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What did SEP Web Extension do for you last week? Week 48, 2023
Symantec Threat Intelligence teams around the world provide unparalleled analysis and commentary on the cyberthreats affecting businesses today. Symantec’s browser extensions bring this intelligence into your browser to effectively detect and block various web-borne threats.
Symantec Endpoint Security (SES) and Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) deliver browser protection through browser extensions for Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. These extensions rely on two key technologies:
URL reputation, which identifies and blocks websites that host malicious content such as phishing, malware, fraud, scams, and spam.
Browser Intrusion Prevention, which leverages Symantec's deep packet inspection engine to safeguard customers against a variety of threats.
Bringing these technologies together in the browser provides an effective browser protection solution.
In the last 7 days, Symantec blocked a total of 6.1M attacks across 144.1K protected endpoints via the Endpoint protection browser extensions.
5.2M attacks were blocked on blocked on 127.3K endpoints using URL reputation
613.1K attacks were blocked on 31.1K endpoints attempting to redirect users to attacker-controlled websites
169.8K Browser Notification Scam attacks were blocked on 13.1K endpoints
56K attacks were blocked on 624 endpoints which leverage malicious script injections on compromised websites
2K Technical Support Scam attacks were blocked on 1.3K endpoints
858 Cryptojacking attempts were blocked on 221 endpoints
Customers are advised to enable Endpoint browser protection. Click here for instructions on how to do so. |
What did SEP Web Extension do for you last week? Week 49, 2023
Symantec Threat Intelligence teams around the world provide unparalleled analysis and commentary on the cyberthreats affecting businesses today. Symantec’s browser extensions bring this intelligence into your browser to effectively detect and block various web-borne threats.
Symantec Endpoint Security (SES) and Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) deliver browser protection through browser extensions for Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. These extensions rely on two key technologies:
URL reputation, which identifies and blocks websites that host malicious content such as phishing, malware, fraud, scams, and spam.
Browser Intrusion Prevention, which leverages Symantec's deep packet inspection engine to safeguard customers against a variety of threats.
Bringing these technologies together in the browser provides an effective browser protection solution.
In the last 7 days, we blocked a total of 6.3M attacks across 142.1K protected endpoints via the Endpoint protection browser extensions.
5.5M attacks were blocked on blocked on 126.1K endpoints using URL reputation
596.3K attacks were blocked on 30.4K endpoints attempting to redirect users to attacker-controlled websites
158.5K Browser Notification Scam attacks were blocked on 12.4K endpoints
44.4K attacks were blocked on 567 endpoints which leverage malicious script injections on compromised websites
1.9K Technical Support Scam attacks were blocked on 1.2K endpoints
584 Cryptojacking attempts were blocked on 210 endpoints
Customers are advised to enable Endpoint browser protection. Click here for instructions on how to do so. |
What did SEP Web Extension do for you last week? Week 50, 2023
Symantec Threat Intelligence teams around the world provide unparalleled analysis and commentary on the cyberthreats affecting businesses today. Symantec’s browser extensions bring this intelligence into your browser to effectively detect and block various web-borne threats.
Symantec Endpoint Security (SES) and Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) deliver browser protection through browser extensions for Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. These extensions rely on two key technologies:
URL reputation, which identifies and blocks websites that host malicious content such as phishing, malware, fraud, scams, and spam.
Browser Intrusion Prevention, which leverages Symantec's deep packet inspection engine to safeguard customers against a variety of threats.
Bringing these technologies together in the browser provides an effective browser protection solution.
In the last 7 days, we blocked a total of 6.3M attacks across 144.6K protected endpoints via the Endpoint protection browser extensions.
5.5M attacks were blocked on blocked on 129.3K endpoints using URL reputation
588.8K attacks were blocked on 30K endpoints attempting to redirect users to attacker-controlled websites
166.6K Browser Notification Scam attacks were blocked on 12.3K endpoints
46K attacks were blocked on 547 endpoints which leverage malicious script injections on compromised websites
2.4K Technical Support Scam attacks were blocked on 1K endpoints
911 Cryptojacking attempts were blocked on 240 endpoints
Customers are advised to enable Endpoint browser protection. Click here for instructions on how to do so. |
What did SEP Web Extension do for you last week? Week 52, 2023
Symantec Threat Intelligence teams around the world provide unparalleled analysis and commentary on the cyberthreats affecting businesses today. Symantec’s browser extensions bring this intelligence into your browser to effectively detect and block various web-borne threats.
Symantec Endpoint Security (SES) and Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) deliver browser protection through browser extensions for Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. These extensions rely on two key technologies:
URL reputation, which identifies and blocks websites that host malicious content such as phishing, malware, fraud, scams, and spam.
Browser Intrusion Prevention, which leverages Symantec's deep packet inspection engine to safeguard customers against a variety of threats.
Bringing these technologies together in the browser provides an effective browser protection solution.
In the last 7 days, we blocked a total of 4.2M attacks across 98.5K protected endpoints via the Endpoint protection browser extensions.
3.5M attacks were blocked on blocked on 87.8K endpoints using URL reputation
554.6K attacks were blocked on 23.4K endpoints attempting to redirect users to attacker-controlled websites
146.8K Browser Notification Scam attacks were blocked on 8.9K endpoints
18K attacks were blocked on 337 endpoints which leverage malicious script injections on compromised websites
1.7K Technical Support Scam attacks were blocked on 632 endpoints
452 Cryptojacking attempts were blocked on 133 endpoints
Customers are advised to enable Endpoint browser protection. Click here for instructions on how to do so. |
WhatsApp used to spread new worm-like Android malware
Worm viruses are nothing new in computer security, however recently researchers have discovered a new Android malware that spreads by auto-replying to WhatsApp messages. The malware masquerades itself on the Google Play Store as an application which would allow the user to view Netflix content on their mobile device. If installed, it would actually be monitoring for message activity in WhatsApp and auto-reply to incoming messages, trying to lure the original sender to install the malware under the guise of obtaining free Netflix access for two months.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Mobile-based
Android.Reputation.1.
Symantec Endpoint Protection Mobile is able to also analyze links contained within SMS messages. It shields users from SMS phishing attempts by checking URLs found in text messages against the threat intelligence in Symantec WebPulse, part of the Symantec Global Intelligence Network (GIN), and alerting users when the links are suspect. |
When LockBit failed, new Ransomware 3AM did the job
Symantec’s Threat Hunter Team, part of Broadcom, observed a recent attack in which a new ransomware family was used due to the failure of installing a more established family. A single ransomware affiliate made use of the new family, 3AM, when attempts to distribute LockBit onto the target victim's network were blocked.
Once inside the victim's network, the attackers collected information related to security policies, leveraged Cobalt Strike components, and attempted to elevate privileges. Further activity encompassed network reconnaissance for lateral distribution, persistence by way of a new user, and exfiltration of files. Deployment of the 3AM ransomware was only partially successful after blocked attempts to introduce LockBit.
Read more in our blog: 3AM: New Ransomware Family Used As Fallback in Failed LockBit Attack
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
Backdoor.Cobalt!gm1
SONAR.TCP!gen6
File-based
Backdoor.Cobalt
Ransom.3AM
WS.Malware.1
Machine learning-based
Heur.AdvML.A
Heur.AdvML.A!300
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.C
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories in all WebPulse enabled products |
Wherever Agent Tesla goes, Lokibot follows
Both Agent Tesla and Lokibot remain two of the most prevalent infostealers delivered via multiple malicious spam campaigns almost on a daily basis. In one such malspam campaign, we have seen thousands of emails initially delivering the payload of Agent Tesla and after a few days pushing Lokibot instead. The campaign started on the 28th of October and seems to be still ongoing at the time of writing. The emails purport as fake order confirmations and contain either .zip or .rar attachments. The archives extract to infostealer executables.
Email subjects:
"Fwd: Re: New Order Inquiry Grupo Dani Chile"
"Re: New Order Inquiry Grupo Dani"
"RE: RFQ -Attached"
"RE: ABS SG - PC No.9 - Gennal - Suntec (SEPT 2020) - PG201001"
"Re: Chake Berberian Order"
Email attachments:
"Chake Berberian Order_pdf.zip"
"Chake Berberian Order.zip"
"Grupo Dani Order_pdf.rar"
"Grupo Dani Order_pdf.zip"
"RFQ Touma Group USA_pdf.zip"
Symantec has various coverage in place covering this malspam run:
File-based
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.C
Infostealer.Lokibot*
Trojan Horse
Trojan.Gen.2
Trojan.Gen.NPE
Trojan.Gen.MBT
Email-based
Coverage is in place for Symantec's email security products and Email Threat Isolation (ETI) technology provides an extra layer of protection for our customers.
* This indicates multiple detections exist such as Infostealer.Lokibot!g1, Infostealer.Lokibot!g2, etc... |
Whiffy Recon malware delivered by SmokeLoader
Recent SmokeLoader campaigns have been observed to spread a variant of Wi-Fi scanning malware dubbed Whiffy Recon. Once the malware is deployed it checks for the presence of the WLANSVC service (Wireless AutoConfig Service) on the infected system. If found, it will start scanning for nearby Wi-Fi access points via the Windows WLAN API. The received results are sent to the Google Geolocation API service that allows the attackers to triangulate the infected system's location to specific geo-coordinates. With the scanning activity occurring every minute, it effectively allows tracking of the infected systems.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
SONAR.ProcHijack!g45
File-based
Trojan.Gen.MBT
WS.Malware.1
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.B
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories in all WebPulse enabled products |
WhiskerSpy backdoor
WhiskerSpy is a newly discovered backdoor variant attributed to the threat group known as Earth Kitsune. A recent campaign by this actor has leveraged a watering hole attack for the purpose of the malware delivery. Compromised websites containing malicious scripts injected by the attackers would point unaware users to a download of the WhiskerSpy loader disguised as a video codec installer. The malware functionality includes downloading arbitrary files, loading executables and injecting shellcode into processes, among others.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
SONAR.TCP!gen1
File-based
Trojan Horse
Trojan.Gen.2
Trojan.Gen.MBT
WS.Malware.1
WS.Malware.2
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.C
Network-based
Web Attack: Webpulse Bad Reputation Domain Request
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories |
WhiteSnake Infostealer distributed through Python packages
WhiteSnake is an Infostealer malware that can be distributed and used in both Windows and Linux environments. For the past while this malware has been seen being distributed in malicious PyPI packages. On an infected system, once the information is collected, it exfiltrates the data using Open Source tools, like OpenSSH and serveo\.net to some remote server and notifies the threat actor through Telegram channels, to avoid detection as much as possible.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
File-based
Downloader
Trojan.Gen.MBT
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.A!300
Heur.AdvML.B!100
Heur.AdvML.B!200
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories in all WebPulse enabled products |
WhiteSnake Stealer (MaaS) malware
A new infostealing malware dubbed WhiteSnake Stealer has been discovered in the wild. The malware is being offered for sale in a form of MaaS (Malware as a Service) offering. WhiteSnake is designed to collect confidential information from compromised machines. The collected data includes credentials, credit card details, cookies, screenshots, files from FTP or email clients, cryptocurrency wallets, etc. Once collected, the compromised data is exfiltrated to a specified Telegram bot URL controlled by the attackers.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
AGR.Terminate!g2
SONAR.TCP!gen1
File-based
Trojan Horse
Trojan.Gen.MBT
WS.Malware.1
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.C
Network-based
System Infected: Trojan.Backdoor Activity 634 |
Who's the malware Imposter among us?
'Among Us' is an extremely popular online multiplayer social deduction game that has been trending in recent months with famous gaming streamers and even U.S. politicians playing. The goal of the game is to identify and eliminate the "Impostors". Security Response has been observing more and more malicious activity surrounding this game (both mobile and desktop versions) and unwary players could easily become victims of malware actors targeting the game if they are not careful about what they download.
On various social platforms and forums, many infostealers (Discord Stealer for example) and remote access trojans (NJRAT for example) have been posing as fake installers, game & skins hacks, and more. Some actors have also posted on forums and websites, Android applications purporting to be hacks allowing users to see who the Imposters in the mobile game version are.
Symantec has a wide range of coverage in place for the threats that have been observed:
File-based
Trojan.Gen.MBT
Packed.Vuntid!gen1
WS.Malware.1
WS.Malware.2
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.C
Behavior-based
SONAR.Dropper
SONAR.SuspBeh!gen22
Mobile-based
Trojan:Malapp
Website-based
This activity is proactively blocked by Symantec Web Isolation technology |
Widespread AdLoad campaign targets MacOS users
According to a latest report, AdLoad continues widespread campaigns targeting MacOS users. AdLoad is a well-known adware loader and installer that has been present on the MacOS threat landscape for the last few years. This latest AdLoad campaign leverages a new malware variant that implements updated persistence and naming patterns and it has been reported to evade some of the built-in OS protection mechanisms.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
File-based
OSX.Malcol
OSX.Trojan.Gen
OSX.Trojan.Gen.2 |
Wiki - a Crysis ransomware variant
Wiki is another identified Crysis ransomware variant. The malware has been reported to be distributed either directly through RDP connections or disguised as a harmless program installer. Wiki will encrypt user data and append a custom extension consisting of a unique ID, email address and .wiki appended at the end. The malware will attempt to terminate selected system processes and services as well as delete the volume shadow copies on the infected machine.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
SONAR.RansomCrys!g2
File-based
Ransom.Crysis
Ransom.Crysis!gm
SMG.Heur!gen
WS.Malware.1
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.B
Network-based
Attack: Ransom.Crysis Activity 3 |
Wikiloader malspam campaign observed
There have been reports of another WikiLoader campaign in which actors are using emails with malicious URLs as the first stage of the attack chain. This campaign is not targeting specific organizations, nor is it secluded to specific countries—the malicious emails are being observed around the world. WikiLoader is a malware downloader that first came to light in late 2022 and has been associated with various threats such as Ursnif.
