The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have identified two malware variants called ELECTRICFISH and BADCALL.
ELECTRICFISH is reportedly a North Korean Proxy Malware, which was reported to be a North Korean Tunneling tool on May 9, 2019.
BADCALL is reportedly a North Korean Trojan which is an update to a similar North Korean Trojan reported on February 13.
The U.S. Government refers to malicious cyber activity by the North Korean government as HIDDEN COBRA. CISA encourages users and administrators to review the HIDDEN COBRA – North Korean Malicious Cyber Activity page, which contains links to Malware Analysis Reports MAR-10135536-21 (ELECTRICFISH) and MAR-10135536-10 (BADCALL), for more information.
Years ago, attackers would infect a system and inflict damage almost immediately. However, in the current threat environment, attackers attempt to get into a network and remain there for months, or even years. In some cases, they use this access to encrypt all the data in the network with ransomware, and then demand a ransom from the organization. As an example, the city of Riviera Beach Florida decided to approve a payment of about $592,000 in May 2019 to get their data back after a ransomware attack.
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The FBI has high confidence that HIDDEN COBRA actors are using malware with proxy servers to maintain a presence on victim networks. Once in network, the amount of damage that attackers can do can be catastrophic. Because of this, DHS, FBI, and the DoD are trying to raise awareness of current threats. Using their information, administrators can detect potential infections and limit the damage.
No MalwareThe ELECTRICFISH report provides an analysis of four malicious executable files. Three are Windows executables that function as proxy servers and implement a “Fake TLS” method. The fourth file is an Android Package Kit (APK) file that will run on Android platforms as a Remote Access Tool (RAT).
The BADCALL report provides analysis of a malicious 32-bit Windows executable file. It implements a custom protocol that allows traffic to be tunneled between a source and a destination Internet Protocol (IP) address.
This information was compiled from the us-cert.gov website which includes a wealth of publicly available information on current and recent threats.
