Earth Koshchei Coopts Red Team Tools in Complex RDP Attacks


Red teaming provides essential tools and testing methodologies for organizations to strengthen their security defenses. Cybercriminals and advanced persistent threat (APT) actors pay close attention to new methods and tools red teams develop, and they may repurpose them with a malicious intent.

In October 2024, an APT group that Trend Micro tracks as Earth Koshchei (also known as APT29 and Midnight Blizzard), likely used a rogue remote desktop protocol (RDP) attack methodology against numerous targets. This methodology was described earlier in 2022 by Black Hills Information Security in detail. The attack technique is called “rogue RDP”, which involves an RDP relay, a rogue RDP server, and a malicious RDP configuration file. A victim of this technique would give partial control of their machine to the attacker, potentially leading to data leakage and malware installation.

Read more…
Source: Trend Micro


Sign up for our Newsletter


Related:

  • PyTorch dependency poisoned with malicious code

    January 4, 2023

    An unknown attacker used the PyPI code repository to get developers to download a compromised PyTorch dependency that included malicious code designed to steal system data. Developers who last week downloaded the nightly builds of the open source PyTorch framework also unknowingly installed a malicious version of the torchtriton dependency found in the Python Package Index, ...

  • Fortinet Releases Security Updates for FortiADC

    January 4, 2023

    Fortinet has released a security advisory to address a vulnerability in multiple versions of FortiADC. This vulnerability may allow a remote attacker “to execute unauthorized code or commands via specifically crafted HTTP requests.” CISA encourages users and administrators to review Fortinet security advisory FG-IR-22-061 and apply the recommended updates. Read more… Source: U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency  

  • Cook EBITDA slumps £2m following Christmas 2021 cyber-attack

    January 4, 2023

    A cyber-attack in December 2021 wiped an estimated £2m from Cook’s EBITDA, according to its latest financial results. The attack ground manufacturing systems at its Sittingbourne site to a halt and prevented Cook from making and delivering food. Consequently, the business was forced to shut down its website in the lead-up to Christmas, its busiest period of ...

  • Hackers abuse Windows error reporting tool to deploy malware

    January 4, 2023

    Hackers are abusing the Windows Problem Reporting (WerFault.exe) error reporting tool for Windows to load malware into a compromised system’s memory using a DLL sideloading technique. The use of this Windows executable is to stealthy infect devices without raising any alarms on the breached system by launching the malware through a legitimate Windows executable. The new campaign ...

  • Rackspace confirms Play ransomware was behind recent cyberattack

    January 4, 2023

    Texas-based cloud computing provider Rackspace has confirmed that the Play ransomware operation was behind a recent cyberattack that took down the company’s hosted Microsoft Exchange environments. This follows a report last month by cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike, which detailed a new exploit used by the ransomware group to compromise Microsoft Exchange servers and gain access to a ...

  • Cyber attack leaves six North Carolina counties locked out of their online records

    December 30, 2022

    They’re responsible for keeping and protecting your most important records, but Thursday, a company that works with local governments across North Carolina has been paralyzed by a cyber attack with no end in sight. Cott Systems said they work with 300 local offices in 21 states, but right now that work is on hold and local ...