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Malware Framework - Athena

The latest document leak from the WikiLeaks Vault 7 series includes documentation for Athena - an implant with the ability to target and infect any Microsoft Windows operating system from XP through to 10.
Threat ID:
CC-1424
Category:
Spyware
Threat Severity:
Medium
Threat Vector:
Hacking tool
Published:
23 May 2017 12:00 AM
Report a cyber attack: call 0300 303 5222 or email [email protected]

This content has been archived

This article no longer conforms to NHS Digital's standards for cyber alerts, and may contain outdated or inaccurate information. Use of this information contained in this page is at your own risk

Summary

The latest document leak from the WikiLeaks Vault 7 series includes documentation for Athena - an implant with the ability to target and infect any Microsoft Windows operating system from XP through to 10.

Threat details

The documentation describes how an operator of the malware has access to a toolkit consisting of a builder, tasker, parser, Listening Post (LP) and an installer. When the malware is executed, the installer modifies the target registry and drops a host file and data file to their specified locations. The installation tool will restart the RemoteAccess service and launch Athena in the netsvcs svchost.exe process.

The malware is designed to communicate with an LP, which is how it receives commands. Assembled payloads can be configured to operate in several modes including RAM-only mode, Command and Control (C2) mode or offline, depending on the requirements of the scenario. Athena is able to persist across reboots and affects both 32 bit and 64 bit operating systems.

Remediation steps

Type Step
  • Make sure that operating systems are kept up-to-date.
  • Make sure that cyber-awareness training is kept up-to-date.
  • Monitor for any changes to the above files and registry items, which may indicate a potential compromise.

Last edited: 17 February 2020 11:34 am