The Iran-linked cyber-espionage group often called Seedworm seems to have added a brand new downloader to its arsenal and to have began conducting harmful assaults, safety researchers report.
Additionally known as MuddyWater, MERCURY, and Static Kitten, the cyber-espionage group was initially analyzed in 2017. Seedworm reveals a concentrate on concentrating on Center Jap organizations, or these in close by areas.
The menace actor is extremely energetic and is understood for the usage of a broad and diverse toolset. Earlier this month, the group was noticed actively concentrating on the Zerologon vulnerability that Microsoft patched in August.
In response to latest stories from ClearSky and Symantec, MuddyWater not too long ago added to its arsenal a downloader referred to as PowGoop, which earlier this 12 months was utilized in assaults using the Thanos ransomware towards a company within the Center East.
PowGoop comprises a DLL loader and a PowerShell-based downloader, with the latter designed to decrypt and run the previous. The downloader is a faux Google Replace mechanism much like the MoriAgent / PudPoul DLL loader, which was beforehand attributed to MuddyWater.
“Whereas we can’t verify the connection, we consider the actors deploying the Thanos ransomware on the Center Jap state-run group additionally used a downloader that we name PowGoop. The actors would use the PowGoop downloader to achieve out to a distant server to obtain and execute further PowerShell scripts,” Palo Alto Networks famous in a September four report.
The assaults, which have been noticed on July 6 and July 9, 2020, function a ransomware variant that was able to higher evading evaluation instruments, might monitor for newly connected storage units, and was additionally capable of overwrite the MBR, performance that might make Thanos somewhat harmful in nature.
Final week, in a report linking PowGoop to MuddyWater, ClearSky famous that the hacking group seems to have began using wipers in assaults hidden behind obvious ransomware operations. Different Iranian hackers too have employed wipers, Shamoon being probably the most notorious of them.
“Though we didn’t see execution of the destruction within the wild, as a result of presence of the harmful capabilities, the attribution to nation-state sponsored menace actor, and the conclusion of this vector prior to now, a harmful objective is extra seemingly than a ransomware that’s being deployed for monetary objectives,” ClearSky famous.
Now, Symantec too says it was ready to attract a connection between MuddyWater and PowGoop, after discovering the downloader on techniques the place one of many group’s backdoors was put in. Moreover, MuddyWater’s Powerstats (Powermud) backdoor was apparently outdated by DLL side-loading of PowGoop.
“On the identical machine the place Seedworm was energetic, a device often called PowGoop was deployed. This identical device was additionally deployed towards a number of of the organizations attacked by Seedworm in latest months,” Symantec says.
PowGoop seems to have been utilized in assaults concentrating on governments, schooling, oil and gasoline, actual property, expertise, and telecoms organizations in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Iraq, Israel, Georgia, Turkey, and Vietnam.
Symantec’s evaluation revealed the usage of the Remadmin distant code execution device to deploy PowGoop, and likewise led to the identification of artefacts suggesting that PowGoop was masquerading as a Google device and seen the usage of SSF and Chisel.
Evaluation of PowGoop exercise would recommend that the downloader may be “an evolution of Powerstats somewhat than a very new device,” Symantec notes, including that there isn’t sufficient proof to verify the speculation. Moreover, the safety agency is not sure of the harmful objective of the assaults.
“Symantec has not discovered any proof of a wiper or ransomware on computer systems contaminated with PowGoop. This implies that both the simultaneous presence of PowGoop and Thanos in a single assault was a coincidence or, if the 2 are linked, that PowGoop shouldn’t be used completely to ship Thanos,” Symantec says.
Associated: Microsoft Says Iranian Hackers Exploiting Zerologon Vulnerability
Associated: Iranian Cyberspies Deal with Lengthy-Working Operations
Ionut Arghire is a global correspondent for SecurityWeek.
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