Severity
High
Analysis Summary
Shuckworm APT - aka Actinium, Armageddon, Primitive Bear, Gamaredon, and Trident Ursa - has been a Russia-backed advanced persistent threat (APT) since at least 2013. This cyber-espionage group is known to target government, military, and other high-value targets, primarily in Ukraine, and has been linked to several advanced persistent threats (APT) campaigns. The main goal of this APT is to use the malicious document to gain control of the target machine. The exploit document uses the template injection to infect the victim's computer with further malware. When the document is opened, it connects to the hacker's server and downloads the payload file. Gamaredon's tools are simple and designed to collect sensitive information from hacked systems and propagate it further. Its information-gathering efforts are nearly comparable to those of a second-tier APT, whose primary purpose is to collect and disseminate information with their units. The Gamaredon APT group's recent attack leverages a decree document from the Russian Federation government as bait. In July, this APT group targeted Ukrainian entities with PowerShell info-stealer malware dubbed GammaLoad.
Gamaredon APT is particularly known for its ability to steal sensitive information from its targets, including intellectual property, confidential documents, and login credentials. In some cases, the group has also been observed exfiltrating large amounts of data from its targets over extended periods.
It is important for organizations to be aware of the threat posed by Gamaredon APT and to implement appropriate security measures to protect against this group and other advanced persistent threats. This may include implementing strong security controls, regularly monitoring network activity for signs of compromise, and using advanced threat detection and response technologies.
Impact
- Template Injection
- Exposure of Sensitive Data
Indicators of Compromise
MD5
3c2bb922c5f6ea504c373e254dc108d9
a8a5fa5279f88f0102e51659b2f0b204
03e5e93d7ba5fd5977eaa10fb52cb44f
bda0d8e0bae7b6cc167b685cf82103e6
27f32677130ba053363cefd14f81b66a
b00c9ccbdde1c3c31bf593e9ff07eda5
7c623d88ed8e325395929d74c98cbb34
6a3ef719d859d2005dbc5feb68e4a236
SHA-256
- 28431f09c87116adacac29abcd65757f6416110c6ee880011664283ef9e1ec2c
- 68e21d7599d20444232415a7e74214ce50d7b4643215d83b8320e74c95a9dfd3
- 95262c4094a9a5e589a218e354ef54b3800aa0abc3b6a343bbcfdcbf021fc04f
- 18b2956ceea0e45e2183dc1590fb306f9431943ed612e110af508d819d2ffd67
- d92329697432898d0f0db0d5024e5820274347abdcac2c0a8593b9b346bd09c2
- f08ea988890f33b18ae15d6d3466be0d60e974dece876450f16a0c82bf8469a7
- 5095c6478dbb7f167c637511536ddc9bdc60828cc7c323041c68a2918eb351e8
- 97ff9b4c901f93bcc0bc8b019d104f8abe81cedc7515aa5fa1b66585606a17be
SHA1
54b698aad0bf797b2922aad634fa76517399e653
8dee18c21af68f230262e69de4b90d2fd2ca3cf6
f34835e499406cc402f1ddd054ef372386ad5137
7d86e37cfe11038f4dac031551b9c5e3cb153c4b
0cacdc3dd53f2ee938e47b85548cab8a158da3bb
d4b97c16077a2e391fe76afef76dffae7a63bbc2
3b73275f5b0419c8f6a601fdacd54c09468d15d2
8d42be840b10fe78628dc476b39efbb3bb5d8248
Remediation
- Block all threat indicators at your respective controls.
- Search for indicators of compromise (IOCs) in your environment utilizing your respective security controls.
- Do not download documents attached in emails from unknown sources and strictly refrain from enabling macros when the source isn’t reliable.
- Enable antivirus and anti-malware software and update signature definitions promptly. Using multi-layered protection is necessary to secure vulnerable assets.
- Along with network and system hardening, code hardening should be implemented within the organization to secure its websites and software. Test tools are used to detect any vulnerabilities in the deployed codes.