Observed emails subjects:
reminder past due invoice
Payment Status on Invoice
Outstanding Invoice
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Email-based
Coverage is in place for Symantec’s email security products
Behavior-based
ACM.Ps-Wscr!g1
ACM.Wscr-CPE!g1
ACM.Ps-Rd32!g1
ACM.Wscr-Rd32!g1
SONAR.SuspLaunch!g235
Network-based
Audit: Scripting Host Processes Making Network Connections
Audit: System Process Accessing discordapp.com
Web Attack: Webpulse Bad Reputation Domain Request
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories in all WebPulse enabled products |
WinDealer malware leveraged by LuoYu threat group
According to the latest reports, WinDealer malware has been leveraged by the threat group known as LuoYu in some recent campaigns. The threat group is known to target Korean and Japanese organisations. WinDealer is a type of infostealing malware that collects information about the victim's system, network configuration or extracts user documents from the local drives and sends the collected data to a pre-configured C2 server.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
File-based
Trojan Horse
Trojan.Gen.MBT
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.C |
Windestroyer destructive malware seen in the wild
A new destructive malware dubbed Windestroyer has recently been observed in the wild. Windestroyer infects and encrypts all executable files rendering the targeted system unusable, can launch DLL reload and API hammering attacks, and has bootkit functionality and persistence via the registry. Once running on an infected system it also has the ability to move laterally looking for network shares and then infecting all the found files.
The absence of a ransom note or demand along with the attackers likely Russian origin point to the fact that this is some sort of "hacktivisit" attack and probably not financially motivated.
Symantec protects you from these threats, identified by the following:
Adaptive-based
ACM.Untrst-RunSys!g1
File-based
Trojan.Gen.MBT
WS.Malware.1
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.A!300
Heur.AdvML.B!100
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.B!200
Heur.AdvML.C |
WindiGo (aka RanaumBot) malware
WindiGo (aka RanaumBot) is one of the modules associated with the infamous Glupteba botnet. The malware has been recently used in campaigns leveraging Winbox (a proprietary protocol used by MikroTik RouterOS). WindiGo scans networks in search of MikroTik devices with open Winbox port 8291 and later attempts to exploit known MikroTik vulnerability (CVE-2018-14847) for credentials theft and further propagation.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
SONAR.Glupteba!gen2
SONAR.TCP!gen1
File-based
Trojan.Gen.MBT
W32.Fixflo.B!inf
WS.Malware.1
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.C
Network-based
Attack: Mikrotik Admin Password Leak CVE-2018-14847
System Infected: Trojan.Backdoor Activity 634
Policy-based
Symantec DCS can stop Suspicious Process Execution: Prevention policies prevent Windigo botnet from being dropped or executed on the system.
Symantec DCS hardening has the ability to block outgoing connections to the public internet and limit required traffic to and from the server.
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories |
WindowsReport.com leveraged by attackers to spread malware
'WindowsReport.com' an online Windows publication platform, is all about PC related news, tips and advice. The website shares latest updates about the tech industry where users can also download software utilities.
Google Ads was leveraged to lure victims into accessing an identical but fake copy of the WindowsReport website which hosts a trojanized version of a popular freeware tool called 'CPU-Z'. The CPU-Z installer contains a PowerShell loader that goes by the name 'FakeBat' which will subsequently fetch RedLine Stealer - malware capable of collecting sensitive personal information and cryptocurrency wallet data.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
SONAR.TCP!gen1
File-based
Downloader
Trojan.Gen.NPE.C
Trojan.RedLineStealer
Web.Reputation.1
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.A!300
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.B!200
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories in all WebPulse enabled products. |
Windows SmartScreen bypass vulnerability CVE-2023-24880 exploited by Magniber ransomware
CVE-2023-24880 is a recently disclosed Windows SmartScreen vulnerability that can be exploited to create executables bypassing the Mark of the Web (MOTW) security defenses in Windows. The attackers are leveraging .MSI files signed with malformed Authenticode signatures that cause SmartScreen errors which in turn can lead to a bypass of the security warnings displayed to the end user. The vulnerability has been reported as being exploited in the wild in malicious campaigns delivering Magniber ransomware.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
AGR.Terminate!g2
SONAR.SuspLaunch!g193
File-based
Exp.CVE-2023-24880
JS.Downloader
Ransom.Magniber
Trojan Horse
Trojan.Gen.2
Trojan.Gen.MBT
WS.Malware.1
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.A!300
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.B!100
Heur.AdvML.B!200 |
WingOfGod RAT malware
WingOfGod RAT is a Remote Access Trojan recently identified in campaigns abusing a free online notepad platform called aNotepad. The malware targets both Windows systems as well as the Linux platform. The RAT has the functionality to run arbitrary commands, download/upload files and collect information about the infected hosts, among others.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Adaptive-based
ACM.Ps-Msbuild!g1
ACM.Ps-Rd32!g1
ACM.Ps-Wscr!g1
ACM.Untrst-RunSys!g1
File-based
Scr.Malcode!gdn14
Trojan.Gen.MBT
Trojan.Gen.NPE
Web.Reputation.1
WS.Malware.1
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.A!300
Heur.AdvML.B!100
Heur.AdvML.B!200
Heur.AdvML.C
Network-based
System Infected: Trojan.Backdoor Activity 634
System Infected: Trojan.Backdoor Activity 721
Web Attack: Webpulse Bad Reputation Domain Request
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories in all WebPulse enabled products |
Winter Vivern - APT group driving phishing campaigns against government entities
Winter Vivern APT is a lesser known pro-Russian group. The group has been using known attack vectors like website phishing mimicking government websites to distribute their malicious document payload which enables them to gain unauthorized access to systems and initiate network attacks by establishing connection to C2 servers.
The APT group in the past has targeted government entities of India, Vatican, Slovakia and most recently Poland and Ukraine.
In the recent activity that has been observed the group is disguising its malware as a fake antivirus software scanner hosted on mimicked government websites, by spear-phishing email messages to targets as government notices.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Email-based
Coverage is in place for Symantec’s email security products
Behavior-based
AGR.Terminate!g2
SONAR.MSOffice!g7
File-based
Scr.MalMacro!gen3
Trojan.Gen.2
Trojan Horse
Trojan.Mdropper
W97M.Downloader
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories |
Witchetty espionage group activities
The Witchetty espionage group (aka LookingFrog) has been progressively updating its toolset, using new malware in attacks on targets in the Middle East and Africa. Among the new tools being used by the group is a backdoor Trojan (Backdoor.Stegmap) that employs steganography, a rarely seen technique where malicious code is hidden within an image. In attacks between February and September 2022, Witchetty targeted the governments of two Middle Eastern countries and the stock exchange of an African nation. The attackers exploited the ProxyShell (CVE-2021-34473, CVE-2021-34523, and CVE-2021-31207) and ProxyLogon (CVE-2021-26855 and CVE-2021-27065) vulnerabilities to install web shells on public-facing servers before stealing credentials, moving laterally across networks, and installing malware on other computers.
Read more in our blog: Witchetty: Group Uses Updated Toolset in Attacks on Governments in Middle East
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
SONAR.TCP!gen6
File-based
Backdoor.Lookback
Backdoor.Stegmap
Hacktool
Hacktool.Fscan
Hacktool.Gen
Hacktool.Mimikatz
Spyware.Keylogger
Trojan Horse
Trojan.Chinchop
Trojan.Gen.NPE
WS.Malware.2
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.C
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories |
Woody RAT malware discovered in the wild
Woody RAT is a custom remote access trojan that has been active in various campaigns for at least a year. The malware has been distributed mostly through malicious archives and MS Office documents exploiting the MSDT Follina (CVE-2022-30190) vulnerability. Woody RAT's functionality includes collection of various information about the infected system, remote command execution, download of additional arbitrary files or payloads as well as execution of commands received from the C2 servers.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
SONAR.TCP!gen1
File-based
Trojan Horse
Trojan.Gen.2
Trojan.Gen.MBT
W97M.Downloader
WS.Malware.1
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.C
Network-based
Web Attack: MSDT Remote Code Execution CVE-2022-30190
Web Attack: Webpulse Bad Reputation Domain Request
Web-based
Observed IPs/domains are covered under security categories |
WordPress File Manager vulnerability exploited in campaigns spreading cryptominers
We have been aware of reports relating to malicious actors exploiting the WordPress File Manager Plugin vulnerability (CVE-2020-25213) in recent campaigns. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow a remote code execution on the vulnerable WordPress sites - effectively enabling the attackers to run arbitrary files. According to the reports the recent campaign exploiting CVE-2020-25213 has been spreading Go-lang based Kinsing malware and cryptominers from the H2miner family.
Symantec provides the following coverage against this campaign:
File-based
Backdoor.Trojan
Downloader
Trojan.Gen.NPE
Trojan Horse
WS.Malware.1
WS.Malware.2
Network-based
[32545] Attack: WordPress File Manager Plugin RCE
[32535] Attack: WordPress File Manager Plugin RCE 2 |
Wormable Android Malware Spreads Through WhatsApp
A wormable Android malware has been discovered that attempts to spread through WhatsApp. The malware makes use of the quick reply feature in WhatsApp to automatically reply to message notifications with a link to a mobile app. The link loads a site that looks like the Google Play Store from where the victim could download an application masquerading as Huawei Mobile. Installing this application and accepting the necessary permissions infects the Android user's mobile device.
Symantec has the following protection in place:
Mobile-based
AppRisk:Generisk |
Would you like malware with that?
Symantec Security Response has observed malware - referred to as "TriumphLoader" - being distributed via a spam campaign where the malicious email is disguised as a thank-you for an online purchase. Emails were sent to more than 600 organizations and include the following email subjects:
Thank you for choosing our shop!
Thanks for your recent purchase!
Welcome to the world of ONLINESHOPPING!
Thank you for your order!
The email has an attachment "shop order 19-11-2020-#23.xlsm" which contains a malicious macro, the payload being TriumphLoader.
Symantec provides the following protection against this spam run:
File-based
W97M.Downloader
Trojan Horse
Email-based
Coverage is in place for Symantec's email security products and Email Threat Isolation (ETI) technology provides an extra layer of protection for our customers. |
Would you like some shrimps with that DarkStealer?
DarkStealer is not a new infostealer and while it hasn't been as prevalent as its more infamous cousins, we do continue to observe drive-by-download and malspam activities from multiple groups and individuals. In a recent campaign, actors are purporting themselves to be a Colombian seafood supplier specializing in shrimps. This invoice-related malspam campaign has been observed around the world. DarkStealer has run-of-the-mill infostealing and remote access capabilities and uses Telegram to send logs.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Email-based
Coverage is in place for Symantec's email security products
File-based
Scr.Malcode!gdn30
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.B |
Wroba Android malware implements DNS changer functionality
Wroba Android malware is associated with the threat group known as Roaming Mantis. Recent variants of this malware have been reported to implement a DNS changer functionality. This new implementation allows the attackers to compromise Wi-Fi routers for the purpose of DNS hijacking attacks. Any users accessing such compromised routers will get redirected to landing pages serving malicious payloads. This distribution method differs from some older Roaming Mantis campaigns dating back to 2019-2022 where smishing attacks were the preferred infection method.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Mobile-based
Android.Reputation.2
AppRisk:Generisk
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories |
WSH-RAT distributed via malicious RTF documents
Symantec Security Response has been aware of the reported ongoing campaigns spreading the WSH-RAT. The initial distribution stage involves malicious RTF documents that attempt to exploit the relatively old CVE-2017-11182 vulnerability in MS Office to spread the malware. WSH-RAT is a type of commodity malware that has been known for years and sold on underground forums.
Symantec has the following coverage in place against this campaign:
File-based:
Exp.CVE-2017-11882!g2
Exp.CVE-2017-11882!g3
Heur.AdvML.B
Trojan.Gen.2
Trojan.Gen.MBT
Trojan Horse
VBS.Heur.SNIC
Network-based:
Web Attack: Microsoft Office CVE-2017-11882 2 |
WyrmSpy and DragonEgg mobile malware leveraged by APT41 aka Blackfly threat group
Two mobile malware variants known as WyrmSpy and DragonEgg have been recently leveraged in malicious attacks attributed to the APT41 threat group (aka Blackfly, Winnti, Bronze Atlas). The group is known since at least 2010 and despite several indictments of its members, it continues campaigns targeted at organizations from both public and private sectors. WyrmSpy and DragonEgg malware variants belong to cyber-surveillance malware with extensive data exfiltration capabilities. The malware targets the collection of data files, photos, sms messages and audio recordings, among others. Both malware variants rely heavily on commands received from the C2 servers so the functionality against the compromised devices might vary in each case.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Mobile-based
AdLibrary:Generisk
AdLibrary:MoPub
Android.Reputation.1
Android.Reputation.2
Android.Reputation.3
AppRisk:Generisk
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories in all WebPulse enabled products. |
XAgent spyware targeting iOS devices
An XAgent spyware targeting iOS devices has been identified, linked to the Swallowtail group (APT28). Primarily targeting political and government entities in Western Europe, XAgent possesses capabilities for remote control and data exfiltration. It can gather information on users' contacts, messages, device details, installed applications, screenshots, and call records. This data could potentially be used for social engineering or spear-phishing campaigns.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Mobile-based
Android.Reputation.2
AppRisk:Generisk
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories in all WebPulse enabled products |
Xamalicious Android malware
Xamalicious is a backdoor malware targeting the Android platform. The malware is built using Xamarin framework which is an open source platform for creating apps with .NET and C#. The malware has been previously distributed by various apps hosted on Google Play and some other 3rd party platforms. Xamalicious has the functionality to collect information about the infected device including hardware info, list of installed applications, geolocation info and network provider data, among others. Second stage payload might allow the attackers to take full control of the infected device and to perform additional fraudulent tasks.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Mobile-based
AdLibrary:Generisk
Android.Reputation.2
AppRisk:Generisk |
Xanthe mining botnet targets exposed Docker installations
There have been reports of a newly discovered Monero-mining botnet named Xanthe. The botnet targets misconfigured and vulnerable Docker installations exposed to external networks and can laterally spread to other hosts of a compromised network using SSH. Once the main Xanthe module is deployed it will attempt to disable other competing miners if found and run a XMRig binary to mine for Monero cryptocurrency.
