CyberSecurity news
FlagThis - #qilin
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Jacob Santos@feeds.trendmicro.com
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The Agenda ransomware group, also known as Qilin, has enhanced its attack capabilities by incorporating SmokeLoader and NETXLOADER into its campaigns. Trend Micro researchers discovered this shift, highlighting the group's ongoing evolution and increased sophistication. The group is actively targeting organizations across multiple sectors, including healthcare, technology, financial services, and telecommunications. These attacks are spanning across various geographical regions, with a primary focus on the US, the Netherlands, Brazil, India, and the Philippines, demonstrating a broad and aggressive targeting strategy.
The newly identified NETXLOADER plays a crucial role in these attacks by stealthily deploying malicious payloads, including the Agenda ransomware and SmokeLoader. NETXLOADER is a .NET-based loader protected by .NET Reactor 6, making it difficult to analyze. Its complexity is enhanced by the utilization of JIT hooking techniques, obfuscated method names, and AES-decrypted GZip payloads to evade detection, indicating a significant leap in malware delivery methods. SmokeLoader further contributes to the group's arsenal with its own set of evasion tactics, including virtualization/sandbox detection and process injection, which complicates attribution and defense efforts. Qilin has emerged as a dominant ransomware group, leading in data leak disclosures in April 2025. This surge in activity is partly attributed to the group gaining affiliates from the RansomHub uncertainty. Cyble reported that Qilin claimed responsibility for 74 attacks in April, surpassing other groups in ransomware activity. The incorporation of NETXLOADER and SmokeLoader, coupled with their stealthy delivery methods, further solidifies Qilin's position as a formidable threat in the current ransomware landscape, posing a significant risk to organizations worldwide. Recommended read:
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gallagherseanm@Sophos News
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A recent cyberattack has exploited vulnerabilities in Managed Service Providers (MSPs) through a sophisticated phishing campaign, leading to the deployment of Qilin ransomware across multiple customer environments. The attackers, identified as affiliates of the STAC4365 threat cluster, targeted MSPs by mimicking the login page of ScreenConnect, a widely used Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) tool. The attackers used spear-phishing emails directed at MSP administrators, disguising them as authentication alerts from ScreenConnect.
These emails directed recipients to counterfeit domains closely resembling the legitimate ScreenConnect login page, cloud.screenconnect[.]com.ms for example. Using an adversary-in-the-middle (AITM) attack framework, credentials and time-based one-time passwords (TOTP) required for multi-factor authentication (MFA) were intercepted. With these credentials, the attackers gained super administrator access to the legitimate ScreenConnect portal, enabling them to deploy malicious ScreenConnect instances across customer environments and ultimately launch Qilin ransomware. The attack highlights the risks for MSP and their customer base. Recommended read:
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Sergiu Gatlan@BleepingComputer
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Microsoft has identified a North Korean hacking group known as Moonstone Sleet, previously tracked as Storm-1789, deploying Qilin ransomware in limited attacks. This represents a shift for the group, as they have historically used custom-built ransomware. The adoption of Qilin ransomware signifies a move towards Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS), where they utilize ransomware developed by external operators rather than relying solely on their own tools.
Moonstone Sleet's move to RaaS marks a new era in cyber threats, primarily driven by financial motivations, a departure from previous espionage-focused operations. They have been observed demanding ransoms as high as $6.6 million in Bitcoin. The group has also been known to use creative tactics, including fake companies, trojanized software, and even a malicious game to infiltrate targets, showcasing their adaptability and resourcefulness. Recommended read:
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Titiksha Srivastav@The420.in
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Lee Enterprises, a major American media company with over 75 publications, has confirmed a ransomware attack that has disrupted operations across its network. The notorious Qilin ransomware gang has claimed responsibility for the February 3rd attack, alleging the theft of 350GB of sensitive data. This stolen data purportedly includes investor records, financial arrangements, payments to journalists and publishers, funding for tailored news stories, and even approaches to obtaining insider information. The cyberattack has resulted in widespread outages, significantly impacting the distribution of printed newspapers, subscription services, and internal business operations.
The attack has caused delays in the distribution of print publications and has partially limited online operations. Lee Enterprises anticipates a phased recovery over the next several weeks and has implemented temporary measures, including manual processing of transactions. The company has also launched a forensic investigation to determine the full extent of the breach. The Qilin ransomware group's actions have brought attention to the increasing threat facing media organizations and the importance of robust cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive information and maintain operational integrity. Recommended read:
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