Our researcher Aryeh Goretsky took a look at some of the more interesting pieces of malware and threats that have occurred over the first six months of the year 2014. And what a year it has been, with some serious new developments as well as persistence of numerous older threats.
2. Presenter
Aryeh Goretsky, MVP, ZCSE
Distinguished Researcher
ESET North America
✉ askeset@eset.com
@eset (global)
@esetna (US + Canada)
3. About ESET
• Leading security solution provider for companies of all
sizes, home and phones
• Pioneered and continues to lead the industry in
proactive threat detection
• Presence in more than 180 countries worldwide
• Protecting over 100 million users
• Ten years of consecutive VB100 awards†
• 5th Largest Endpoint Security Vendor‡
†Source: Virus Bulletin Magazine
‡Source: IDC, Worldwide Endpoint Security 2013-2017 Forecast and 2012 Vendor
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4. What’s on the agenda?
• A brief look into ESET’s threat database
• Android malware
• Banking bots & Bitcoin thieves
• Heartbleed SSL vulnerability
• Internet of Things (IoT)
• Mac & iPhone
• Nation-state malware
• Windigo/Ebury malware campaign
• Windows XP reaches its end of life
5. What this presentation is not about
• BYOD & mobile device threats
• Data breaches (eBay, Target, …)
• Edward Snowden, NSA, et al
• Multifactor authentication
• Passwords and PINs
• Phishing, scams & social media
• Windows 8.1 Update
9. Android Malware
• Amount of malware continues to grow
• Can be deployed by Windows malware (q.v.)
• Reports of smartphones & tablets shipping with
pre-installed malware
• Everything old is new again:
– first worm discovered, Android/Samsapo
– first ransomware discovered, Android/Simplocker
• On the plus side
– Google plans to periodically re-scan installed apps
– Most malware originates outside of Google Play,
device or carrier stores
10.
11. Android Malware
Have you seen any malware, potentially unwanted
applications or junk apps on your Android devices?
Yes
no
12. Banking bots & Bitcoin thieves
• Arrival of *coin mining and stealing on multiple
platforms, technologies (Android, BAT, MSIL, Win32,
VBS)
• Win32/Corkow banking Trojan targets Bitcoin
wallets, Android developers and Russian
business bank accounts
• Win32/Qadars banking bot now drops Android
iBanking component Android/Spy.Agent.AF via
Facebook webinject
13. Heartbleed SSL Vulnerability
• 2 year old flaw in OpenSSL allows eavesdropping
into communications
• About two-thirds of web sites were affected
• Also affected networking gear from Cisco,
Juniper and others; in VPN software, etc.
• Windows 8 inbox VPN clients, too
• May have been exploited for those 2 years before
being discovered
14. Internet of Things
• Smart TVs – “Red Button” bot in your living room?
– Script injection, credential theft, malware?
– all via broadcast (EU standard, soon in US)
• Smart TVs – the spy in your living room?
– Some have microphones and webcams
• Not apparent when they’re on; or how to turn off (or if)
• Can be remotely taken over (Samsung)
– Sent viewing habits, URLs, filenames of private videos (LG)
– Replace images/videos on screen (Philips)
• Tesla’s iPhone app, used to lock/unlock vehicle,
vulnerable to brute-forcing
15. IOiT: Routers and DVRs, etc.
• Residential gateway broadband routers under attack
from worms like Win32/RBrute
– DNS changing
• Browser injection
– Ad injection substitution, spying, etc.
• Credential theft
– bank fraud, shopping, social media, webmail …
• Search engine redirection
– Bing, Google, Yahoo redirect to sponsored & PPC searches
– coin mining (DVR, NAS...)
• Nowhere near as effective as PCs, but remember:
“Quantity has a quality all its own.” – Joseph Stalin
16. IOiT: Routers and DVRs, etc.
[LIST OF AFFECTED
VENDORS REDACTED]
To view this slide, please see the presentation at:
https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/1718/110971
17. IOiT: Routers and DVRs, etc.
Reminder:
1. Disable access to admin settings on LAN and
wireless interfaces
2. Update firmware to latest version (manual check
may be required-do not rely on autoupdate)
3. Use a str0ng password
19. Internet of Things
Do you use any of these Internet connected
devices?
Home Automation (thermostat, fire/CO2
alarms, X10, Zigbee, etc.)