Symantec has the following protection in place for this campaign:
File-based
Linux.Coinminer
Trojan.Gen.NPE
Trojan Horse
WS.Malware.1
Website-based
These activities are proactively blocked by Symantec Web Isolation technology. |
Xaro DJVU ransomware variant distributed by loaders disguised as cracked software installers
A new Xaro variant of the DJVU (aka STOP) ransomware has been observed in the wild. The malware is distributed by various loaders disguised as freeware or cracked software installers. The malware encrypts user files and appends the .xaro extension to them. Upon successful encryption, a ransom note in the form of a text file called " _readme.txt" is dropped on the infected machine. The threat actors ask for $980 as ransom for the decryption of the locked files. Recent campaigns distributing Xaro have been observed to also run additional malicious payloads such as infostealers and clipbankers.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
ACM.Untrst-Runsys!g1
ACM.Untrst-Schtsk!g1
SONAR.MalTraffic!gen1
SONAR.ProcHijack!g21
SONAR.SuspLaunch!g12
File-based
Ransom.Pots
Trojan.Gen.2
Trojan.Gen.MBT
WS.Malware.2
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.A!300
Heur.AdvML.A!400
Heur.AdvML.A!500
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.B!100
Heur.AdvML.B!200
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories in all WebPulse enabled products. |
XcodeSpy campaign leverages EggShell Backdoor to target developers
According to recent reports a new custom variant of the EggShell Mac backdoor is being distributed in a recent campaign targeting iOS developers. The attackers use a malicious Xcode project dubbed as XcodeSpy. The dropped malware exhibits infostealing and keylogging capabilities.
Symantec's protection against Eggshell backdoor includes the following:
File-based
OSX.Malcol
OSX.Trojan.Gen |
XCSSET Mac malware spreads via Xcode projects
Xcode is a free integrated development environment (IDE) used in macOS for developing Apple-related software and apps. A form of Mac malware known as XCSSET is being spread by attackers exploiting Xcode projects. The malware focuses on compromising Safari and other browsers to steal data. The two vulnerabilities discovered by researchers that XCSSET is using, are security feature bypass flaws found in WebKit and Data Vault. The bugs allow Safari cookies to be read and dumped, and then used to inject JavaScript-based backdoors into displayed pages via a Universal Cross-site Scripting (UXSS) attack.
XCSSET can also be used to steal Evernote content, Notes information, and communication from Skype, Telegram, QQ, and WeChat applications. The malware can take screenshots, exfiltrate data to a C&C server, and also has a ransomware module.
Symantec Protections
OSX.Trojan.Gen
Infostealer
IPS [32516] System Infected: OSX.Trojan.Gen Activity 2 |
XCSSET macOS malware distributed in the wild
New variants of the XCSSET macOS malware have been recently seen in the wild. In the latest campaigns distributing this malware, the threat actors have been hiding the malicious executables in the fake Notes.app application. The malware makes use of multiple run-only AppleScripts to target various chat apps and web browsers for information stealing. In this new XCSSET variant the authors also updated the leveraged python scripts for python3, adapting to the latest macOS Monterey releases.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
File-based
OSX.Trojan.Gen
Trojan Horse
WS.Malware.1
Web-based
Observed IPs/domains are covered under security categories |
XCSSET macOS malware found to be targeting systems running Apple Silicon chips
XCSSET Spyware was first seen in mid 2020 and again at the beginning of 2021. New executable modules of XCSSET now have been observed that are complied for both Intel and the new Apple Silicon ARM64 chips.
Apple Silicon Macs have already become a target as malware writers are starting to recompiling their wares to run natively on the new Apple Silicon Macs. For example, the recent Silver Sparrow theat.
Symantec has the following coverage in place for this threat:
File-based
OSX.Trojan.Gen
OSX.Trojan.Gen.2
WS.Malware.1 |
XDSpy - APT group targets Eastern Europe and Balkans
There have been reports about a newly discovered APT group responsible for spying on government entities in Eastern Europe and the Balkans since 2011. The group named as XDSpy has been using spearphishing as the initial attack vector, a downloader malware dubbed as XDDown and has also been observed in attempted exploitations of Internet Explorer CVE-2020-0968 vulnerability.
Symantec has the following protections in place:
File-based
Trojan.Gen.MBT
Trojan.Gen.NPE
Trojan.Gen.2
Website-based
This attack is proactively blocked by Symantec Web Isolation technology |
Xehook Stealer
In recent weeks, more drive-by-download and test activities related to Xehook have been observed. This malware is an infostealer that is being advertised on underground forums as well as Telegram, with subscription fees ranging from $31 a month to $600 for unlimited access.
In terms of capabilities, Xehook is similar to most stealers out there, with nothing to make it stand out. It is capable of stealing sensitive data from Chromium and Gecko-based browsers, as well as various browser cryptocurrency and 2FA extensions.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
File-based
Trojan.Gen.MBT
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.B |
Xeno-RAT drive-by-download activities continue
Xeno-RAT is a remote access trojan that has been making the rounds in the threat landscape for the past few months. As it's open-source and available to the public – posted on a public software development and version control hosting service, hack forums, and social media – the malware is being used by numerous groups and individuals who are conducting drive-by-download campaigns.
In terms of victimology, consumers are currently the primary targets, as Xeno-RAT binaries are being disguised as popular video game installers and hacks. Nonetheless, enterprise customers aren't fully exempt from this menace, as Symantec also observed drivers and device software masquerades.
This threat includes generic capabilities such as HVNC (Hidden Virtual Network Computing), access to the victim's webcam, live microphone surveillance, keylogging, screen control, among other things.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
ACM.Untrst-Schtsk!g1
SONAR.Dropper
SONAR.SuspBeh!gen609
File-based
Trojan.Gen.MBT
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.B!100 |
Xenomorph banking trojan re-emerges via Google Play
According to a recent report, Xenomorph mobile banking trojan has been spread via malicious lifestyle apps hosted on the Google Play store. The payload itself is downloaded from GitHub repositories and installed upon the execution of the malicious app. Xenomorph contains functionality to steal banking credentials or to intercept victims' SMS messages. The stolen SMS messages can assist the attackers with theft of one-time passwords or with any similar multifactor authentication requests.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Mobile-based
AdLibrary:Generisk
Android.Malapp
Android.Reputation.2
AppRisk:Generisk |
Xenomorph v3 Android malware implements the ATS framework
Xenomorph is an Android banking malware initially discovered in 2022 and attributed to the threat actor, Hadoken Security Group. A new v3 variant of the malware has just arrived on the threat landscape and it adds several new capabilities and improvements. One of the more significant changes is the implementation of the ATS framework. ATS stands for Automated Transfer Systems and allows the actors to perform a number of fraudulent operations automatically without any need for manual or remote interaction from the operator's side. The new Xenomorph variant also incorporates a cookie stealer module to extract cookies from the Android CookieManager.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Mobile-based
Android.Reputation.2
AppRisk:Generisk
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories |
XHTML Payroll phishing campaign
HTML, SHTML, XHTML and HTM are different file extensions used in web development to indicate the type of markup language used in a web page. These are a widely used format to conduct phishing and act as an infection vector for malware. Malicious actors tend to favor HTML and SHTML as their preferred choice, while XHTML is less commonly used. This could be attributed to the fact that XHTML is stricter in nature compared to HTML which, in contrast, is known for being more forgiving when it comes to errors.
XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language) files are web documents that adhere to the XHTML standard, which is a stricter and more standardized version of HTML (Hypertext Markup Language). XHTML combines the syntax and rules of XML (eXtensible Markup Language) with the flexibility and elements of HTML. XHTML files have the file extension ".xhtml". They can be viewed in web browsers just like HTML files, but strict XHTML documents may not display properly in older browsers that do not support XML or adhere to XHTML standards.
Symantec recently observed a malicious email campaign that purports to be payroll related (subject: Payroll for period ending 12 July, 2023) targeting both private and public sectors. If victims are successfully lured, they'll see a fake Microsoft 365 login page that is designed to harvest their email credentials.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Email-based
Coverage is in place for Symantec’s email security products.
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories in all WebPulse enabled products. |
Xollam Ransomware
Xollam is the latest ransomware variant from the TargetCompany ransomware family. Previous known variants used by the same threat group back in 2021 and 2022 include Fargo and Mallox. The name Xollam is an anadrome of the word Mallox as it is spelled backwards using the same letters. Xollam was first observed in 2023 in campaigns leveraging Microsoft OneNote files for initial access and payload delivery. This ransomware encrypts users' files and appends .xollam extension to them before dropping a ransom note in the form of a .txt file named "FILE RECOVERY.txt".
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
AGR.Terminate!g2
SONAR.CryptoLocker!g36
SONAR.CryptoLocker!g42
SONAR.SuspLaunch!g18
SONAR.SuspLaunch!g230
SONAR.SuspLaunch!g253
SONAR.SuspLaunch!gen4
SONAR.TCP!gen1
File-based
Downloader
Ransom.Mallox
WS.Malware.1
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.A!300
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.B!100
Heur.AdvML.B!200
Network-based
System Infected: Trojan.Backdoor Activity 568
System Infected: Trojan.Backdoor Activity 634 |
XorDdos activity continues...
Earlier this year there were reports of a XorDdos activity increase and as of today, this Denial of Service (DDoS) Linux Trojan is still active targeting endpoints, Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices and cloud infrastructure. With sophisticated evasion capabilities, XorDos spreads via SSH brute force attack.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
File-based
Linux.Xorddos
Policy-based
DCS hardening provides 0 day protection by preventing installation and malicious activities of the Linux.Xorddos malware. |
Xorist ransomware variants are still observed in the wild
Xorist ransomware family (known also as EnCiPhErEd) has been active for the last several years and new variants of this malware continue to be found in the wild compromising both consumer and enterprise users. Xorist ransomware is known to be distributed via cracked software installers, drive-by-downloads or malspam campaigns. The malware appends various extensions to the encrypted files depending on the variant. Some examples of extensions used by most recently discovered variants of this ransomware include: .VoNiX, .gold, .kmbgdftfgdlf, .WiKoN, .GpCODE, .EnCrYpTeD.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
SONAR.SuspBeh!gen616
SONAR.SuspTempRun
SONAR.SuspTempRun2
SONAR.TCP!Gen1
File-based
Downloader
Ransom.CryptoTorLocker
Trojan.Ransomlock
WS.Malware.1
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.A
Heur.AdvML.B |
XPhase Clipper malware
XPhase Clipper, a recent malware variant, has been identified in a campaign aimed at cryptocurrency users. The payload is distributed through phishing websites posing as popular cryptocurrency wallets or trading platforms such as Metamask, WazirX, Cryptonotify, or Luno App. This clipper malware has the functionality to intercept cryptocurrency transactions by substituting the victim's copied wallet address with one controlled by the attackers.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Adaptive-based
ACM.Ps-Rd32!g1
ACM.Ps-Wscr!g1
ACM.Untrst-RunSys!g1
ACM.Wscr-Reg!g1
Behavior-based
SONAR.Dropper
SONAR.TCP!gen1
File-based
ISB.Downloader!gen60
Trojan.Gen.MBT
Web.Reputation.1
WS.Malware.1
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.A!500
Heur.AdvML.C
Network-based
Web Attack: Webpulse Bad Reputation Domain Request
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories in all WebPulse enabled products |
XploitSPY Android malware
An active malicious campaign dubbed "eXotic Visit" has been recently spreading a customized variant of the XploitSPY Android malware. The campaign, which reportedly started way back in 2021, has been delivering malicious apps hosted on either dedicated websites or the Google Play store. Most recent variants of this malware incorporate code updates regarding obfuscation, emulator detection and use of native libraries to hide attacker information, among others. XploitSPY has the functionality to extract call logs, contacts and text messages from the infected device. It can also take pictures, record audio or send SMS messages, etc.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Mobile-based
AdLibrary:Generisk
Android.Reputation.2
AppRisk:Generisk
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories in all WebPulse enabled products |
Xray Ransomware
Xray is yet another ransomware actor that has been observed in the threat landscape, targeting companies' servers and clients. Capability-wise, it's a generic ransomware that allows the actor to determine which folders to encrypt and which to skip. Upon successful encryption, files will be appended with a .Xray extension.
