SecuriTricks - lateral movement

Black Basta and Cactus Ransomware Groups Add BackConnect Malware to Their Arsenal

The Black Basta and Cactus ransomware groups have incorporated BackConnect malware into their attack strategies to maintain persistent control over compromised systems. The attackers use social engineering tactics, including email flooding and impersonation of IT support, to gain initial access. Th…

social engineering

ransomware

onedrive exploitation

Published: March 3, 2025

Downloadable IOCs: 0

Console Chaos: A Campaign Targeting Publicly Exposed Management Interfaces on Fortinet FortiGate Firewalls

A recent campaign targeting Fortinet FortiGate firewall devices with exposed management interfaces has been observed. The threat actors gained unauthorized access to the firewalls' administrative controls, created new accounts, established SSL VPN connections, and made various configuration changes…

zero-day

lateral movement

fortigate

vulnerability scanning

Published: January 11, 2025

Downloadable IOCs: 0

Attackers exploiting a FortiClient EMS vulnerability in the wild

Kaspersky's GERT team identified an attack exploiting a patched vulnerability (CVE-2023-48788) in FortiClient EMS versions 7.0.1 to 7.0.10 and 7.2.0 to 7.2.2. The attackers used SQL injection to infiltrate a company's network through an exposed Windows server. They deployed remote access tools like…

Published: December 19, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 0

U.S. Organization in China Targeted by Attackers

A large U.S. entity with significant operations in China faced a four-month-long cyber intrusion, likely conducted by a China-based threat actor. The attackers obtained persistent network access, laterally moved across systems, compromised Exchange servers to harvest emails, and deployed exfiltrati…

Published: December 6, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 13

The Curious Case of an Excellent Resume

This report details a malicious campaign where the threat actor gained initial access through a resume lure as part of a TA4557/FIN6 operation. The actor employed techniques like abusing legitimate binaries, establishing Cobalt Strike and Pyramid C2, exploiting CVE-2023-27532 for lateral movement, …

Published: December 4, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 20

Know Thy Enemy: A Novel November Case on Persistent Remote Access

In early November 2024, a threat actor gained initial access to a network via brute-forcing a public-facing RD-Web instance. Using PsExec, they executed batch files across multiple machines to enable RDP connections and install a malicious MeshAgent. The actor renamed the MeshAgent to mimic a virtu…

Published: November 26, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 6

Threat Assessment: Distributors of BlackSuit Ransomware

Ignoble Scorpius, previously known as Royal ransomware, has rebranded as BlackSuit ransomware and increased its activity since March 2024. The group has targeted at least 93 victims globally, with a focus on the construction and manufacturing industries. Their initial ransom demands average 1.6% of…

Published: November 20, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 2

Dissecting A Multi-Stage PowerShell Campaign Using Chisel

A sophisticated multi-stage PowerShell campaign has been identified, utilizing an LNK file to initiate a sequence of obfuscated scripts. The attack maintains persistence and stealth by connecting with a command-and-control server. It employs Chisel, a fast TCP/UDP tunneling tool, and a Netskope pro…

Published: November 12, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 17

QSC: new modular framework in CloudComputating campaigns

Kaspersky researchers discovered QSC, a multi-plugin malware framework used by the CloudComputating group in cyber espionage campaigns. QSC consists of a Loader, Core module, Network module, File Manager module, and Command Shell module, allowing attackers to load specific plugins on demand. The fr…

Published: November 8, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 0

Investigating a SharePoint Compromise: IR Tales from the Field

An incident response investigation uncovered an attacker who exploited a SharePoint vulnerability (CVE-2024-38094) to gain initial access. The attacker remained undetected for two weeks, moving laterally across the network and compromising the entire domain. Key tactics included installing Horoung …

credential harvesting

fast reverse proxy (frp)

Published: November 5, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 8

Understanding the Initial Stages of Web Shell and VPN Threats: An MXDR Analysis

This analysis examines two cybersecurity incidents: a web shell attack and a VPN compromise. The web shell attack involved uploading malicious files to a server, executing commands, creating a local admin account, and attempting to establish persistence. The VPN compromise led to lateral movement, …

Published: October 24, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 1

Unmasking Prometei: A Deep Dive Into MXDR Findings

This analysis examines the Prometei botnet's infiltration of a customer's system through a targeted brute force attack. Leveraging Trend Vision One, the investigation traced the botnet's detailed installation routine and stealthy tactics. Prometei, a modular malware family used for cryptocurrency m…

cryptocurrency mining

Published: October 23, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 0

Analyzing the familiar tools used by the Crypt Ghouls hacktivists

The Crypt Ghouls group is targeting Russian businesses and government agencies with ransomware attacks. They utilize a toolkit including utilities like Mimikatz, XenAllPasswordPro, PingCastle, and others. The group employs LockBit 3.0 and Babuk ransomware as final payloads. Initial access is often …

credential harvesting

Published: October 18, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 1

Threat actor believed to be spreading new MedusaLocker variant since 2022

A financially motivated threat actor has been active since 2022, delivering a MedusaLocker ransomware variant called 'BabyLockerKZ'. The group targets organizations worldwide, with a focus shift from EU countries to South American countries in mid-2023. The actor uses a combination of publicly know…

financially motivated

2024-10-04

babylockerkz

medusalocker

Published: October 4, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 11

Threat Brief: Understanding Akira Ransomware

Akira is a prolific ransomware operating since March 2023, targeting multiple industries in North America, the UK, and Australia. It functions as Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) and employs double extortion tactics. Akira has connections to the disbanded Conti group, sharing code similarities and op…

