Hackers target Windows security experts with fake exploits

Date:
Wed, 25 May 2022 17:40:17 +0000

Description:
Instead of getting exploit PoC, they're getting something a lot more sinister - a Cobalt Strike beacon

FULL STORY ======================================================================

Cybersecurity researchers, analyzing proof-of-concept (PoC) exploits
published on GitHub, recently found themselves on the receiving end of a Cobalt Strike-powered cyberattack.

Its common practice for researchers to publish a PoC of recently patched
flaws on code repositories, such as GitHub. That way, they can test different solutions among themselves and force admins to apply the fixes as soon as possible.

When Microsoft patched two remote code execution vulnerabilities, tracked as CVE-2022-24500 and CVE-2022-26809, a few PoCs popped up on GitHub, one of
them coming from an account named rkxxz.

Share your thoughts on Cybersecurity and get a free copy of the Hacker's Manual 2022 . Help us find how businesses are preparing for the post-Covid world and the implications of these activities on their cybersecurity plans. Enter your email at the end of this survey to get the bookazine, worth $10.99/10.99. Cobalt Strike

However, the PoC turned out to be bogus, and what it did instead was install Cobalt Strike beacons on the researchers endpoints. Cybles researchers told BleepingComputer that the fake PoC was in fact a .NET application that launches a PowerShell script, which in turn executes a gzip-compressed PowerShell script malshare, which injects the beacon into device memory.

Cobalt Strike itself is not malware, but rather a legitimate tool being used for penetration testing. Still, its one of cybercriminals favorite weapons, ideal for stealthy lateral movement throughout the target network.

In the meantime, the fake PoC was removed, and the account distributing it, banned. Read more

Security researchers under attack from North Korea

Hackers have turned their attention to the researchers hunting them down

What SMBs are getting wrong about cyber security

In the world of cyber-warfare, every now and then, the hunter becomes the game. In late January this year, individuals working for Googles Threat Analysis Group (TAG) discovered a cyberattack campaign coming out of North Korea that targeted other security researchers. The attack was broad in
scope, utilizing blog posts, fake social media profiles, and email accounts
to engage with the researchers.

Two months later, in March, the same group discovered another campaign out of North Korea, with the same goal. This time around, the attackers even set up
a fake cybersecurity firm, called SecuriElite, through which they invited other researchers for collaborations. However, instead of actually collaborating, the group tried to infect the researchers endpoints with malware. You can test the vulnerabilities in peace with the best firewalls right now

Via: BleepingComputer



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/hackers-target-windows-security-experts-with-fa ke-exploits/


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)