According to the dropped ransom note (Xray_Help.txt), there are no clear indicators as to whether they employ a double-extortion tactic or not, and there's also no specified ransom amount. They simply advise users to reach out to them via email. Currently, this actor doesn't exhibit the same prevalence as other more active ransomware actors. Nevertheless, Symantec will vigilantly monitor their activities.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
ACM.Ps-RgPst!g1a
ACM.Ps-Schtsk!g1
SONAR.Dropper
File-based
Ransom.Generic.1 |
Xret Ransomware
A ransomware actor known as Xret has been observed. Upon successful encryption, it will add a .Xret extension to encrypted files. The ransom note (# XRET #.txt) left on the machine informs the victim to contact them via either a Proton email address or a WhatsApp number. The actor also mentions in the note that they've encrypted and stolen files, intending to further pressure victims. Additionally, they state that they're not politically motivated and are solely after the money.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
SONAR.SuspBeh!gen625
File-based
Ransom.HiddenTear!g1
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.B
Policy-based
Symantec Data Center Security (DCS) default hardening policies provide 0-day protection against Xret ransomware |
XWorm - a RAT with HVNC attack capabilities
XWorm is a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) currently sold on underground forums. This .NET-based malware includes various functionalities aimed at remote control of the infected machine, command execution and data ex-filtration. XWorm binary can also drop additional malicious payloads and contains routines that allow it to perform Hidden Virtual Network Computing (HVNC) attacks - effectively granting the attackers user-grade access to the infected host.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
AGR.Terminate!g2
SONAR.SuspBeh!gen23
SONAR.SuspBeh!gen93
SONAR.SuspDataRun
SONAR.TCP!gen6
SONAR.UACBypass!gen30
File-based
Hacktool
Scr.Malcode!gdn14
Scr.Malcode!gdn32
Trojan Horse
Trojan.Dropper!g6
Trojan.Gen.2
WS.Malware.1
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.B |
XWorm malware activity continues in the wild
XWorm is a .NET-based commodity Remote Access Trojan (RAT) actively used in the wild. While this malware family has been observed several times in the past, new versions continue to be sold on underground forums and might be distributed by various threat groups across different campaigns. Along with common RAT capabilities, the latest variants of XWorm have some additional info-stealing functionalities that allow the attackers to collect confidential user data, banking details, credentials, cookies and others. The malware can also download additional plugins from C2 servers which may further enhance its operational capabilities.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
ACM.Ps-Rd32!g1
ACM.Untrst-FlPst!g1
AGR.Terminate!g2
SONAR.MalTraffic!gen1
SONAR.SuspBeh!gen93
SONAR.SuspBeh!gen752
SONAR.SuspDataRun
SONAR.TCP!gen1
File-based
MSIL.Xworm!gen1
Scr.Malcode!gdn14
Scr.Malcode!gdn30
Trojan.Gen.MBT
WS.Malware.1
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.A!300
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.B!100
Heur.AdvML.B!200
Heur.AdvML.C
Network-based
System Infected: Trojan.Backdoor Activity 568
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories in all WebPulse enabled products |
XWorm malware spread via compromised WebDAV servers
A new campaign leveraging compromised WebDAV servers to spread the XWorm malware has been observed in the wild. The attack chain starts with .LNK files distributed via malspam. Upon .LNK file execution, a malicious PowerShell code hosted on a remote WebDAV server is run, that in turn downloads a .zip archive containing the BATloader malware binary. The loader's function is to inject XWorm into the running processes on the infected endpoint. The functionality of the dropped XWorm payload comprises of user data theft, cryptowallet clipping, DDoS attacks execution or the download of additional payloads.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
AGR.Terminate!g2
SONAR.BatCloak!gen1
SONAR.SuspBeh!gen6
File-based
Scr.Malcode!gdn14
Trojan Horse
Trojan.Gen.NPE
Trojan.Gen.MBT
WS.Malware.1
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.B
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories in all WebPulse enabled products |
XWorm payloads delivered by the MEME#4CHAN campaign
XWorm is a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) known to be sold on underground forums. This .NET-based malware has multiple capabilities aimed at control of the infected machine, remote command execution, DoS attacks initiation and data ex-filtration. XWorm 3.1 variant has been recently distributed in a malicious campaign dubbed MEME#4CHAN. The attackers have been employing a multi-staged approach in their activities. The initial attack starts with malspam and malicious MS Office documents containing exploit code for the well known Follina MSDT Remote Code Execution vulnerability CVE-2022-30190. Further attack stages involve both PowerShell and JavaScript executions that lead up to the final payload of this campaign.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
SONAR.TCP!gen1
Email-based
Coverage is in place for Symantec's email security products
File-based
CL.Downloader!gen12
ISB.Downloader!gen80
Scr.Malcode!gdn14
Scr.Malcode!gdn32
Trojan Horse
Trojan.Gen.MBT
Trojan.Gen.NPE
Trojan.Gen.NPE.C
W97M.Downloader
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.B!100
Heur.AdvML.C
Network-based
Web Attack: MSDT Remote Code Execution CVE-2022-30190
Web Attack: Webpulse Bad Reputation Domain Request
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories |
X_Trader supply chain attack
In a recent report it was uncovered that Trojanized X_Trader software was the cause of the 3CX breach. Further investigation has uncovered that the X_Trader software supply chain attack affected more organizations than 3CX. An investigation by Symantec’s Threat Hunter Team has, to date, found that among the victims are two critical infrastructure organizations in the energy sector, one in the U.S. and the other in Europe. In addition to this, two other organizations involved in financial trading were also breached.
Read more in our blog: X_Trader Supply Chain Attack Affects Critical Infrastructure Organizations in U.S. and Europe
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified as the following:
Behavior-based
SONAR.TCP!gen6
File-based
FastReverseProxy
Packed.Generic.553
Trojan Horse
Trojan.Dropper
Trojan.Samsis
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.A
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.C |
Yanluowang ransomware attacks continue
Attacks involving Yanluowang, the ransomware recently discovered by Symantec, are continuing and the ransomware is now being used by threat actors that have been mounting targeted attacks against U.S. businesses since at least August 2021.
There is a tentative link between recent Yanluowang attacks and older attacks involving Thieflock, ransomware-as-a-service developed by the Canthroid (aka Fivehands) group. Several tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by these attackers overlap with TTPs used earlier by Thieflock and it is possible that some of the attacks leveraging Yanluowang may have been carried out by a former Thieflock affiliate.
Read more in our blog: Yanluowang: Further Insights on New Ransomware Threat
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
File-based
Ransom.Yanluowang
Trojan Horse
Network-based
Web Attack: Webpulse Bad Reputation Domain Request
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories |
Yashma - a Chaos ransomware variant
Yashma is a Chaos ransomware variant that first emerged around May 2022. According to recent reports, new versions of Yashma have been lately distributed in the wild. Yashma binaries are known to be generated with the help of Chaos ransomware builder that leaked on several underground forums earlier this year. Yashma contains functionality to check the OS language of the infected machine before execution. If the language is on the exclusion list hardcoded by the attackers, the malware will abort execution upon performing this check. Yashma is able to delete local backups and volume shadow copies on the infected endpoint.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
SONAR.SuspBeh!gen625
SONAR.SuspDrop!gen1
File-based
Trojan Horse
Trojan.Gen.MBT
WS.Malware.1
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.C |
Year-End Phishing in Japan: Fake Tepco unpaid bill
Japan is one of those countries that are widely targeted by phishing emails all year round – even during the last week of the year and the first days of the new year when many take a national year-end break. Symantec has observed one of these currently targeting both Japanese enterprises and consumers with unpaid electricity bill-related social engineering.
The actor has crafted the emails (subject: 【くらしTEPCO】電気料金未払い ？ 即時対応が必要) to mimic Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), a major Japanese electric utility company. If users are successfully tricked by the lure and click on the malicious URL, they will be redirected to a fake TEPCO login page. The domain is typosquatting Tepco's name to further deceive users, and uses a XYZ top-level domain name.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Email-based
Coverage is in place for Symantec’s email security products
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories in all WebPulse enabled products |
YoroTrooper threat group targets Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
New threat group dubbed YoroTrooper has been identified in espionage attacks targeted at governmental organization in countries belonging to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). YoroTrooper group leverages various custom and open-source tools, infostealers and Remote Access Trojans (RATs) such as Stink Stealer, AveMaria, LodaRAT, Meterpreter and others. The infection chain involves malicious archives being delivered via malspam. Once extracted the malicious .LNK files serve as downloaders for .HTA files which in turn download next stage payloads and droppers to the compromised endpoints.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
AGR.Terminate!g2
SONAR.SuspDataRun
SONAR.TCP!gen1
File-based
CL.Downloader!gen203
Downloader
Scr.Malcode!gdn32
Scr.Mallnk!gen3
Trojan Horse
Trojan.Gen.2
Trojan.Gen.MBT
Trojan.Gen.NPE
Trojan.Gen.NPE.C
WS.Malware.1
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.A
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.C
Network-based
URL reputation: Browser navigation to known bad URL
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories |
Your LNK to malware
Recent data shows an increased usage of Windows Shortcut (LNK) files to deliver malware via email. Observed malware families include Qakbot (as referenced in an earlier June Protection Bulletin), Emotet, IcedID, BumbleeBee Loader, and others. Campaigns are making use of multiple different mechanisms to chain together payload delivery and execution. These have included the use of ISO, zip, and html files to deliver LNK files which in turn may launch applications like Powershell, CMD, curl, and regsvr32 to complete the chain.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Email-based
Coverage is in place for Symantec’s email security products
File-based
CL.Downloader!gen111
CL.Downloader!gen260
CL.Downloader!gen261
Downloader
ISB.Downloader!gen347
Trojan Horse
Web-based
Observed IPs/domains are covered under security categories |
Your Zeppelin invoice is ready
We have been aware of reports about fake "UPS Invoice" malspam being distributed to thousands of recipients this week. The same campaign has been found to deliver Dridex malware earlier but on the 3rd of November it suddenly changed its payload to the Zeppelin ransomware. Our earlier Protection Bulletin from September mentioned this ransomware variant being a spinoff of the older Vegalocker and Buran strains.
While Symantec continues monitoring this ransomware family, we recommend regular backup procedures of any important files and applying the latest product definitions to protect against ransomware threats.
Symantec Protection against Zeppelin ransomware family and the mentioned malspam run:
File-based Protection:
Downloader
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.C
Ransom.Buran
Trojan.Gen.2
Trojan.Gen.MBT
W97M.Downloader
Behavior-based Protection:
SONAR.SuspDrop!gen1
SONAR.SuspLaunch!gen4
SONAR.SuspLaunch!g22
Network-based Protection:
[31967] System Infected: Legion Loader Activity
[32179] Attack: Ransom.Gen Activity 23
[32436] Attack: Ransom.Gen Activity 29
Email-based Protection:
Coverage is in place for Symantec's email security products and Email Threat Isolation (ETI) technology provides an extra layer of protection for our customers. |
YouTube Hijacking: Rise in Attack Campaigns Distributing Infostealers
An increase in attack campaigns utilizing YouTube has been observed, with threat actors hijacking existing popular YouTube accounts to distribute Vidar and LummaC2 Infostealer malwares. Users are lured with videos purporting to offer cracked versions of everyday programs like Adobe. Links provided in the comments section lead to malicious packages uploaded to MediaFire. Consequently, users unwittingly become infected by downloading and executing malicious code instead of the desired program.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
File-based
Scr.Malcode!gdn32
Trojan.Gen.MBT
WS.Malware.1
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.A!300
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.B!100
Heur.AdvML.B!200
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories in all WebPulse enabled products |
YouTube video tutorials distributing Vidar Stealer, Laplas Clipper, XMRig Miner malwares
Threat actors capitalized on the eagerness of various end users to possibly acquire something for free rather than paying for a subscription via YouTube tutorials. These users will unknowingly be lured into installing an information stealer from the link provided on the video, trusting it is legitimate. It actually delivers not just one threat but a triple threat to its victims.
Vidar Stealer is one of them, known to collect a wide range of sensitive data. Laplas Clipper is another variant of infostealer and its main objective is to hijack cryptocurrency transactions. Lastly, XMRig Miner is designed to mine cryptocurrencies, particularly Monero (XMR).
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories
File-based
Miner.XMRig!gen2
Trojan.Gen.MBT
Trojan.Gen.2
Trojan Horse
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.C |
YTStealer looking for YouTubers' authentication cookies and more
YouTube's popularity has remained unshaken for years – the platform hosts a large number of content creators and many have millions of viewers daily. What if prominent YouTube content creators and influencers had their account compromised? It opens doors to multiple adverse outcomes that may affect the account owner and their viewers. Other than plain credential phishing, there hasn't been much malware that primarily targets the platform. But recently there have been reports of an infostealer dubbed YTStealer that is specifically trying to snatch YouTube users authentication cookies and steal various information about the victim's account/channel.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
File-based
Trojan.Gen.MBT
Trojan.Gen.2
Trojan.Gen.9
Network-based
System Infected: Trojan.Backdoor Activity 634
System Infected: Trojan.Backdoor Activity 564 |
z0Miner takes advantage of latest RCE CVEs for deployment
z0Miner is a cryptominer with a history of taking advantage of Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerabilities for deployment. The most recent vulnerability it has been abusing affects Atlassian's Confluence, identified as CVE-2021-26084. Previously, it has been seen exploiting vulnerabilities in Oracle’s WebLogic Server and ElasticSearch.
In a typical attack, the attacker will attempt to exploit a vulnerability to install a webshell on a targeted server. Following that, it will download and install additional payloads and the miner itself.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
File-based
Trojan.Gen.NPE
Trojan.Gen.MBT
Trojan Horse
Network-based
Web Attack: Confluence RCE CVE-2021-26084
Web Attack: Oracle Weblogic Server RCE CVE-2020-14882
Web-based
Observed IPs/domains are covered under security categories |
Zanubis mobile malware continues to target banks and financial institutions in Peru
Zanubis is an Android banking malware variant that has been first seen on the threat landscape back in 2022. The malware continues to target banks and financial institutions specifically in Peru. In the recent campaigns from this year, the threat actors have been disguising the malicious Zanubis packages as official Android apps for the Peruvian governmental organization SUNAT. The malware relies on victims granting accessibility permissions to the malicious app in order to take control of the compromised device. The malware monitors for any executions of targeted applications on the device and once found proceeds with data theft, logging of observed events or taking screen recordings.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Mobile-based
AdLibrary:Generisk
Android.Malapp
Android.Reputation.2
AppRisk:Generisk |
Zanubis mobile malware targets banking apps
A new Android malware dubbed Zanubis has been discovered in the wild. The latest variant of this malware masquerades as a PDF app and targets mostly banking applications of various financial institutions and banks from Peru. Zanubis uses overlay-based attacks to steal users' credentials of the targeted applications. The collected information is later ex-filtrated to C2 servers controlled by the attackers.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Mobile-based
AdLibrary:Generisk
Android.Reputation.2
AppRisk:Generisk |
Zardoor backdoor
A new backdoor, dubbed Zardoor, has recently been observed in a targeted attack against an Islamic organization. The actors behind this prolonged campaign have been using a multi-chain attack involving living-off-the-land binaries (LoLBins) and reverse proxy tools. The attackers also customized open-source tools and were able to maintain access to the victim's network for years, according to reports. At this time, the initial vector of compromise remains unknown.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Adaptive-based
ACM.Untrst-RunSys!g1
ACM.Ps-Rd32!g1
File-based
Hacktool
ProxyVenom
Trojan.Gen.2
Trojan.Gen.MBT
Trojan Horse |
Zarik Ransomware: a 20 dollar tip on Boosty as ransom
Another ransomware actor has been targeting individual machines using various Chaos ransomware variants. Upon successful encryption, the dropped ransom note advises victims to tip the crook $20 on Boosty, a Russian content subscription platform. Activities have been observed in Russia, the Netherlands, and Ukraine. Drive-by-download is the primary vector of infection, where malicious binaries have been disguised as cracked software such as Photoshop.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Adaptive-based
ACM.Untrst-RLsass!g1
ACM.Untrst-RunSys!g1
File-based
Ransom.Sorry |
ZE Loader
According to recent reports, there is another run-of-the-mill banking malware called ZE Loader doing the rounds. ZE Loader leverages the classic overlay technique and DLL hijack combo to steal victims' credentials when they browse their banking websites. This trick has been around for years but still sees success, hence the reason we continue to see such malware.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
File-based
Trojan.Gen.MBT
Trojan.Horse |
ZenRAT malware masquerades as installer for password managers
ZenRAT is a recently discovered malware variant targeting Windows users. The malware is spread under the disguise of fake installer package for a password manager application called Bitwarden. Upon infection the malware will contact the pre-configured C&C servers and request further commands. ZenRAT has the functionalities to receive additional modules, forward logs to C2 servers or even assist the attackers with infostealing capabilities.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
AGR.Terminate!g2
SONAR.ProcHijack!g21
SONAR.SuspBeh!gen625
File-based
Trojan.Gen.2
Trojan.Gen.MBT
WS.Malware.1
WS.Reputation.1
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.A!300
Heur.AdvML.A!500
Heur.AdvML.A!400
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.C
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories in all WebPulse enabled products |
Zeoticus ransomware 2.0 in the wild
Symantec Security Response is aware that a new variant of Zeoticus ransomware has appeared on the threat landscape. The initial version (v1.0) of the ransomware was released in early 2020.
