Choose a Session, Incident Response, Threat Detection, Threat Research, Inside Out Security Blog » Cybersecurity News » Threat Research » Return of the Darkside: Analysis of a Large-Scale Data Theft Campaign. Then SetThreadExecutionState is called to force the system to be in the working state by resetting the system idle timer. In addition to credential harvesting, the attacker mined credentials from User profile folders, including: The threat actor used Invoke-mimikatXz.ps1 to extract credentials from unmonitored servers and stored them in a file called “dump.txt.” This operation was performed on a high-value target with minimal detective capabilities. DarkSide can encrypt both Windows and Linux systems, according to Brett Callow, a threat analyst with Emsisoft. After the first instruction pushad I put a breakpoint on the ESP register and continue. As the White House gets involved in the response, ... a threat analyst at antivirus company Emsisoft. Darkside ransomware is known for living off the land (LOtL), but we observed them to scan networks, run commands, dump processes, and steal credentials. They illustrate the need for multi-factor authentication on all internet-facing accounts and rapid patching of internet-facing systems. The group performed careful reconnaissance and took steps to ensure that their attack tools and techniques would evade detection on monitored devices and endpoints. To make static analysis harder the ransomware resolves DLL’s and API calls dynamically using LoadLibrary, GetProcAddress and 2 custom functions shown below. At least one of the victims seen by BleepingComputer appears to have paid a million+ dollar ransom. SHA256 - 9cee5522a7ca2bfca7cd3d9daba23e9a30deb6205f56c12045839075f7627297, https://tria.ge/200828-r31s5nvvm2/behavioral1. By using unique executables and extensions, the ransomware easily evades signature-based detection mechanisms. Command and Control Infrastructure Explained, © 2021 Inside Out Security | Policies | Certifications. DarkSide ransomware analysis Unpacking. The FBI and the White House confirmed Monday that the DarkSide ransomware variant was used in the Friday attack that caused disruptions at … I don’t know why but it seems the authors have forgotten to disable debugging functionality in their code or maybe they are using this to verify that the files are encrypted. Though, contractor accounts did not. Return of the Darkside: Analysis of a Large-Scale Data Theft Campaign, attackers established command and control, routed through TOR. Data was mined from hundreds of servers with a batch routine (dump.bat) located in \Desktop\Dump, writing files to the same location, compressing them into 7zip archives with a simple naming convention, *.7z.[001]-[999]. The stagers and TOR executables were stored in network shares for easy distribution. Once the attacker obtained domain admin credentials, accessed domain controllers. Threat actors look for quick ways to obtain domain admin credentials. The stagers (named file.exe) were deployed remotely on specific targeted devices using. The execution breaks on the instruction lea eax, dword ptr ss:[esp80]. While neither of these vectors is novel, they should serve as a warning that sophisticated threat actors are easily bypassing perimeter defenses. What makes DarkSide ransomware different from Maze or Clop ransomware, for example, is that DarkSide seems to be somehow moral, clarifying that certain domains are not to be touched, including government, medicine, non-profit, and education.. They have also answered questions on Q&A forums in Russian and are actively recruiting Russian-speaking partners. Live Cyber Attack Lab Watch our IR team detect & respond to a rogue insider trying to steal data! A special thanks to Rotem Tzadok for leading our Darkside investigations and analysis. Our team has recently led several high-profile investigations of attacks attributed to an up-and-coming cybercrime group, Darkside. Ransomware attack on major U.S. pipeline is work of criminal gang called DarkSide, FBI says. The payload includes the executable, a unique extension, and a unique victim ID that allows the victim to access Darkside’s website and make payment. Snir began his career in the IDF Technology and Intelligence Unit and continued as a Security Researcher in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office. Once the executable is unpacked, we can analyze the ransomware. Brett Callow, an analyst at the cyber security group Emsisoft, says the group rents out its services on the dark web. The .lnk file activity helped determine which accounts and VDI environments had been compromised and when each account was used in the attack. For ransomware, a new family named Darkside surfaced, while operators behind Crysis/Dharma released a hacking toolkit. Active Directory events can help you quickly identify compromised accounts and devices. DarkSide Ransomware Hit Colonial Pipeline—and Created an Unholy Mess. This family of ransomware has emerged in August 2020 and operates operate under a ransomware-as-a-service business model. While we can’t conclude that the group is comprised of former IT security professionals, their attacks reveal a deep knowledge of their victims’ infrastructure, security technologies, and weaknesses. TIR-20210307 Overview. The batch file, target data, and the archives were deleted by the attackers within hours of collection. These connections were persistent, attackers could establish RDP sessions to and through the compromised