Joanap Remote Access Trojan and Brambul Worm

Two new malware tools used by the HIDDEN COBRA advanced persistent threat (APT) group have been identified. Joanap, a remote access trojan (RAT), and Brambul, an information stealing worm, have been observed targeting finance, infrastructure and government organisations in Western Europe and the USA.

Threat ID:: CC-2441
Category:: Spyware, Worm, Trojan
Threat Severity:: Medium
Threat Vector:: Exploit, Insecure network
Published:: 30 May 2018 12:00 AM

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Summary

Affected platforms

The following platforms are known to be affected:

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows - All Versions

Threat details

At the time of publication it is unclear how Joanap is distributed, although HIDDEN COBRA have previously used spam, phishing or watering-hole campaigns to deliver their other tools. Joanap is primarily used to enable peer-to-peer communication with HIDDEN COBRA botnets but is also able to exfiltrate data, initiate proxy communications with a command and control server and execute processes.

Brambul is delivered to a targeted device by a dropper or downloader, likely to be Joanap or some other HIDDEN COBRA related malware. Once installed it will launch a brute-force attack over SMB in order to gain access to other devices on the network. Newer Brambul variants will also collect system and user information and execute command-line scripts.

For further information:

Remediation steps

Type	Step
	Incoming traffic on ports 139 and 445 should be monitored and, if possible, these ports should be closed. Additionally, to prevent and detect an infection ensure that: 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, anti-virus 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 affected devices should be reset on a clean computer. Your organisation adopts a holistic all-round approach to Cyber Security as advocated by the 10 Steps to Cyber Security.

Type

Step

Incoming traffic on ports 139 and 445 should be monitored and, if possible, these ports should be closed.

Additionally, to prevent and detect an infection ensure that:

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, anti-virus 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 affected devices should be reset on a clean computer.
Your organisation adopts a holistic all-round approach to Cyber Security as advocated by the 10 Steps to Cyber Security.

Last edited: 11 November 2020 12:34 pm