The North Korea-linked Lazarus APT spreads faux cryptocurrency apps underneath the faux model BloxHolder to put in the AppleJeus malware.
Volexity researchers warn of a brand new malware marketing campaign performed by the North Korea-linked Lazarus APT towards cryptocurrency customers. The risk actors had been noticed spreading faux cryptocurrency apps underneath the faux model BloxHolder to ship the AppleJeus malware for preliminary entry to networks and steal crypto belongings.
The APT group employed the AppleJeus malware since a minimum of 2018 to steal cryptocurrencies from the victims.
The brand new marketing campaign noticed by Volexity began in June 2022, the APT group registered the area identify bloxholder[.]com, after which arrange a web site associated to automated cryptocurrency buying and selling.
The brand new marketing campaign attributed to Lazarus began in June 2022 and was lively till a minimum of October 2022.
On this marketing campaign, the risk actors used the “bloxholder[.]com” area, a clone of the HaasOnline automated cryptocurrency buying and selling platform.
The web site is a clone of the authentic web site, HaasOnline (haasonline[.]com.)
The attackers used the web site to distribute a Home windows MSI installer masquerading because the BloxHolder app, which was used to put in AppleJeus malware together with the QTBitcoinTrader app.
“This found file, the “BloxHolder software”, is definitely one other case of AppleJeus being put in alongside the open-source cryptocurrency buying and selling software QTBitcoinTrader that’s available on GitHub. This similar authentic software has beforehand been utilized by the Lazarus Group, as documented in this report from CISA.” reads the report revealed by Volexity. “The MSI file is used to put in each the malicious and bonafide functions on the similar time.”
In October 2022, the researchers noticed the Lazarus Group putting in AppleJeus utilizing a weaponized Microsoft Workplace doc, named ‘OKX Binance & Huobi VIP charge comparision.xls,’ as a substitute of an MSI installer.
The doc comprises a macro break up into two components, the primary one is used to decode a base64 blob that comprises a second OLE object containing a second macro. The preliminary doc additionally shops a number of variables, encoded utilizing base64, that enable defining the place the malware can be deployed within the contaminated system.
The final stage payload is downloaded from a public file-sharing service, OpenDrive.
Volexity specialists weren’t in a position to retrieve the ultimate payload employed since October, however they observed similarities within the DLL sideloading mechanism which has similarities to the one used within the assaults counting on MSI installer.
“Whereas the file was now not out there on the time of research, primarily based on public sandbox outcomes for the file in query, the downloaded payload, “Background.png”, embeds the next three recordsdata:
- “Logagent.exe” – a authentic file (md5: eb1e19613a6a260ddd0ae9224178355b)
- “wsock32.dll” – a side-loaded library internally named HijackingLib.dll (md5: e66bc1e91f1a214d098cf44ddb1ae91a)
- “56762eb9-411c-4842-9530-9922c46ba2da” – an encoded payload decoded by “wsock32.dll”
“continues the evaluation. “The three recordsdata are dropped on disk utilizing hardcoded offsets that may be discovered within the second macro.”
Consultants speculate Lazarus used DLL sideloading to keep away from malware evaluation, the risk actors additionally observed that current AppleJeus samples obfuscated strings and API calls utilizing a customized algorithm.
“The Lazarus Group continues its effort to focus on cryptocurrency customers, regardless of ongoing consideration to their campaigns and ways. Maybe in an try and allude detection, they’ve determined to make use of chained DLL side-loading to load their payload. Moreover, Volexity has not beforehand famous the usage of Microsoft Workplace paperwork to deploy AppleJeus variants.” concludes volexity. “Regardless of these modifications, their targets stay the identical, with the cryptocurrency trade being a spotlight as a method for the DPRK to bolster their funds.”
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