Description of Campaign
The cyber-espionage group Cycldek, also known as Goblin Panda, Conimes, and Hellsing, targeted multiple sectors across Asia. Various techniques were used including DLL side-loading to deploy the FoundCore remote access trojan used to allow full control of infected devices. The malicious code installed a Windows service for persistence, exfiltrated sensitive data, and delivered additional malware including DropPhone and CoreLoader. The government, military, health, diplomacy, education, and political sectors were targeted in the campaign which stretched from mid-2020 into the first quarter of 2021.
The McAfee Enterprise ATR Team gathers and analyzes information from multiple open and closed sources before disseminating intelligence reports.
This campaign was researched and shared publicly by Kaspersky Labs.
How to use this article:
- If a Threat Hunting table has been created, use the rules contained to search for malware related to this campaign.
- Review the product detection table and confirm that your environment is at least on the specified content version.
To download the latest content versions, go to the Security Updates page.
- Scroll down and review the "Product Countermeasures" section of this article. Consider implementing them if they are not already in place.
- Review KB91836 - Countermeasures for entry vector threats.
- Review KB87843 - Dynamic Application Containment rules and best practices.
- Review KB82925 - Identify what rule corresponds to an Adaptive Threat Protection and Threat Intelligence Exchange event.
This Knowledge Base article discusses a specific threat that is being tracked and list of IOCs will change over time, check MVISION Insights for latest IOCs.
Campaign IOC
| Type |
Value |
| SHA256 |
492D3B5BEB89C1ABF88FF866D200568E9CAD7BB299700AA29AB9004C32C7C805 |
| HOSTNAME |
phong.giaitrinuoc.com |
| HOSTNAME |
cloud.cutepaty.com |
| HOSTNAME |
static.phongay.com |
Minimum Content Versions:
| Content Type |
Version |
| V2 DAT (VirusScan Enterprise) |
9908 |
| V3 DAT (Endpoint Security) |
4405 |
Detection Summary
| IOC |
Scanner |
Detection |
| 492D3B5BEB89C1ABF88FF866D200568E9CAD7BB299700AA29AB9004C32C7C805 |
AVEngine V2 |
Generic.gkt |
| AVEngine V3 |
Generic.gkt |
| JTI (ATP Rules) |
JTI/Suspect.196612!1234a7aacae1 |
| RP Static |
- |
| RP Dynamic |
- |
Minimum set of Manual Rules to improve protection to block this campaign
IMPORTANT: Always follow best practices when you enable new rules and signatures.
When you implement new rules or signatures, always set them to Report mode first and check the alerts generated. Resolve any issues that arise and then set the rules to Block. This step mitigates against triggering false positives and allows you to refine your configuration.
For more information, see KB87843 - List of and best practices for Endpoint Security Dynamic Application Containment rules.
Endpoint Security - Advanced Threat Protection:
Rule ID: 4 Use GTI file reputation to identify trusted or malicious files
Aggressive set of Manual Rules to improve protection to block this campaign
IMPORTANT: Always follow best practices when you enable new rules and signatures.
When you implement new rules or signatures, always set them to Report mode first and check the alerts generated. Resolve any issues that arise and then set the rules to Block. This step mitigates against triggering false positives and allows you to refine your configuration.
For more information, see KB87843 - List of and best practices for Endpoint Security Dynamic Application Containment rules.
Host Intrusion Prevention:
Rule ID: 6010 Generic Application Hooking Protection
Rule ID: 1148 CMD Tool Access by a Network Aware Application