Zeoticus, most likely named after an anime character, drops a ransom note in read_me.html and appends a contact email address (i.e. [email protected]) at the end of the file name of the files it encrypts.
Symantec provides the following detection against Zeoticus 2.0:
File-based
Trojan.Gen.MBT |
Zephyr coinminer
A recent campaign has been observed distributing a variant of Zephyr coinminer. The malware is spread via a .7z archive titled "WINDOWS_PY_M3U_EXPLOIT_2024." This archive aims to disguise the malware binaries as leaked code for a Windows vulnerability. The compressed files include an NSIS (Nullsoft Scriptable Install System) installation file and two JavaScript files. The execution of the .js files triggers the generation of an AutoIt-based script, ultimately leading to the deployment of the final cryptomining payload.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
ACM.Ps-Wscr!g1
ACM.Untrst-RunSys!g1
ACM.Wscr-Schtsk!g1
ACM.Wscr-Wscr!g1
AGR.Terminate!g2
SONAR.SuspDrop!g36
SONAR.TCP!gen1
File-based
ISB.Downloader!gen202
Trojan Horse
Trojan.Gen.2
Trojan.Gen.MBT
WS.Malware.1
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.A!300
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.B!100
Heur.AdvML.B!200
Network-based
Web Attack: Webpulse Bad Reputation Domain Request |
Zeppelin ransomware
Zeppelin is a Delphi-based ransomware, a younger sibling of VegaLocker (Vega) and Buran ransomware, that has been around since late 2019. The ransomware was named simply after the “.zeppelin” extension is added to the files it encrypted.
Zeppelin ransomware was observed time to time but a report suggests the ransomware made a resurgence. In line with the recently popular malware distribution method, Zeppelin was spammed out via Microsoft Word documents with malicious macro.
As with any other ransomware, the encrypted files may never be recovered. Make a habit of regularly backing up important files, enable macros that are from trusted sources and apply latest definitions to protect yourself from ransomware.
Symantec Protection against Zeppelin ransomware as well as related files:
File-based Protection:
Ransom.Buran
Trojan.Gen.MBT
W97M.Downloader
VBS.Downloader.Trojan
Network-based Protection:
Attack: Ransom.Gen Activity 29
System Infected: Legion Loader Activity |
Zeppelin ransomware attacks in the wild
Symantec Security Response is aware of the recent CISA and FBI alert regarding a number of targeted activities observed for the Zeppelin ransomware. Zeppelin is a ransomware variant originating from the Buran strain and sold on underground forums as a part of a Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) offering. According to the released report, there have been instances where the threat actors executed the ransomware multiple times in the targeted network and this resulted in victims requiring to obtain several different decryption keys. The attackers behind the Zeppelin ransomware are also known to employ the double extortion scheme.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
AGR.Terminate!g2
SONAR.SuspBeh!gen25
SONAR.SuspDrop!gen1
SONAR.SuspLaunch!g18
SONAR.SuspLaunch!g193
File-based
Downloader
Ransom.Buran
Ransom.LetsGo
Ransom.Zeppelin!g1
WS.Malware.1
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.B
Network-based
Attack: Ransom.Gen Activity 29
System Infected: Trojan.Backdoor Activity 634
Web-based
Observed IPs/domains are covered under security categories |
Zeppelin Ransomware re-surges with a new variant
Zeppelin is a ransomware variant originating from the Buran strain and sold on underground forums as a part of a Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) offering. According to latest reports, a new Zeppelin variant is currently being advertised that comes with improvements to the implemented encryption mechanisms.
As we continue to monitor and enhance our protections against Zeppelin Ransomware variants, we recommend performing regular backups for any important data and ensuring your security products are kept up to date with the latest product definitions.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
File-based
Downloader
Heur.AdvML.B
Ransom.Buran
Trojan.Gen.MBT |
Zeppelin Ransomware still actively distributed
Protection Bulletin from last September discussed a 2020 resurgence of the Zeppelin ransomware. Zeppelin is a successor of the VegaLocker/Buran strain that remains active on the threat landscape according to a recently released report. Zeppelin distribution campaigns leverage phishing emails, MS Office documents with malicious macros and PowerShell loaders among others.
Symantec's protection against Zeppelin ransomware includes the following:
File-based
Downloader
Heur.AdvML.B
Ransom.Buran
Ransom.Gen
Trojan.Gen.2
Trojan.Gen.MBT
Trojan.Gen.NPE
Trojan Horse
Network-based
Attack: Ransom.Gen Activity 29
System Infected: Legion Loader Activity |
Zerobot botnet targets a variety of IoT devices through unpatched vulnerabilities
A new Go-based botnet called Zerobot has been recently distributed by exploitation of over twenty vulnerabilities in a variety of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Zerobot supports several different architectures including i386, amd64, arm, arm64, mips, mips64, mips64le, mipsle, ppc64, ppc64le, riscv64, and s390x. The malware has the ability to communicate with the C2 servers over the WebSocket protocol. Once C2 connection is established, Zerobot will await commands from the command and control server. The malware has attack execution capabilities for various protocols such as: TCP, UDP, TLS, HTTP, ICMP.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
File-based
Trojan Horse
Trojan.Gen.NPE
WS.Malware.1
WS.Malware.2
Network-based
Attack: D-Link DNS-320 RCE CVE-2020-25506
Attack: FLIR AX8 Thermal Camera Command Injection CVE-2022-37061
Attack: Hikvision Command Injection CVE-2021-36260
Attack: Telesquare SDT OS Command Injection CVE-2021-46422
Attack: Zyxel Firewall Unauthenticated Command Injection CVE-2022-30525
Web Attack: f5 Big-IP iControl Rest RCE CVE-2022-1388
Web Attack: Huawei Router RCE CVE-2017-17215
Web Attack: phpMyAdmin RFI CVE-2018-12613
Web Attack: Realtek SDK RCE CVE-2014-8361
Web Attack: Spring Framework CVE-2022-22965
Web Attack: Spring Framework CVE-2022-22965 2
Web Attack: Tenda Router RCE CVE-2020-10987
Web Attack: TOTOLINK Router Command Injection CVE-2022-26186
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories |
zgRAT Activity On The Rise
Over the past two months we have been observing a steady increase in zgRAT activity, with most being vectored via malicious emails, either directly or by way of other threats such as loaders and stealers. This threat is a classic remote access trojan that allows its operator to gain remote control of a compromised machine, perform keylogging, steal sensitive data, and also upload/execute other threats. Note zgRAT is also capable of spreading via USB drives.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Email-based
Coverage is in place for Symantec's email security products
Adaptive-based
ACM.Ps-RgPst!g1
ACM.RegRun-TPs!g1
ACM.Ps-Msbuild!g1
Behavior-based
SONAR.SuspDataRun
File-based
Backdoor.Trojan
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.B |
ZHtrap Linux botnet
Symantec Security Response is aware that a new Linux botnet ZHtrap is in the wild targeting UPnP SOAP and Digital Video Recorder devices, and also wireless routers for which four N-day vulnerabilities are still unpatched. In addition to the backdoor functionality ZHtrap is also capable of carrying out the following actions:
Performing DDoS attacks
Scanning for vulnerable systems
Performing telnet scans
Downloading and executing remote files
Symantec provides the following detection against ZHtrap:
File-based
Linux.Lightaidra
Trojan Horse
Trojan.Gen.NPE
Web-based
Observed domains are covered under security categories |
Zimbra Collaboration's RCE (CVE-2022-27925) used in-the-wild
Recently, actors have been observed leveraging multiple vulnerabilities in Zimbra – a cloud-hosted collaboration software suite that includes an email server and a web client. In this protection bulletin, we'll cover CVE-2022-27925 which is a remote code execution vulnerability that allows attackers to upload crafted zip files with directory traversal in file path. In the attack, webshells were then dropped on targeted locations that acted as a backdoor to access the compromised servers.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Network-based
Web Attack: Malicious ZIP File Upload
Policy-based
DCS default protection policies for servers will block webshells from being dropped on the system |
Zimbra Collaboration XSS vulnerability CVE-2023-37580
CVE-2023-37580 is a recently disclosed 0-day (CVSS score: 6.1) Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability affecting Zimbra Collaboration suite. Successful exploitation of the vulnerability may allow an attacker to compromise the confidentiality and integrity of the target system by means of malicious scripts injection. The exploit code for the vulnerability has been released publicly and the vulnerability has also been reported as exploited in the wild. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 8.8.15 Patch 41 or greater to fix this issue.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Network-based
Web Attack: Zimbra Collaboration XSS CVE-2023-37580
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories in all WebPulse enabled products |
Zimbra users targeted in phishing campaign
A phishing campaign targeting Zimbra users in Latin America and Europe has recently been observed. The phishing messages purport to be from the domains used by the Zimbra admin, alerting the targets that their accounts will be deactivated unless they follow the link or open the attached HTML file and enter their credentials. Both the links in the message bodies and the form destination in the attached HTML point to a 'zimbraAdmin.php' file for credential exfiltration.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Email-based
Coverage is in place for Symantec’s email security products
File-based
Phishing.HTM.Gen
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories in all WebPulse enabled products |
ZINC / Lazarus APT leveraging weaponized open-source software
Zinc aka Lazarus APT has been reported to be posing as recruiters on LinkedIn in order to lure targets into installing trojanized version of open-source software packages. The campaign has been targeting individuals and organizations in multiple sectors including media, defense and aerospace, and IT services. The malware spread by the threat actors has been hidden in trojanized packages of known open-source software such as PuTTY, KiTTY, TightVNC Viewer and Sumatra PDF Reader. The reported campaigns have been distributing malware from the ZetaNile and EventHorizon families, among others.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
File-based
Trojan Horse
Trojan.Gen.2
Trojan.Gen.MBT
WS.Malware.1
WS.Malware.2
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.B
Web-based
Observed domains are covered under security categories |
ZK Java Framework RCE vulnerability CVE-2022-36537 exploited in the wild
CVE-2022-36537 is a 2022 Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability impacting the ZK Framework that has been rated with a high CVSS score. ZK is a Java-based and open-source Ajax Web framework that allows for creation of graphical user interfaces for web and mobile applications. When exploited the flaw could lead to information disclosure but could also allow potential attackers to perform remote code execution. The vulnerability has just recently been added to the "Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog" by CISA following the reports of in the wild exploitation.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Network-based
Web Attack: ZK Framework RCE CVE-2022-36537 |
Zloader distributed by DOCM files
Zloader is a variant of the Zeus banking trojan and according to the latest reports it has been recently distributed by malspam campaigns leveraging .docm files. In the past Zloader has been often spread via malicious .xls or .xlsm files. The change to .docm format is an evident effort at detection evasion.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
File-based
ISB.Downloader!gen411
Trojan.Gen.NPE
W97M.Downloader
Web-based
Observed domains are covered under security categories |
Zloader malware returns in a new campaign
Zloader (aka DELoader or Terdot) is a modular trojan variant based on the leaked Zeus malware source code, that first appeared on the threat landscape around 2015. Following the takedown operation that took place in April 2022, Zloader became inactive for almost 2 years. A new campaign delivering Zloader has now been observed in the wild. The latest variants of this loader come with new enhancements such as support for 64-bit versions of Windows, updated domain generation algorithm (DGA) or added RSA encryption capability for network communication.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
ACM.Ps-Rd32!g1
File-based
Backdoor.Cobalt!gen20
Trojan Horse
Trojan.Gen.MBT
WS.Malware.1
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.A
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.B!100
Heur.AdvML.B!200
Heur.AdvML.C
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories in all WebPulse enabled products |
Zombinder service leveraged to bind Ermac infostealer with legitimate apps
A new malicious campaign targeting both Android and Windows users has been observed in the wild. The attackers have been spreading the Ermac banking trojan for Android and Erbium, Aurora and Laplas infostealers for Windows. The malware has been distributed via a fake website advertising Wi-Fi authorization apps or browser updates. Once the user has been lured into downloading and executing the app, it would install the final payload on the compromised device. The threat group behind this campaign has been leveraging a third-party service used to bind obfuscated malicious payloads with Android apps called Zombinder.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
File-based
Trojan Horse
Trojan.Gen.2
Trojan.Gen.MBT
Mobile-based
AdLibrary:Generisk
Android.Reputation.1
Android.Reputation.2
AppRisk:Generisk |
ZuoRAT Hijacking SOHO Routers
A stealthy under-the-radar remote access trojan (RAT) dubbed ZuoRAT has been compromising small office/home office (SOHO) routers since 2020.
Due to the recent pandemic, a lot of workers opted to work from home and it presented an opportunity for threat actors to exploit this flaw on SOHO routers since less monitoring from corporate network admins is done.
The capabilities demonstrated in this campaign include gaining access to SOHO devices of different makes and models, collecting host and LAN information to assist in targeting, sampling and hijacking network communications to gain potentially persistent access to in-land devices, and stealthy C2 infrastructure leveraging multistage siloed router to router communications.