Network Attached Storage (NAS)
Next-gen gaming console
Router / Wi-FI Access Point
Smart TV and/or Digital Video Recorder (DVR)
20. Mac, iPad & iPhone
an Apple a day…
No major campaigns targeting OS X & iOS, but…
• GotoFail, a critical SSL vulnerability is patched
• Targeted attacks continue, such as against
Chinese and Tibetan advocacy groups
• Weird ransomware attacks target Australian and
New Zealand iPhones, iPads & Macs
21. Nation-state malware update
• OSX/Appetite trojan used against Falun Gong
and Tibetan activists
• MiniDuke (aka Win32/SandaEva) continues to be
used
– Targets include European governments, institutions
and NGOs
• Use of Win32/Agent.VXU against Ministry of
Natural Resources and the Environment in
Vietnam (US equivalent: EPA)
22. The Windigo Campaign
…anything but Windows
• Started with investigation into Linux/Ebury
– OpenSSH backdoor + credential stealer
– Malicious library and patch to OpenSSH binaries
– Took several steps to avoid detection
• Includes Linux/Cdorked, Perl/Calfbot and
Win32/Glupteba.M families
• Over 25,000 servers infected over past 2 years
• Affected Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Mac OS X
– Plus some Windows servers running Perl + Cygwin
23. Windows XP reaches EOL status
• On April 8th, support ended for Windows XP
– An update, MS14-021, released on 5/1/14 due to
extraordinary circumstances
– One-time event, don’t expect it again
• Globally, 30% of PCs still running XP
– Regionally, ranging from 11% to 61% usage
• If you’re still running XP:
– Patch systems to final set of updates
– Isolate
– Figure out migration strategy now
24. Resources: Android
ESET’s We Live Security (blog)
• Android malware worm catches unwary users
• Android malware? Google will be watching your every move
• Android phones and tablets ship “pre-infected” with malware
• ESET Analyzes First Android File-Encrypting, TOR-Enabled
Ransomware
ESET’s Virus Radar (threat encyclopedia)
• Android/Samsapo
• Android/Simplocker
25. Resources: Banking Bots & Trojans
ESET’s We Live Security (blog)
• Facebook Webinject Leads to iBanking Mobile Bot
• Corkow: Analysis of a business-oriented banking Trojan
• Corkow – the lesser-known Bitcoin-curious cousin of the Russian
banking Trojan family
• Surveillance cameras hijacked to mine Bitcoin while watching you
ESET’s Virus Radar (threat encyclopedia)
• Win32/Corkow
• Win32/Qadars
• Android/Spy.Agent.AF
26. Resources: Heartbleed
ESET’s We Live Security (blog)
• All eyes on Heartbleed bug: Worse than feared and could affect
“billions”
• Heartbleed claims British moms and Canadian tax payers as
victims
• Heartbleed encryption flaw leaves millions of sites at risk
• “I am responsible”: Heartbleed developer breaks silence
27. Resources: Internet of Things (1/4)
ESET’s We Live Security (blog)
• Attack on Samsung’s Boxee TV service leaks 158,000 passwords
and emails
• Channel Cybercrime: Bug allows hackers to hijack screen of
Philips TVs
• Fridge raiders: Will 2014 really be the year your smart home gets
hacked?
• Hacker amasses $620,000 in cryptocurrency using infected
computers
• LG admits that its Smart TVs have been watching users and
transmitting data without consent
28. Resources: Internet of Things (2/4)
ESET’s We Live Security (blog)
• ‘Major’ Smart TV vulnerability could allow mass wireless attacks
• More than 300,000 wireless routers hijacked by criminals in global
attack
• Mysterious ‘Moon’ worm spreads into many Linksys routers – and
hunts new victims
• Simplocker Ransomware: New variants spread by Android
downloader apps
• Smart TVs can be infected with spyware – just like smartphones
29. Resources: Internet of Things (3/4)
ESET’s We Live Security (blog)
• Stop TVs spying on us. U.S. Senator calls for safer Smart devices
• Surveillance cameras hijacked to mine Bitcoin while watching you
• Tesla shocker as researcher picks electric supercar’s lock
• The Internet of Things isn’t a malware-laced game of cyber-
Cluedo… yet
• Win32/Sality newest component: a router’s primary DNS changer
named Win32/Rbrute
30. Resources: Internet of Things (4/4)
ESET’s Virus Radar (threat encyclopedia)
• Win32/Sality
• Win32/Rbrute
31. Resources: Mac Malware
ESET’s We Live Security (blog)
• 10 years of Mac OS X malware
• Five tips to help control your privacy on Mac OS X
• iPhone and Apple ransom incidents? Don’t delay locking down
your i-stuff
• Master of Mavericks: How to secure your Mac using Apple’s latest
update
• Urgent iPhone and iPad security update, Mac OS X as well
ESET’s Virus Radar (threat encyclopedia)
• OSX/Appetite
32. Resources: Nation-State Update
ESET’s We Live Security (blog)
• 10 years of Mac OS X malware
• Miniduke still duking it out
ESET’s Virus Radar (threat encyclopedia)
• OSX/Appetite
• Win32/Agent.VXU
• Win32/SandyEva (MiniDuke)
33. Resources: Windigo Campaign
ESET’s We Live Security (blog)
• An in-depth Analysis of Linux/Ebury
• Interview: Windigo victim speaks out on the ‘stealth’ malware that
attacked his global company
• Operation Windigo – the vivisection of a large Linux server-side
credential-stealing malware campaign
• Over 500,000 PCs attacked every day after 25,000 UNIX servers
hijacked by Operation Windigo
• Windigo not Windigone: Linux/Ebury updated
ESET research papers
• Operation Windigo (PDF)
34. Resources: Windows XP EOL
ESET’s We Live Security (blog)
• 5 Tips for protecting Windows XP machines after April 8, 2014
• Goodbye, Windows XP!
