Threat Reports
What We Are Monitoring
Forescout’s Vedere Labs threat research team issues threat reports about topical cyber activities, attacks or vulnerabilities that impact the cybersecurity community at large. The reports include a summary of the incidents and main threat actors, followed by a technical analysis of each incident, list of common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs) and affected software, indicators of compromise (IOCs) and mitigation recommendations.
DarkGate Loader Malspam Campaign
Oct. 4, 2023
Forescout Vedere Labs has been tracking a new phishing campaign that is abusing Microsoft Teams functionality to send malicious attachments. This Instant Messaging Spam campaign (often called SPIM) was first observed in late August 2023, when Microsoft Teams phishing messages were seen being sent using compromised external Office 365 accounts to other unconnected organizations.
2023H1 Threat Review: Vulnerabilities, Threat Actors and Malware
Sept. 6, 2023
Forescout Vedere Labs looks back at the most relevant cybersecurity events and data during 2023H1 to shed light on the evolving threat landscape and offer mitigation steps. Observations involving building automation devices, network infrastructure and NAS devices confirm increasing threats to unmanaged devices.
The Riskiest Connected Devices in 2023
Jul. 13, 2023
Since 2020, Forescout Research has been tracking the riskiest devices on organizations’ networks. Our reports are entirely based on data coming directly from connected devices. Throughout the years, we have noticed that although many device types are consistently in these lists – such as IP cameras, VoIP equipment and programmable logic controllers (PLCs) – due either to their inherent criticality or to the persistent lack of attention from security teams, there are other devices whose current risk level reflect developments in the threat landscape.
Mass Exploitation of MOVEit Transfer Critical Vulnerability
Jun. 13, 2023
This report analyzes the mass exploitation of CVE-2023-34362, a critical vulnerability in MOVEit Transfer software, a widely adopted managed file transfer (MFT) solution that enables organizations to securely exchange files with their business partners and customers.
2022 Threat Roundup Report: The Emergence of Mixed IT/IoT Threats
Mar. 28, 2023
In 2022, cyberattacks grew in intensity, sophistication and frequency. The adoption of new connected devices by organizations in 2023 is likely to pose even greater challenges. To help organizations of all sizes prepare, Forescout’s Vedere Labs has analyzed data gathered in 2022 about cyberattacks, exploits and malware and shared insights via our 2022 Threat Roundup.
Common Ransomware TTPS
Mar. 22, 2023
Forescout’s Vedere Labs analyzes TTPs commonly used in ransomware attacks and gives specific mitigation recommendations, including detection with Forescout XDR. While the TTPs used have remained mostly constant, ransomware has been evolving rapidly since 2020, with the increased use of double extortion, zero-day exploits and targeted attacks on specific organizations vs. casting a wide net.
VMware ESXi Servers: A Major Attack Vector for Ransomware
Mar. 9, 2023
Vedere Labs provides details on the recent ransomware campaign targeting VMware ESXi virtualization servers, or hypervisors, and analyzes two payloads used in these attacks: variants of the Royal and Clop ransomware. We also present the TTPs used by attackers in this campaign, discuss mitigation recommendations and list IOCs that can be used for detection or threat hunting.
Royal Ransomware – Analysis of One of the Most Active Ransomware Groups in Late 2022 and Early 2023
Jan. 10, 2023
The Royal ransomware threat actor group, initially tracked as DEV-0569, emerged in early 2022 and has been very active in late 2022-early 2023. It uses double extortion to gain access to a victim’s environment, encrypt their data, exfiltrate sensitive data and demand a ransom to decrypt files. This report analyzes the group’s encryptor payload and TTPs and presents threat hunting opportunities for network defenders.
The Increasing Threat Posed by Hacktivist Attacks: An Analysis of Targeted Organizations, Devices and TTPs
Dec. 1, 2022
Hacktivists expanded their arsenal in 2022 to become much more than a nuisance to critical infrastructure owners – and reach into unexpected industries thanks to the widespread use of IoT and OT equipment. This report describes examples of active hacktivist groups; presents the device types, specific models and protocols these groups have targeted; discusses their TTPs and provides mitigation recommendations.
The Riskiest Connected Devices in Enterprise Networks
Oct. 12, 2022
In this report, Vedere Labs identifies the five riskiest connected devices in four categories: IT, IoT, OT and IoMT. We update our findings from 2020 with new entries such as hypervisors and human machine interfaces that represent trends including critical vulnerability and increased OT connectivity.
