T1573.001 Symmetric Cryptography
Adversaries may employ a known symmetric encryption algorithm to conceal command and control traffic rather than relying on any inherent protections provided by a communication protocol. Symmetric encryption algorithms use the same key for plaintext encryption and ciphertext decryption. Common symmetric encryption algorithms include AES, DES, 3DES, Blowfish, and RC4.
Item | Value |
---|---|
ID | T1573.001 |
Sub-techniques | T1573.001, T1573.002 |
Tactics | TA0011 |
Platforms | Linux, Windows, macOS |
Version | 1.0 |
Created | 16 March 2020 |
Last Modified | 26 March 2020 |
Procedure Examples
ID | Name | Description |
---|---|---|
S0066 | 3PARA RAT | 3PARA RAT command and control commands are encrypted within the HTTP C2 channel using the DES algorithm in CBC mode with a key derived from the MD5 hash of the string HYF54&%9&jkMCXuiS. 3PARA RAT will use an 8-byte XOR key derived from the string HYF54&%9&jkMCXuiS if the DES decoding fails103 |
S0065 | 4H RAT | 4H RAT obfuscates C2 communication using a 1-byte XOR with the key 0xBE.103 |
S0045 | ADVSTORESHELL | A variant of ADVSTORESHELL encrypts some C2 with 3DES.88 |
G0007 | APT28 | APT28 installed a Delphi backdoor that used a custom algorithm for C2 communications.149 |
G0064 | APT33 | APT33 has used AES for encryption of command and control traffic.50 |
S0438 | Attor | Attor has encrypted data symmetrically using a randomly generated Blowfish (OFB) key which is encrypted with a public RSA key.130 |
S0344 | Azorult | Azorult can encrypt C2 traffic using XOR.5859 |
S0245 | BADCALL | BADCALL encrypts C2 traffic using an XOR/ADD cipher.29 |
S0128 | BADNEWS | BADNEWS encrypts C2 data with a ROR by 3 and an XOR by 0x23.1017 |
S0234 | Bandook | Bandook has used AES encryption for C2 communication.54 |
S0534 | Bazar | Bazar can send C2 communications with XOR encryption.81 |
S0127 | BBSRAT | BBSRAT uses a custom encryption algorithm on data sent back to the C2 server over HTTP.66 |
S0574 | BendyBear | BendyBear communicates to a C2 server over port 443 using modified RC4 and XOR-encrypted chunks.135 |
S0268 | Bisonal | Bisonal variants reported on in 2014 and 2015 used a simple XOR cipher for C2. Some Bisonal samples encrypt C2 communications with RC4.858786 |
S0520 | BLINDINGCAN | BLINDINGCAN has encrypted its C2 traffic with RC4.72 |
S0486 | Bonadan | Bonadan can XOR-encrypt C2 communications.13 |
G0060 | BRONZE BUTLER | BRONZE BUTLER has used RC4 encryption (for Datper malware) and AES (for xxmm malware) to obfuscate HTTP traffic. BRONZE BUTLER has also used a tool called RarStar that encodes data with a custom XOR algorithm when posting it to a C2 server.121 |
S1039 | Bumblebee | Bumblebee can encrypt C2 requests and responses with RC490 |
S0077 | CallMe | CallMe uses AES to encrypt C2 traffic.84 |
S0030 | Carbanak | Carbanak encrypts the message body of HTTP traffic with RC2 (in CBC mode). Carbanak also uses XOR with random keys for its communications.128129 |
S0348 | Cardinal RAT | Cardinal RAT uses a secret key with a series of XOR and addition operations to encrypt C2 traffic.65 |
S0220 | Chaos | Chaos provides a reverse shell connection on 8338/TCP, encrypted via AES.116 |
S0674 | CharmPower | CharmPower can send additional modules over C2 encrypted with a simple substitution cipher.95 |
S0144 | ChChes | ChChes can encrypt C2 traffic with AES or RC4.1415 |
S0023 | CHOPSTICK | CHOPSTICK encrypts C2 communications with RC4.42 |
S0154 | Cobalt Strike | Cobalt Strike has the ability to use AES-256 symmetric encryption in CBC mode with HMAC-SHA-256 to encrypt task commands and XOR to encrypt shell code and configuration data.49 |
S0244 | Comnie | Comnie encrypts command and control communications with RC4.63 |
S0137 | CORESHELL | CORESHELL C2 messages are encrypted with custom stream ciphers using six-byte or eight-byte keys.108 |
S0050 | CosmicDuke | CosmicDuke contains a custom version of the RC4 algorithm that includes a programming error.94 |
G0012 | Darkhotel | Darkhotel has used AES-256 and 3DES for C2 communications.145 |
S0187 | Daserf | Daserf uses RC4 encryption to obfuscate HTTP traffic.121 |
S0021 | Derusbi | Derusbi obfuscates C2 traffic with variable 4-byte XOR keys.117 |
S0200 | Dipsind | Dipsind encrypts C2 data with AES256 in ECB mode.61 |
S0472 | down_new | down_new has the ability to AES encrypt C2 communications.133 |
