Rewterz Threat Update – Update on HermeticRansom Targeting Ukraine – Russian-Ukrainian Cyber Warfare

Severity

Medium

Analysis Summary

Trojan.Killdisk is a new disk-wiping malware recently discovered by security researchers. The wiper attacks are targeted towards Ukraine in support of the Russian invasion, and these signatures can also be seen in attacks in Lithuania. Targeted sectors are aviation, defense, IT services, and the financial sector. 

HermeticWiper (Trojan.Killdisk) is interestingly digitally signed by a certificate issued to Hermetica Digital Ltd (the origin of the name). 

It contains 32-bit and 64-bit driver files which are compressed by the Lempel-Ziv algorithm stored in their resource section. The driver files are signed by a certificate issued to EaseUS Partition Master. The malware will drop the corresponding file according to the operating system (OS) version of the infected system. Driver file names are generated using the Process ID of the wiper. – Security Researchers

Upon execution, HermeticWiper will damage the MBR (Master Boot Record) of the victim’s system, which will render it inoperable. Organizations compromised using this wiper date back to November of 2021. A Microsoft SQL Server vulnerability was also used to attack organizations in Ukraine and along with the wiper, ransomware was also deployed against affected organizations.

“If your device has been infected with HermeticRansom and you’d like to decrypt your files, click here to skip to the How to use the Avast decryptor to recover files.”

Impact

• Data Loss
• File Encryption
• Financial Loss

Remediation

• Antivirus – Enable antivirus and anti-malware software and update signature definitions in a timely manner.
• 2FA –  Enable two-factor authentication.
• Patch – Patch and upgrade any platforms and software timely. Prioritize patching known exploited vulnerabilities.
• WAF – Set up a Web Application Firewall with rules to block suspicious and malicious requests.
• Admin Access – limit access to administrative accounts and portals to only relevant personnel and make sure they are not publicly accessible.
• Passwords – Implement strong passwords.
• Logging – Log your eCommerce environment’s network activity and web server activity.