Rewterz Threat Alert – Zeppelin Ransomware – Active IOCs

Severity

High

Analysis Summary

Zeppelin most commonly is distributed through phishing emails with macro-enabled documents attached, although it has also been known to spread via malvertising and RDP. Once on the system, Zeppelin leverages the same memory allocation techniques to run its payload in memory. In terms of the decryption routine, Zeppelin has evolved to load APIs onto the stack and implements additional obfuscation techniques. Both Buran and Zeppelin perform geolocation checks prior to proceeding with encryption, avoiding encrypting hosts located in Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, or Russia. For storing configuration data, a Registry key is created. The earliest versions of Zeppelin included the “Buran” keyword in the Registry key name, but have since switched to using “Zeppelin.” Zeppelin is also capable of creating persistence via a Registry Run key. Multiple instances of the executable are run, each with a different purpose. For example, one terminates processes associated with important files while also running Clipbanker to monitor the clipboard, while another is responsible for encryption of files. During encryption, both Buran and Zeppelin use add an infection marker to encrypted files. Finally, both drop a ransom note and open it using notepad.exe.

Impact

• File Encryption

Indicators of Compromise

MD5

• 5841ef35aaff08bb03d25e5afe3856a2

SHA-256

• 1e3c5a0aa079f8dfcc49cdca82891ab78d016a919d9810120b79c5deb332f388

SHA-1

• ffd228b0d7afe7cab4e9734f7093e7ba01c5a06e

Remediation

• Block all threat indicators at your respective controls
• Search for IOCs in your environment.