IcedID Malware Strikes Again: Active Directory Domain Compromised in Under 24 Hours

A recent IcedID malware attack enabled the threat actor to compromise the Active Directory domain of an unnamed target less than 24 hours after gaining initial access, while also borrowing techniques from other groups like Conti to meet its goals. "Throughout the attack, the attacker followed a...

Malware Distribution via Google PPC by IcedID Botnet Distributors

Threat Level Attack Report For a detailed threat advisory, download the pdf file here Summary The IcedID botnet has been using Google pay-per-click ads to distribute itself through malvertising attacks since December 2022. Malvertising involves the use of malicious ads that are displayed in searc...

IcedID Botnet Distributors Abuse Google PPC to Distribute Malware

We analyze the latest changes in IcedID botnet from a campaign that abuses Google pay per click PPC ads to distribute IcedID via malvertising attacks...

Notorious Emotet Malware Returns With High-Volume Malspam Campaign

The notorious Emotet malware has returned with renewed vigor as part of a high-volume malspam campaign designed to drop payloads like IcedID and Bumblebee. "Hundreds of thousands of emails per day" have been sent since early November 2022, enterprise security company Proofpoint said last week,...

Raspberry Robin worm used as ransomware prelude

Raspberry Robin aka Worm.RaspberyRobin started out as an annoying, yet relatively low-profile threat that was often installed via USB drive. First spotted in September 2021, it was typically introduced into a network through infected removable drives, often USB devices. Now the worm has been foun...

Raspberry Robin Operators Selling Cybercriminals Access to Thousands of Endpoints

The Raspberry Robin worm is becoming an access-as-a-service malware for deploying other payloads, including IcedID, Bumblebee, TrueBot aka Silence, and Clop ransomware. It is "part of a complex and interconnected malware ecosystem, with links to other malware families and alternate infection...

Hackers Using Bumblebee Loader to Compromise Active Directory Services

The malware loader known as Bumblebee is being increasingly co-opted by threat actors associated with BazarLoader, TrickBot, and IcedID in their campaigns to breach target networks for post-exploitation activities. "Bumblebee operators conduct intensive reconnaissance activities and redirect the...

Microsoft Resumes Blocking Office VBA Macros by Default After 'Temporary Pause'

Microsoft has officially resumed blocking Visual Basic for Applications VBA macros by default across Office apps, weeks after temporarily announcing plans to roll back the change. "Based on our review of customer feedback, we've made updates to both our end user and our IT admin documentation to...

TrickBot Gang Shifted its Focus on "Systematically" Targeting Ukraine

In what's being described as an "unprecedented" twist, the operators of the TrickBot malware have resorted to systematically targeting Ukraine since the onset of the war in late February 2022. The group is believed to have orchestrated at least six phishing campaigns aimed at targets that align...

New Hacking Campaign Targeting Ukrainian Government with IcedID Malware

The Computer Emergency Response Team of Ukraine CERT-UA has warned of a new wave of social engineering campaigns delivering IcedID malware and leveraging Zimbra exploits with the goal of stealing sensitive information. Attributing the IcedID phishing attacks to a threat cluster named UAC-0041, th...

Prolific threat actor TA551 using new malware IcedID

THREAT LEVEL: Red. For a detailed advisory, download the pdf file here TA551 is a financially motivated threat group that has been active at least since 2018. The gang primarily targeted English, German, Italian, and Japanese speakers through email-based malware distribution activities. IcedID, a...

Exchange Servers Speared in IcedID Phishing Campaign

The ever-evolving banking trojan IcedID is back again with a phishing campaign that uses previously compromised Microsoft Exchange servers to send emails that appear to come from legitimate accounts. Attackers also are using stealthy new payload-delivery tactics to spread the modular malware...

Hackers Hijack Email Reply Chains on Unpatched Exchange Servers to Spread Malware

A new email phishing campaign has been spotted leveraging the tactic of conversation hijacking to deliver the IcedID info-stealing malware onto infected machines by making use of unpatched and publicly-exposed Microsoft Exchange servers. "The emails use a social engineering technique of...

Living Off the Land: How to Defend Against Malicious Use of Legitimate Utilities

Living-off-the-land binaries LOLBins are no joke: Cyberattackers have been increasingly making use of them to hide their malicious work from security solutions. It’s time for threat hunters and IT security staff to familiarize themselves with how these are used in the attack chains of some of the...

[Webinar] How Cyber Attack Groups Are Spinning a Larger Ransomware Web

Organizations today already have an overwhelming number of dangers and threats to look out for, from spam to phishing attempts to new infiltration and ransomware tactics. There is no chance to rest, since attack groups are constantly looking for more effective means of infiltrating and infecting...

Spam Downpour Drips New IcedID Banking Trojan Variant

Researchers have seen a new variant of the IcedID banking trojan sliding in via two new spam campaigns. Written in English and carrying .ZIP files full of the malware – or links to such ZIP files – the new twist on the old banking trojan is a tweaked downloader, which the threat actors moved from...

Malicious spam campaigns delivering banking Trojans

In mid-March 2021, we observed two new spam campaigns. The messages in both cases were written in English and contained ZIP attachments or links to ZIP files. Further research revealed that both campaigns ultimately aimed to distribute banking Trojans. The payload in most cases was IcedID...

Ransomware Attackers Partnering With Cybercrime Groups to Hack High-Profile Targets

As ransomware attacks against critical infrastructure skyrocket, new research shows that threat actors behind such disruptions are increasingly shifting from using email messages as an intrusion route to purchasing access from cybercriminal enterprises that have already infiltrated major targets...

A week in security (April 12 – 18)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, our podcast featured Troy Hunt, Chloé Messdaghi, and Tanya Janca who discussed security fatigue with us. We announced the release of the Malwarebytes SMB Cybersecurity Trust & Confidence Report 2021, a first-of-its-kind survey of the hardworking IT professionals on...

Hackers Using Website's Contact Forms to Deliver IcedID Malware

Microsoft has warned organizations of a "unique" attack campaign that abuses contact forms published on websites to deliver malicious links to businesses via emails containing fake legal threats, in what's yet another instance of adversaries abusing legitimate infrastructure to mount evasive...