Gamaredon Group

Gamaredon Group is a suspected Russian cyber espionage threat group that has targeted military, NGO, judiciary, law enforcement, and non-profit organizations in Ukraine since at least 2013. The name Gamaredon Group comes from a misspelling of the word "Armageddon", which was detected in the adversary's early campaigns.[1][2][3][4][5]

In November 2021, the Ukrainian government publicly attributed Gamaredon Group to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) Center 18.[6][5]

ID: G0047
Associated Groups: IRON TILDEN, Primitive Bear, ACTINIUM, Armageddon, Shuckworm, DEV-0157, Aqua Blizzard
Contributors: ESET; Trend Micro Incorporated; Yoshihiro Kori, NEC Corporation; Manikantan Srinivasan, NEC Corporation India; Pooja Natarajan, NEC Corporation India
Version: 3.1
Created: 31 May 2017
Last Modified: 23 September 2024

Associated Group Descriptions

Name Description
IRON TILDEN

[7]

Primitive Bear

[8]

ACTINIUM

[5]

Armageddon

[4]

Shuckworm

[4]

DEV-0157

[5]

Aqua Blizzard

[9]

Techniques Used

Domain ID Name Use
Enterprise T1047 Windows管理规范

Gamaredon Group has used WMI to execute scripts used for discovery and for determining the C2 IP address.[10][11]

Enterprise T1025 从可移动介质获取数据

A Gamaredon Group file stealer has the capability to steal data from newly connected logical volumes on a system, including USB drives.[1][3]

Enterprise T1005 从本地系统获取数据

Gamaredon Group has collected files from infected systems and uploaded them to a C2 server.[3]

Enterprise T1039 从网络共享驱动器获取数据

Gamaredon Group malware has collected Microsoft Office documents from mapped network drives.[3]

Enterprise T1036 .005 伪装: Match Legitimate Name or Location

Gamaredon Group has used legitimate process names to hide malware including svchosst.[8]

Enterprise T1112 修改注册表

Gamaredon Group has removed security settings for VBA macro execution by changing registry values HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\<version>\<product>\Security\VBAWarnings and HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\<version>\<product>\Security\AccessVBOM.[3][10]

Enterprise T1534 内部鱼叉式钓鱼

Gamaredon Group has used an Outlook VBA module on infected systems to send phishing emails with malicious attachments to other employees within the organization.[3]

Enterprise T1137 办公应用启动

Gamaredon Group has inserted malicious macros into existing documents, providing persistence when they are reopened. Gamaredon Group has loaded the group's previously delivered VBA project by relaunching Microsoft Outlook with the /altvba option, once the Application.Startup event is received.[3]

Enterprise T1568 动态解析

Gamaredon Group has incorporated dynamic DNS domains in its infrastructure.[8]

.001 Fast Flux DNS

Gamaredon Group has used fast flux DNS to mask their command and control channel behind rotating IP addresses.[11]

Enterprise T1140 反混淆/解码文件或信息

Gamaredon Group tools decrypted additional payloads from the C2. Gamaredon Group has also decoded base64-encoded source code of a downloader.[2][3] Additionally, Gamaredon Group has decoded Telegram content to reveal the IP address for C2 communications.[11]

Enterprise T1547 .001 启动或登录自动启动执行: Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder

Gamaredon Group tools have registered Run keys in the registry to give malicious VBS files persistence.[2][3][10][11]

Enterprise T1059 .001 命令与脚本解释器: PowerShell

Gamaredon Group has used obfuscated PowerShell scripts for staging.[5]

.003 命令与脚本解释器: Windows Command Shell

Gamaredon Group has used various batch scripts to establish C2 and download additional files. Gamaredon Group's backdoor malware has also been written to a batch file.[1][3][10][8]

.005 命令与脚本解释器: Visual Basic

Gamaredon Group has embedded malicious macros in document templates, which executed VBScript. Gamaredon Group has also delivered Microsoft Outlook VBA projects with embedded macros.[2][3][10][5][7]

Enterprise T1120 外围设备发现

Gamaredon Group tools have contained an application to check performance of USB flash drives. Gamaredon Group has also used malware to scan for removable drives.[1][3]

Enterprise T1562 .001 妨碍防御: Disable or Modify Tools

Gamaredon Group has delivered macros which can tamper with Microsoft Office security settings.[3]

Enterprise T1113 屏幕捕获

Gamaredon Group's malware can take screenshots of the compromised computer every minute.[3]

Enterprise T1071 .001 应用层协议: Web Protocols

Gamaredon Group has used HTTP and HTTPS for C2 communications.[1][2][3][4][10][8][11]

Enterprise T1480 执行保护

Gamaredon Group has used geoblocking to limit downloads of the malicious file to specific geographic locations.[11]

Enterprise T1001 数据混淆

Gamaredon Group has used obfuscated VBScripts with randomly generated variable names and concatenated strings.[11]

Enterprise T1083 文件和目录发现

Gamaredon Group macros can scan for Microsoft Word and Excel files to inject with additional malicious macros. Gamaredon Group has also used its backdoors to automatically list interesting files (such as Office documents) found on a system.[3][8]

