Rewterz Threat Alert – APT Group Gamaredon aka Shuckworm – Active IOCs

Severity

High

Analysis Summary

Shuckworm APT – aka Actinium, Armageddon, Primitive Bear, Gamaredon, and Trident Ursa – is a Russia-backed advanced persistent threat (APT) that has been operating since at least 2013. This cyber-espionage group is known to target government, military, and other high-value targets, primarily in Ukraine and has been linked to several advanced persistent threats (APT) campaigns. The main goal of this APT is to use the malicious document to gain control of the target machine. The exploit document uses the template injection technique to infect the victim’s computer with further malware. When the document is opened, it connects to the hacker’s server and downloads the payload file. Gamaredon’s tools are simple and designed to collect sensitive information from hacked systems and propagate it further. Its information-gathering efforts are nearly comparable to those of a second-tier APT, whose primary purpose is to collect and disseminate information with their units. The Gamaredon APT group’s recent attack leverages a decree document from the Russian Federation government as bait. In July, this APT group targets Ukrainian entities with PowerShell info-stealer malware dubbed GammaLoad.

Gamaredon APT is particularly known for its ability to steal sensitive information from its targets, including intellectual property, confidential documents, and login credentials. In some cases, the group has also been observed exfiltrating large amounts of data from its targets over extended periods of time.

It is important for organizations to be aware of the threat posed by Gamaredon APT and to implement appropriate security measures to protect against this group and other advanced persistent threats. This may include implementing strong security controls, regularly monitoring network activity for signs of compromise, and using advanced threat detection and response technologies.

Impact

• Template Injection
• Exposure of Sensitive Data

Indicators of Compromise

MD5

• 00b57ba92b194801175478cfcdc335f0
• 563322266ff7c53a5b0c9312e7bfe18c

SHA-256

• 2a00062de622d0f93c44392a9a0b92432ac9bb1852ce1984a2affb4617872e6d
• 25a23c0eaa8ffd004ffe4ddc262ce50612e644b0bd548c393556a13f327b04e7

SHA-1

• 6b8031f02c696dc6252458cafabf623f1ba25089
• da2ff489503462220020f92ff4051198fbc9c26b

URL

• http://countless20.vloperang.ru/USER-PC/could/all/glowing.20mbx

Remediation

• Block all threat indicators at your respective controls.
• Search for Indicators of compromise (IOCs) in your environment utilizing your respective security controls
• Maintain cyber hygiene by updating your anti-virus software and implementing a patch management lifecycle.
• Maintain Offline Backups – In a ransomware attack, the adversary will often delete or encrypt backups if they have access to them. That’s why it’s important to keep offline (preferably off-site), encrypted backups of data and test them regularly.
• Emails from unknown senders should always be treated with caution.
• Never trust or open ” links and attachments received from unknown sources/senders.
• Patch and upgrade any platforms and software timely and make it into a standard security policy. Prioritize patching known exploited vulnerabilities and zero-days.
• Along with network and system hardening, code hardening should be implemented within the organization so that their websites and software are secure. Use testing tools to detect any vulnerabilities in the deployed codes.
• Enable antivirus and anti-malware software and update signature definitions in a timely manner. Using multi-layered protection is necessary to secure vulnerable assets