CISO Intelligence for 4th November 2024

Welcome to this issue of CISO Intelligence for the 4th November 2024.

1. Strela Stealer Strikes: When WebDAV Turns from Dave to Dangerous
2. Every Doggo Has Its Day: Unleashing the Xiū Gǒu Phishing Kit
3. Hex Marks the Spot: Navigating the ChatGPT Cryptogram
4. Loose-lipped Neural Networks and Lazy Scammers
5. When Ransom Isn’t Random: Interbank’s Wire Withdrawal in the Face of Cyber Extortion
6. Typosquats: The Halloween Trick You Didn’t Want in Your Treats!
7. Quantum Clickbait: The Cryptographic Crack That Wasn’t
8. CrossBarking — How One Vulnerability Unleashed a Browser-hopping Menagerie

Our goal is to ensure we provide timely, accurate information on topics that CISOs of all organisations can use immediately. To that end, each briefing note comprises:

• A Board Briefing Summary
• The challenge for the CISO’s team to meet
• Questions for suppliers
• Insight into the issue being discussed through a short note

This briefing is a more advanced companion to the free LinkedIn newsletter CISO Intelligence.

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Strela Stealer Strikes: When WebDAV Turns from Dave to Dangerous

Board Briefing

Strela Stealer is exploiting WebDAV to target sensitive regions in Europe. Rapid response measures are imperative to secure email and system credentials.

Team Challenge

Implement deep inspection protocols for email attachments within Central and Southwestern European networks and enhance user training to counter sophisticated phishing tactics.

Supplier Questions

1. How can your security solutions enhance detection of obfuscated JavaScript and PowerShell-based threats?
2. What measures are in place to monitor changes within WebDAV deployments and alert us to suspicious activity?

CISO Focus: Phishing defenses and system configuration security

Sentiment: Negative

Time to Impact: Short term (3-18 months)

"When invoices run wild, better keep those wallets closed or face the music."

Strela Stealer Threatens European Enterprises via WebDAV

In the face of ever-evolving cyber threats, the latest Strela Stealer phishing campaign stands out for its cunning execution and focus on Central and Southwestern Europe. This campaign, disclosed by Cyble Research and Intelligence Labs (CRIL), exemplifies the sophisticated techniques employed by cybercriminals to compromise sensitive data and highlights the pressing need for enhanced cyber defenses.

The Threat Landscape

Key Characteristics:

• Campaign Strategy: The campaign masquerades as a typical invoice notification. This socially-engineered disguise is effectively tailored to deceive users, tricking them into inadvertently engaging with malicious content.
• Geographical Focus: Strela Stealer's reach extends predominantly across Central and Southwestern Europe, targeting demographics based on locale settings. This region-specific focus maximizes its efficacy and increases the potential for successful breaches.
• Stealth Tactics: Attackers utilize ZIP file attachments in phishing emails, which carry obfuscated JavaScript (.js) files. Their obfuscation is strategically designed to slip past conventional security detection mechanisms.

The Attack Vector

The unfolding of the Strela Stealer attack illustrates a seamless but destructive process:

1. Entry Point: Users receive phishing emails appearing as standard invoice alerts, encouraging them to open the attached ZIP files.

2. Obfuscation Technique: Inside these attachments lurk heavily obfuscated JavaScript files that initiate the attack chain, bypassing many security tools designed to detect such threats.

3. Stealthy Execution: Once activated, the JavaScript executes a base64-encoded PowerShell command. This clever encoding ensures the command launches the payload from a WebDAV server without leaving a trace on the disk, evading endpoint detection.

4. Payload Delivery: The final payload, Strela Stealer, is delivered via an obfuscated DLL file, specifically fine-tuned to breach systems in Germany and Spain.

The Purpose of the Attack

The fundamental aim of the Strela Stealer attack is to extract sensitive information, focusing primarily on:

• Credential Theft: The malware targets and siphons off sensitive email configuration data, including server information, usernames, and passwords, compromising individual and organizational security.
• System Reconnaissance: Beyond credential theft, the campaign gathers comprehensive system information. This gathered data provides attackers with critical reconnaissance capability, enabling them to orchestrate subsequent actions, potentially resulting in more targeted and damaging attacks.

Defensive Measures

Immediate Actions Needed:

• Enhanced Email Filtering: Strengthening email filtering protocols to detect obfuscated scripts and suspicious command launches can intercept attempts before they mature into breaches.

• User Awareness Programs: Ongoing training and simulations for users, emphasizing the recognition and reporting of phishing attempts, will decrease engagement with malicious emails.

• WebDAV Monitoring: Security teams must prioritize the monitoring of WebDAV usage and changes, as its exploitation is central to the Strela Stealer delivery methodology.

• Advanced Threat Detection Tools: Deploy tools capable of deep packet inspection and behavioral analysis to recognize and mitigate the impact of obfuscated script execution.

Stealing Home

The Strela Stealer campaign's reliance on advanced obfuscation techniques and geographical targeting underscores a growing trend in cyberattack precision and sophistication. While current security measures remain inadequate in the face of such complex threats, proactive defense protocols focused on email security and system information protection can help mitigate risks.

With the specter of such malicious campaigns looming, businesses and users must act swiftly and decisively. Reinforcing the first line of defense and leveraging advanced cybersecurity solutions will be key in safeguarding against these stealthy threats, ensuring that when an invoice comes knocking, it isn’t the harbinger of a breach.

The response to the Strela Stealer initiative will not only dictate the immediate safety of numerous European enterprises but also set the stage for how future campaigns leveraging similar tactics will be countered.