Symantec protects you from these threats, identified by the following:
Behavior-based
SONAR.ProcHijack!g43
SONAR.ProcHijack!g45
SONAR.ProcHijack!g47
SONAR.TCP!gen1
File-based
Backdoor.Cobalt!gm5
Trojan Horse
Trojan.Gen.MBT
Trojan.Gen.NPE
Trojan.Gen.2
WS.Malware.1
WS.Malware.2
Machine Learning-based
Heur.AdvML.B
Heur.AdvML.C
Network-based
System Infected: Trojan.Backdoor Activity 235
System Infected: Trojan.Backdoor Activity 612
Web Attack: Webpulse Bad Reputation Domain Request(29565)
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories |
ZuRu targets MacOS
ZuRu is a dropper that has recently been spotted in the MacOS threat landscape. The actors behind ZuRu trojanized a popular app (iTerm2, a terminal emulator for macOS) and mimicked the official website in order to lure victims. In this campaign, successful infection will result in ZuRu downloading additional malicious files such as a python script to steal private information.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
File-based
OSX.Trojan.Gen |
Zyxel CVE-2023-28771 vulnerability leveraged by DDoS botnets
CVE-2023-28771 is a critical (CVSS score 9.8) command injection vulnerability affecting Zyxel devices. If exploited the vulnerability could allow unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code remotely on the targeted systems. The vulnerability has also been added to the "Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog" by CISA following reports of in-the-wild exploitation. CVE-2023-28771 has been recently used for propagation by several DDoS botnets such as Dark.IoT or various Mirai variants.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
File-based
Linux.Lightaidra
Linux.Mirai
Trojan Horse
Trojan.Gen.NPE
Web.Reputation.1
WS.Malware.1
WS.Malware.2
Network-based
Attack: Zyxel Command Injection CVE-2023-28771
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories in all WebPulse enabled products |
École Française de Téhéran spoofed in an email credential phishing campaign
Cybercriminals have been targeting email credentials for decades through phishing and malware attacks. Recently, Symantec observed a phishing campaign targeting banks, insurance companies, real estate firms, energy companies, and research and education entities around the world. In this phishing campaign, the perpetrators used a shipping theme to trick victims, pretending to be the École Française de Téhéran, a French international school located in Tehran. Victims received an email with a PDF attachment that contained a link to a website that appeared to be a blurred shipping document. When they clicked on the link, they were prompted to enter their email credentials to view that document.
Symantec protects you from this threat, identified by the following:
Email-based
Coverage is in place for Symantec’s email security products
Web-based
Observed domains/IPs are covered under security categories |
‘RedDelta’ Group Finds Religion
There have been reports published of a three-month campaign against targets in the Vatican. The attacks have been attributed to the RedDelta group, which shares some links to Mustang Panda (aka PKPLUG), They began with a series of spear-phishing emails which were disguised as either legitimate internal Vatican correspondence or news about Hong Kong’s national security laws.
Aside from the Vatican, a number of other Catholic organizations were targeted including mail servers belonging to the Diocese of Hong Kong and an Italian-based missionary organization. Once inside targeted organizations, the attackers then deployed a range of malware including Plug X, Poison Ivy, and Cobalt Strike.
Symantec Protections
Trojan.Gen.2
Trojan.Gen.MBT
Trojan Horse
Trojan.Gen.NPE
Downloader |
The data in this report is aggregated from a combination of sources including Symantec’s Phish
Report Network (PRN), strategic partners, customers and security solutions.
This report discusses the metrics and trends observed in phishing activity during the month of
July 2009.
Highlighted in the August 2009 report:
Symantec observed a 52 percent increase from the previous month in all phishing attack
63 percent of phishing URLs were generated using phishing toolkits; an increase of 150
percent from the previous month
More than 130 Web hosting services were used, which accounted for 6 percent of all
phishing attacks; a decrease of 14 percent of total Web host URLs when compared to the
previous month
There was a 17 percent decrease from the previous month in non -English phishing sites
Symantec observed an increase in attacks employing fraudulent use of hijacked legitimate
SSL certificates
August 2009 Report #22
Phishing Tactic Distribution: Phish-
ing sites were categorized based
upon the domains they leveraged.
A considerable increase was seen
in the number of phishing sites be-
ing generated using phishing tool-
kits. This was likely a result of a
particular Command & Control
served being re -activated. This also
is partially attributable for the
overall increase in the volume of
phishing activity in July.
David Cowings
Executive Editor
Security Response Suyog Sainkar
Editor
Security Response Sagar Desai
PR Contact
[email protected]
The following categories were analyzed:
Sectors
Number of brands
Phishing toolkits
Fraud URLs with IP addresses
Phish sites by hosted cities
Use of Web -hosting sites
Geo-locations of phishing sites
Non -English phishing sites
Top-Level domains of phishing sites
Country of brand
Sectors: Phishing target sectors are seen in
the graphic below.
Number of Brands: Symantec observed that
37 percent of all attacks were from unique
phishing websites, which included more than
226 targeted brands. Although, the unique
phishing activity decreased by only 8 percent
in July, the proportion of unique phishing
URLs decreased considerably from 62% (in
June) to 35% (in July). This was the result of a
sharp increase in toolkit activity as the trend-
ing of the two is usually inversely correlated.
Phishing site attack methods and target sectors
Automated Phishing Toolkits: Symantec ob-
served that 63 percent of phishing URLs were
generated using phishing toolkits in the last
month. The number of toolkit attacks in-
creased by 150 percent. Symantec observed
that there was a vast increase in toolkit at-
tacks during the first half of the month
(primarily targeting the information services
sectors).
The increased toolkit attacks observed since
the previous month continued to primarily
target a social networking site popular in the
United States. This toolkit attack is in all likeli-
hood related to a specific Command & Control
server being reactivated. These attacks tar-
geted towards the information services sec-
tor, facilitates attackers in the collection of
personal data to leverage further spamming
activities.
Symantec recently observed an increase in
phishing attacks abusing legitimate SSL
certificates. Fraudsters have targeted the us-
ers of major brands by compromising Web
servers with SSL certificates so that the
fraudulent Web pages can display the familiar
padlock icon, while offering a false sense of
security to the victims.
In this particular attack, the certificates were
legitimate because they matched the compro-
mised legitimate domain. The fake pages that
were spoofing the target brands in actuality
had no connection with the displayed domain
or the certificate. A single compromised Web
server with an SSL certificate can be used to
host a broad range of phishing sites, and, can
have a higher success rate to trick users gain
trust in the fake site. Web servers using SSL
certificates generally have strong security
measures so they do not tend to be compro-
mised as frequently as non -SSL sites and in
the larger picture represent a relatively small
percentage of all phishing attacks. Weekly Behavior of Phishing T oolkit Activity
Phishers today use IP addresses as part of the
hostname instead of a domain name. This is a
tactic used to hide the actual fake domain
name that otherwise can be easily
noticed. Also, many banks use IP
addresses in their Web site URLs.
A total of 1067 phishing sites were
hosted in 61 countries. This
amounted to a decrease of approxi-
mately 29 percent of IP attacks in
comparison to the previous month.
The Greater China region ac-
counted for approximately 9 per-
cent of IP attacks in the month.
The total number of IP attacks origi-
nating from this region reduced by
10 percent as compared to the pre-
vious month. Panama and Peru are
new members in the list of top five
countries making their debut appearances at
the third and fourth positions respectively.
The top cities hosting Phish sites were Taipei,
Jacksonville and Houston. Symantec observed
that Phish sites with IP domains continued to
originate from newer cities every month.
Phishing Attacks Using IP Address Domains
For phishers, usage of free Web -hosting ser-
vices has been the easiest form of phishing in
terms of cost and technical skills required to
develop fake sites.
A total of 130 different Web -hosting services
served as the home for 2,402 phishing sites in
the month of July. Symantec observed that
there was a 14% decrease in the number of
free Web -hosting services utilized for
Phishing sites were analyzed based upon the
geo-location of their web hosts as well as the
1. Geo -Location of Phishing Lures
Leading this area are the USA (35 percent),
Germany (5 percent) and Romania (5 per-
cent). In July, there was a considerable in-
crease observed in the proportion of phishing
2. Geo -Location of Phishing Web Hosts
The top countries are USA (42 percent), Ger-
many (6 percent) and Romania (4 percent).
developing phishing sites. More than 85
brands were attacked using this method in
the reporting period. However, this form of
attack is not as widely used as it frequently
requires manual efforts to prepare the phish-
ing Web page, unlike the automated kit gen-
erated websites. Many free web hosts have
also improved their preventative and correc-
tive anti -phishing measures significantly de-
creasing the lifespan of phishing sites on their
systems.
number of unique URL’s (referred to in this
report as “lures”) utilized to lure victims to
the phishing web hosts.
lures for Hungary, making an introduction at
the ninth position. The proportion of active
phishing lures remained fairly evenly distrib-
uted for the rest of the locations.
There was a considerable increase observed in
the proportion of phishing hosts for Romania
and Poland. In July, the distribution of web
hosts was evenly distributed for rest of the
locations. Phishing Exploits of Free Web -Hosting Services
Global Distribution of Phishing Sites
Phishing attacks in French, Italian
and Chinese languages were found
to be higher in July. French language
attacks once again returned to the
top position. Symantec observed
that phishing websites in French and
Italian remained higher for some
popular financial brands. Phishing
attacks in Chinese languages pre-
vailed from the e -commerce sector.
Phishing URLs were categorized based on the
Top-Level Domains (TLD). TLDs are the last
part of an Internet domain name; i.e., the let-
ters that follow the final dot of any domain
name. E.g., in the domain name www.example.com,
the Top -Level Domain is .com (or COM, as do-
main names are not case -sensitive). Country
Code Top -Level Domains (ccTLD) are used by a
country or a territory. Non -English Phishing Trends
Top-Level Domains of Phishing Sites
Geo-Location of Phishing Web Hosts
They are two letters long, for example .us is
for the United States. Generic Top -Level Do-
mains (gTLD) are used by aparticular type of
organization (.com for a commercial organiza-
tion).
1. Generic Top -Level
Domains (gTLDs)
The generic TLDs .com,
.net and .org were the
most utilized with (72
percent), (10 percent)
and (7 percent) of the
total phish attacks re-
spectively.
2. Country Code Top -
Level Domains (ccTLDs)
The German, Korean
and United Kingdom
ccTLDs were evaluated
to be the highest in
phishing attacks with
(10 percent), (8 per-
cent) and (8 percent)
respectively. It is three or more letters long. Most gTLDs
are available for use worldwide, but for his-
torical reasons .mil (military) and .gov
(government) are restricted to use by the re-
spective U.S. authorities.
Comparisons of Top -Level Domains of Phishing Sites
Overall TLDs
The most used TLDs in phishing sites in the month of June were, .com, .net and .org compris-
ing of (53 percent), (8 percent) and (5 percent) respectively.
The Top -Level Domains in phishing were then further categorized:
The top countries of brands attacked in July
were the USA, UK and Italy. There were 30
countries whose brands were attacked. As
seen in the previous months, the trend of the
sectors targeted is similar throughout the
countries of brand origin except for those be-
longing to Germany and China.
There was a combination of banking, e -
commerce and information services sectors in
German brands. In China, the e -commerce
sector has been a primary target. However, in
July, Symantec observed a few phishing sites
targeted towards a large Chinese financial
brand. Country of Targeted Brands
The brands that phishing sites spoofed were categorized based on the country in which the
brand’s parent company is based. |
The data in this report is aggregated from a combination of sources including Symantec’s Phish
Report Network (PRN), strategic partners, customers and security solutions.
This report discusses the metrics and trends observed in phishing activity during the month of
November 2009.
Highlighted in the December 2009 report:
Symantec observed a 6 percent decrease from the previous month in all phishing at-
tacks
25 percent of phishing URLs were generated using phishing toolkits; a decrease of 24
percent from the previous month
A 26 percent decrease from the previous month was observed in non -English phishing
sites
More than 122 Web hosting services were used, which accounted for 10 percent of all
phishing attacks; an increase of 16 percent in total Web host URLs when compared to
the previous month
December 2009 Report #26
Phishing Tactic Distribution: Phishing sites
were categorized based upon the domains
they leveraged. The total volume of phish-
ing, in November, decreased by 6 percent
from the previous month. Symantec saw a
considerable drop in a particular toolkit
phishing based attack targeting an informa-
tion services brand and that in all probabil-
ity led to the drop in the overall phishing
volume. In November, there was a slight in-
crease in the number of free Web hosting
services utilized.
David Cowings
Executive Editor
Security Response Suyog Sainkar
Editor
Security Response Sagar Desai
PR Contact
[email protected]
The following categories were analyzed:
Sectors
Number of brands
Phishing toolkits
Fraud URLs with IP addresses
Phish sites that use IP address domains – categorized by hosted cities
Use of Web hosting sites
Geo-locations of phishing sites
Sectors: Phishing target sectors are seen in the graphic below. Phishing site attack methods and target sectors
Phishing sites in November were categorized to understand the attack methods and to deter-
mine the sectors and brands impacted by the attacks.
Number of Brands:
Symantec observed that 75
percent of all attacks were
from unique phishing web-
sites, which included more
than 220 targeted brands.
In November, the unique
phishing activity increased
by 2% over the previous
month. The proportion of
unique phishing URLs in-
creased from 70 percent (in
October) to 75 percent (in
November). The higher pro-
portion of unique phishing
activity was a result of a fall
in the number of toolkit
phishing Web sites in the
month.
Automated Phishing Toolkits:
Symantec observed that 25 percent of phish-
ing URLs were generated using phishing tool-
kits. The number of toolkit attacks decreased
considerably by 24 percent. This decrease was
attributed to a fall in the number of toolkit
phishing websites in the information services
sector.
Unlike the previous month, the activity of
toolkit phishing on the financial sector was
more than the remaining sectors. Symantec
observed a recurring rise and drop in the tool-
kit activity during the beginning of the month.
