CookieMiner Trojan

First observed in December 2018, CookieMiner is a cryptocurrency-stealing trojan believed to be based on the DarthMiner mining malware.

Threat ID:: CC-2917
Category:: Trojan
Threat Severity:: Low
Threat Vector:
Published:: 6 February 2019 12:00 AM

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

Summary

First observed in December 2018, CookieMiner is a cryptocurrency-stealing trojan believed to be based on the DarthMiner mining malware.

Affected platforms

The following platforms are known to be affected:

macOS

Apple macOS - All versions

Threat details

At the time of publication it is unclear how CookieMiner is delivered, although there are unconfirmed reports indicating it is distributed disguised as legitimate software in the same manner as DarthMiner. It will also use the same build of the EmPyre post-exploitation tool as DarthMiner to initiate a connection with a command and control server.

Once installed, CookieMiner will attempt to extract the following information:

Cryptocurrency wallet keys.
Apple Safari and Google Chrome cookies associated with a number of cryptocurrency sites or domains with "cryptocurrency" in their URLs.
Financial and credit card details.
iMessage conversation backups stored in iTunes.

It will also install a variant of the XMRig mining software focused on the little used 'Koto' cryptocurrency.

Remediation steps

Type	Step
	To prevent and detect a trojan 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. Regular anti-virus and security scans are performed on your organisation’s estate. All day-to-day computer activities such as email and internet are performed using non-administrative accounts. Strong password policies are in place. 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

To prevent and detect a trojan 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.
Regular anti-virus and security scans are performed on your organisation’s estate.
All day-to-day computer activities such as email and internet are performed using non-administrative accounts.
Strong password policies are in place.
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: 14 February 2020 2:48 pm