{"id":15062,"date":"2015-04-24T14:13:51","date_gmt":"2015-04-24T14:13:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kasperskydaily.com\/b2b\/?p=3890"},"modified":"2020-12-23T03:45:58","modified_gmt":"2020-12-22T16:45:58","slug":"no-monkeys-for-cozyduke-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/no-monkeys-for-cozyduke-2\/15062\/","title":{"rendered":"No Monkeys for CozyDuke"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yet another Duke APT is hitting high-profile targets, including the US government office. This time it\u2019s CozyDuke<\/a> (also known as CozyBear, CozyCar or \u201cOffice Monkeys\u201d, \u00a0in honour of the video it employs as a decoy).<\/p>\n

The attack is notably sophisticated, including encrypted components, anti-detection capabilities and a fairly well developed set of malware components that feature structural similarities with earlier MiniDuke, CosmicDuke and Onion Duke threats.<\/p>\n

No Monkeys for #CozyDukeAPT<\/p>Tweet<\/a><\/blockquote>\n

Office Monkeys are Dangerous<\/strong><\/p>\n

But, what really is worth mentioning \u2013 and, unfortunately, is quite a successful approach for many a targeted attack \u2013 is that this attack\u2019s initial penetration method is based entirely on social engineering techniques. The attackers are offering an extremely funny video about office-working apes as bait. The archive, including an executable video, is delivered via spear-phishing emails containing an attachment or a link to a website (sometimes a legitimate and even highly-rated site that has already been compromised).<\/p>\n

While the video plays, the attack\u2019s dropper is silently installed into the system, ready to receive commands and second stage malware components from the Command & Control servers.<\/p>\n

The cybercriminals were not mistaken in thinking that most of those targeted would launch the video. Not only have they launched it; they\u2019ve shared it with office colleagues, thus actively assisting in the malware distribution process. Given the high profile of the targets, the amount of sensitive information that could potentially be stolen can only be guessed at.<\/p>\n

So the question is: how do you mitigate such a horrific threat, when even your own trusted employees are working against your carefully built security? And, yes, you shouldn\u2019t underestimate the power of social engineering: how many loyal employees would, for example, resist opening a link in a (carefully forged) letter from their boss?<\/p>\nDon\u2019t Let It Reign!\n

How To Mitigate An Office Monkey Threat<\/strong><\/p>\n

Actually, several very basic security precautions or Mitigation Strategies can work effectively against even the most sophisticated and thoroughly planned APTs. For example, a simple curbing of administrative rights plus the timely patching of vulnerabilities and restricting the number of permitted apps can mitigate up to 85% of targeted attack-connected incidents.[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Kaspersky lab\u2019s Application Control[2]<\/sup><\/a> would be a valuable asset here; the Monkey video \u2013 as well as the other malware components of CozyDuke \u2013 would simply not be able to launch without being previously approved by a system administrator.\u00a0 Some administrative staff may have a limited range of duties and responsibilities, while dealing on a day to day basis with highly sensitive correspondence. Such a working scenario may be best addressed through adopting a Default Deny Applications Control mode, strictly limiting allowed executables to those system components and programs absolutely necessary to the individual\u2019s work activities.<\/p>\n

#CozyDukeAPT\u00a0initial penetration method is based entirely on #socialengineering<\/p>Tweet<\/a><\/blockquote>\n

Other useful strategies, especially appropriate to government agencies or other highly regulated enterprises, may include:<\/p>\n