The toolkit activity was more consistent to-
wards the end of the month. Weekly Behavior of Phishing Toolkit Activity
Phishing Attacks Using IP Address Domains
Phishers today use IP addresses as part of the hostname instead of a domain name. This is a
tactic employed to hide the actual fake domain name that otherwise can easily be noticed. As
many banks use IP addresses in their website URLs, this establishes a precedent that spam-
mers can follow as it raises less suspicion.
A total of 1044 phishing sites were hosted in 55 countries. This amounted to an increase of
approximately 6 % of IP attacks in comparison to the previous month. The United States con-
tinued to be the top ranked country hosting phishing sites. In November, the Greater China
was back to the second position. This region accounted for approximately 8 % of IP attacks.
Canada accounted for approximately 5 percent of IP attacks in the month.
The top cities hosting phish sites were Fort Lauderdale, Montreal and Seoul. As observed in pre-
vious months, phish sites with IP domains continued to originate from newer cities every
month. Fort Lauderdale, entered the list of top cities hosting phishing sites for the first time and
took the top position as well. Montreal, Seoul, Taipei and Beijing were common in the list of top
cities in the previous month.
For phishers, using free Web hosting services
has been the easiest form of phishing in terms
of cost and technical skills required to develop
fake sites.
A total of 122 different Web hosting services
served as the home for 2,106 phishing sites in
the month of November. Symantec observed
that there was a 16 percent increase in the
number of free Web hosting services utilized
for developing phishing sites. More than 96
Phishing sites were analyzed based upon the
geo-location of their Web hosts as well as the
number of unique URL’s (referred to in this
1. Geo-Location of Phishing Lures
Leading this area are the USA (40 percent),
South Korea (6 %) and Germany (5 %). In No-
vember, a decrease was observed in the num-
ber of phishing lures originating from the USA
2. Geo -Location of Phishing Web Hosts
The top countries are USA (43 percent), South
Korea (6 %) and Germany (5 %). There was an
increase observed in the number of phishing
hosts from the USA. brands were attacked using this method in
the reporting period.
However, this form of attack is not as widely
used as it frequently requires manual efforts
to prepare the phishing Web page, unlike the
automated kit generated Websites. Many free
Web hosts have also improved their preventa-
tive and corrective anti -phishing measures
significantly decreasing the lifespan of phish-
ing sites on their systems.
report as “lures”) utilized to lure victims to
the phishing Web hosts.
and South Korea. Symantec has observed that
the phishing lures originated from fewer
countries than last month. The proportion of
active phishing lures remained evenly distrib-
uted for the rest of the locations .
On the other hand, there was a decrease for
South Korea and Germany. In November, the
distribution of Web hosts was evenly distrib-
uted for all other locations. Phishing Exploits of Free Web Hosting Services
Global Distribution of Phishing Sites
Phishing attacks in Italian, French and
Chinese languages continued to be the
highest in Non -English language phish-
ing attacks. In November, the number of
attacks in Portuguese exceeded that of
Spanish. The increase in Portuguese lan-
guage attacks was due to a rise in phish-
ing on a Brazilian social networking
website. Phishing websites in Italian and
French remain higher in financial
brands. The attacks in Chinese language
prevailed in the e -commerce sector.
Phishing URLs were categorized based on the
Top-Level Domains (TLD). TLDs are the last
part of an Internet domain name; i.e., the
letters that follow the final dot of any domain
name. E.g., in the domain name www.example.com,
the Top -Level Domain is .com (or COM, as
domain names are not case -sensitive).
Country Code Top -Level Domains (ccTLD) are
used by a country or a territory. Non -English Phishing Trends
Top-Level Domains of Phishing Sites
Geo-Location of Phishing Web Hosts
They are two letters long, for example .us is for
the United States. Generic Top -Level
Domains (gTLD) are used by a particular type of
organization (.com for a commercial
organization).
1. Generic Top -Level
Domains (gTLDs)
The generic TLDs .com,
.net and .co were the
most utilized with (72
percent), (9 %) and (7
%) of the total phish
attacks respectively.
2. Country Code Top -
Level Domains
(ccTLDs)
The Chinese, Korean
and United Kingdom
ccTLDs were evaluated
to be the highest in
phishing attacks with
(9 %), (9 %) and (8 %)
respectively. It is three or more letters long. Most gTLDs
are available for use worldwide, but for
historical reasons .mil (military) and .gov
(government) are restricted to use by the
respective U.S. authorities.
Comparisons of Top -Level Domains of Phishing Sites
Overall TLDs
The most used TLDs in phishing sites in the month of November were, .com, .net and .org
comprising of (50 percent), (7 %) and (5 %) respectively.
The Top -Level Domains in phishing were then further categorized:
The top countries of brands attacked in November were the USA, UK and Italy. There were 29
countries whose brands were attacked. As seen in the previous months, the trend of the sec-
tors targeted is similar throughout the countries of brand origin except for those belonging to
Germany and China. There was a combination of banking, e -commerce and information ser-
vices sectors in German brands. In China, the e -commerce sector remains a primary target. The
number of phishing attacks on South African brands increased significantly. Phishers are piggy-
backing on the hype and hoopla surrounding the 2010 FIFA World cup and are launching at-
tacks masquerading World cup related sites. Internet users are advised to be cautious of phish-
ing attacks during the World Cup season .
Country of Targeted Brands
The brands that phishing sites spoofed were categorized based on the country in which the
brand’s parent company is based. |
The data in this report is aggregated from a combination of sources including Symantec’s Phish
Report Network (PRN), strategic partners, customers and security solutions.
This report discusses the metrics and trends observed in phishing activity during the month of
December 2009.
Highlighted in the January 2010 report:
Symantec observed a 4 percent decrease from the previous month in all phishing at-
tacks
21 percent of phishing URLs were generated using phishing toolkits; a decrease of 19
percent from the previous month
A 26 percent decrease from the previous month was observed in non -English phishing
sites
More than 118 Web hosting services were used, which accounted for 11 percent of all
phishing attacks; an increase of 2 percent in total Web host URLs when compared to
the previous month
January 2010 Report #27
Phishing Tactic Distribution: Phishing sites
were categorized based upon the domains
they leveraged. In December, the total
volume of phishing decreased by 4 percent
from the previous month. Toolkit based
phishing attacks faced a decrease of 19
percent, which most likely led to the
decrease in the overall volume of phishing.
However, phishing attacks based on other
methods including typosquatting, IP
domains and use of webhosting sites have
slightly increased from the previous
month.
David Cowings
Executive Editor
Security Response Mathew Maniyara
Editor
Security Response Sagar Desai
PR Contact
[email protected]
The following categories were analyzed:
Sectors
Number of brands
Phishing toolkits
Fraud URLs with IP addresses
Phish sites that use IP address domains – categorized by hosted cities
Use of Web hosting sites
Geo-locations of phishing sites
Non -English phishing sites
Top-Level domains of phishing sites
Country of brand Non -English phishing sites
Sectors: Phishing target sectors are seen in the graphic below. Phishing site attack methods and target sectors
Phishing sites in December 2009 were categorized to understand the attack methods and
determine the sectors and brands impacted by the attacks.
Number of Brands:
Symantec observed that 79
percent of all attacks were from
unique phishing websites,
which included more than 218
targeted brands. In December
2009, the unique phishing
activity increased by 2 percent
over the previous month. The
proportion of unique phishing
URLs increased from 75 percent
(in November 2009) to 79
percent (in December 2009).
The higher proportion of
unique phishing activity was a
result of a fall in the number of
toolkit phishing websites in the
month.
Automated Phishing Toolkits:
Symantec observed that 21 percent of
phishing URLs were generated using phishing
toolkits. The number of toolkit attacks
decreased considerably by 19 percent. A
spike was observed in the first week of the
month in toolkit phishing activity. However,
the volume of phishing attacks from these
toolkits was considerably low throughout the
rest of the month. The toolkit attacks on the
financial sector decreased considerably in De-
cember 2009. The information services sector
had the majority of toolkit attacks during the
month. The attacks on the financial sector
spanned several brands whereas the attacks
in information services sector were primarily
targeted at a single brand. Weekly Behavior of Phishing Toolkit Activity
Phishing Attacks Using IP Address Domains
Phishers today use IP addresses as part of the hostname instead of a domain name. This is a
tactic employed to hide the actual fake domain name that otherwise can easily be noticed.
Also, many banks use IP addresses in their website URLs.
A total of 1135 phishing sites were hosted in 61 countries. This amounted to an increase of
approximately 8 percent of IP attacks in comparison to the previous month. The United States
continued to be the top ranked country hosting phishing sites. The Greater China region con-
tinued to be at the second spot comprising of 7 percent of IP attacks. South Korea accounted
for approximately 7 percent of IP attacks in the month.
The top cities hosting phish sites were Seoul, Fort Lauderdale and Clarksville. Debuting in
December was Clarksville at the third position. Brooklyn, Atlanta and Montreal were common
to the list of top cities in the previous month as well.
A total of 118 different web hosting services
served as the home for 2,150 phishing sites in
the month of December. Symantec observed
a 2 percent increase in the number of free
web hosting services utilized for developing
phishing sites. More than 84 brands were
attacked using this method in the reporting
period.
1. Geo-Location of Phishing Lures
Leading this area are the USA (37 percent),
South Korea (5 percent) and Canada (5 per-
cent). The proportion of lures from the USA
has decreased considerably from (43 percent)
2. Geo -Location of Phishing Web Hosts
The top countries are the USA (43 percent),
Germany (4 percent) and South Korea (3 per-
cent). Symantec observed that the phishing
hosts originated from more countries than the However, this form of attack is not as widely
used as it frequently requires manual efforts
to prepare the phishing Web page, unlike the
automated kit generated websites. Many free
web hosts have also improved their preventa-
tive and corrective anti -phishing measures
significantly decreasing the lifespan of phish-
ing sites on their systems.
in the previous month to (37 percent) in the
current month. The number of active lures
from Canada exceeded that from Germany
and has taken over the third position.
previous month. In December, the distribu-
tion of web hosts was evenly distributed for
all other locations. Phishing Exploits of Free Web Hosting Services
Global Distribution of Phishing Sites
For phishers, using free web hosting services has been the easiest form of phishing in terms of
cost and technical skills required to develop fake sites.
Phishing sites were analyzed based upon the geo -location of their web hosts as well as the
number of unique URL’s (referred as “lures” in the report) utilized to lure victims to the phish-
Phishing attacks in Italian, French and Portu-
guese languages were the highest in Non -
English language attacks. In December 2009,
the number of attacks in Portuguese in-
creased further, exceeding Chinese and reach-
ing the third position. The increase in phishing
on a Brazilian social networking website was
the reason behind the increase of attacks in
Portuguese language. Phishing websites in
Italian and French remained higher in financial
brands. The attacks in Chinese language pre-
vailed in the e -commerce sector.
Non -English Phishing Trends
Top-Level Domains of Phishing Sites
Geo-Location of Phishing Web Hosts
Phishing URLs were categorized based on the Top -Level Domains (TLD). TLDs are the last part
of an Internet domain name; i.e., the letters that follow the final dot of any domain name. E.g.,
in the domain name www.example.com, the Top -Level Domain is .com (or COM, as domain
names are not case -sensitive). Country Code Top -Level Domains (ccTLD) are used by a country
or a territory. They are two letters long, for example .us is for the United States. Generic Top -
Level Domains (gTLD) are used by a particular type of organization (.com for a commercial
Comparisons of Top -Level Domains of Phishing Sites
Overall TLDs
The most used TLDs in phishing sites in the month of December were, .com, .net and .org com-
prising of (54 percent), (7 percent) and (4 percent) respectively.
The Top -Level Domains in phishing were then further categorized:
organization). It is three or more letters long. Most gTLDs are available for use worldwide, but
for historical reasons .mil (military) and .gov (government) are restricted to use by the respec-
tive U.S. authorities.
1. Generic Top -Level Domains (gTLDs)
The generic TLDs .com, .net and .co were the most utilized with (74 percent), (10 percent) and
(6 percent) of the total phish attacks respectively.
2. Country Code Top -Level Domains (ccTLDs)
The Russian, Chinese and United Kingdom ccTLDs were evaluated to be the highest in phishing
attacks with (11 percent), (8 percent) and (7 percent) respectively. The top countries of brands attacked in December were the USA, UK and Italy. There were 32
countries whose brands were attacked. As seen in the previous months, the trend of the sec-
tors targeted is similar throughout the countries of brand origin except for those belonging to
Germany and China. There was a combination of banking, e -commerce and information ser-
vices sectors in German brands. In China, the e -commerce sector remains a primary target. UAE
made its debut in the top countries of brands attacked. A higher number of phishing attacks on
a bank based in UAE led to the country making its debut in the list. Another contributing factor
was the disappearance of France and Israel from the list. There were fewer phishing attacks on
brands based in these two countries as compared to the previous month.
Country of Targeted Brands
The brands that phishing sites spoofed were categorized based on the country in which the
brand’s parent company is based. |
The data in this report is aggregated from a combination of sources including Symantec’s Phish
Report Network (PRN), strategic partners, customers and security solutions.
This report discusses the metrics and trends observed in phishing activity during the month of
June 2009.
Highlighted in the July 2009 report:
Symantec observed a 21 percent increase from the previous month in all phishing attack
A 9 percent increase was observed in the total number of phishing URLs generated using
phishing toolkits. However, when compared against all phishing attacks the proportion of
phishing URLs using toolkits actually reduced to 38 percent. This decrease can be partially
attributed to a significant increase in the total number of phishing URLs utilizing free Web
-hosting services.
More than 143 Web hosting services were used, which accounted for 10 percent of all
phishing attacks; a staggering increase of 96 percent from the previous month
Symantec observed a 21 percent increase in non -English phishing sites
Symantec identified a new phishing tactic used in an attack targeting the Australian Taxa-
tion Office
July 2009 Report #21
Phishing Tactic Distribution: Phishing sites
were categorized based upon the domains
they leveraged. A considerable increase was
seen in the number of phishing sites using
automated toolkits. This increase was a re-
sult of a large toolkit attack targeting an in-
formation services brand .