S0134 | Downdelph | Downdelph uses RC4 to encrypt C2 responses.31 |
S0384 | Dridex | Dridex has encrypted traffic with RC4.22 |
S0038 | Duqu | The Duqu command and control protocol’s data stream can be encrypted with AES-CBC.82 |
S0377 | Ebury | Ebury has encrypted C2 traffic using the client IP address, then encoded it as a hexadecimal string.106 |
S0081 | Elise | Elise encrypts exfiltrated data with RC4.96 |
S0082 | Emissary | The C2 server response to a beacon sent by a variant of Emissary contains a 36-character GUID value that is used as an encryption key for subsequent network communications. Some variants of Emissary use various XOR operations to encrypt C2 data.75 |
S0091 | Epic | Epic encrypts commands from the C2 server using a hardcoded key.104 |
S0569 | Explosive | Explosive has encrypted communications with the RC4 method.70 |
S0076 | FakeM | The original variant of FakeM encrypts C2 traffic using a custom encryption cipher that uses an XOR key of “YHCRA” and bit rotation between each XOR operation. Some variants of FakeM use RC4 to encrypt C2 traffic.84 |
S0181 | FALLCHILL | FALLCHILL encrypts C2 data with RC4 encryption.131132 |
S0512 | FatDuke | FatDuke can AES encrypt C2 communications.83 |
S0171 | Felismus | Some Felismus samples use a custom encryption method for C2 traffic that utilizes AES and multiple keys.122 |
S0381 | FlawedAmmyy | FlawedAmmyy has used SEAL encryption during the initial C2 handshake.12 |
S0661 | FoggyWeb | FoggyWeb has used a dynamic XOR key and custom XOR methodology for C2 communications.80 |
C0001 | Frankenstein | During Frankenstein, the threat actors communicated with C2 via an encrypted RC4 byte stream and AES-CBC.154 |
S0168 | Gazer | Gazer uses custom encryption for C2 that uses 3DES.112113 |
S0032 | gh0st RAT | gh0st RAT uses RC4 and XOR to encrypt C2 traffic.107 |
S0342 | GreyEnergy | GreyEnergy encrypts communications using AES256.120 |
S0632 | GrimAgent | GrimAgent can use an AES key to encrypt C2 communications.118 |
S0132 | H1N1 | H1N1 encrypts C2 traffic using an RC4 key.43 |
S0037 | HAMMERTOSS | Before being appended to image files, HAMMERTOSS commands are encrypted with a key composed of both a hard-coded value and a string contained on that day’s tweet. To decrypt the commands, an investigator would need access to the intended malware sample, the day’s tweet, and the image file containing the command.137 |
S0170 | Helminth | Helminth encrypts data sent to its C2 server over HTTP with RC4.126 |
S0087 | Hi-Zor | Hi-Zor encrypts C2 traffic with a double XOR using two distinct single-byte keys.56 |
S0394 | HiddenWasp | HiddenWasp uses an RC4-like algorithm with an already computed PRGA generated key-stream for network communication.62 |
G0126 | Higaisa | Higaisa used AES-128 to encrypt C2 traffic.151 |
S0009 | Hikit | Hikit performs XOR encryption.110 |
S0431 | HotCroissant | HotCroissant has compressed network communications and encrypted them with a custom stream cipher.3568 |
S0068 | httpclient | httpclient encrypts C2 content with XOR using a single byte, 0x12.103 |
S0203 | Hydraq | Hydraq C2 traffic is encrypted using bitwise NOT and XOR operations.8 |
S0537 | HyperStack | HyperStack has used RSA encryption for C2 communications.38 |
S1022 | IceApple | The IceApple Result Retriever module can AES encrypt C2 responses.136 |
G0100 | Inception | Inception has encrypted network communications with AES.150 |
S0260 | InvisiMole | InvisiMole uses variations of a simple XOR encryption routine for C&C communications.9 |
S0271 | KEYMARBLE | KEYMARBLE uses a customized XOR algorithm to encrypt C2 communications.41 |
S0641 | Kobalos | Kobalos‘s post-authentication communication channel uses a 32-byte-long password with RC4 for inbound and outbound traffic.5253 |
S0162 | Komplex | The Komplex C2 channel uses an 11-byte XOR algorithm to hide data.67 |
S0356 | KONNI | KONNI has used AES to encrypt C2 traffic.119 |
G0032 | Lazarus Group | Several Lazarus Group malware families encrypt C2 traffic using custom code that uses XOR with an ADD operation and XOR with a SUB operation. Another Lazarus Group malware sample XORs C2 traffic. Other Lazarus Group malware uses Caracachs encryption to encrypt C2 payloads. Lazarus Group has also used AES to encrypt C2 traffic.142141143144 |
S0395 | LightNeuron | LightNeuron uses AES to encrypt C2 traffic.127 |
