SecuriTricks - lnk files

The 'Bear' attacks: what we learned about the phishing campaign targeting Russian organizations

A hacking group named NetMedved has been conducting phishing attacks against Russian organizations since October 2025. The campaign uses malicious LNK files disguised as business documents to deliver NetSupport RAT malware. The attackers employ various techniques including PowerShell scripts, finge…

phishing

social engineering

Published: November 26, 2025

Downloadable IOCs: 38

Confucius Espionage: From Stealer to Backdoor

The Confucius group, a long-running cyber-espionage actor operating in South Asia, has evolved its tactics from document stealers to Python-based backdoors. Recent campaigns showcase the group's adaptability and growing sophistication, targeting government agencies, military organizations, and crit…

Published: October 3, 2025

Downloadable IOCs: 0

Going Underground: China-aligned TA415 Conducts U.S.-China Economic Relations Targeting Using VS Code Remote Tunnels

Throughout July and August 2025, TA415, a Chinese state-sponsored threat actor, conducted spearphishing campaigns targeting U.S. government, think tank, and academic organizations focused on U.S.-China relations. The group impersonated high-profile individuals and organizations to deliver an infect…

vs code remote tunnels

whirlcoil

github authentication

Published: September 17, 2025

Downloadable IOCs: 0

August 2025 APT Attack Trends Report

In August 2025, APT attacks in South Korea primarily utilized spear phishing techniques, with LNK files being the most prevalent method. Two main types of attacks were observed: Type A, which used compressed CAB files containing malicious scripts for information exfiltration and additional malware …

Published: September 16, 2025

Downloadable IOCs: 5

Operation HanKook Phantom: Spear-Phishing Campaign

APT37, a North Korean state-backed cyber espionage group, has launched a sophisticated spear-phishing campaign targeting South Korean government sectors, research institutions, and academics. The attackers use malicious LNK files disguised as legitimate documents to deliver a multi-stage infection …

Published: August 29, 2025

Downloadable IOCs: 0

July 2025 APT Attack Trends Report (South Korea)

The report analyzes Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) attacks in South Korea during July 2025. Spear phishing was the primary attack method, with LNK files being the most common vector. Two types of LNK-based attacks were identified: Type A, which uses compressed CAB files containing malicious scrip…

Published: August 19, 2025

Downloadable IOCs: 0

June 2025 APT Attack Trends Report (South Korea)

This analysis examines Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) attacks targeting South Korea in June 2025. Spear phishing emerged as the primary attack vector, with LNK files being the most prevalent method, followed by an increase in HWP file-based attacks. The report details two types of spear phishing …

Published: July 16, 2025

Downloadable IOCs: 0

Rainbow Hyena strikes again: new backdoor and shift in tactics

A new phishing campaign targeting healthcare and IT organizations in Russia has been attributed to the Rainbow Hyena cluster. The attackers used compromised email addresses to distribute malicious attachments, including polyglot files and LNK files mimicking legitimate documents. A new custom-built…

Published: July 15, 2025

Downloadable IOCs: 0

Windows Shortcut (LNK) Malware Strategies

This article provides an in-depth analysis of Windows shortcut (LNK) file malware, based on the examination of 30,000 recent samples. The research reveals four main categories of LNK malware: exploit execution, file on disk execution, in-argument scripts execution, and overlay execution. Each techn…

Published: July 2, 2025

Linked vulnerabilities : CVE-2023-36884, CVE-2010-2568

Downloadable IOCs: 12

May 2025 APT Group Trends (South Korea)

This analysis examines Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) attacks in South Korea during May 2025. The majority of identified attacks utilized spear phishing as the primary infiltration method. Two main types of attacks were observed: Type A, which uses LNK files to execute malicious scripts and downl…

Published: June 18, 2025

Downloadable IOCs: 7

Analysis of APT37 Attack Case Disguised as a Think Tank for National Security Strategy in South Korea (Operation ToyBox Story)

APT37, a North Korean state-sponsored hacking group, launched a spear phishing campaign targeting activists focused on North Korea. The attack involved emails with Dropbox links to malicious LNK files, which when executed, activated additional malware. The group utilized legitimate cloud services a…

