CyberSecurity news
FlagThis - #smokeloader
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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.
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@cyberinsider.com
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Law enforcement agencies across North America and Europe have taken action against users of the Smokeloader botnet in a follow-up to Operation Endgame, a major takedown that occurred in May 2024. This new phase targets the demand side of the cybercrime economy, focusing on individuals who purchased access to compromised computers through Smokeloader’s pay-per-install service, which was operated by the cybercriminal known as "Superstar". Authorities have arrested at least five individuals, conducted house searches, and interrogated suspects linked to the use of the Smokeloader botnet. In addition to arrests, servers used by the Smokeloader botnet's customers have also been seized.
Evidence used to identify and apprehend the Smokeloader users came from backend databases obtained during the initial Operation Endgame takedown. These databases contained information about who had purchased access to the infected machines, allowing investigators to match usernames and payment information to real-world identities. The customers of the Smokeloader botnet were using the access to deploy various types of malware, including ransomware, spyware, and cryptominers for their own illicit activities. Some suspects were found to be reselling the Smokeloader access for profit, adding another layer to the investigation. The investigation remains open, and authorities are continuing to work through leads, with more actions expected. Europol has launched a dedicated website, operation-endgame.com, to collect tips and provide updates on the operation. Law enforcement agencies are sending a clear message that they are committed to disrupting the cybercrime ecosystem by targeting not only the operators of malicious services but also the individuals who use and fund them. Officials said that the malware's customers faced various consequences ranging from "knock and talks," full house searches, all the way to arrests.
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