S0582 | LookBack | LookBack uses a modified version of RC4 for data transfer.39 |
S0532 | Lucifer | Lucifer can perform a decremental-xor encryption on the initial C2 request before sending it over the wire.111 |
S0010 | Lurid | Lurid performs XOR encryption.78 |
S0409 | Machete | Machete has used AES to exfiltrate documents.109 |
S1060 | Mafalda | Mafalda can encrypt its C2 traffic with RC4.47 |
S1059 | metaMain | metaMain can encrypt the data that it sends and receives from the C2 server using an RC4 encryption algorithm.4748 |
S0455 | Metamorfo | Metamorfo has encrypted C2 commands with AES-256.76 |
S1026 | Mongall | Mongall has the ability to RC4 encrypt C2 communications.79 |
S0149 | MoonWind | MoonWind encrypts C2 traffic using RC4 with a static key.125 |
S0284 | More_eggs | More_eggs has used an RC4-based encryption method for its C2 communications.44 |
S0256 | Mosquito | Mosquito uses a custom encryption algorithm, which consists of XOR and a stream that is similar to the Blum Blum Shub algorithm.115 |
G0069 | MuddyWater | MuddyWater has used AES to encrypt C2 responses.152 |
G0129 | Mustang Panda | Mustang Panda has encrypted C2 communications with RC4.146 |
S0336 | NanoCore | NanoCore uses DES to encrypt the C2 traffic.99 |
S0272 | NDiskMonitor | NDiskMonitor uses AES to encrypt certain information sent over its C2 channel.7 |
S0630 | Nebulae | Nebulae can use RC4 and XOR to encrypt C2 communications.21 |
S0034 | NETEAGLE | NETEAGLE will decrypt resources it downloads with HTTP requests by using RC4 with the key “ScoutEagle.”25 |
S0198 | NETWIRE | NETWIRE can use AES encryption for C2 data transferred.57 |
S0439 | Okrum | Okrum uses AES to encrypt network traffic. The key can be hardcoded or negotiated with the C2 server in the registration phase. 64 |
C0022 | Operation Dream Job | During Operation Dream Job, Lazarus Group used an AES key to communicate with their C2 server.153 |
S0664 | Pandora | Pandora has the ability to encrypt communications with D3DES.18 |
S1031 | PingPull | PingPull can use AES, in cipher block chaining (CBC) mode padded with PKCS5, to encrypt C2 server communications.55 |
S0501 | PipeMon | PipeMon communications are RC4 encrypted.34 |
S0254 | PLAINTEE | PLAINTEE encodes C2 beacons using XOR.46 |
S0435 | PLEAD | PLEAD has used RC4 encryption to download modules.45 |
S0013 | PlugX | PlugX can use RC4 encryption in C2 communications.89 |
S0012 | PoisonIvy | PoisonIvy uses the Camellia cipher to encrypt communications.19 |
S0371 | POWERTON | POWERTON has used AES for encrypting C2 traffic.50 |
S0113 | Prikormka | Prikormka encrypts some C2 traffic with the Blowfish cipher.6 |
S0650 | QakBot | QakBot can RC4 encrypt strings in C2 communication.102 |
S0262 | QuasarRAT | QuasarRAT uses AES with a hardcoded pre-shared key to encrypt network communication.342 |
S0629 | RainyDay | RainyDay can use RC4 to encrypt C2 communications.21 |
S0495 | RDAT | RDAT has used AES ciphertext to encode C2 communications.139 |
S0153 | RedLeaves | RedLeaves has encrypted C2 traffic with RC4, previously using keys of 88888888 and babybear.37 |
S0433 | Rifdoor | Rifdoor has encrypted command and control (C2) communications with a stream cipher.35 |
S0003 | RIPTIDE | APT12 has used the RIPTIDE RAT, which communicates over HTTP with a payload encrypted with RC4.140 |
S0148 | RTM | RTM encrypts C2 traffic with a custom RC4 variant.16 |
S0074 | Sakula | Sakula encodes C2 traffic with single-byte XOR keys.20 |
S0053 | SeaDuke | SeaDuke C2 traffic has been encrypted with RC4 and AES.9798 |
S0610 | SideTwist | SideTwist can encrypt C2 communications with a randomly generated key.114 |
S0633 | Sliver | Sliver can use AES-GCM-256 to encrypt a session key for C2 message exchange.5 |
S0649 | SMOKEDHAM | SMOKEDHAM has encrypted its C2 traffic with RC4.60 |
S0159 | SNUGRIDE | SNUGRIDE encrypts C2 traffic using AES with a static key.40 |
S0627 | SodaMaster | SodaMaster can use RC4 to encrypt C2 communications.30 |
S0615 | SombRAT | SombRAT has encrypted its C2 communications with AES.11 |
G0038 | Stealth Falcon | Stealth Falcon malware encrypts C2 traffic using RC4 with a hard-coded key.148 |
S1034 | StrifeWater | StrifeWater can encrypt C2 traffic using XOR with a hard coded key.105 |
