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Infostealer malware is frequently referenced as the go-to weapon for threat actors, but what is it? And how do you protect your IT systems from it?

You only have to take a quick look over the Ophtek blog to understand the popularity of infostealers in modern hacking. From fake Zoom sites through to SnipBot and SambaSpy, threat actors are determined to get their hands on your sensitive data. Infostealers, therefore, present an everyday threat to PC users and it’s crucial you understand their methods and impact.

Luckily, Ophtek has your back, and we’re going to take a deep dive into infostealers to equip you with the knowledge you need to stay safe.

What is an Infostealer?

The main objective of all infostealer malware is to harvest confidential data from a compromised system. With this stolen data, threat actors have the opportunity to conduct numerous crimes such as identity theft or financial damage. This makes infostealer malware such a serious threat, especially in the age of big data, where organizations hold huge amounts of data on their IT systems. As with most modern malware, infostealer has strong stealth capabilities, allowing it to operate in the background without being detected and strengthening its impact.

The Danger Behind Infostealers

Infostealers can be individual malware threats or part of a more extensive suite of malware applications. Whatever their method, infostealers tend to focus on stealing the following data:

System login credentials
Social media and email passwords
Bank details
Personal details

All of these data categories have the potential for serious damage e.g. hacking someone’s personal emails and reading confidential information or clearing someone’s bank account out. From a business perspective, infostealers also have the potential to gain access to secure areas of your IT infrastructure and compromise the operations of your business. All of this data is taken directly from your servers and then discreetly transmitted to a remote server set up by the threat actors.

How Do Infostealers Strike?

Threat actors have developed numerous strategies to launch successful infostealer attacks with the two most common methods being:

Phishing Emails: 3.4 billion phishing emails are sent every day, so it’s fair to say they’re an incredibly popular route for malware. These highly deceptive emails will contain either malicious links or attachments which, when activated, expose the recipient to malware downloads.
Malicious Sites: As seen in our article on fake Zoom sites, threat actors regularly set up malicious websites in order to lure visitors into downloading either fake updates or complete applications. However, these downloads are never genuine and only contain malware such as infostealers.

Protecting Your Systems Against Infostealers

Despite the threat of infostealers, it’s relatively easy to stay safe and protect your systems from them. All you need to do is follow these best practices:

Be Wary of Suspicious Emails: Any emails which ring even the slightest alarm bell should be closely scrutinized. If something about the wording doesn’t sound quite right, or there’s a sense of urgency to commit to an action, the chances are that this could be a phishing email. In these instances, don’t click anything and, instead, contact an IT professional to review the content.
Always Update Your Software: One of the easiest ways for threat actors to deploy infostealers on your system is through software vulnerabilities. No piece of software is perfect, and they often contain weak spots which can be exploited. However, as these vulnerabilities are picked up by the developers, security patches are issued to remedy these weak spots. Accordingly, installing these updates should be a major priority.
Install Security Software: There are numerous security packages available such as AVG and Kaspersky which monitor your systems in real time and can block malware threats instantly. This automatic defense enables you to stay safe from infostealers and keeps your networks healthy and productive.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, c ontact your local IT professionals.

Threat actors are determined to harvest as much sensitive data as possible, and the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) know all about this.

It’s been revealed that HACLA has recently been attacked by the Cactus ransomware gang. First emerging in early 2023, the Cactus group has gained a reputation for stealing confidential data. Around 260 organizations have been affected by Cactus’ activities in the last year and a half, with no sign of them slowing up. HACLA, unfortunately, has previous form for data breaches, with the LockBit ransomware group gaining access to their IT systems for nearly a full year in 2022.

To help you bolster your organization’s defenses, we’re going to explore the Cactus attack in closer detail.

Cactus Get Prickly with HACLA

With 32,000 public housing units falling under its administration, HACLA is a prime target for any threat actors hungry for personal data. Accordingly, Cactus have struck at the heart of HACLA to harvest significant amounts of data.

Understandably, in order to protect their defenses, HACLA have revealed very little about the attack. They acknowledge that, after becoming aware of suspicious activity, IT professionals were contacted to investigate a possible cyberattack. HACLA’s systems remain operational as of this writing, but they haven’t confirmed exactly what happened or whether any data was stolen.

Cactus, on the other hand, has been more forthcoming with details. Announcing that they’ve managed to steal 891 GB of files from HACLA’s network, Cactus has clearly carried out an audacious attack. The data stolen, as Cactus claims, is highly sensitive and includes personal client details, financial documents, database backups, and correspondence. To demonstrate that they’re not just showboating, Cactus has published screenshots of some of this stolen data. Alongside this, Cactus has also followed up their claims by uploading an archive containing some of the stolen data.

Shielding Your Business from Breach Risks

While it’s currently unclear whether HACLA’s systems or data has been encrypted by ransomware, it’s a very real possibility. Regardless of whether encryption has taken place, the 891 GB of stolen data is a seriously worrying amount of personal data to leak. Therefore, you need to be on your guard against such attacks by practicing the following:

Data Backup Strategy: To minimize the impact of ransomware, it’s always a good idea to carry out regular, automated backups of your data. As well as keeping these backups close to hand on site, it’s crucial that you also keep copies stored on secure, off-site locations such as in the cloud. The 3-2-1 backup method is an excellent strategy to employ in order to keep your data secure and retrievable.
Regular Software Updates: Many data breaches are the result of vulnerabilities being exploited within software. These vulnerabilities allow threat actors to gain a foothold with IT infrastructures and start implementing malware infections or stealing data. Consequently, to plug all of these security holes, you should automate all software updates to optimize the strength of your defenses.
Employee Training: Regular training of your employees, both at the induction stage and through refresher courses, provides your organization with its strongest form of defense. It just takes one wrong click by an employee to expose your entire network, so it’s vital that you can sharpen their cybersecurity skills to secure your IT infrastructure.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, c ontact your local IT professionals.