Internet Exposure of Medical Devices and Systems
Sept. 26, 2022
Vedere Labs found more than 7,000 exposed medical devices and systems on the internet, including PACS, healthcare integration engines, EMRs and medication dispensing systems.
Industroyer2 and INCONTROLLER (PIPEDREAM): In-depth Technical Analysis of the ICS-specific Malware
Jul. 13, 2022
Industroyer2 leverages OS-specific wipers and a dedicated module to communicate over the IEC-104 industrial protocol. INCONTROLLER is a full toolkit containing modules to send instructions to or retrieve data from ICS devices using industrial network protocols, such as OPC UA, Modbus, CODESYS, Machine Expert Discovery and Omron FINS. Additionally, Industroyer2 has a highly targeted configuration, while INCONTROLLER is much more reusable across different targets.
Killnet: Analysis of Attacks from a Prominent Pro-Russian Hacktivist Group
Jun. 2, 2022
In this threat report, Forescout’s Vedere Labs analyzes attacks by pro-Russian hacktivist group Killnet and shows how to mitigate risk of DDoS and other attacks. Killnet stands out as one of the most active groups since Russian invaded Ukraine and has gained notoriety for DDoSing the websites of western critical infrastructure operators such as airports, banks, energy providers and governmental agencies.
R4IoT - Ransomware Evolution
Jun. 1, 2022
In this report, Vedere Labs demonstrates R4IoT: a proof of concept for next-generation ransomware that exploits IoT devices for initial access, targets IT devices to deploy ransomware and cryptominers, and leverages poor OT security practices to cause physical disruption to business operations.
Emotet: The Return of the World’s Most Dangerous Malware
May. 12, 2022
According to CISA, Emotet is among the most costly and destructive malware used against the private and public sectors, and Europol calls it the world’s most dangerous malware. This report shows the result of a dynamic analysis of an Emotet Epoch4 loader sample and presents a list of IoCs extracted from that sample, with recommended mitigations.
Analysis of an ALPHV Incident
Apr. 22, 2022
This report analyzes the files and tools used by an affiliate of the ALPHV ransomware group (aka BlackCat) during an attack that involved penetrating a SonicWall firewall and encrypting a VMware ESXi environment. New findings break down the malware’s sophisticated behavior and present ways to avoid damage.
Night Sky Ransomware
Apr. 12, 2022
The Night Sky ransomware was first reported by MalwareHunterTeam on January 1, 2022. Victims were asked to contact the attackers on contact[.]nightsky[.]cyou to pay for the ransom. If the victims refused to pay, attackers threatened to expose their data on a leak site. This is known as a double extortion ransomware. Night Sky provides an interesting view into the relationships among several ransomware families.
LAPSUS$
Mar. 30, 2022
LAPSUS$ is a hacking group that has been active since 2021 and has breached several high-profile organizations, starting with major Brazilian government agencies and companies, then moving on to global businesses such as Microsoft, Nvidia and Okta. This loose collective of hackers is notable for using social engineering techniques and focusing on data exfiltration and public extortion rather than data encryption. This briefing reports on the group’s victims, methods and indicators of compromise, and provides mitigation recommendations.
Analysis of Conti Leaks
Mar. 11, 2022
This report is the result of an analysis of the chats, tutorials and tools used by the Conti ransomware groups and leaked via the Twitter handle “ContiLeaks” since the end of February 2022. The report presents intelligence about the group’s organization, attack techniques and victims which can help network defenders to detect and mitigate attacks from Conti and other similar ransomware groups. It does not rely on automatic translation of leaked chats…
Monitoring Cyber Activities Connected to The Russian-Ukrainian Conflict
Mar. 3, 2022
Vedere Labs, Forescout’s threat intelligence and research team, is closely monitoring the evolution of cyber activities connected to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. We continue to gather information regarding active threats; tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs); Indicators of Compromise (IoCs); and mitigations.
Top Defense Evasion Techniques
Jul. 25, 2022
An analysis of the top 10 observed defense evasion techniques used by adversaries in malware campaigns and recommendations for detection and mitigation.
TrickBot Banking Trojan
Apr. 8, 2021
An analysis of TrickBot, a dangerous, customizable banking trojan distributed via spear phishing –artifacts and behaviors, techniques, monitoring and mitigation.
The Underlying Risks Found in Healthcare Devices
May 2021
Vedere Labs analyzed Device Cloud data from healthcare organizations to determine how TCP/IP stack vulnerabilities affect them. The report details 20 significant findings and provides four critical recommendations to mitigate risks to your organization.