S0603 | Stuxnet | Stuxnet encodes the payload of system information sent to the command and control servers using a one byte 0xFF XOR key. Stuxnet also uses a 31-byte long static byte string to XOR data sent to command and control servers. The servers use a different static key to encrypt replies to the implant.138 |
S0559 | SUNBURST | SUNBURST encrypted C2 traffic using a single-byte-XOR cipher.134 |
S0060 | Sys10 | Sys10 uses an XOR 0x1 loop to encrypt its C2 domain.123 |
S0663 | SysUpdate | SysUpdate has used DES to encrypt all C2 communications.51 |
S0011 | Taidoor | Taidoor uses RC4 to encrypt the message body of HTTP content.7374 |
S0586 | TAINTEDSCRIBE | TAINTEDSCRIBE uses a Linear Feedback Shift Register (LFSR) algorithm for network encryption.77 |
S0678 | Torisma | Torisma has encrypted its C2 communications using XOR and VEST-32.26 |
S0266 | TrickBot | TrickBot uses a custom crypter leveraging Microsoft’s CryptoAPI to encrypt C2 traffic.27Newer versions of TrickBot have been known to use bcrypt to encrypt and digitally sign responses to their C2 server. 28 |
S0436 | TSCookie | TSCookie has encrypted network communications with RC4.17 |
S0275 | UPPERCUT | Some versions of UPPERCUT have used the hard-coded string “this is the encrypt key” for Blowfish encryption when communicating with a C2. Later versions have hard-coded keys uniquely for each C2 address.71 |
S0180 | Volgmer | Volgmer uses a simple XOR cipher to encrypt traffic and files.32 |
S0670 | WarzoneRAT | WarzoneRAT can encrypt its C2 with RC4 with the password warzone160\x00 .33 |
S0514 | WellMess | WellMess can encrypt HTTP POST data using RC6 and a dynamically generated AES key encrypted with a hard coded RSA public key.919293 |
S0430 | Winnti for Linux | Winnti for Linux has used a custom TCP protocol with four-byte XOR for command and control (C2).36 |
S0141 | Winnti for Windows | Winnti for Windows can XOR encrypt C2 traffic.69 |
S1065 | Woody RAT | Woody RAT can use AES-CBC to encrypt data sent to its C2 server.124 |
S0653 | xCaon | xCaon has encrypted data sent to the C2 server using a XOR key.10 |
S0658 | XCSSET | XCSSET uses RC4 encryption over TCP to communicate with its C2 server.100 |
S0230 | ZeroT | ZeroT has used RC4 to encrypt C2 traffic.2324 |
G0128 | ZIRCONIUM | ZIRCONIUM has used AES encrypted communications in C2.147 |
Mitigations
ID | Mitigation | Description |
---|---|---|
M1031 | Network Intrusion Prevention | Network intrusion detection and prevention systems that use network signatures to identify traffic for specific adversary malware can be used to mitigate activity at the network level. |
Detection
ID | Data Source | Data Component |
---|---|---|
DS0029 | Network Traffic | Network Traffic Content |
References
-
Gardiner, J., Cova, M., Nagaraja, S. (2014, February). Command & Control Understanding, Denying and Detecting. Retrieved April 20, 2016. ↩
-
CISA. (2018, December 18). Analysis Report (AR18-352A) Quasar Open-Source Remote Administration Tool. Retrieved August 1, 2022. ↩
-
Meltzer, M, et al. (2018, June 07). Patchwork APT Group Targets US Think Tanks. Retrieved July 16, 2018. ↩
-
BishopFox. (n.d.). Sliver Transport Encryption. Retrieved September 16, 2021. ↩
-
Cherepanov, A.. (2016, May 17). Operation Groundbait: Analysis of a surveillance toolkit. Retrieved May 18, 2016. ↩
-
Lunghi, D., et al. (2017, December). Untangling the Patchwork Cyberespionage Group. Retrieved July 10, 2018. ↩↩
-
Lelli, A. (2010, January 11). Trojan.Hydraq. Retrieved February 20, 2018. ↩
-
Hromcová, Z. (2018, June 07). InvisiMole: Surprisingly equipped spyware, undercover since 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2018. ↩
-
CheckPoint Research. (2021, July 1). IndigoZebra APT continues to attack Central Asia with evolving tools. Retrieved September 24, 2021. ↩
-
The BlackBerry Research and Intelligence Team. (2020, November 12). The CostaRicto Campaign: Cyber-Espionage Outsourced. Retrieved May 24, 2021. ↩
-
Proofpoint Staff. (2018, March 7). Leaked Ammyy Admin Source Code Turned into Malware. Retrieved May 28, 2019. ↩
-
Dumont, R., M.Léveillé, M., Porcher, H. (2018, December 1). THE DARK SIDE OF THE FORSSHE A landscape of OpenSSH backdoors. Retrieved July 16, 2020. ↩
-
Nakamura, Y.. (2017, February 17). ChChes - Malware that Communicates with C&C Servers Using Cookie Headers. Retrieved March 1, 2017. ↩
-
Faou, M. and Boutin, J. (2017, February). Read The Manual: A Guide to the RTM Banking Trojan. Retrieved March 9, 2017. ↩
-