Software updates should always enhance your PC’s efficiency, but the recent breach of an ISP has demonstrated quite the opposite.

This recent compromise appears to have been exploited by StormBamboo, a collection of Chinese threat actors who have been causing digital chaos since 2012. The attack was made possible after StormBamboo breached the defenses of an undisclosed ISP. This allowed StormBamboo to take control of the ISP’s traffic and redirect it for their own malicious gains.

If you’re accessing the internet, even if it’s only for basic email and browsing usage, your business is going to be partnered with an ISP. And this attack by StormBamboo tells a cautionary tale of how you always need to be on your guard.

StormBamboo’s Innovative Attack

Having gained unauthorized access to the ISPs servers, StormBamboo was able to intercept and compromise DNS requests from users of that ISP. A DNS request is a query to provide an IP address for a host name – e.g. en.wikipedia.org. An ISP will provide this IP address and allow the user to visit the required webpage.

However, StormBamboo was able to manipulate these DNS requests and, instead of the legitimate IP address, provide a malicious alternative. No action was required from the end user, and they would be transferred to a malicious domain automatically. In particular, StormBamboo focused on poisoning DNS requests for software updates. These updates were insecure as they were found to not validate digital signatures for security purposes.

As a result of these compromises, StormBamboo was able to deceive victims into downloading malware such as Macma (for MacOS machines) and Pocostick (for Windows devices). For example, users of 5KPlayer, a media player, were redirected to a malicious IP address rather than fetching a specific YouTube dependency. This led to a backdoor malware being installed on affected systems. StormBamboo was then observed to install ReloadText, a malicious Chrome extension used to steal mail data and browser cookies.

Staying Safe from StormBamboo

The attacks carried out by StormBamboo appear to have been active during 2023 and were identified by Volexity, a reputable cybersecurity organization. Volexity’s first step was to get in touch with the ISP and identify the traffic-routing devices which were being compromised. This allowed the ISP to reboot its servers and instantly stop the ISP poisoning. Users of the ISP, therefore, were no longer at risk of being exposed to malware. Further advice on eliminating this specific threat can be found on Volexity’s blog.

Nonetheless, businesses are reminded to remain mindful about malicious activity on their networks. Implementing robust security measures, conducting regular vulnerability assessments, and monitoring network traffic for unusual patterns are all crucial. Additionally, employing advanced threat detection tools and training employees on cybersecurity best practices will further strengthen your defenses. Finally, never forget the importance of keeping software and systems updated with official patches, firmware, and updates.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

A malware infection is always bad news but imagine being infected with multiple strains at once. Welcome to the new threat of malware cluster bombs.

Researchers at the cybersecurity firm KrakenLabs have revealed the dangers of a new malware technique launched by Unfurling Hemlock, a new threat actor group. Their malware cluster bombs have been verified as active in at least 10 countries, but most Unfurling Hemlock’s targets have been US-based. This attack has also been active for some time, with evidence of the earliest infections going back to February 2023.

The mere concept of malware cluster bombs is enough to worry any IT professional, so that’s why we’re going to delve a bit deeper and discuss how you can keep your IT systems safe.

Understanding Unfurling Hemlock’s Attack

This new attack starts, as with many malware attacks, through malicious emails or malware loaders. It would appear, perhaps to cover their own tracks, Unfurling Hemlock are paying other hackers to distribute their malware. The initial attack is focused around a malicious file named WEXTRACT.EXE. Within this executable is a collection of compressed cabinet files, each of which contains a strain of malware.

The final part of the attack comes when all of the malicious files have been extracted and are executed in reverse order. Each cluster bomb is believed to contain multiple strains of malware, so while the number is varied, the impact is always significant. Among these malware strains are a cocktail of different attacks, with botnets, backdoors, and info stealers all detected so far. Unfurling Hemlock’s ultimate aim, aside from causing digital chaos, is unknown, but KrakenLabs believe the threat actor may be harvesting sensitive data to sell.

The malware cluster bomb approach is innovative and effective for two reasons: the opportunities for monetization are increased and the multiple strains in use mean that persistence is enhanced. Ultimately, dropping ten strains of malware onto one device is more likely to provide opportunities for threat actors than a single strain.

Staying Safe from Malware Cluster Bombs

It’s clear that malware cluster bombs represent a serious threat to your IT infrastructure, and that’s why you need to keep your defenses secure. You can put this into action by following these best practices:

Regular Software Updates: ensure that all software, including operating systems and applications, is regularly updated and patched. Automated patch management tools can help make this easier, and Windows allows you to set automatic updates for Microsoft apps. Regular updates protect against known vulnerabilities and exploits which malicious actors often target with malicious files.
Antivirus and Anti-malware Solutions: always use reputable antivirus and anti-malware software across your network. These tools should be regularly updated to recognize and handle the latest threats. High-level security solutions will provide real-time protection, scanning, and removal of malicious files. This is conducted by regular scans and monitoring to ensure potential threats are detected and dealt with promptly.

Employee Education: carry out regular training sessions for employees to recognize phishing attempts, suspicious emails, and other potential threats. Training should include best practices for safe internet use, identifying social engineering tactics, and reporting suspicious activities. Your employees are your first line of defense, so it’s crucial you reduce the likelihood of attacks due to human error.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, c ontact your local IT professionals.

Infostealers: What They Are and How to Stay Protected

Los Angeles Housing Authority Rocked by Ransomware Group

Poisoned Software Updates Issued after ISP is Hacked

Malware Cluster Bombs: A New Threat

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