With this post I would like to provide a technical dive and considerations about the recently disclosed XZ BackDoor vulnerability (CVE-2024-3094). This vulnerability, which affects the XZ Utils library, a widely used data compression utility in Linux distributions, had the potential for severe consequences, including remote code execution (RCE) and Continue Reading
A {Black}Cat and mouse game: How the gang’s operators have ‘unseized’ their Dedicated Leak Site
In recent days, the FBI was entrenched in a virtual struggle against the ransomware group known as ALPHV / BlackCat. This engagement unfolded subsequent to the FBI gaining control of the underlying infrastructure that the group had utilized to amass over $300 million in ransoms. In the early hours of Dec. 19, 2023, the darkweb Continue Reading
Under the shellcode of the ‘Operation Duck Hunt’. Analysis of the FBI’s ducks killer.
The “Duck Hunt” operation refers to a specific operation called “Operation Duck Hunt” that disrupted the Qakbot botnet. The Qakbot botnet was a sophisticated network of compromised computers that was used to distribute malware, steal sensitive information, and carry out other malicious activities. The operation to disrupt the Qakbot botnet Continue Reading
Rhysida: An old / new threat in the ransomware landscape
Rhysida is a relatively new ransomware group operating as a R-a-a-S (Ransomware-as-a-Service) provider. The corresponding ransomware has the particularity of making use of LibTomCrypt, a cryptographic library that allows attackers to leverage on robust encryption methods and a fast development. Rhysida appears to be written in C++ and compiled via MinGW; the payloads I’ve found are quite Continue Reading
ALPHV / BlackCat: Threat Assessment and Profile
BlackCat / ALPHV is known for high-profile attacks like those conducted against the italian luxury brand Moncler, the aviation company Swissport and more recently against GSE (Gestore Servizi Energetici SpA). The ransomware payload includes a lot of advanced features and is able to support a wide range of offensive operations and to impact different environment . It’s command-line driven Continue Reading
Reverse and Hunt: Between the jumps of ArguePatch
ARGUEPATCH is a patched version of a legitimate component of the Hex-Rays IDA Pro software. In detail it’s the remote IDA debugger server named win32_remote.exe and it’s basically designed to act as a loader by reading and decrypting an encrypted payload written to disk (CaddyWiper). It has been used against Ukrainian targets in destructive attacks and it’s believed to Continue Reading
Industroyer2: The ICS-capable malware re-emerges in order to cause critical services disruption
A few days ago a new variant of an ICS-capable malware known as Industroyer has been employed during a cyber-attack conducted against industrial control systems (ICS) responsible for the management and control of power plants subsystems in Ukraine. This new version has been named Industroyer2 and represents the evolution of a malware family already observed in December 2016 working Continue Reading
The BigBoss Rules: Something about one of the Uroburos’ RPC-based backdoors
BigBoss is one of the RPC-based backdoors used by Uroburos (aka Turla, Snake, Venomous Bear, Pacifier). It was first spotted out in 2018 and was observed to include new features in the last quarter of 2020. During operations usually it’s used in combination with R.A.T. (Remote Administration Tools) such as Kazuar and Carbon. Several months ago I Continue Reading
Revil / Sodinokibi ransomware delivered through Kaseya VSA supply-chain attack
On July 2, 2021, Kaseya issued a notice stating that the company was experiencing a potential cyber attack against the VSA suite. The company itself advised that the on-prem customers servers should be shut down immediately until further notice from them. VSA is a very common solution and usually used by Managed Service Continue Reading
Affiliates vs Hunters: Fighting the “DarkSide”
On August 2020 a new type of malware, belonging to the Ransomware category, appeared in the cyber threat landscape. Threat actor responsible for its development called it “DarkSide” and , like others piece of malware of this type, is operated in Big Game Hunting (BGH) campaigns. Around more or less the same time, a DLS (Dedicated Leak Continue Reading