Tomonaga, S. (2018, March 6). Malware “TSCookie”. Retrieved May 6, 2020. ↩
-
Lunghi, D. and Lu, K. (2021, April 9). Iron Tiger APT Updates Toolkit With Evolved SysUpdate Malware. Retrieved November 12, 2021. ↩
-
FireEye. (2014). POISON IVY: Assessing Damage and Extracting Intelligence. Retrieved November 12, 2014. ↩
-
Dell SecureWorks Counter Threat Unit Threat Intelligence. (2015, July 30). Sakula Malware Family. Retrieved January 26, 2016. ↩
-
Vrabie, V. (2021, April 23). NAIKON – Traces from a Military Cyber-Espionage Operation. Retrieved June 29, 2021. ↩↩
-
Slepogin, N. (2017, May 25). Dridex: A History of Evolution. Retrieved May 31, 2019. ↩
-
Axel F. (2017, April 27). APT Targets Financial Analysts with CVE-2017-0199. Retrieved February 15, 2018. ↩
-
Huss, D., et al. (2017, February 2). Oops, they did it again: APT Targets Russia and Belarus with ZeroT and PlugX. Retrieved April 5, 2018. ↩
-
FireEye Labs. (2015, April). APT30 AND THE MECHANICS OF A LONG-RUNNING CYBER ESPIONAGE OPERATION. Retrieved May 1, 2015. ↩
-
Beek, C. (2020, November 5). Operation North Star: Behind The Scenes. Retrieved December 20, 2021. ↩
-
Reaves, J. (2016, October 15). TrickBot: We Missed you, Dyre. Retrieved August 2, 2018. ↩
-
Liviu Arsene, Radu Tudorica. (2020, November 23). TrickBot is Dead. Long Live TrickBot!. Retrieved September 28, 2021. ↩
-
US-CERT. (2018, February 06). Malware Analysis Report (MAR) - 10135536-G. Retrieved June 7, 2018. ↩
-
GREAT. (2021, March 30). APT10: sophisticated multi-layered loader Ecipekac discovered in A41APT campaign. Retrieved June 17, 2021. ↩
-
ESET. (2016, October). En Route with Sednit - Part 3: A Mysterious Downloader. Retrieved November 21, 2016. ↩
-
US-CERT. (2017, November 01). Malware Analysis Report (MAR) - 10135536-D. Retrieved July 16, 2018. ↩
-
Harakhavik, Y. (2020, February 3). Warzone: Behind the enemy lines. Retrieved December 17, 2021. ↩
-
Tartare, M. et al. (2020, May 21). No “Game over” for the Winnti Group. Retrieved August 24, 2020. ↩
-
Knight, S.. (2020, April 16). VMware Carbon Black TAU Threat Analysis: The Evolution of Lazarus. Retrieved May 1, 2020. ↩↩
-
Chronicle Blog. (2019, May 15). Winnti: More than just Windows and Gates. Retrieved April 29, 2020. ↩
-
PwC and BAE Systems. (2017, April). Operation Cloud Hopper: Technical Annex. Retrieved April 13, 2017. ↩
-
Accenture. (2020, October). Turla uses HyperStack, Carbon, and Kazuar to compromise government entity. Retrieved December 2, 2020. ↩
-
Raggi, M. Schwarz, D.. (2019, August 1). LookBack Malware Targets the United States Utilities Sector with Phishing Attacks Impersonating Engineering Licensing Boards. Retrieved February 25, 2021. ↩
-
FireEye iSIGHT Intelligence. (2017, April 6). APT10 (MenuPass Group): New Tools, Global Campaign Latest Manifestation of Longstanding Threat. Retrieved June 29, 2017. ↩
-
US-CERT. (2018, August 09). MAR-10135536-17 – North Korean Trojan: KEYMARBLE. Retrieved August 16, 2018. ↩
-
ESET. (2016, October). En Route with Sednit - Part 2: Observing the Comings and Goings. Retrieved November 21, 2016. ↩
-
Reynolds, J.. (2016, September 14). H1N1: Technical analysis reveals new capabilities – part 2. Retrieved September 26, 2016. ↩
-
Villadsen, O.. (2019, August 29). More_eggs, Anyone? Threat Actor ITG08 Strikes Again. Retrieved September 16, 2019. ↩
-
Tomonaga, S. (2018, June 8). PLEAD Downloader Used by BlackTech. Retrieved May 6, 2020. ↩
-
Ash, B., et al. (2018, June 26). RANCOR: Targeted Attacks in South East Asia Using PLAINTEE and DDKONG Malware Families. Retrieved July 2, 2018. ↩
-
Ehrlich, A., et al. (2022, September). THE MYSTERY OF METADOR | AN UNATTRIBUTED THREAT HIDING IN TELCOS, ISPS, AND UNIVERSITIES. Retrieved January 23, 2023. ↩↩
-
SentinelLabs. (2022, September 22). Metador Technical Appendix. Retrieved April 4, 2023. ↩
-
Mavis, N. (2020, September 21). The Art and Science of Detecting Cobalt Strike. Retrieved April 6, 2021. ↩
-
Ackerman, G., et al. (2018, December 21). OVERRULED: Containing a Potentially Destructive Adversary. Retrieved January 17, 2019. ↩↩
-
Daniel Lunghi. (2023, March 1). Iron Tiger’s SysUpdate Reappears, Adds Linux Targeting. Retrieved March 20, 2023. ↩
-
M.Leveille, M., Sanmillan, I. (2021, February 2). Kobalos – A complex Linux threat to high performance computing infrastructure. Retrieved August 24, 2021. ↩
-