Published: October 4, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 3

Nitrogen Campaign Drops Sliver and Ends With BlackCat Ransomware

A BlackCat ransomware intrusion began with a Nitrogen malware campaign impersonating Advanced IP Scanner. The attackers used Sliver and Cobalt Strike beacons for post-exploitation, leveraging Python scripts for memory loading. They performed network enumeration using various tools and moved lateral…

credential harvesting

Published: October 1, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 45

Storm-0501: Ransomware attacks expanding to hybrid cloud environments

Microsoft has observed Storm-0501, a financially motivated cybercriminal group, conducting multi-staged attacks targeting hybrid cloud environments. The group compromises on-premises networks, performs lateral movement to cloud environments, exfiltrates data, steals credentials, creates persistent …

Published: September 30, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 14

Hadooken Malware Targets Weblogic Applications

Aqua Nautilus researchers identified a Linux malware, named Hadooken, targeting Oracle WebLogic servers. Upon gaining initial access through an exploited weak password, Hadooken deploys a cryptominer and the Tsunami malware. The report details the attack flow, techniques employed by the threat acto…

Published: September 13, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 4

StopRansomware: RansomHub Ransomware

RansomHub is a ransomware-as-a-service variant that has targeted over 210 victims across various critical infrastructure sectors since February 2024. It employs a double-extortion model, encrypting systems and exfiltrating data. The ransom note provides victims with a client ID and instructions to …

ransomware-as-a-service

critical-infrastructure

CVE-2020-0787

lateral-movement

Published: August 30, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 14

BlackSuit Ransomware

The report meticulously chronicles a sophisticated intrusion which began in December 2023 and culminated in the deployment of BlackSuit ransomware approximately 15 days later. The threat actor demonstrated an array of tactics, leveraging tools like Cobalt Strike, Sharphound, and SystemBC, alongside…

Published: August 27, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 16

CheckMesh: Hidden Threats in Your FW

This report examines an advanced cyber-attack targeting an Israeli enterprise, where a sophisticated threat actor compromised a Check Point firewall by deploying a malicious ELF implant known as MeshAgent. The implant, disguised as a legitimate process, enabled encrypted communication with the atta…

encrypted communication

advanced persistent threat

firewall compromise

Published: August 5, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 9

BITS and Bytes: Analyzing BITSLOTH, a newly identified backdoor

Elastic Security Labs uncovered a new Windows backdoor called BITSLOTH that utilizes the Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) for command-and-control communication. This malware, discovered during an intrusion into a South American government's Foreign Ministry, possesses capabilities for…

Published: August 2, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 8

Lost in the Fog: A New Ransomware Threat

Arctic Wolf Labs began monitoring the deployment of a new ransomware variant called Fog in early May 2024. The ransomware attacks targeted organizations in the education and recreation sectors within the United States. Evidence suggests threat actors gained initial access through compromised VPN cr…

Published: June 7, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 5

Operation Crimson Palace: A Technical Deep Dive

Sophos Managed Detection and Response initiated a threat hunt across customers after detecting abuse of a vulnerable VMware executable. The hunt uncovered a complex, persistent cyberespionage campaign by Chinese state-sponsored actors targeting a high-profile government organization in Southeast As…

Published: June 6, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 138

Technical Deep Dive: Understanding the Anatomy of a Cyber Intrusion

This report details a sophisticated cyber intrusion targeting MITRE's research network (NERVE) through the exploitation of Ivanti Connect Secure zero-day vulnerabilities. The threat actor, suspected to be UNC5221, initiated the attack by gaining unauthorized access and subsequently deploying variou…

Published: May 24, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 4

Tag: lateral movement

Attack reports

Black Basta and Cactus Ransomware Groups Add BackConnect Malware to Their Arsenal

Confluence Exploit Leads to LockBit Ransomware

Not-so-SimpleHelp exploits enabling deployment of Sliver backdoor

Analysis of Interlock Ransomware Attack on Healthcare Facilities

Cobalt Strike and a Pair of SOCKS Lead to LockBit Ransomware

RansomHub Affiliate leverages Python-based backdoor

Console Chaos: A Campaign Targeting Publicly Exposed Management Interfaces on Fortinet FortiGate Firewalls

Attackers exploiting a FortiClient EMS vulnerability in the wild

U.S. Organization in China Targeted by Attackers

The Curious Case of an Excellent Resume

Know Thy Enemy: A Novel November Case on Persistent Remote Access

Threat Assessment: Distributors of BlackSuit Ransomware

Dissecting A Multi-Stage PowerShell Campaign Using Chisel

QSC: new modular framework in CloudComputating campaigns

Investigating a SharePoint Compromise: IR Tales from the Field

Understanding the Initial Stages of Web Shell and VPN Threats: An MXDR Analysis

Unmasking Prometei: A Deep Dive Into MXDR Findings

Analyzing the familiar tools used by the Crypt Ghouls hacktivists

Threat actor believed to be spreading new MedusaLocker variant since 2022

Threat Brief: Understanding Akira Ransomware

Nitrogen Campaign Drops Sliver and Ends With BlackCat Ransomware

Storm-0501: Ransomware attacks expanding to hybrid cloud environments

Hadooken Malware Targets Weblogic Applications

StopRansomware: RansomHub Ransomware

BlackSuit Ransomware

CheckMesh: Hidden Threats in Your FW

BITS and Bytes: Analyzing BITSLOTH, a newly identified backdoor

Lost in the Fog: A New Ransomware Threat

Operation Crimson Palace: A Technical Deep Dive

Technical Deep Dive: Understanding the Anatomy of a Cyber Intrusion