David Cowings
Executive Editor
Security Response Suyog Sainkar
Editor
Security Response Sagar Desai
PR Contact
[email protected]
The following categories were analyzed:
Sectors
Number of brands
Phishing toolkits
Fraud URLs with IP addresses
Phish sites by hosted cities
Use of Web -hosting sites
Geo-locations of phishing sites
Non -English phishing sites
Top-Level domains of phishing sites
Country of brand
Sectors: Phishing target sectors are seen in
the graphic below.
Number of Brands: Symantec observed that
62 percent of all attacks were from unique
phishing Web sites, which included more than
208 targeted known brands. The unique at-
tacks increased by 27 percent from the previ-
ous month. The increase was likely a result of
phishers evading the phishing mitigation tac-
tics of several web hosting companies to their
benefit. This has also partially attributed to
an overall increase in the volume of phishing
activity in June.
Phishing site attack methods and target sectors
Automated Phishing Toolkits: Symantec ob-
served that 38 percent of phishing URLs in the
month of June were generated using phishing
toolkits. The number of toolkit attacks in-
creased by 9 percent. Symantec observed
that there was a sudden increase in toolkit
attacks during the last week of June (primarily
targeting the information services sectors).
The rise in toolkit attacks was primarily the
resurgence in phishers targeting a social net-
working site popular mainly in the United
States. This phishing attack follows right after
the recent phishing attacks observed in May
targeting another popular social networking
site Facebook, which was successfully curbed
by the team at Facebook.
This particular toolkit attack is most likely re-
lated to a specific Command & Control server
being reactivated. These attacks play a signifi-
cant part in populating and updating under-
ground economy servers with stolen personal
data; marketed in the maturing underground
economy. The primary objective of those who
operate in these activities is - money.
Symantec observed a new technique used in
phishing scams targeting the Australian Taxa-
tion Office at the closing of the financial year.
Most of these phishing attacks were traced
back to compromised Web servers hosted in
Germany and Australia.
The phishing scam was technically very nifty
as it asked the intended victims to supply de-
tails and print the form. The completed form
was to be sent to the mailing address to proc-
ess the tax refund. If someone completed the
form and clicked on the "Print" button, what
actually happened was the confidential infor-
mation was sent to a server utilizing the fraud
domain. Fortunately the Australian Taxation
Office took serious note of the phishing at-
tacks and worked diligently to gain control
over it.
Weekly Behavior of Phishing Toolkit Activity
Phishers today use IP addresses as part of the
hostname instead of a domain name. This is a
tactic used to hide the actual fake domain
name that otherwise can be easily
noticed. Also, many banks use IP
addresses in their Web site URLs.
A total of 1503 phishing sites were
hosted in 92 countries. This
amounted to an increase of approxi-
mately 21 percent of IP attacks in
comparison to the previous month.
The Greater China region accounted
for approximately 19 percent of IP
attacks in the month, the highest
observed from this region, as com-
pared to the previous months.
Thailand is a new member in the list of top
five countries making its debut appearance at
the fourth position. The top cities hosting
Phish sites were Taipei, Chicago and Bangkok. Phishing Attacks Using IP Address Domains
Free Web -Hosting services has been the easi-
est form of phishing in terms of cost and tech-
nical skill required to develop fake sites.
A total of 143 different Web hosting services
served as the home for 2,814 phishing sites in
the month of June. Symantec observed that,
there was a significant increase in the number
of free Webhosting services utilized for devel-
oping phishing sites. More than 77 brands
Phishing sites were analyzed based upon the
geo-location of their Web hosts as well as the
number of unique URL’s (referred to in this
report as “lures”) utilized to lure victims to
the phishing Web hosts.
Leading this area are the USA (35 percent),
1. Geo-Location of Phishing Lures
2. Geo -Location of Phishing Web Hosts
The top countries are USA (42 percent), Ger-
many (5 percent) and China (4 percent).
were attacked using this method in the re-
porting period.
However, this form of attack is not as widely
used as it frequently requires manual efforts
to prepare the phishing Web page, unlike the
automated kit generated Web sites. Many
Free Web Hosts have also improved their pre-
ventative and corrective anti -phishing meas-
ures significantly decreasing the lifespan of
phishing sites on their systems.
Spain (4 percent) and Romania (4 percent).
In June, there was a considerable increase ob-
served in the proportion of phishing lures for
Spain, Romania and Mexico. The proportion
of active phishing lures remained evenly dis-
tributed for the rest of the locations as ob-
served in the recent months.
Unlike the active phishing lures, the distribu-
tion of Web hosts remained somewhat un-
evenly distributed as in the previous month. Phishing Exploits of Free Web Hosting Services
Global Distribution of Phishing Sites
Phishing attacks in Italian,
French and Chinese lan-
guages were found to be
higher in June. French lan-
guage attacks returned to
the top position after a gap
of a couple of months. Sy-
mantec observed that phish-
ing Web sites in Italian and
French language remained
higher for some popular fi-
nancial brands. Italian and
French language phishing
sites were mainly from the
financial sector, while Chi-
nese language phishing sites
were from the e -commerce
sector.
Phishing URLs were catego-
rized based on the Top -Level Domains (TLD).
TLDs are the last part of an Internet domain
name; i.e., the letters that follow the final dot
of any domain name.
E.g., in the domain name www.example.com,
the Top -Level Domain is .com (or COM, as do-
main names are not case -sensitive). Country
Code Top -Level Domains (ccTLD) are used by a
country or a territory. Non -English Phishing Trends
Top-Level Domains of Phishing Sites
Geo-Location of Phishing Web Hosts They are two letters long, for example .us is
for the United States. Generic Top -Level Do-
mains (gTLD) are used by particular classes of
organizations (.com for commercial organiza-
tions).
1. Generic Top -Level Domains (gTLDs)
The generic TLDs .com, .net and .co were the
most used with (73 percent), (12 percent) and
(6 percent) of the total phish attacks respec-
tively. It is three or more letters long. Most gTLDs
are available for use worldwide, but for his-
torical reasons .mil (military) and .gov
(government) are restricted to use by the re-
spective U.S. authorities.
2. Country Code Top -Level Domains (ccTLDs)
The German, Russian and United Kingdom
ccTLDs were the highest found in phishing at-
tacks with (9 percent), (8 percent) and (7 per-
cent) respectively. Comparisons of Top -Level Domains of Phishing Sites
Overall TLDs
The most used TLDs in phishing sites in the month of June were, .com, .net and .org compris-
ing of (50 percent), (9 percent) and (4 percent) respectively.
The Top -Level Domains in phishing were then further categorized:
There was a combination of banking, e -
commerce and information services sectors in
German brands. In China, the e -commerce
sector has been a primary target. In the
month of June, there was a considerable in-
crease observed in the phishing sites targeted
towards some large Australian and Indian fi-
nancial brands. Country of Targeted Brands
The brands that the phishing sites spoofed were categorized based on the country in which
the brand’s parent company is based. |
The data in this report is aggregated from a combination of sources including Symantec’s Phish
Report Network (PRN), strategic partners, customers and security solutions.
This report discusses the metrics and trends observed in phishing activity during the month of
June 2009.
Highlighted in the June 2009 report:
Symantec observed that 42% of phishing URLs were generated using phishing toolkits; an
increase of 100% from the previous month
There was a 14% decrease from the previous month in non -English phishing sites
More than 98 Web hosting services were used, which accounted for 6 percent of all phish-
ing attacks; a decrease of 5 percent from the previous month
Symantec observed a new trend of phishing attack towards the popular social -networking
site Facebook
June 2009 Report #20
Phishing Tactic Distribution: Phishing sites were categorized based upon the domains they
leveraged. A considerable increase was seen in the number of phishing sites using automated
toolkits. This increase was a result of a large toolkit attack targeting an information services
brand .
David Cowings
Executive Editor
Security Response Suyog Sainkar
Editor
Security Response Sagar Desai
PR Contact
[email protected]
The following categories were analyzed:
Sectors
Number of brands
Phishing toolkits
Fraud URLs with IP addresses
Phish sites by hosted cities
Use of Web -hosting sites
Geo-locations of phishing sites
Non -English phishing sites
Top-Level domains of phishing sites
Country of brand
Sectors: Phishing target sectors are seen in
the graphic below.
Number of Brands: Symantec observed that
58 percent of all attacks were from unique
phishing Web sites, which included more than
206 targeted known brands. The unique at-
tacks decreased by 9 percent from the previ-
ous month. This was the result of a sharp in-
crease in toolkit activity as the trending of the
two is usually inversely correlated .
Phishing site attack methods and target sectors
Automated Phishing Toolkits: Symantec ob-
served that 42 percent of phishing URLs were
generated using phishing toolkits in the last
month. The number of toolkit attacks in-
creased by 100 percent. Symantec observed
that there was a sudden increase in toolkit
attacks during the first week of the month
(primarily targeting the information services
and Financial sectors ).
The rise in toolkit attacks was primarily the
resurgence in phishers targeting a popular
information services brand. This is in all likeli-
hood related to a specific Command & Control
server being reactivated, as toolkit activity
often fluctuates with the activities of Com-
mand & Control servers and botnets.
In May, Symantec observed a new trend of
phishing attacks towards the popular social -
networking site Facebook. The domains
hosting the phishing sites were mainly a jum-
ble of haphazardly generated names all of
which included a country code (many of which
were “.im”, “.at” or “.be”). Most of these
phishing sites were based out of Latvia and
China.
Symantec suspects that the initial Facebook
phishing attack vector was through forged
spam email. However, once user accounts
had been compromised, the attacks were
most likely launched through Facebook itself.
The purpose of phishing attacks towards
popular information services sites are primar-
ily to obtain a large number of credentials and
leverage email services for spamming activi-
ties. Fortunately the team at Facebook re-
garded the phishing attacks very seriously and
worked diligently to remove messages with
those links, and helping secure any compro-
mised accounts. Weekly Behavior of Phishing Toolkit Activity
Phishers today use IP addresses as part of the
hostname instead of a domain name. This is a
tactic used to hide the actual fake domain
name that otherwise can be easily noticed.
Also, many banks use IP addresses in their
Web site URLs.
A total of 1237 phishing sites were hosted in
77 countries. This amounted to an increase of
approximately 2 percent of IP attacks in com-
parison to the previous month. The Greater
China region accounted for approximately 15
percent of IP attacks in the month . Brazil and
Russia are new members in the top ten list
making their debut appearance at the third
and fourth positions respectively.
The top cities hosting Phish sites were San
Diego, Taipei and Taichung. Symantec ob-
served that Phish sites with IP domains con-
tinue to originate from more and more new
cities every month .
Phishing Attacks Using IP Address Domains
Free Web -Hosting services has been the easi-
est form of phishing in terms of cost and tech-
nical skill required to develop fake sites.
A total of 98 different Web -Hosting services
served as the home for 1,434 phishing sites.
More than 52 brands were attacked using this
method in the reporting period.
Phishing sites were analyzed based upon the
geo-location of their Web hosts as well as the
number of unique URL’s (referred to in this
report as “lures”) utilized to lure victims to
the phishing Web hosts.
1. Geo-Location of Phishing Lures
2. Geo -Location of Phishing Web Hosts
The top countries are USA (44 percent), Ger-
many (5 percent) and China (5 percent). However, this form of attack is not as widely
used as it frequently requires manual efforts
to prepare the phishing Web page, unlike the
automated kit generated Web sites. Many
Free Web Hosts have also improved their pre-
ventative and corrective anti -phishing meas-
ures significantly decreasing the lifespan of
phishing sites on their systems.
Leading this area are the USA (31 percent),
Germany (5 percent) and China (4 percent). It
is interesting to observe that the proportion
of active phishing lures remains evenly distrib-
uted for the rest of the locations as in the re-
cent months .
Unlike the active phishing lures, the distribu-
tion of web hosts was somewhat unevenly
distributed . Phishing Exploits of Free Web Hosting Services
Global Distribution of Phishing Sites
Phishing attacks in French, Italian and Chinese
languages were found to be higher in May.
French language attacks topped the list for
the second consecutive month. Symantec ob-
served that phishing Web sites in French and
Italian language remained to be higher for
Phishing URLs were categorized based on the
Top-Level Domains (TLD). TLDs are the last
part of an Internet domain name; i.e., the let-
ters that follow the final dot of any domain
name. E.g., in the domain name
www.example.com, the Top -Level Domain
is .com (or COM, as domain names are not
case -sensitive). Country Code Top -Level Do-
mains (ccTLD) are used by a country or a terri-
tory. some popular financial brands. French and
Italian language phishing sites were mainly
from the financial sector, while Chinese lan-
guage phishing sites were from the e -
commerce sector.
They are two letters long, for example .us is
for the United States. Generic Top -Level Do-
mains (gTLD) are used by particular classes of
organizations (.com for commercial organiza-
tions). It is three or more letters long. Most
gTLDs are available for use worldwide, but for
historical reasons .mil (military) and .gov
(government) are restricted to use by the re-
spective U.S. authorities.
Non -English Phishing Trends
Top-Level Domains of Phishing Sites
Overall TLDs
The most used TLDs in phishing sites in the
month of May were, .com, .net and .org com-
prising of (54 percent), (8 percent) and (5 per-
cent) respectively.
The Top -Level Domains in phishing were then
further categorized:
1. Generic Top -Level Domains (gTLDs)
The generic TLDs .com, .net and .org were the
most utilized with (75 percent), (11 percent)
and (6 percent) of the total phish attacks re-
spectively.
2. Country Code Top -Level Domains (ccTLDs)
The Russian, Brazilian and German ccTLDs
were evaluated to be the highest in phishing
attacks with (9 percent), (8 percent) and (7
percent) respectively. Comparisons of Top -Level Domains of Phishing Sites
The top countries of brands attacked in May
were the USA, UK and Italy. There were 24
countries whose brands were attacked. The
trend of the sectors targeted is similar
throughout the countries of brand origin ex-
cept for those belonging to Germany and
China.
There was a combination of banking, e -
commerce and information services sectors in
German brands. In China, the e -commerce
sector has been a primary target. Also in the
month of May, there was a considerable in-
crease observed in the phishing sites targeted
towards some Australian Financial brands.
Country of Targeted Brands
The brands that the phishing sites spoofed were categorized based on the country in which
the brand’s parent company is based. |