M.Leveille, M., Sanmillan, I. (2021, January). A WILD KOBALOS APPEARS Tricksy Linux malware goes after HPCs. Retrieved August 24, 2021. ↩
-
Check Point. (2020, November 26). Bandook: Signed & Delivered. Retrieved May 31, 2021. ↩
-
Unit 42. (2022, June 13). GALLIUM Expands Targeting Across Telecommunications, Government and Finance Sectors With New PingPull Tool. Retrieved August 7, 2022. ↩
-
Fidelis Threat Research Team. (2016, January 27). Introducing Hi-Zor RAT. Retrieved March 24, 2016. ↩
-
Lambert, T. (2020, January 29). Intro to Netwire. Retrieved January 7, 2021. ↩
-
Yan, T., et al. (2018, November 21). New Wine in Old Bottle: New Azorult Variant Found in FindMyName Campaign using Fallout Exploit Kit. Retrieved November 29, 2018. ↩
-
Proofpoint. (2018, July 30). New version of AZORult stealer improves loading features, spreads alongside ransomware in new campaign. Retrieved November 29, 2018. ↩
-
FireEye. (2021, June 16). Smoking Out a DARKSIDE Affiliate’s Supply Chain Software Compromise. Retrieved September 22, 2021. ↩
-
Windows Defender Advanced Threat Hunting Team. (2016, April 29). PLATINUM: Targeted attacks in South and Southeast Asia. Retrieved February 15, 2018. ↩
-
Sanmillan, I. (2019, May 29). HiddenWasp Malware Stings Targeted Linux Systems. Retrieved June 24, 2019. ↩
-
Grunzweig, J. (2018, January 31). Comnie Continues to Target Organizations in East Asia. Retrieved June 7, 2018. ↩
-
Hromcova, Z. (2019, July). OKRUM AND KETRICAN: AN OVERVIEW OF RECENT KE3CHANG GROUP ACTIVITY. Retrieved May 6, 2020. ↩
-
Grunzweig, J.. (2017, April 20). Cardinal RAT Active for Over Two Years. Retrieved December 8, 2018. ↩
-
Lee, B. Grunzweig, J. (2015, December 22). BBSRAT Attacks Targeting Russian Organizations Linked to Roaming Tiger. Retrieved August 19, 2016. ↩
-
Dani Creus, Tyler Halfpop, Robert Falcone. (2016, September 26). Sofacy’s ‘Komplex’ OS X Trojan. Retrieved July 8, 2017. ↩
-
US-CERT. (2020, February 20). MAR-10271944-1.v1 – North Korean Trojan: HOTCROISSANT. Retrieved May 1, 2020. ↩
-
Novetta Threat Research Group. (2015, April 7). Winnti Analysis. Retrieved February 8, 2017. ↩
-
ClearSky Cyber Security. (2021, January). “Lebanese Cedar” APT Global Lebanese Espionage Campaign Leveraging Web Servers. Retrieved February 10, 2021. ↩
-
Matsuda, A., Muhammad I. (2018, September 13). APT10 Targeting Japanese Corporations Using Updated TTPs. Retrieved September 17, 2018. ↩
-
US-CERT. (2020, August 19). MAR-10295134-1.v1 – North Korean Remote Access Trojan: BLINDINGCAN. Retrieved August 19, 2020. ↩
-
Trend Micro. (2012). The Taidoor Campaign. Retrieved November 12, 2014. ↩
-
CISA, FBI, DOD. (2021, August). MAR-10292089-1.v2 – Chinese Remote Access Trojan: TAIDOOR. Retrieved August 24, 2021. ↩
-
Falcone, R. and Miller-Osborn, J.. (2015, December 18). Attack on French Diplomat Linked to Operation Lotus Blossom. Retrieved February 15, 2016. ↩
-
ESET Research. (2019, October 3). Casbaneiro: peculiarities of this banking Trojan that affects Brazil and Mexico. Retrieved September 23, 2021. ↩
-
USG. (2020, May 12). MAR-10288834-2.v1 – North Korean Trojan: TAINTEDSCRIBE. Retrieved March 5, 2021. ↩
-
Villeneuve, N., Sancho, D. (2011). THE “LURID” DOWNLOADER. Retrieved November 12, 2014. ↩
-
Chen, Joey. (2022, June 9). Aoqin Dragon | Newly-Discovered Chinese-linked APT Has Been Quietly Spying On Organizations For 10 Years. Retrieved July 14, 2022. ↩
-
Ramin Nafisi. (2021, September 27). FoggyWeb: Targeted NOBELIUM malware leads to persistent backdoor. Retrieved October 4, 2021. ↩
-
Pantazopoulos, N. (2020, June 2). In-depth analysis of the new Team9 malware family. Retrieved December 1, 2020. ↩
-
Symantec Security Response. (2011, November). W32.Duqu: The precursor to the next Stuxnet. Retrieved September 17, 2015. ↩
-
Faou, M., Tartare, M., Dupuy, T. (2019, October). OPERATION GHOST. Retrieved September 23, 2020. ↩
-
Falcone, R. and Miller-Osborn, J.. (2016, January 24). Scarlet Mimic: Years-Long Espionage Campaign Targets Minority Activists. Retrieved February 10, 2016. ↩↩
-
Hayashi, K., Ray, V. (2018, July 31). Bisonal Malware Used in Attacks Against Russia and South Korea. Retrieved August 7, 2018. ↩
-
Mercer, W., et al. (2020, March 5). Bisonal: 10 years of play. Retrieved January 26, 2022. ↩
-
Zykov, K. (2020, August 13). CactusPete APT group’s updated Bisonal backdoor. Retrieved May 5, 2021. ↩
-
Bitdefender. (2015, December). APT28 Under the Scope. Retrieved February 23, 2017. ↩