Formbook Infostealer
Feb. 23, 2021
An analysis of Formbook infostealer malware – main execution stages and techniques, key artifacts and behaviors, attachment types and exploited vulnerabilities.
Thanos Ransomware
Jul. 17, 2020
An analysis of the Thanos RaaS, which users can customize to suit their needs. It can evade detection, encrypt and exfiltrate data, and spread over a LAN.
TeamTNT
Oct. 19, 2020
An analysis of TeamTNT, the 1st cryptojacking worm to steal AWS credentials, including its main attack phases, artifacts, techniques and goals.
TA505 APT
Sept. 1, 2020
An analysis of TA505 APT, known for largescale, worldwide spam campaigns that distribute malware; including its attack vectors, techniques and characteristics.
SunCrypt Ransomware
Sept. 23, 2020
An analysis of a fileless variant of SunCrypt ransomware that uses the PowerShell process to extract and run a SunCrypt payload, making it hard to detect.
StrongPity Spyware
Aug. 7, 2020
An analysis of the StrongPity spyware distributed by the Promethium advanced persistence threat (APT) through spear phishing and watering hole attacks.
PonyFinal Ransomware
Jun. 15, 2020
An analysis of the techniques used by PonyFinal, a Java-based ransomware that targets large organizations.
Maze Ransomware
Jul. 7, 2020
An analysis of the Maze group and multiple variants of its ransomware, which targets Windows systems of large companies and publishes victims’ sensitive data.
Kinsing Cloud Cryptojacker
Apr. 27, 2021
An analysis of the Kinsing cloud cryptojacker, a hard-to-detect Linux-based malware, along with best practices for prevention, detection and mitigation.
Egregor Ransomware
Jan. 29, 2021
An analysis of the Egregor RaaS group and the techniques it uses to gain access, avoid detection and exfiltrate data to extort large companies.
BIG-IP
Jul. 2, 2020
How to detect and mitigate CVE-2020-5902, a BIG-IP remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability that has a CVSSv2 score of 10.0 – CRITICAL.
Linux Ransomware
Mar. 2022
An analysis of prominent Linux ransomware variants, which rely on vulnerability exploitation for infection, with a detailed look at REvil RaaS.
Agent Tesla RAT
Feb. 8, 2021
An analysis of the Agent Tesla remote access trojan (RAT), a popular keylogger and information stealer, with recom AgentTesla RAT mendations for detection and mitigation.
Enterprise of Things Security Report: The State of IoT Security in 2020
Jun. 25, 2021
Vedere Labs identifies the top 10 riskiest devices and helps security teams determine the most effective next steps to secure them.
The APT36 Crimson Remote Access Trojan (RAT)
Dec. 9, 2020
An analysis of multiple variants of APT36’s Crimson remote access trojan (RAT), which exfiltrates files and system data and transfers it to its C2 server.
From Events to TTPs: Maturing OT Incident Response with MITRE ATT&CK for ICS
May 2020
The growing threat landscape for operational technology (OT) networks, exemplified by a number of recent ransomware attacks, has prompted critical infrastructure organizations to better prepare themselves for impactful cyber incidents. To do this, stakeholders responsible for critical infrastructure and services are maturing their security operations centers (SOCs) and increasing their use of cyber threat intelligence (CTI). Many now consider adversarial Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) to be their most valuable CTI tool.
Putting Healthcare Security Under the Microscope
May 28 2019
The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) continues to offer exciting possibilities for healthcare organizations to improve patient care. However, this digital transformation and increase in connectivity is also introducing new privacy and security risks. The device landscape is growing exponentially, adding to the complexity of networks
and making it difficult to manage and improve their security posture.
Credential Harvesting Attacks
May 1, 2020
An analysis of the techniques used to craft spear phishing attacks to steal user credentials, and the most effective ways to detect and prevent them.
Banking on Security: Leveraging Device Data to Manage Risk in Financial Services
April 2020
Forescout’s Research team analyzed device deployments from some of the world’s leading financial institutions and identified disturbing findings that indicate a lack of maturity in key areas such as device visibility and network segmentation. The research suggests that many banking and retail devices are within proximity of non-traditional (IoT and OT) devices, exposing networks to elevated opportunities for attackers to move laterally between critical infrastructure and the data center.
APT 10
Jul. 1, 2019
An analysis of Chinese cyber espionage group APT10 including the utilities, malware, and tools and TTPs it uses to steal trade secrets and intellectual property.