Enterprise T1608 .001 暂存能力: Upload Malware

Gamaredon Group has registered domains to stage payloads.[5][8]

Enterprise T1106 本机API

Gamaredon Group malware has used CreateProcess to launch additional malicious components.[3]

Enterprise T1221 模板注入

Gamaredon Group has used DOCX files to download malicious DOT document templates and has used RTF template injection to download malicious payloads.[12] Gamaredon Group can also inject malicious macros or remote templates into documents already present on compromised systems.[2][3][10][5][8][7]

Enterprise T1080 污染共享内容

Gamaredon Group has injected malicious macros into all Word and Excel documents on mapped network drives.[3]

Enterprise T1027 混淆文件或信息

Gamaredon Group has delivered self-extracting 7z archive files within malicious document attachments.[3]

.001 Binary Padding

Gamaredon Group has obfuscated .NET executables by inserting junk code.[3]

.004 Compile After Delivery

Gamaredon Group has compiled the source code for a downloader directly on the infected system using the built-in Microsoft.CSharp.CSharpCodeProvider class.[3]

.010 Command Obfuscation

Gamaredon Group has used obfuscated or encrypted scripts.[3][5]

Enterprise T1204 .001 用户执行: Malicious Link

Gamaredon Group has attempted to get users to click on a link pointing to a malicious HTML file leading to follow-on malicious content.[11]

.002 用户执行: Malicious File

Gamaredon Group has attempted to get users to click on Office attachments with malicious macros embedded.[2][3][4][10][5][8][7][11]

Enterprise T1561 .001 磁盘擦除: Disk Content Wipe

Gamaredon Group has used tools to delete files and folders from victims' desktops and profiles.[10]

Enterprise T1070 .004 移除指标: File Deletion

Gamaredon Group tools can delete files used during an operation.[2][4][10]

Enterprise T1491 .001 篡改: Internal Defacement

Gamaredon Group has left taunting images and messages on the victims' desktops as proof of system access.[10]

Enterprise T1218 .005 系统二进制代理执行: Mshta

Gamaredon Group has used mshta.exe to execute malicious files.[4][11]

.011 系统二进制代理执行: Rundll32

Gamaredon Group malware has used rundll32 to launch additional malicious components.[3]

Enterprise T1082 系统信息发现

A Gamaredon Group file stealer can gather the victim's computer name and drive serial numbers to send to a C2 server.[1][2][10]

Enterprise T1033 系统所有者/用户发现

A Gamaredon Group file stealer can gather the victim's username to send to a C2 server.[1]

Enterprise T1016 .001 系统网络配置发现: Internet Connection Discovery

Gamaredon Group has tested connectivity between a compromised machine and a C2 server using Ping with commands such as CSIDL_SYSTEM\cmd.exe /c ping -n 1.[4]

Enterprise T1102 网络服务

Gamaredon Group has used GitHub repositories for downloaders which will be obtained by the group's .NET executable on the compromised system.[3]

.003 One-Way Communication

Gamaredon Group has used Telegram Messenger content to discover the IP address for C2 communications.[11]

Enterprise T1119 自动化收集

Gamaredon Group has deployed scripts on compromised systems that automatically scan for interesting documents.[3]

Enterprise T1020 自动化渗出

Gamaredon Group has used modules that automatically upload gathered documents to the C2 server.[3]

Enterprise T1583 .001 获取基础设施: Domains

Gamaredon Group has registered multiple domains to facilitate payload staging and C2.[5][8]

.003 获取基础设施: Virtual Private Server

Gamaredon Group has used VPS hosting providers for infrastructure outside of Russia.[11]

Enterprise T1588 .002 获取能力: Tool

Gamaredon Group has used various legitimate tools, such as mshta.exe and Reg, and services during operations.[11]

Enterprise T1105 输入工具传输

Gamaredon Group has downloaded additional malware and tools onto a compromised host.[1][2][3][5] For example, Gamaredon Group uses a backdoor script to retrieve and decode additional payloads once in victim environments.[11]

Enterprise T1057 进程发现

Gamaredon Group has used tools to enumerate processes on target hosts including Process Explorer.[4][8]

Enterprise T1559 .001 进程间通信: Component Object Model

Gamaredon Group malware can insert malicious macros into documents using a Microsoft.Office.Interop object.[3]

Enterprise T1021 .005 远程服务: VNC

Gamaredon Group has used VNC tools, including UltraVNC, to remotely interact with compromised hosts.[4][5][8]

Enterprise T1041 通过C2信道渗出

A Gamaredon Group file stealer can transfer collected files to a hardcoded C2 server.[1]

Enterprise T1566 .001 钓鱼: Spearphishing Attachment

Gamaredon Group has delivered spearphishing emails with malicious attachments to targets.[2][3][10][5][8][7][11]

Enterprise T1564 .003 隐藏伪装: Hidden Window

Gamaredon Group has used hidcon to run batch files in a hidden console window.[8]

Enterprise T1053 .005 预定任务/作业: Scheduled Task

Gamaredon Group has created scheduled tasks to launch executables after a designated number of minutes have passed.[3][10][5][11]

Software

References