Unit 42 Uncovers PEERSTITCH, a Stealthy FortiGate Implant


Unit 42 investigated a multi-stage network intrusion against a telecommunications organization that occurred in September 2024, which we are tracking as cluster CL-STA-0954 (aka UNC5820). The attackers behind CL-STA-0954 achieved an initial compromise by exploiting CVE-2024-47575 against a centralized FortiManager appliance.

From that single appliance, our observations are that the attackers exfiltrated an archive containing running configurations, cryptographic material and database files containing information about more than 500 managed FortiGate firewalls. Those firewalls protected the target’s own infrastructure and the networks of its clients.

Read more…
Source:  Palo Alto Unit 42


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


Related:

  • Commodified Cybercrime Infrastructure – Exploring the Underground Services Market for Cybercriminals

    September 1, 2020

    Beyond standard underground offerings such as malware and exploit kits, cybercriminals also value having a stable hosting infrastructure that underpins all their activities. Such an infrastructure could host malicious content and the necessary components for controlling their operations (e.g., bulletproof hosting that run backend hacker infrastructure or a rented botnet of compromised machines). In many respects, ...

  • New Bait Used in Instagram Profile Hacking Scheme

    August 28, 2020

    Last year, we observed attacks launched to steal high-profile Instagram accounts. Now, attacks of a similar nature are on the rise again, this time using new lures to achieve the same goal. Both strikes involve a group of Turkish-speaking hackers who seized Instagram accounts through credential phishing emails posing as legitimate messages from Instagram. The group ...

  • Elon Musk confirmed Russian’s plans to extort Tesla

    August 28, 2020

    The FBI thwarted the plans of 27-year-old Russian national Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov to recruit an insider within Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory, persuade him to plant malware on the company’s network, and then ransom Tesla under threat that he would leak data stolen from their systems. Kriuchkov was arrested on August 22, 2020, in Los Angeles after he ...

  • Cetus: Cryptojacking Worm Targeting Docker Daemons

    August 27, 2020

    Unsecured Docker daemons have been known to security professionals as a major threat since the early days of containers. Unit 42 recently wrote about Graboid, the first-ever Docker cryptojacking worm and unsecured Docker daemons. I conducted additional research by setting up a Docker daemon honeypot in order to examine how things look for an average ...

  • Malicious Attachments Remain a Cybercriminal Threat Vector Favorite

    August 27, 2020

    While attachment threat vectors are one of the oldest malware-spreading tricks in the books, email users are still clicking on malicious attachments that hit their inbox, whether it’s a purported “job offer” or a pretend “critical invoice.” The reason why threat actors are still relying on this age-old tactic, researchers say, is that the attack is ...

  • Revamped Qbot Trojan Packs New Punch: Hijacks Email Threads

    August 27, 2020

    Attacks attributed to the Qbot trojan, known as the “Swiss Army knife” of malware, are on the uptick with a reported 100,000 recent infections, according to researchers. Qbot, an ever-evolving information-stealing trojan that’s been around since 2008, has shifted tactics again and adopted a bevy of new techniques, according to researchers at Check Point who released ...