Kaspersky International Analysis has uncovered a malicious international marketing campaign through which attackers used Telegram to ship Trojan spy ware, probably concentrating on people and companies within the fintech and buying and selling industries.
The malware is designed to steal delicate knowledge, reminiscent of passwords, and take management of customers’ gadgets for espionage functions.
The marketing campaign is believed to be linked to DeathStalker, an notorious hack-for-hire APT (Superior Persistent Risk) actor providing specialised hacking and monetary intelligence providers. Within the latest wave of assaults noticed by Kaspersky, risk actors tried to contaminate victims with DarkMe malware – a distant entry Trojan (RAT), designed to steal data and execute distant instructions from a server managed by the perpetrators.
Risk actors behind the marketing campaign seem to have focused victims within the buying and selling and fintech sectors, as technical indicators recommend the malware was doubtless distributed by way of Telegram channels targeted on these subjects. The marketing campaign was international, as Kaspersky has recognized victims in additional than 20 nations throughout Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the Center East.
The an infection chain evaluation reveals the attackers had been most certainly attaching malicious archives to posts in Telegram channels. The archives themselves, reminiscent of RAR or ZIP recordsdata, weren’t malicious, however they contained dangerous recordsdata with extensions like .LNK, .com, and .cmd. If potential victims launched these recordsdata, it results in the set up of the final-stage malware, DarkMe, in a collection of actions.
“As an alternative of utilizing conventional phishing strategies, risk actors relied on Telegram channels to ship the malware. In earlier campaigns, we additionally noticed this operation utilizing different messaging platforms, reminiscent of Skype, as a vector for preliminary an infection. This methodology could make potential victims extra inclined to belief the sender and open the malicious file than within the case with a phishing web site. Moreover, downloading recordsdata by means of messaging apps could set off fewer safety warnings in comparison with normal web downloads, which is beneficial for the risk actors,”
explains Maher Yamout, Lead Safety Researcher from GReAT.
“Whereas we usually advise vigilance towards suspicious emails and hyperlinks, this marketing campaign highlights the necessity for warning when dealing even with prompt messaging apps like Skype and Telegram.”
Along with utilizing Telegram for malware supply, the attackers improved their operational safety and post-compromise cleanup. After set up, the malware eliminated the recordsdata used to deploy the DarkMe implant. To additional hinder evaluation and attempt to evade detection, perpetrators elevated the implant’s file dimension and deleted different footprints, reminiscent of post-exploitation recordsdata, instruments, and registry keys, after attaining their objective.
Deathstalker, beforehand often known as Deceptikons, is a risk actor group energetic since at the least 2018, and probably since 2012. It’s believed to be a cyber-mercenary or hacker-for rent group the place the risk actor appears to have competent members who develop in-house toolsets, and perceive the superior persistent risk ecosystem.
The group’s major objective is gathering enterprise, monetary and personal private data, probably for aggressive or enterprise intelligence functions serving their clientele. They usually goal small and medium companies, monetary, fintech, regulation companies, and on a number of events, governmental entities. Regardless of going after most of these targets, DeathStalker has by no means been noticed stealing funds, which is why Kaspersky believes it to be a non-public intelligence outfit.
The group additionally has an attention-grabbing tendency to try to keep away from attribution of their actions by mimicking different APT actors and incorporating false flags.
Featured picture credit score: edited from freepik