Rewterz Threat Alert – South Asian Espionage Bitter APT Group Latest Campaign – Active IOCs

Severity

High

Analysis Summary

APT-17, also known as “Bitter APT” or “DeputyDog” is a suspected South Asian hacking group. They have been active since at least 2012 and have primarily targeted organizations in the aerospace, defense, and technology industries. They are known for targeting China, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia and have expanded to set their sights on Bangladeshi government agencies. The group is known for using a wide range of custom malware and tools to carry out their operations, including Remote Access Trojans (RATs), keyloggers, and backdoors. The group’s malware is known to be complex, and multi-stage and used a range of techniques to evade detection, such as code signing, the use of legitimate tools and third-party tools, and the use of encrypted communications. They are also known to use spear-phishing campaigns to gain initial access to targeted systems. They have been active for more than a decade and are known to use a wide range of custom malware and tools to carry out their operations. Organizations in these sectors should be aware of the threat actors and take appropriate measures to protect against their attacks. This includes implementing robust security measures, such as advanced threat detection and response capabilities, as well as employee training on how to identify and respond to spear-phishing campaigns. The group was observed using Powershell and curl instead of msiexe in one of the latest campaigns.

In a previous campaign conducted by this state-sponsored cyber espionage group, the attackers employed a malicious document named “Proposed Deliveries for JCC 11th and High-Level Visit.rar.” This document serves as a crucial component of their cyber attack strategy.

The attackers have carefully designed the document to give the impression that it pertains to proposed deliveries related to the 11th session of the Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) and a high-level visit. The purpose is to entice unsuspecting individuals, particularly those involved in the targeted organizations, into opening the file.

In the latest campaign attributed to the Bitter APT group, they have been observed using files named “Nomination for Transnational Security Cooperation Workshop.rar” and “Nomination for Transnational Security Cooperation Workshop.xlsx.”

Impact

• Information Theft and Espionage

Indicators of Compromise

MD5

• 9081f304fa2cc059a501e27aed2b31eb
• aa3fdb9b07a6dd926a7d5d4f9ce2a824

SHA-256

• 5162c53871fa6f044491b640b8a8dcd2fbe810a09911e517d4fa97a1d1bf25b7
• c2421d6e50228704ee24177ddb4b30c4e59798615f999fa63a68234ef1816525

SHA-1

• ea6e4dec90f087db778f23ed1034fb22d2cef832
• 18a4d503e0b6b19f525e7b76bdbc5e8ac81b51d8

Remediation

• Block all threat indicators at your respective controls.
• Search for Indicators of compromise (IOCs) in your environment utilizing your respective security controls
• Emails from unknown senders should always be treated with caution.
• Never trust or open links and attachments received from unknown sources/senders.
• Enable antivirus and anti-malware software and update signature definitions in a timely manner. Using multi-layered protection is necessary to secure vulnerable assets
• Patch and upgrade any platforms and software timely and make it into a standard security policy. Prioritize patching known exploited vulnerabilities and zero-days.