Since October 2022, we’ve been observing multiple malware types delivered via a new dropper strain that we are referring to as “NeedleDropper”. Its name references one of the ways the dropper stores data. NeedleDropper is not just a single executable, it carries several files which together create...
Technical analysis of the Zloader botnet which was recently brough to court for a takedown operation and prosecution of its authors.
Introduction We recently discovered an APT campaign we are calling Operation Dragon Castling. The campaign is targeting what appears to be betting companies in South East Asia, more specifically companies located in Taiwan, the Philippines, and Hong Kong. With moderate confidence, we can attribute...
This is the story of piecing together information and research leading to the discovery of one of the largest botnet-as-a-service cybercrime operations we’ve seen in a while. This research reveals that a cryptomining malware campaign we reported in 2018, Glupteba malware, significant DDoS...
We have seen DirtyMoe being spread by various exploit kits such as PurpleFox or via injected installers, for example, as seen for Telegram’s installer. However, one of the DirtyMoe modules also implements worming techniques to spread itself. In this next DirtyMoe series, we will dissect this module...
We recently came across a stealer, called Raccoon Stealer, a name given to it by its author. Raccoon Stealer uses the Telegram infrastructure to store and update actual C&C addresses. Raccoon Stealer is a password stealer capable of stealing not just passwords, but various types of data...
On February 24th, the Avast Threat Labs discovered a new ransomware strain accompanying the data wiper HermeticWiper malware, which our colleagues at ESET found circulating in the Ukraine. Following this naming convention, we opted to name the strain we found piggybacking on the wiper...
On January 25, 2022, a victim of a ransomware attack reached out to us for help. The extension of the encrypted files and the ransom note indicated the TargetCompany ransomware (not related to Target the store), which can be decrypted under certain circumstances. Modus Operandi of the TargetCompany...
Introduction On September 15, 2021 the National Games of China began in the Chinese city of Shaanxi. It is an event similar if not identical to the Olympics, but only hosts athletes from China. Earlier in September, our colleague David Álvarez found a malware sample with a suspicious file extension...
One of the goals of malware authors is to keep their creation undetected by antivirus software. One possible solution for this are crypters. A crypter encrypts a program, so it looks like meaningless data and it creates an envelope for this encrypted program also called a stub. This stub looks like...