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BlackSquid Backdoor

First observed in May 2019, BlackSquid is an advanced modular backdoor primarily targeting financial and governmental organisations globally.

Threat ID:
CC-3080
Category:
Backdoor
Threat Severity:
Medium
Threat Vector:
Vulnerability
Published:
4 June 2019 12:00 AM
Report a cyber attack: call 0300 303 5222 or email [email protected]

Summary

First observed in May 2019, BlackSquid is an advanced modular backdoor primarily targeting financial and governmental organisations globally.

Threat details

It makes use of at least eight well-known vulnerabilities, including EternalBlue, to compromise web servers.

At the time of publication, BlackSquid has three delivery vectors, namely:

  • via manual installation on vulnerable servers
  • via websites hosted by previously compromised servers
  • via previously compromised network or removable drives

During installation, BlackSquid will check the system username, primary drive model and device driver to ensure it is not running in a virtualised environment. It will also check certain hardware registers using a hard-coded routine, although this is commented out in some variant, indicating it may still be in development.

Once installed, BlackSquid will attempt to enumerate the network and any removable media, before deploying exploits in order to propagate to any connected devices or drives it finds. Once this is done, it will connect to a command and control server before deploying it's intended payload, currently an XMRig-based cryptocurrency miner.

For further information:

Remediation steps

Type Step

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.
  • 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 2:52 pm