5 Most Frequent Malware Methods in 2024

Ways, methods, and procedures (TTPs) type the muse of recent protection methods. In contrast to indicators of compromise (IOCs), TTPs are extra secure, making them a dependable approach to establish particular cyber threats. Listed below are a few of the mostly used methods, based on ANY.RUN’s Q3 2024 report on malware developments, full with real-world examples.

Disabling of Home windows Occasion Logging (T1562.002)

Disrupting Home windows Occasion Logging helps attackers stop the system from recording essential details about their malicious actions.

With out occasion logs, vital particulars similar to login makes an attempt, file modifications, and system adjustments go unrecorded, leaving safety options and analysts with incomplete or lacking information.

Home windows Occasion Logging may be manipulated in several methods, together with by altering registry keys or utilizing instructions like “internet cease eventlog”. Altering group insurance policies is one other widespread technique.

Since many detection mechanisms depend on log evaluation to establish suspicious actions, malware can function undetected for longer intervals.

Instance: XWorm Disables Distant Entry Service Logs

To detect, observe, and analyze several types of malicious TTPs in a protected atmosphere, we are able to use ANY.RUN’s Interactive Sandbox. The service gives highly-configurable Home windows and Linux VMs that allow you to not solely detonate malware and see its execution in actual time, but in addition work together with it similar to on a regular pc.

Due to monitoring of all system and community actions, ANY.RUN helps you to simply and shortly establish malicious actions just like the disabling of Home windows Occasion Logging.

ANY.RUN sandbox session displaying the outcomes of XWorm detonation

Take a look at this evaluation session the place XWorm, a widespread distant entry trojan (RAT), makes use of T1562.002.

The sandbox shares particulars concerning the malicious course of and its registry modification

Particularly, it modifies the registry to disable hint logs for RASAPI32, which is answerable for managing distant entry connections on the system.

The malware disables logs by modifying a number of registry names

By setting ENABLEAUTOFILETRACING and different registry names associated to RASAPI32 to 0, the attacker ensures that logs will not be generated. This makes it more durable for safety software program like antiviruses to establish the incident.

PowerShell Exploitation (T1059.001)

PowerShell is a scripting language and command-line shell constructed into Home windows. Attackers usually exploit it to carry out quite a lot of malicious duties, together with manipulating system settings, exfiltrating information, and establishing persistent entry to compromised programs.

When utilizing PowerShell’s in depth capabilities, menace actors can make the most of obfuscation methods, similar to encoding instructions or superior scripting strategies, to bypass detection mechanisms.

Instance: BlanGrabber Makes use of PowerShell to Disable Detection

Contemplate this evaluation of a BlankGrabber pattern, a malware household used for stealing delicate information from contaminated programs. After the execution, the trojan horse launches a number of processes, together with PowerShell, to alter the system settings to keep away from detection.

The sandbox reveals all of the operations carried out by BlankGrabber through PowerShell

ANY.RUN immediately identifies all of the malware’s actions, presenting them intimately. Amongst different issues, BlankGrabber makes use of PowerShell to disable the Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), OAV Safety, and Actual-time Monitoring providers of the Home windows OS. The sandbox additionally reveals the command line contents, displaying the precise instructions utilized by the malware.

Abuse of Home windows Command Shell (T1059.003)

Attackers additionally generally exploit the Home windows Command Shell (cmd.exe), one other versatile instrument used for authentic administrative duties, similar to managing information and operating scripts. Its widespread use makes it a gorgeous selection for hiding dangerous actions.

By utilizing the command shell, attackers can execute quite a lot of malicious instructions, from downloading payloads from distant servers to executing malware. The shell will also be used to execute PowerShell scripts to carry out additional malicious actions.

Since cmd.exe is a trusted and broadly used utility, malicious instructions can mix in with authentic exercise, making it more durable for safety programs to establish and reply to threats in real-time. Attackers can even use obfuscation methods inside their instructions to additional keep away from detection.

Instance: Lumma Employs CMD in Payload Execution

Check out the following evaluation of Lumma, a broadly used info stealer that has been energetic since 2022.

The sandbox assigns a rating of 100 to the cmd.exe course of, marking it as malicious

ANY.RUN offers us an in-depth look into the operations carried out by the malware through cmd. These embody beginning an software with an uncommon extension and making adjustments to the executable content material, which point out that the method is abused by attackers.

Modification of Registry Run Keys (T1547.001)

To make sure that the malicious software program runs mechanically at any time when a system begins, attackers add entries to particular registry keys which can be designed to launch applications at startup.

Malicious information will also be positioned within the Startup Folder, which is a particular listing that Home windows mechanically scans and executes applications when the consumer logs in.

By utilizing Registry Run Keys and the Startup Folder, attackers can keep long-term persistence, permitting them to proceed their malicious actions, similar to information exfiltration, lateral motion inside a community, or additional exploitation of the system.

Instance: Remcos Positive aspects Persistence through RUN Key

Right here is an instance of this method carried out by Remcos. On this case, the registry key being modified is HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREMICROSOFTWINDOWSCURRENTVERSIONRUN.

The sandbox assigns related TTPs to completely different malicious actions

By including an entry to the RUN key within the registry, the Remcos backdoor ensures that it’ll mechanically begin on each recent login. This enables the malware to keep up persistence on the contaminated system.

Time Primarily based Evasion (T1497.003)

Time-based evasion is a way utilized by malware to keep away from detection by safety options that depend on sandboxing. Many sandboxes have restricted monitoring intervals, typically just some minutes. By delaying the execution of malicious code, malware can keep away from detection throughout this window.

One other widespread function of this TTP is making the malware seem benign throughout preliminary evaluation, decreasing the chance of being flagged as suspicious. Delaying execution could make it more durable for behavioral evaluation instruments to correlate the preliminary benign habits with the following malicious actions.

Malware typically depends on a number of elements or information to hold out its an infection course of. Delays may also help synchronize the execution of various components of the malware. For instance, if the malware must obtain extra elements from a distant server, a delay can be sure that these elements are absolutely downloaded and prepared earlier than the principle payload is executed.

Some malicious actions may depend upon the profitable completion of different duties. Introducing delays may also help handle these dependencies, guaranteeing that every step within the an infection course of is accomplished within the right order.

Instance: DCRAT Delays Execution Throughout Assault

Darkish Crystal RAT is considered one of many malware households that depend on time-based evasion methods to stay underneath the radar on the contaminated system.

ANY.RUN presents a built-in MITRE ATT&CK Matrix for monitoring TTPs recognized throughout evaluation

Within the context of the following sandbox session, we are able to observe how DCRAT stays asleep for mere 2000 milliseconds, which is 2 seconds, earlier than persevering with execution. That is seemingly accomplished to make sure that all of the information wanted for the following stage of the an infection course of are prepared for execution.

The ANY.RUN sandbox shows particulars of every malicious course of

One other of DCRAT’s time-based evasion makes an attempt detected by ANY.RUN is using the authentic instrument w32tm.exe to delay the execution course of.

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