Lazarus Hackers Group Attack Financial Organizations using a Powerful Backdoor

Widely active cyber criminal group Lazarus targeting financial organizations across Latin America by installing a backdoor into the targeting systems.

Same hacking groups already targeted various financial organization around the world using various advanced tools and techniques.

Recent activities by this Lazarus APT group hits the cryptocurrency exchanges using fake installer and macOS malware using variously sophisticated techniques.

Also, they breach bank networks and compromises the switch application servers handling ATM transactions in a very recent attack in this November.

Very recent attack detected in on September 19, 2018, from several machines that contain a backdoor which is already used in previous attack 2017 using a similar FileTokenBroker.dll.

New attacks method of launching, function, the loading component is very similar to both current and previous incidents.

How Does this Backdoor Works

There are 3 major components are involved with this backdoor’s in a current module that distributing the Lazarus cyber criminals groups.

Initially, a first component AuditCred.dll/ROptimizer.dll used to launch as a service, second component Msadoz<n>.dll is the main backdoor, Third component Auditcred.dll.mui/rOptimizer.dll.mui is an encrypted configuration file.

Loader installs its component in the different machine once it infects the targeted machine also it using different names such as AuditCred and ROptimizer on a different machine with the same capability.

Second component Msadoz<n>.dll load & encrypted to act as the main backdoor into memory.

According to Trend Micro report, if successfully installed, this particular backdoor poses quite a threat to its target. It is capable of the following functions:

• Collect file/folder/drive information
• Download files and additional malware
• Launch/terminate/enumerate process
• Update configuration data
• Delete files
• Inject code from files to other running process
• Utilize proxy
• Open reverse shell
• Run in passive mode — instead of actively connecting to the command and control (C&C) server, the backdoor will open and listen to a port then receive commands through it.

Once the backdoor successfully launched then the configuration file will connect to the command & control server in order to perform various malicious activities and share the stolen data.

The backdoors they are deploying are difficult to detect and a significant threat to the privacy and security of enterprises, allowing attackers to steal information, delete files, install malware, and more. Researchers said.

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