Published: June 6, 2025

Downloadable IOCs: 1

April 2025 Threat Trend Report on APT Attacks (South Korea)

This analysis covers APT attacks detected in South Korea during April 2025. Spear phishing emerged as the primary distribution method for these attacks. Two main types of spear phishing were observed: Type A, which uses LNK files to distribute compressed malicious scripts for information leakage an…

Published: May 14, 2025

Downloadable IOCs: 3

Venom Spider Uses Server-Side Polymorphism to Weave a Web Around Victims

Arctic Wolf Labs discovered a new campaign by Venom Spider targeting corporate HR departments with fake resumes containing the More_eggs backdoor. The financially motivated threat group uses spear-phishing emails and abuses legitimate job platforms to apply for real jobs. The backdoor can steal cre…

Published: May 3, 2025

Downloadable IOCs: 3

March 2025 APT Group Trends (South Korea)

This intelligence report analyzes Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) attacks in South Korea during March 2025. The majority of attacks were classified as spear phishing, with LNK file distribution being the most prevalent method. Two types of LNK-based attacks were identified: Type A, which uses a CA…

Published: April 10, 2025

Downloadable IOCs: 0

Gamaredon campaign abuses LNK files to distribute Remcos backdoor

A campaign targeting users in Ukraine with malicious LNK files has been observed since November 2024. The files, using Russian words related to troop movements as lures, run a PowerShell downloader contacting geo-fenced servers in Russia and Germany. The second stage payload uses DLL side loading t…

Published: March 28, 2025

Downloadable IOCs: 0

APT37 - RokRat

APT37, a North Korean state-sponsored hacking group, has expanded its operations to target users on Windows and Android platforms through phishing campaigns. The group's attack vector involves malicious LNK files distributed via group chat platforms. The infection process begins with phishing email…

Published: March 12, 2025

Downloadable IOCs: 9

Lumma Stealer Chronicles: PDF-themed Campaign Using Compromised Educational Institutions' Infrastructure

An ongoing malware campaign is distributing Lumma Stealer, an information-stealing malware, through malicious LNK files disguised as PDF documents. The campaign exploits compromised educational institutions' infrastructure to host these files. When executed, the LNK files initiate a multi-stage inf…

multi-stage infection

2025-02-17

steam profiles

educational institutions

pdf-themed

Published: February 17, 2025

Downloadable IOCs: 24

Coyote Banking Trojan: A Stealthy Attack via LNK Files

A sophisticated multi-stage attack utilizing LNK files to deliver the Coyote Banking Trojan has been identified, primarily targeting Brazilian financial applications. The malware employs PowerShell commands, shellcode injection, and registry manipulation to establish persistence and evade detection…

phishing

lnk files

2025-01-31

coyote banking trojan

Published: January 31, 2025

Downloadable IOCs: 0

December 2024 Threat Trend Report on APT Attacks (South Korea)

This intelligence report analyzes Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) attacks targeting South Korea in December 2024. The primary method of attack was spear phishing, with a focus on distributing LNK files. Two main types of attacks were identified: Type A, which uses compressed CAB files containing m…

Published: January 9, 2025

Downloadable IOCs: 3

Stealthy Cyber Attacks: LNK Files & SSH Commands Playbook

This analysis explores a rising trend in cyber attacks where threat actors leverage LNK files and SSH commands as initial infection vectors. The attackers use meticulously crafted shortcut files, often disguised as legitimate documents, to execute commands using Living-off-the-Land Binaries (LOLBin…

living-off-the-land binaries

cyber attacks

ssh commands

Published: December 19, 2024

Linked vulnerabilities : CVE-2024-21887, CVE-2023-46805, CVE-2021-44228, CVE-2017-11882, CVE-2024-21893

Downloadable IOCs: 6

"Breach Report" from UAC-0099 (CERT-UA#12463)

The Ukrainian CERT-UA investigated cyberattacks by UAC-0099 against government organizations during November-December 2024. The attacks involved emails with malicious attachments, including exploits for CVE-2023-38831. The LONEPAGE program, used for command execution, has evolved to use encrypted f…

Published: December 18, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 25

Analyzing FLUX#CONSOLE: Using Tax-Themed Lures, Threat Actors Exploit Windows Management Console to Deliver Backdoor Payloads

