Olympic Destroyer Worm

Olympic Destroyer is a worm that was deployed in a cyberattack targeting the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, causing disruption to the website and opening ceremony.

Threat ID:: CC-2058
Category:: Worm
Threat Severity:: Low
Threat Vector:
Published:: 21 February 2018 12:00 AM

Report a cyber attack: call 0300 303 5222 or email [email protected]

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Summary

Olympic Destroyer is a worm that was deployed in a cyberattack targeting the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, causing disruption to the website and opening ceremony.

Affected platforms

The following platforms are known to be affected:

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows - all versions

Threat details

It is currently unknown how systems became infected, but its purpose was to cause maximum damage to as many hosts as possible as it could obtain passwords, wipe files on shared network drives and replicate itself across a network.

The malware initially drops several randomly named files. It then performs network discovery by checking the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) table in Windows and also using a Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) request. It then copies itself to a remote system using WMI and Microsoft's PsExec tool, and executes using a Visual Basic script. It attempts to obtain the required credentials by accessing web browser storage and the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS).

Olympic Destroyer proceeds through several stages to cause as much disruption as possible to the victim host. It firstly attacks file recovery by deleting all possible shadow copies on the system and disabling the WBAdmin utility. It then disables the Windows Recovery Environment by editing the boot configuration data. It disables all services on the system and deletes event logs, and additionally wipes all writable files on mapped file shares. When all this has been done, the compromised system is shut down.

Threat updates

Date	Update
21 Jun 2018	Security researchers have observed the deployment of Olympic Destroyer in spear phishing campaigns targeting institutions in several European countries. The threat actors are believed to be using compromised web servers running old versions of Joomla to host and control the malware.

Remediation advice

To prevent and detect an infection, ensure that:

Remediation steps

Type	Step
	A robust program of education and awareness training is delivered to users to ensure they don’t open attachments or follow links within unsolicited emails. All operating systems, antivirus and other security products are kept up to date. All day to day computer activities such as email and internet are performed using non-administrative accounts. Strong password policies are in place and password reuse is discouraged. Network, proxy and firewall logs should be monitored for suspicious activity. User accounts accessed from infected machines should be reset on a clean computer.

Type

Step

A robust program of education and awareness training is delivered to users to ensure they don’t open attachments or follow links within unsolicited emails.
All operating systems, antivirus and other security products are kept up to date.
All day to day computer activities such as email and internet are performed using non-administrative accounts.
Strong password policies are in place and password reuse is discouraged.
Network, proxy and firewall logs should be monitored for suspicious activity.
User accounts accessed from infected machines should be reset on a clean computer.

Last edited: 17 February 2020 12:51 pm