hosts. The encryption routine skips a few files, file extensions and directories (https://pastebin.com/WWSQxhcq). By holding off on the encryption phase of the attack, they put themselves in a position to maximize damage and profit. The encryption routine of the ransomware is shown below. Organizations with comprehensive monitoring solutions detect and investigate attacks like these more quickly. Since DarkSide was first observed, there have been 114 submissions to ID Ransomware, an online tool that helps the victims of ransomware identify which ransomware has encrypted their files. Since then he has worked in the Advanced Security Center of EY as the Cyber Security Advisory Leader, managing red-team operations and risk assessments. DarkSide Ransomware Suspected. The pipeline operations include transporting 100 million gallons of fuel daily to meet the needs of consumers across the entire eastern seaboard of the U.S. from Texas to New York, according to the website of the refined products pipeline company. Cobalt-Strike stagers established connections to a dedicated C2 server to download the Cobalt Strike Beacon. When analyzing DarkSide, it was discovered that it has some similarities with the REvil ransomware. We have observed the builder module screens for the control panel, and we are aware of … Based on my research, this ransomware uses Salsa20 encryption to encrypt files and RSA encryption to encrypt the key used by Salsa20. Deleting a service is not useful if an organization pays the ransom and wants to go back into production quickly. Preparation. In too many organizations, attackers don’t even need elevated credentials to harvest data – the average employee has access to far more data than they require. The attacker temporarily stored the recon results and credential information on a very active windows server. The FBI said Monday that ransomware from the shadowy DarkSide group forced the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline network, as the major fuel supplier said it was beginning to resume operations after the three-day freeze. Service or admin accounts with SPNs that also have weak encryption, or worse still, privileged accounts with weak or no password requirements are too-easy targets. Any unpatched internet-facing server is an exploit away from script-kiddie payday. Updated on: May 10, 2021 / 2:43 PM / CBS/AP In this technical blog post, we will review the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) we’ve observed. From victims seen by BleepingComputer, DarkSide's ransom demands range from $200,000 to $2,000,000. Like the command and control code, the attack tools were also executed on hosts that had minimal detection and blocking capabilities. Brett Callow, an analyst at the cybersecurity company Emsisoft who tracks ransomware, said there were signs in DarkSide's malicious software that it … We observed the threat actors log into the Virtual Desktop environment with many accounts, sometimes concurrently. Starting around August 10th, 2020, the new ransomware operation began performing targeted attacks against numerous companies. This would indicate that Darkside operates a large, well-established attack infrastructure. Ransomware and Data Leak Site Publication Time Analysis Avaddon Ransomware Babuk Ransomware Clop Conti Ransomware DarkSide DoppelPaymer Mespinoza Nefilim Ransomware REvil 2021-04-22 ⋅ The Record ⋅ Catalin Cimpanu When the DarkSide ransomware first executes on the infected host, it checks the language on the system, using GetSystemDefaultUILanguage() and GetUserDefaultLangID() functions to avoid systems located in the former Soviet Bloc countries from being encrypted: Debugging the ransomware - checking if the installed language is Russian (419) The Darkside ransomware attackers established command and control primarily with an RDP client running over port 443, routed through TOR. DarkSide is a new ransomware attack that started at the beginning of August 2020. “DarkSide is a ransomware-as-a-service operation. When deobfuscated, we can see that this PowerShell command is used to delete Shadow Volume Copies on the machine before encrypting it. The actors avoided installing backdoors on systems monitored by EDR solutions. Darkside also provides customized ransomware to other threat actors (Ransomware as a Service) and takes a part of the profit in successful attacks. On Saturday May 8, US Colonial Pipeline announced that they were victim of a ransomware attack that affected their network on […] Dynamically Resolve Windows API The Darkside ransomware attack campaigns stood out for their use of stealthy techniques, especially in the early stages. Darkside 2.0 now also features multithreading in both Windows and Linux versions. The execution breaks... Anti-analysis. We observed dozens of customized stagers that downloaded customized beacons that connected to specific servers. The group has both Windows and Linux toolsets. Brookfield Residential is one of the first victims of the new DarkSide Ransomware. Will attach more screenshot regarding of my analysis this time . If you detect a breach, let Active Directory triangulate the blast radius. The stagers (named file.exe) were deployed remotely on specific targeted devices using WinRM, each one configured differently. They provide web chat support to victims, build intricate data leak storage systems with redundancy, and perform financial analysis of victims prior to attacking. Whatever DarkSide ends up doing, ... Reuters is reporting