Introduction
A recent report [1] from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) has alerted the public about possible forthcoming ransomware attacks that target the health industry.
This report has raised concerns [2] especially because of the current pandemic, which has strained the resources of hospitals and care centers. As a consequence, a ransomware attack, in addition to crippling a healthcare provider’s infrastructure, might actually put at risk the lives of patients.
The advisory describes in detail the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) followed by the malicious actors who, at the moment, seem to be associated with Russian crime groups.
The attack uses a number of malware components, such as TrickBot, BazarLoader, Ryuk, and Cobalt Strike, in order to compromise networks, create bridgeheads, and then move laterally so that, eventually, a ransomware attack can be successfully carried out.
In the rest of this report, we present the characteristics of the various components of the attacks. We look at both the actual malware components (i.e., the code that performs the malicious actions), as well as the network evidence associated with their actions. Even though a number of these components (as well as similar ones) have been covered previously Continue reading
