MOONSHINE Exploit Kit and DarkNimbus Backdoor Enabling Earth Minotaur’s Multi-Platform Attacks


Trend Micro researchers have been continuously monitoring the MOONSHINE exploit kit’s activity since 2019. During our research, they discovered a MOONSHINE exploit kit server with improper operational security: Its server exposed MOONSHINE’s toolkits and operation logs, which revealed the information of possible victims and the attack tactics of a threat actor we have named Earth Minotaur.

MOONSHINE was first discovered as part of malicious activities against the Tibetan community, and is believed to also be associated with previous malicious activities against Uyghurs. It’s designed to implant a backdoor by exploiting the vulnerabilities of instant messaging apps on Android mobile devices.

Read more…
Source: Trend Micro


Sign up for our Newsletter


Related:

  • Chinese hackers have stepped up attacks on Taiwanese organizations

    June 24, 2024

    A suspected Chinese state-sponsored hacking group has stepped up its targeting of Taiwanese organizations, particularly those in sectors such as government, education, technology and diplomacy, according to cybersecurity intelligence company Recorded Future. RedJuliett has targeted Taiwanese organizations in the past, but this is the first time that activity was seen at such a scale, a Recorded ...

  • Social Engineering Tactics Targeting Healthcare & Public Health Entities and Providers

    June 24, 2024

    Access to employees’ email accounts, and then pivoted to specifically target login information related to the processing of reimbursement payments to insurance companies, medicare, or similar entities. To gain initial access to victim networks, the threat actor acquired credentials through social engineering or phishing. In some observed instances, the threat actor called an organization’s IT Help ...

  • XZ backdoor: Hook analysis

    June 24, 2024

    In their first article on the XZ backdoor, Kaspersky researchers analyzed its code from initial infection to the function hooking it performs. As they mentioned then, its initial goal was to successfully hook one of the functions related to RSA key manipulation. In this article, the research team will focus on the backdoor’s behaviour inside OpenSSH, ...

  • Change Healthcare confirms the customer data stolen in ransomware attack

    June 24, 2024

    For the first time since news broke about a ransomware attack on Change Healthcare, the company has released details about the data stolen during the attack. First, a quick refresher: On February 21, 2024, Change Healthcare experienced serious system outages due to a cyberattack. The incident led to widespread billing outages, as well as disruptions at ...

  • Fictitious Law Firms Targeting Cryptocurrency Scam Victims Offering to Recover Funds

    June 24, 2024

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is issuing this announcement to inform the public of an emerging criminal tactic used to further defraud cryptocurrency scam victims. This PSA is an update to Alert Number I-081123-PSA, published on 08/11/2023, titled, “Increase in Companies Falsely Claiming an Ability to Recover Funds Lost in Cryptocurrency Investment Scams.” Using social ...

  • China’s state security authorities warn of foreign spies hunting military info on messaging app

    June 23, 2024

    China’s Ministry of State Security on Saturday posted a short film calling on the public to enhance national security awareness, as the film describes a case of espionage in which a military enthusiast was deceived by a foreign spy disguised as a pretty girl on instant messaging app into giving up sensitive military information. Adapted from ...