Infostealers: What They Are and How to Stay Protected

Infostealers, malicious sites, malware, Ophtek, Phishing Email, SambaSpy, security software, SnipBot, software updates, , , , , , , ,
03
Dec 2024

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:

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, contact your local IT professionals.

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Los Angeles Housing Authority Rocked by Ransomware Group

Backup Strategies, Cactus, cyberattack, data harvest, Employee Training, HACLA, LockBit, Ophtek, Ransomware, software updates, , , , , , , , ,
26
Nov 2024

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, contact your local IT professionals.

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Malicious Macros Target Old Versions of MS Office

anti-malware_software, Brute_Ratel, Havoc, macros, malware, MS_Office, Ophtek, PhantomCore, Phishing, security_updates, , , , , , , , , ,
01
Oct 2024

Macros make our lives easier when it comes to repetitive tasks on PCs, but they’re also a potential route for malware to take advantage of.

The most up to date version of MS Office prevents macros from running automatically, and this is because macros have long been identified as a major malware risk. However, older versions of MS Office still run macros automatically, and this puts the PC running it at risk of being compromised. Legacy software, such as outdated versions of MS Office, comes with a number of risks and drawbacks, but budgetary constraints mean many businesses are unable to update.

Malicious MS Office Macro Clusters

A macro is a mini program which is designed to be executed within a Microsoft application and complete a routine task. So, for example, rather than taking 17 clicks through the Microsoft Word menu to execute a mail merge, you can use a single click of a macro to automate this process. Problems arise, however, when a macro is used to complete a damaging process, such as downloading or executing malware. And this is exactly what Cisco Talos has found within a cluster of malicious macros.

Several documents have been discovered which contain malware-infected macros, and they all have the potential to download malware such as PhantomCore, Havoc and Brute Ratel. Of note is that all of the macros detected so far appear to have been designed with the MacroPack framework, typically used for creating ‘red team exercises’ to simulate cybersecurity threats. Cisco Talos also discovered that the macros contained several lines of harmless code, this was most likely to lull users into a false sense of security.

Cisco Talos has been unable to point the finger of blame at any specific threat actor. It’s also possible that these macros were originally designed as a part of a legitimate cybersecurity exercise. Regardless of the origins of these macros, the fact remains that they have the potential to expose older versions of MS office to dangerous strains of malware.

Protect Your Systems from Malicious Macros

The dangers of malicious macros require you to remain vigilant about their threat. Clearly, with this specific threat, the simplest way to protect your IT systems is to upgrade to the latest version of MS Office. This will enable you to block the automatic running of macros and buy you some thinking time when you encounter a potentially malicious macro. As well as this measure, you should also ensure you’re following these best practices:

  • Always Verify Email Attachments: a common delivery method for malicious macros is through attachments included with phishing emails. This is why it’s crucial that you avoid opening macros in documents which have been received from unknown sources. As with all emails, it’s paramount that you verify the sender before interacting with any attachments.
  • Install All Security Updates: almost all software is regularly updated with security patches to prevent newly discovered vulnerabilities from being exploited. Macros are often used to facilitate the exploitation of software vulnerabilities, so it pays to be conscientious and install any security updates as soon as they’re available.
  • Use Anti-Malware Software: security suites, such as AVG, perform regular, automated scans of your PCs to identify any potential malware infections. In particular, many of these security suites target malicious macros, so they make a useful addition to your arsenal when targeting the threat of macros.

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

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New Malware Used to Target Security Software

BYOVD, DSE, EDRKillShifter, install updates, malware, Ophtek, Russian Hackers, Sophos, , , , , , ,
24
Sep 2024

The hacking collective RansomHub has unveiled a new strain of malware, one which is used to disable security software and leave PCs open to attack.

Discovered by security firm Sophos, RansomHub’s new malware has been dubbed EDRKillShifter. First detected during May 2024, EDRKillShifter carries out a Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD) attack. The main objective of a BYOVD attack is to install a vulnerable driver on a target PC. With this driver in place, threat actors can remotely gain unauthorized access and get a foothold within the system.