The FLUX#CONSOLE campaign involves a sophisticated tax-themed phishing attack that exploits Microsoft Management Console (MSC) files to deliver a stealthy backdoor payload. Threat actors use tax-related lures to trick users into executing malicious code. The attack leverages MSC files, which are no…

Published: December 18, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 5

Analysis of Cyber Reconnaissance Activities Behind APT37 Threats

The report analyzes the covert cyber reconnaissance activities of the state-sponsored APT37 group targeting South Korea. The group uses spear-phishing emails with malicious LNK files to deploy the RoKRAT malware, collecting sensitive information from victims' devices. The attackers employ various t…

Published: November 6, 2024

Linked vulnerabilities : CVE-2022-41128

Downloadable IOCs: 20

Operation Cobalt Whisper: Threat Actor Targets Multiple Industries Across Hong Kong and Pakistan

A sophisticated cyber espionage campaign dubbed Operation Cobalt Whisper has been uncovered, targeting various industries in Hong Kong and Pakistan. The threat actor focuses on the defense sector, engineering researchers, and key entities in these regions, using tailored lures related to electrotec…

Published: October 24, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 0

Water Makara Uses Obfuscated JavaScript in Spear Phishing Campaign Targeting Brazil With Astaroth Malware

Water Makara, a threat actor group, is targeting enterprises in Brazil with a spear phishing campaign using the Astaroth banking malware. The attackers employ obfuscated JavaScript to bypass security defenses, often impersonating official tax documents to trick users. The campaign primarily affects…

domain generation algorithm

tax documents

obfuscated javascript

banking malware

Published: October 15, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 0

The Open-Source Builder Behind Malicious Loaders

MisterioLNK is a newly discovered open-source loader builder that generates LNK, BAT, CMD, and VBS loader files designed to download and execute remote files. Available on GitHub, it poses a significant challenge to security defenses due to minimal detection rates. The tool supports multiple loader…

Published: October 8, 2024

Downloadable IOCs: 0

Tag: lnk files

Attack reports

New backdoor targeting Ukrainian entities with possible links to Laundry Bear

Malware MoonPeak Executed via LNK Files

Operation FrostBeacon: Multi-Cluster Cobalt Strike Campaign Targets Russia

The 'Bear' attacks: what we learned about the phishing campaign targeting Russian organizations

Confucius Espionage: From Stealer to Backdoor

Going Underground: China-aligned TA415 Conducts U.S.-China Economic Relations Targeting Using VS Code Remote Tunnels

August 2025 APT Attack Trends Report

Operation HanKook Phantom: Spear-Phishing Campaign

July 2025 APT Attack Trends Report (South Korea)

June 2025 APT Attack Trends Report (South Korea)

Rainbow Hyena strikes again: new backdoor and shift in tactics

Windows Shortcut (LNK) Malware Strategies

May 2025 APT Group Trends (South Korea)

Analysis of APT37 Attack Case Disguised as a Think Tank for National Security Strategy in South Korea (Operation ToyBox Story)

April 2025 Threat Trend Report on APT Attacks (South Korea)

Venom Spider Uses Server-Side Polymorphism to Weave a Web Around Victims

March 2025 APT Group Trends (South Korea)

Gamaredon campaign abuses LNK files to distribute Remcos backdoor

APT37 - RokRat

Lumma Stealer Chronicles: PDF-themed Campaign Using Compromised Educational Institutions' Infrastructure

Coyote Banking Trojan: A Stealthy Attack via LNK Files

December 2024 Threat Trend Report on APT Attacks (South Korea)

Stealthy Cyber Attacks: LNK Files & SSH Commands Playbook

"Breach Report" from UAC-0099 (CERT-UA#12463)

Analyzing FLUX#CONSOLE: Using Tax-Themed Lures, Threat Actors Exploit Windows Management Console to Deliver Backdoor Payloads

Analysis of Cyber Reconnaissance Activities Behind APT37 Threats

Operation Cobalt Whisper: Threat Actor Targets Multiple Industries Across Hong Kong and Pakistan

Water Makara Uses Obfuscated JavaScript in Spear Phishing Campaign Targeting Brazil With Astaroth Malware

The Open-Source Builder Behind Malicious Loaders