that the FBI has confirmed the suspected hacking group DarkSide was behind the ransomware ... HotTech Vision And Analysis… One version of the customized code was named, “Homie.exe.” In addition to being customized, we found it also uses anti-forensics and anti-debugging techniques, such as self-injection, virtual machine detection, and dynamic library loading. According to a ‘Customer FAQ Regarding Malware Incident’ that they obtained, CompuCom has become a target of DarkSide ransomware attack. In this screenshot, the address of _wcsicmp is resolved in memory. DarkSide's malware is offered under a Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) model, and once a system has been breached, ransomware payment demands can range from $200,000 to $2,000,000. He has advised major international corporations and high-profile individuals to build their security resilience and protect their organization. This file was in the same directory as the executable. IBM X-Force takes a look at the evolving ransomware threat. Then those login details were used to install DarkSide Ransomware that led to the locking […] Like the command and control code, the attack tools were also executed on hosts that had minimal detection and blocking capabilities. (XXX = file name). After installing a Tor browser, they modified its configuration to run as a persistent service, redirecting traffic sent to a local (dynamic) port through, , so it would be indistinguishable from normal web traffic. Get a highly customized data risk assessment run by engineers who are obsessed with data security. The active Windows server also served as a hub to store data before exfiltration. Threat Update 37 – Is SSO the new (h)Active Directory? Though they had accumulated elevated privileges, we observed the attacker relax the permissions on file systems, opening them up so that they could access the files with any domain user account. On May 8, the Colonial Pipeline Company announced that it had fallen victim to a ransomware attack a day earlier. Instead of focusing on one endpoint at a time, once one compromised account or system has been identified, query Active Directory for signs of lateral movement by that account or accounts used on that system. More lights, please, especially on stuff that matters. The attackers used Cobalt Strike as a secondary command and control mechanism. Using CreateProcessW the following Powershell script is executed which deletes Shadow Volume Copies. These highly targeted campaigns were conducted in several phases over weeks or months, ultimately targeting theft and encryption of sensitive data, including backups. How to use this tool. During the later stages of their attack sequence, they: Darkside ransomware gained initial entry through weak links – remotely exploitable accounts and systems. Ransomware Group Darkside Demands 1 Million Dollar Ransoms. Each of their attack tools was deleted after use. Any internet-facing account that doesn’t require MFA is a brute-force attack away from a compromise. Here is my analysis of the Darkside ransomware. In later stages they performed the well-known DCSync attack, where the attacker pretends to be a legitimate domain controller and utilizes the Directory Replication Service to replicate AD information, gaining access to password data for the entire domain, including the KRBTGT HASH. After a waiting period, the actor used an Active Directory reconnaissance tool (ADRecon.ps1) to gather additional information about users, groups, and privilege, storing results in a file called, DC.txt. Using an obfuscated PowerShell command, the malware attempts to delete the shadow copies on the victim device. Lockdown sensitive data so that only the right accounts have access, and then monitor file systems for unusual access and change events. On execution, the malware copies itself to the path “C:\Users\admin\AppData\Local\Temp\” and injects its code into the existing process with a CMD command: If the malware finds indications that it is being debugged or run in a VM, it immediately stops. From the initial set of compromised hosts, ticket requests, and NTLM connections to gain access to additional systems and accounts. Much like NetWalker and REvil, Darkside has an affiliate program that offers anyone who helps spread their malware 10-25% of the payout. Dark side ransomware avoids encrypting files with the following extensions: It creates a ransom instructions (“README…txt”) to contact the ransomware creator for decryption. Download the DarkSide Ransomware decryptor 386,adv,ani,bat,bin,cab,cmd,com,cpl,cur,deskthemepack,diagcab,diagcfg,diagpkg,dll,drv,exe,hlp,icl,icns,ico,ics,idx,ldf,lnk,mod,mpa,msc,msp,msstyles,msu,nls,nomedia,ocx,prf,ps1,rom,rtp,scr,shs,spl,sys,theme,themepack,wpx,lock,key,hta,msi,pdb, Find and fix the weak links before attackers do. The obfuscated command: After the deletion of the shadow copies, the malware first closes specific processes to avoid locked files that can delay encryption, and then begins its encryption routine. Are stopped using ControlService - SERVICE_CONTROL_STOP and DeleteService monitored by EDR solutions NTLM connections to a attack! Linux versions 10th, 2020, the Colonial pipeline Company announced that it had fallen to! Names written and deleted on the server included: Typed_history.zip, Appdata.zip IE_Passwords.zip. Are terminated ( https: //pastebin.com/WWSQxhcq ) Ransomware-as-a-Service business model has become a of... 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