MVISION Insights: Watering hole attacks against high profile Middle Eastern websites
Technical Articles ID:
KB95226
Last Modified: 1/25/2022
Last Modified: 1/25/2022
Environment
IMPORTANT: This Knowledge Base article discusses a specific threat that is being automatically tracked by MVISION Insights technology. The content is intended for use by MVISION Insights users, but is provided for general knowledge to all customers. Contact us for more information about MVISION Insights.
Summary
In 2018, ESET researchers developed a custom in-house system to detect watering hole attacks on high-profile websites. On July 11th, 2020, the system notified them that the Iranian Embassy's website had been modified and had started injecting JavaScript from the domain piwiks[.]com. This alone is an interesting development, but the following weeks other websites with connections to the Middle East started to be targeted. With the domain serving malicious javascript, ESET was able to trace the start of the campaign to March 2020 when the domain was registered, although the actual compromises only started April 2020. At the end of July, up to the beginning of August, the campaign ended and the attacker cleaned the compromised websites of any malicious scripts.
The threat group went quiet until January 2021, when a new wave of compromises was observed. This new wave lasted until August 2021, where all websites were cleaned once more. Although these are public websites, the intended targets are believed to be specific visitors. These attacks have been associated with a Kaspersky-tracked group, which has been named Karkadann. The attacks have also been linked to an Israeli spyware firm by the name of Candiru.
At the moment of writing, the group has once again gone into hiding, most likely redesigning its tooling and techniques to improve its stealth for future campaigns.
The McAfee Enterprise ATR Team gathers and analyzes information from multiple open and closed sources before disseminating intelligence reports. This campaign was researched by ESET and shared publicly here.
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. The list of IOCs will change over time; check MVISION Insights for the latest IOCs.
Campaign IOC
| Type | Value |
| SHA256 | 91B3F4836CDF956292C806B5E4D1A9475EB7553083EA61B0A768C9A86B9FEC2F |
| SHA256 | E7EC5AF4119462A67FD059A019CDC5B7F2F386723BFBB22C1912250C33645CE5 |
| SHA256 | 8D486F0C6A0D5089E96F08622047337E387FAF63AE858379292A764811E55625 |
| URL | https://cuturl.app/sot2qq |
| URL | https://cuturl.space/lty7uw |
| URL | https://cuturl.space/1hm39t |
| DOMAIN | smc.gov.ye |
| DOMAIN | almasirahnews.com |
| DOMAIN | manartv.com.lb |
| DOMAIN | scs-net.org |
| DOMAIN | mmy.ye |
| DOMAIN | piwiks.com |
| DOMAIN | rebrandly.site |
| DOMAIN | medica-tradefair.co |
| DOMAIN | tinyurl.ist |
| DOMAIN | tinyurl.bz |
| DOMAIN | bit-ly.site |
| DOMAIN | bitly.tw |
| DOMAIN | bitly.zone |
| DOMAIN | shortlinkcut.link |
| DOMAIN | tinyurl.one |
| DOMAIN | tinyurl.photos |
| DOMAIN | tinyurl.plus |
| DOMAIN | site-improve.net |
| DOMAIN | clickcease.app |
| DOMAIN | visitortrack.net |
| DOMAIN | webfx.bz |
| DOMAIN | livesession.bid |
| DOMAIN | engagebay.app |
| DOMAIN | hotjar.net |
| DOMAIN | webffx.bz |
| DOMAIN | engagebaay.app |
| DOMAIN | livesesion.bid |
| DOMAIN | sitei-mprove.net |
| DOMAIN | webfex.bz |
| DOMAIN | bootstrapcdn.net |
| DOMAIN | addthis.events |
| DOMAIN | sherathis.com |
| DOMAIN | yektenet.com |
| DOMAIN | static-doubleclick.net |
| DOMAIN | code-afsanalytics.com |
| DOMAIN | fonts-gstatic.net |
| DOMAIN | moatads.co |
| DOMAIN | doubleclick.ac |
| DOMAIN | llink.link |
| DOMAIN | instagrarn.co |
| DOMAIN | cuturl.app |
| DOMAIN | url-tiny.co |
| DOMAIN | bitly.tel |
| DOMAIN | cuturl.space |
| DOMAIN | useproof.cc |
Minimum Content Versions:
| Content Type | Version |
| V2 DAT (VirusScan Enterprise) | 10041 |
| V3 DAT (Endpoint Security) | 4641 |
Detection Summary
| IOC | Scanner | Detection |
| 91B3F4836CDF956292C806B5E4D1A9475EB7553083EA61B0A768C9A86B9FEC2F | AVEngine V2 | W97M/Downloader.dtm |
| AVEngine V3 | W97M/Downloader.dtm | |
| JTI (ATP Rules) | - | |
| RP Static | - | |
| RP Dynamic | - |
| IOC | Scanner | Detection |
| E7EC5AF4119462A67FD059A019CDC5B7F2F386723BFBB22C1912250C33645CE5 | AVEngine V2 | W97M/Downloader.dtg |
| AVEngine V3 | W97M/Downloader.dtg | |
| JTI (ATP Rules) | - | |
| RP Static | - | |
| RP Dynamic | - |
| IOC | Scanner | Detection |
| 8D486F0C6A0D5089E96F08622047337E387FAF63AE858379292A764811E55625 | AVEngine V2 | W97M/Downloader.dtm |
| AVEngine V3 | W97M/Downloader.dtm | |
| JTI (ATP Rules) | - | |
| 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 - Exploit Prevention:
Rule ID: 6135 Unmanaged Powershell Detected
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.
Rule ID: 6010 Generic Application Hooking Protection
Rule ID: 2806 Attempt to create a hardlink to a file
Rule ID: 1148 CMD Tool Access by a Network Aware Application