-
Raggi, M. et al. (2022, March 7). The Good, the Bad, and the Web Bug: TA416 Increases Operational Tempo Against European Governments as Conflict in Ukraine Escalates. Retrieved March 16, 2022. ↩
-
Merriman, K. and Trouerbach, P. (2022, April 28). This isn’t Optimus Prime’s Bumblebee but it’s Still Transforming. Retrieved August 22, 2022. ↩
-
PWC. (2020, July 16). How WellMess malware has been used to target COVID-19 vaccines. Retrieved September 24, 2020. ↩
-
PWC. (2020, August 17). WellMess malware: analysis of its Command and Control (C2) server. Retrieved September 29, 2020. ↩
-
CISA. (2020, July 16). MAR-10296782-2.v1 – WELLMESS. Retrieved September 24, 2020. ↩
-
F-Secure Labs. (2014, July). COSMICDUKE Cosmu with a twist of MiniDuke. Retrieved July 3, 2014. ↩
-
Check Point. (2022, January 11). APT35 exploits Log4j vulnerability to distribute new modular PowerShell toolkit. Retrieved January 24, 2022. ↩
-
Falcone, R., et al.. (2015, June 16). Operation Lotus Blossom. Retrieved February 15, 2016. ↩
-
Dunwoody, M. and Carr, N.. (2016, September 27). No Easy Breach DerbyCon 2016. Retrieved October 4, 2016. ↩
-
Grunzweig, J.. (2015, July 14). Unit 42 Technical Analysis: Seaduke. Retrieved August 3, 2016. ↩
-
Kasza, A., Halfpop, T. (2016, February 09). NanoCoreRAT Behind an Increase in Tax-Themed Phishing E-mails. Retrieved November 9, 2018. ↩
-
Mac Threat Response, Mobile Research Team. (2020, August 13). The XCSSET Malware: Inserts Malicious Code Into Xcode Projects, Performs UXSS Backdoor Planting in Safari, and Leverages Two Zero-day Exploits. Retrieved October 5, 2021. ↩
-
Settle, A., et al. (2016, August 8). MONSOON - Analysis Of An APT Campaign. Retrieved September 22, 2016. ↩
-
Kuzmenko, A. et al. (2021, September 2). QakBot technical analysis. Retrieved September 27, 2021. ↩
-
Crowdstrike Global Intelligence Team. (2014, June 9). CrowdStrike Intelligence Report: Putter Panda. Retrieved January 22, 2016. ↩↩↩
-
Kaspersky Lab’s Global Research and Analysis Team. (2014, August 7). The Epic Turla Operation: Solving some of the mysteries of Snake/Uroburos. Retrieved December 11, 2014. ↩
-
Cybereason Nocturnus. (2022, February 1). StrifeWater RAT: Iranian APT Moses Staff Adds New Trojan to Ransomware Operations. Retrieved August 15, 2022. ↩
-
M.Léveillé, M.. (2014, February 21). An In-depth Analysis of Linux/Ebury. Retrieved April 19, 2019. ↩
-
Pantazopoulos, N. (2018, April 17). Decoding network data from a Gh0st RAT variant. Retrieved November 2, 2018. ↩
-
FireEye. (2015). APT28: A WINDOW INTO RUSSIA’S CYBER ESPIONAGE OPERATIONS?. Retrieved August 19, 2015. ↩
-
ESET. (2019, July). MACHETE JUST GOT SHARPER Venezuelan government institutions under attack. Retrieved September 13, 2019. ↩
-
Novetta. (n.d.). Operation SMN: Axiom Threat Actor Group Report. Retrieved November 12, 2014. ↩
-
Hsu, K. et al. (2020, June 24). Lucifer: New Cryptojacking and DDoS Hybrid Malware Exploiting High and Critical Vulnerabilities to Infect Windows Devices. Retrieved November 16, 2020. ↩
-
ESET. (2017, August). Gazing at Gazer: Turla’s new second stage backdoor. Retrieved September 14, 2017. ↩
-
Kaspersky Lab’s Global Research & Analysis Team. (2017, August 30). Introducing WhiteBear. Retrieved September 21, 2017. ↩
-
Check Point. (2021, April 8). Iran’s APT34 Returns with an Updated Arsenal. Retrieved May 5, 2021. ↩
-
ESET, et al. (2018, January). Diplomats in Eastern Europe bitten by a Turla mosquito. Retrieved July 3, 2018. ↩
-
Sebastian Feldmann. (2018, February 14). Chaos: a Stolen Backdoor Rising Again. Retrieved March 5, 2018. ↩
-
Fidelis Cybersecurity. (2016, February 29). The Turbo Campaign, Featuring Derusbi for 64-bit Linux. Retrieved March 2, 2016. ↩
-
Priego, A. (2021, July). THE BROTHERS GRIM: THE REVERSING TALE OF GRIMAGENT MALWARE USED BY RYUK. Retrieved July 16, 2021. ↩
-
Santos, R. (2022, January 26). KONNI evolves into stealthier RAT. Retrieved April 13, 2022. ↩
-
Cherepanov, A. (2018, October). GREYENERGY A successor to BlackEnergy. Retrieved November 15, 2018. ↩
-
Counter Threat Unit Research Team. (2017, October 12). BRONZE BUTLER Targets Japanese Enterprises. Retrieved January 4, 2018. ↩↩
-
Somerville, L. and Toro, A. (2017, March 30). Playing Cat & Mouse: Introducing the Felismus Malware. Retrieved November 16, 2017. ↩
-
Baumgartner, K., Golovkin, M.. (2015, May). The MsnMM Campaigns: The Earliest Naikon APT Campaigns. Retrieved April 10, 2019. ↩
