DarkGate payloads analyzed.  

hxxp://badbutperfect\[.\]com 

hxxp://withupdate\[.\]com 

hxxp://irreceiver\[.\]com 

hxxp://backupitfirst\[.\]com 

hxxp://goingupdate\[.\]com 

hxxp://buassinnndm\[.\]net 

anti\_analysis = true 

anti\_debug = false 

anti\_vm = true 

c2\_port = 80 

internal\_mutex (Provides the XOR key/maker used for DarkGate payload decryption) = WZqqpfdY 

ping\_interval = 60 

startup\_persistence = true 

username = admin

DarkGate switches up its tactics with new payload, email templates

Beware Macro! Ukrainian users and cyberinfrastructure are being hit by a new malware campaign in which hackers are…

Beware Macro! Ukrainian users and cyberinfrastructure are being hit by a new malware campaign in which hackers are using a multi-stage malware strategy to deliver the Cobalt Strike.

A recent cyberattack targeting Microsoft Windows-based endpoints in Ukrainian has been discovered by Fortinet’s FortiGuard Labs where attackers leverage a malicious Excel file to deploy Cobalt Strike, a notorious tool used for post-exploitation activities. 

In this attack, an apparently harmless Excel file is embedded with a VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) macro, a scripting language used in Microsoft Office applications. The attacker uses a multi-stage malware strategy to deliver the “Cobalt Strike” payload and establish communication with a command and control server.

The malicious Excel document contains Ukrainian elements to lure users into enabling its macros. The macro deploys a HEX-encoded DLL downloader, which executes the DLL (Dynamic Link Library) file using a shell command.

The DLL file, also disguised as a harmless component, is the key to deploying Cobalt Strike. The downloader examines process names for specific strings related to analysis tools and antivirus software, terminates the program if it detects a matching process, and executes the decoded file using “rundll32.exe”.

As per FortiGuard Labs’s report, The DLL Injector, “ResetEngine.dll,” is responsible for decrypting and injecting the final payload. It uses “NtDelayExecution” to evade detection of malicious activities within sandboxes and then, it decrypts the final payload using an AES algorithm. The code then injects the decrypted data into itself and uses various APIs to execute the final Cobalt Strike.

For your information, Cobalt Strike is a powerful tool that allows attackers to gain a foothold within a compromised system, steal sensitive data, deploy additional malware, and establish network persistence.

Fortinet researchers discovered a geolocation check within the VBA code, ensuring the payload is only downloaded on systems located in Ukraine. This targeted approach indicates a well-orchestrated operation with a specific goal in mind.

Attack flow (FortiGuard Labs)

This isn’t the first time a malicious Excel file was used to target Ukraine in recent years due to the ongoing geopolitical situation. In 2022, FortiGuard Labs reported a campaign using a malicious Excel document to deliver a Cobalt Strike loader, while Ukraine’s Computer Emergency Response Team confirmed UAC-0057’s involvement in an attack using a malicious XLS file to deploy PicassoLoader and Cobalt Strike Beacon.

This recent attack further highlights the evolving tactics of cybercriminals and the importance of robust cybersecurity measures. Users should be cautious of enabling macros in Excel files, especially from unknown sources and use reliable endpoint security software that can detect and prevent malicious macros.

1.  RomCom RAT Targets Pro-Ukraine Guests at NATO Summit
2.  UAC-0099 Used Old WinRAR Flaw in New Attack on Ukraine
3.  Google, Microsoft and Oracle generated most vulnerabilities
4.  AcidRain Linux Malware Variant “AcidPour” Targeting Ukraine
5.  Microsoft Office Most Exploited Software in Malware Attacks

Ukraine Hit by Cobalt Strike Campaign Using Malicious Excel Files

Russian organizations are at the receiving end of cyber attacks that have been found to deliver a Windows version of a malware called Decoy Dog.
Cybersecurity company Positive Technologies is tracking the activity cluster under the name Operation Lahat, attributing it to an advanced persistent threat (APT) group called HellHounds.
"The Hellhounds group compromises organizations they select and

Russian Power Companies, IT Firms, and Govt Agencies Hit by Decoy Dog Trojan

Windows Recall takes a screenshot every five seconds. Cybersecurity researchers say the system is simple to abuse—and one ethical hacker has already built a tool to show how easy it really is.

When Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed the new Windows AI tool that can answer questions about your web browsing and laptop use, he said one of the “magical” things about it was that the data doesn’t leave your laptop; the Windows Recall system takes screenshots of your activity every five seconds and saves them on the device. But security experts say that data may not stay there for long.