The Story Behind EDRKillShifter’s Attack

EDRKillShifter typically targets Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) security software, leaving PCs at risk of multiple malware attacks. Classed as a ‘loader’ malware, EDRKillShifter delivers a legitimate, yet vulnerable driver onto the target PC. In many cases, it’s been identified that multiple drivers, which are all vulnerable, have been introduced to PCs.

Once the vulnerable drivers have been deployed within the PC, EDRKillShifter executes a further payload within the device’s memory. This payload allows the threat actors to exploit the vulnerable drivers and, as a result, gain access to elevated privileges. This change in privileges gives the attackers the ability to disable EDR software on the machine. And the name of this software is hardcoded into EDRKillShifter’s processes, to prevent it from being restarted.

Attempts to run ransomware on compromised machines has been noted by Sophos and, digging deeper into the EDRKillShifter code, there are strong indicators that the malware originates from Russia. As regards the vulnerable drivers, these are freely available on the Github repository and have been known about for some time.

Preventing the Spread of EDRKillShifter

The mechanics of EDRKillShifter are effective and dangerous but are nothing new. Similar attacks, such as AuKill, have been carried out in the last year, and the technique currently appears popular with threat actors.

Luckily, your organization doesn’t have to fall victim to malware such as EDRKillShifter and its variants. Instead, you can maintain the security of your IT infrastructure by following these best practices:

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

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AMD Chip Vulnerability Exposes Malware Threat

AMD Chip, anti malware, Antivirus, bootkit, install updates, IOActive, malware, Ophtek, Sinkclose, System Management Mode, , , , , , , , ,
10
Sep 2024

A vulnerability has been discovered within AMD processors which has the potential to expose affected PCs to incredibly stealthy strains of malware.

AMD processors are used to power computers, and this is achieved by executing instructions within software applications. Therefore, everything you do on a PC is powered by a processor e.g. running Windows, processing data, and calculations. Some processors are more powerful than others, and the type chosen depends on the user’s need e.g. a diehard gamer will need a high-performance processor to get the best gaming experience, while someone working in a small office will need something less powerful to complete word processing tasks.

As AMD is a highly popular manufacturer of PC processors, we’re going to take a close look at this vulnerability and discuss the impact it could have on your PC users.

Understanding the AMD Chip Vulnerability

The vulnerability in AMD’s chips was discovered by the security firm IOActive, who has named the vulnerability Sinkclose. The flaw was first found in October 2023, but it appears Sinkclose has been present in AMD processors for close to two decades, a remarkable amount of time for a vulnerability to go unnoticed.

Sinkclose affects a specific operating mode within the processors named System Management Mode. This function is used to control systemwide processes including power management and system hardware control. Key to the Sinkclose vulnerability is the fact that System Management Mode also offers high privilege access. And it’s this access which, potentially, could allow a threat actor to run malicious code undetected.

Gaining access deep enough within a PC to even tackle the System Management Mode is difficult for even the most skilled hackers, but it’s not impossible. After infecting a machine with a bootkit – a form of malware which executes very early in the boot process – a threat actor could make their way deep within the system. And if a threat actor does manage to install malware through the Sinkclose vulnerability, the location of the infection means it would survive multiple reinstallations of Windows.

Are You Safe from Sinkclose?

With the Sinkclose vulnerability potentially active since 2006, and IOActive warning that all AMD chips dating back to this period could be affected, the potential damage is huge. AMD has been quick to respond and, since Sinkclose was first identified last year, has been working on an update ever since. Patches for AMD Ryzen and Epyc chips have recently been issued, but clearing up this debacle looks to be a long-term project for AMD.

While the threat is currently difficult to exploit, if threat actors discover an effective method to abuse it, countless PCs could be at increased risk of being compromised. Therefore, it’s crucial you follow these best practices to maintain the security of your PCs:

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

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