-
MalwareBytes Threat Intelligence Team. (2022, August 3). Woody RAT: A new feature-rich malware spotted in the wild. Retrieved December 6, 2022. ↩
-
Miller-Osborn, J. and Grunzweig, J.. (2017, March 30). Trochilus and New MoonWind RATs Used In Attack Against Thai Organizations. Retrieved March 30, 2017. ↩
-
Falcone, R. and Lee, B.. (2016, May 26). The OilRig Campaign: Attacks on Saudi Arabian Organizations Deliver Helminth Backdoor. Retrieved May 3, 2017. ↩
-
Faou, M. (2019, May). Turla LightNeuron: One email away from remote code execution. Retrieved June 24, 2019. ↩
-
Kaspersky Lab’s Global Research and Analysis Team. (2015, February). CARBANAK APT THE GREAT BANK ROBBERY. Retrieved August 23, 2018. ↩
-
Bennett, J., Vengerik, B. (2017, June 12). Behind the CARBANAK Backdoor. Retrieved June 11, 2018. ↩
-
Hromcova, Z. (2019, October). AT COMMANDS, TOR-BASED COMMUNICATIONS: MEET ATTOR, A FANTASY CREATURE AND ALSO A SPY PLATFORM. Retrieved May 6, 2020. ↩
-
US-CERT. (2017, November 22). Alert (TA17-318A): HIDDEN COBRA – North Korean Remote Administration Tool: FALLCHILL. Retrieved December 7, 2017. ↩
-
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. (2021, February 21). AppleJeus: Analysis of North Korea’s Cryptocurrency Malware. Retrieved March 1, 2021. ↩
-
Chen, J. et al. (2019, November). Operation ENDTRADE: TICK’s Multi-Stage Backdoors for Attacking Industries and Stealing Classified Data. Retrieved June 9, 2020. ↩
-
FireEye. (2020, December 13). Highly Evasive Attacker Leverages SolarWinds Supply Chain to Compromise Multiple Global Victims With SUNBURST Backdoor. Retrieved January 4, 2021. ↩
-
Harbison, M. (2021, February 9). BendyBear: Novel Chinese Shellcode Linked With Cyber Espionage Group BlackTech. Retrieved February 16, 2021. ↩
-
CrowdStrike. (2022, May). ICEAPPLE: A NOVEL INTERNET INFORMATION SERVICES (IIS) POST-EXPLOITATION FRAMEWORK. Retrieved June 27, 2022. ↩
-
FireEye Labs. (2015, July). HAMMERTOSS: Stealthy Tactics Define a Russian Cyber Threat Group. Retrieved September 17, 2015. ↩
-
Nicolas Falliere, Liam O Murchu, Eric Chien 2011, February W32.Stuxnet Dossier (Version 1.4) Retrieved. 2017/09/22 ↩
-
Falcone, R. (2020, July 22). OilRig Targets Middle Eastern Telecommunications Organization and Adds Novel C2 Channel with Steganography to Its Inventory. Retrieved July 28, 2020. ↩
-
Moran, N., Oppenheim, M., Engle, S., & Wartell, R.. (2014, September 3). Darwin’s Favorite APT Group [Blog]. Retrieved November 12, 2014. ↩
-
Novetta Threat Research Group. (2016, February 24). Operation Blockbuster: Destructive Malware Report. Retrieved March 2, 2016. ↩
-
Novetta Threat Research Group. (2016, February 24). Operation Blockbuster: Unraveling the Long Thread of the Sony Attack. Retrieved February 25, 2016. ↩
-
Sherstobitoff, R. (2018, February 12). Lazarus Resurfaces, Targets Global Banks and Bitcoin Users. Retrieved February 19, 2018. ↩
-
Sherstobitoff, R., Malhotra, A. (2018, April 24). Analyzing Operation GhostSecret: Attack Seeks to Steal Data Worldwide. Retrieved May 16, 2018. ↩
-
Microsoft. (2016, July 14). Reverse engineering DUBNIUM – Stage 2 payload analysis . Retrieved March 31, 2021. ↩
-
Insikt Group. (2020, July 28). CHINESE STATE-SPONSORED GROUP ‘REDDELTA’ TARGETS THE VATICAN AND CATHOLIC ORGANIZATIONS. Retrieved April 13, 2021. ↩
-
Singh, S. and Antil, S. (2020, October 27). APT-31 Leverages COVID-19 Vaccine Theme and Abuses Legitimate Online Services. Retrieved March 24, 2021. ↩
-
Marczak, B. and Scott-Railton, J.. (2016, May 29). Keep Calm and (Don’t) Enable Macros: A New Threat Actor Targets UAE Dissidents. Retrieved June 8, 2016. ↩
-
ESET Research. (2019, May 22). A journey to Zebrocy land. Retrieved June 20, 2019. ↩
-
GReAT. (2014, December 10). Cloud Atlas: RedOctober APT is back in style. Retrieved May 8, 2020. ↩
-
Singh, S. Singh, A. (2020, June 11). The Return on the Higaisa APT. Retrieved March 2, 2021. ↩
-
Malhortra, A and Ventura, V. (2022, January 31). Iranian APT MuddyWater targets Turkish users via malicious PDFs, executables. Retrieved June 22, 2022. ↩
-
Cashman, M. (2020, July 29). Operation North Star Campaign. Retrieved December 20, 2021. ↩
-
Adamitis, D. et al. (2019, June 4). It’s alive: Threat actors cobble together open-source pieces into monstrous Frankenstein campaign. Retrieved May 11, 2020. ↩