Operation ASTERIX: Anatomy of a Crypto Fraud Pipeline


Rapid7 researchers identified an exposed web directory on infrastructure used to support a cryptocurrency fraud operation. The server contained raw phone-number datasets, account-validation tools, enriched lead records, phishing panels, voice-dialing scripts, fake wallet applications, persistence mechanisms, and Telegram exfiltration code. Among the artifacts was evidence that the operator relied on AI coding assistants throughout the campaign’s development; recovered prompts, shell history, and project files show AI being used to package Electron applications, obfuscate code, troubleshoot builds, modify phishing infrastructure, and prepare malware for distribution. When one model began resisting parts of that workflow, the operator switched providers and attempted to bypass the next model’s safety controls with a custom jailbreak prompt. Together, these artifacts provide an unusual view into how AI was integrated into the development of an active phishing operation rather than simply being used to generate isolated snippets of code.

Read more…
Source:  Rapid7 News


Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • Banks Under Attack: Tactics and Techniques Used to Target Financial Organizations

    February 8, 2019

    US$100 – 300 billion: That’s the estimated losses that financial institutions can potentially incur annually from cyberattacks. Despite the staggering amount, it’s unsurprising — over the past three years, several banks suffered $87 million in combined losses from attacks that compromised their SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication)infrastructures. That’s just the tip of the iceberg: A ...

  • New macOS zero-day allows theft of user passwords

    February 6, 2019

    A German security researcher has published a video over the weekend showing a new zero-day affecting Apple’s macOS desktop operating system. In an interview to German tech site Heise, Linus Henze, the security researcher, says the vulnerability allows a malicious app running on a macOS system to get access to passwords stored inside the Keychain –the password management ...

  • Android Phones Can Get Hacked Just by Looking at a PNG Image

    February 6, 2019

    Using an Android device? Beware! You have to remain more caution while opening an image file on your smartphone—downloaded anywhere from the Internet or received through messaging or email apps. Yes, just viewing an innocuous-looking image could hack your Android smartphone—thanks to three newly-discovered critical vulnerabilities that affect millions of devices running recent versions of Google’s mobile ...

  • Pro-Tibet groups targeted with ExileRAT in spy campaign

    February 5, 2019

    Researchers have uncovered a new cyberespionage campaign which is targeting pro-Tibetan individuals in order to distribute the ExileRAT Trojan. On Monday, researchers from Cisco Talos said that the new campaign delivers a malicious Microsoft PowerPoint document containing the Remote Access Trojan (RAT) which is capable of stealing system and personal information, terminating or launching processes, surveillance and the ...

  • The APT Name Game: How Grim Threat Actors Get Goofy Monikers

    February 5, 2019

    What’s in a name? When it comes to advanced persistent threat groups, it is often quite a bit. While their monikers’ may seem whimsical – Fancy Bear, Nomadic Octopus, Ocean Lotus and Darkhotel – the reality is these are not arbitrary names. In fact, many are similar to schoolyard nicknames or a type of shorthand – ...

  • Sophisticated new phishing campaign targets the C-suite

    February 5, 2019

    A new phishing campaign to steal login credentials is being launched on businesses – specifically the C-suite. Researchers at GreatHorn first discovered the campaign which targets senior executives by claiming to be from the company’s CEO. The fake email regards the rescheduling of a board meeting. By following the link from this email and users are greeted with a ...