• With just days to go, just how many PCs are still running Windows
XP?
• Windows exploitation in 2013
• XP-diency: beyond the end of the line
35. Special Thanks
Kudos to
Bruce P. Burrell
David Harley
Amelia Hew
Emilio Plumey
Javier Segura
Aaron Sheinbein
Marek Zeman
for their assistance with the ESET 2014 Mid Year Threat
Report!
36. I would like to request one of the following
Contact from ESET Sales
Business Edition Trial
PassMark® Competitive Analysis Report
Monthly Global Threat Report
Polling question:
The data in the following chart can be extremely misleading due to difficulties to interpretation.
It is not accurate at all, because:
there’s no direct correlation between # of signatures &threats they protect against
doesn’t take into account non-signature-based technologies like heuristics, generic, genetic algorithms, neural net stuff, etc.
Keep in mind:
one signature may detect entire multiple families of malware (some of which can generate 4.2B+ variants)
2-3 dozen may be required to detect a single family of malware
It is most useful to think of it at as a measure of workload
relative activity of malware in the threatscape
amount of effort expended to combat it
So, why show it to you?
I thought it would be interesting to look at.
May highlight some interesting behaviors…
So, with this cautionary messaging in mind, let’s see how busy ESET’s threat research lab was in the first half of 2014…
NB: This slide will be redacted from the published version of the deck
The threat research lab is receiving about 200K samples a day. Sometimes more
The valleys that you see, by the way, are a development that has become more prevalent over the past few years.
As malware creation and distribution has evolved into an industry…. they’ve become businesses in themselves.
And they don’t like to work weekends.
This data is specifically for malware only. If, for example, we were to look at data on phishing, we would see huge spikes on Fridays. Phishers like to target you on Fridays so they have the weekend to clean out your account before you think of contacting your bank on Monday.
The two spikes that you see mid-April are from base signature updates—the first one goes off to around 9,000, and the second to 2,000.
In 2012, number of unique Android malware detections increased 17× (yes, that’s 1,700%)
Mobile malware (Android) is growing rapidly:
2010 3 families
2011 51 families
2012 63 families
2013* 79 families
Between 2012 and 2013, detections of Android malware by ESET increased by 63%*
Sources: Trends for 2013, Astounding Growth of Mobile Malware [pdf], Trends for 2014:The Challenge of Internet Privacy [pdf] *data for 2013 is from first 10 months of year
See the Mobile Device Threats and BYOD Webinar that I gave on BrightTalk for more details.
Cartoon courtesy of David Harley.
On the financial targeting malware side,
The success of Bitcoin and related computer mediated, decentralized cryptocurrencies such as dogecoin and litecoin, initially as darkweb currencies, and later into other areas, has spawned a whole new class of entrepreneurs, except that instead of generating or trading in coins, they are interested in either stealing the wallets, or botting machines and using it to mine for them. The two operations, by the way, are not always mutually exclusive.
Corkow is interesting because banking bots have traditionally been very focused on banks, usually clustered on regional boundaries (US banks, UK banks, RU banks, etc.). While the regional specialization continues, Corkow is interesting because it’s been fine-tuned a little, at least in that it’s mostly targeting banks used primarily by businesses, as opposed to individuals. Also brokerages, as well.
Mobile banking has not been adopted as widely in the US yet as it has in EU and APAC, but that’s likely to change, especially as Chip & PIN systems are phased in over the next few years.
Heartbleed allowed private keys to be viewed, which means that information normally protected by cryptography could be stolen by an attacker.
SANS ranked it as a top threat.
Number of affected sites now estimated to be down to 15%, but still a lot of patching going on.Will be a problem on software and devices which are no longer supported, manufactured for years to come, I’m afraid.
Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV or “HbbTV” – hbbtv.org
In 2012, some 80M Smart TVs were sold. These are devices which run an embedded operating system in firmware, often like Android, but can be something else like WindRiver, QNX, etc. These are manufactured by consumer electronics companies, for whom security is not something they typically think of first, last, and during the process. They may not even have developed the firmware, but licensed it from someone else. As such, they have no SDL, and perhaps no plans to update it, ever.
When Samsung was notified of their Smart TV’s webcams being hacked in 2012, their initial response was to tell people to cover the lens - http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/tv-watching-you-senator-calls-smarter-smart-tv-security-f6C10869252
We’re not standing by idly.
This is a screenshot showing a technology we’re rolling out to help inform users when their router may have been compromised.
Gotofail was the name given to an SSL vulnerability in devices running iOS and OS X, not unlike the Heartbleed vulnerability.
An attacker could perform a MitM attack, bypassing SSL/TLS verification during the initial connection, and masquerade as a trusted server.
Named after accidental inclusion of a command “gotofail;” which caused this error to occur.
Nice write up at http://grahamcluley.com/2014/02/critical-security-hole-ios-mac/
Credential theft
Cpanel targeting
Spam runs
Web site takeovers for malware injection/deployment
10,000+ still infected as of March, 2014
ESET is a team, and I would not have been able to give this report without assistance from my coworkers.