Two weeks ahead of Recall’s launch on new Copilot+ PCs on June 18, security researchers have demonstrated how preview versions of the tool store the screenshots in an unencrypted database. The researchers say the data could easily be hoovered up by an attacker. And now, in a warning about how Recall could be abused by criminal hackers, Alex Hagenah, a cybersecurity strategist and ethical hacker, has released a demo tool that can automatically extract and display everything Recall records on a laptop.

Dubbed TotalRecall—yes, after the 1990 sci-fi film—the tool can pull all the information that Recall saves into its main database on a Windows laptop. “The database is unencrypted. It’s all plain text,” Hagenah says.⁩ Since Microsoft revealed Recall in mid-May, security researchers have repeatedly compared it to spyware or stalkerware that can track everything you do on your device. “It’s a Trojan 2.0 really, built in,” Hagenah says, adding that he built TotalRecall—which he’s releasing on GitHub—in order to show what is possible and to encourage Microsoft to make changes before Recall fully launches.

The company unveiled Recall as part of a Surface laptop event last month. The tool continuously takes screenshots of whatever’s happening on your PC. Recall is intended to allow people to “retrieve” things you’ve done on your machine—whether it’s web pages you’ve visited or messages you’ve been sent—using natural language search queries. Microsoft’s description of the tool says Recall could be used to search for recipes you’ve looked at online but whose websites you’ve forgotten.

TotalRecall, Hagenah says, can automatically work out where the Recall database is on a laptop and then make a copy of the file, parsing all the data as it does so. While Microsoft’s new Copilot+ PCs aren’t out yet, it’s possible to use Recall by emulating a version of the devices. “It does everything automatically,” he says. The system can set a date range for extracting the data—for instance, pulling information from only one specific week or day. Pulling one day of screenshots from Recall, which stores its information in an SQLite database, took two seconds at most, Hagenah⁩ says.

Included in what the database captures are screenshots of whatever is on your desktop—a potential gold mine for criminal hackers or domestic abusers who may physically access their victim’s device. Images include captures of messages sent on encrypted messaging apps Signal and WhatsApp, and remain in the captures regardless of whether disappearing messages are turned on in the apps. There are records of websites visited and every bit of text displayed on the PC. Once TotalRecall has been deployed, it will generate a summary about the data; it is also possible to search for specific terms in the database.

Hagenah⁩ says an attacker could get a huge amount of information about their target, including insights into their emails, personal conversations, and any sensitive information that’s captured by Recall.

Hagenah’s work builds on findings from cybersecurity researcher Kevin Beaumont, who has detailed how much information Recall captures and how easy it can be to extract it. Beaumont also says he has built a website where a Recall database can be uploaded and instantly searched. He says he hasn’t released the site yet, to allow Microsoft time to potentially change the system. “InfoStealer trojans, which automatically steal usernames and passwords, are a major problem for well over a decade—now these can just be easily modified to support Recall,” Beaumont writes.

The criticisms come as hacks of Microsoft systems have led to various US government data breaches; Nadella has said security should be Microsoft’s “top priority.” Microsoft did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment about the security features of Recall by the time of publication.

Recall’s privacy pages say it is possible to disable saving screenshots (effectively turning Recall off), pause the system temporarily, filter applications where screenshots are taken, and delete what is gathered at any time. Recall runs on the laptop itself, storing data it captures on the device and not sending this information to Microsoft’s servers. Hagenah⁩ says this claim appears to be true, with no signs that data is sent to Microsoft.

Microsoft is, at least, aware of some of the possible privacy and security-related issues with Recall: Its help pages say the system does not perform any content moderation on what is contained in the images it saves. This means, Microsoft says in the guide, that it won’t “hide information such as passwords or financial account numbers.” Security researchers have already been able to extract passwords from Recall.

Recall’s main database is stored on the laptop’s system directory, and while it needs administrator rights to access, privilege escalation attacks have been around for years, making it theoretically possible for an attacker to gain initial access to a device remotely.

Hagenah⁩ says that in cases of employers with “bring your own devices” policies, there’s a risk of someone leaving with huge volumes of company data saved on their laptops. That’s a particular risk if they’re disgruntled or leave on bad terms, he says. The UK’s data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office, has asked Microsoft to provide more details about Recall and its privacy.

While Recall remains as a “preview” feature and, according to Microsoft’s small print, could change before it launches, Beaumont writes in his research that the company “should recall Recall and rework it to be the feature it deserves to be, delivered at a later date.” He adds: “They also need to review the internal decisionmaking that led to this situation, as this kind of thing should not happen.”

Tag

#windows