The Detection & Response Chronicles: Covert Operations Through QEMU

Adversaries have always relied on legitimate tools to carry out their attacks. These tools are already trusted by security solutions, which allows them to blend in with normal activity, maintain a low footprint, and make detection much harder for defenders. By using these legitimate tools, adversaries can carry out a wide range of actions, such as moving laterally across networks, establishing C2 channels, or maintaining persistence, all without triggering any alerts.

ConsentFix (a.k.a. AuthCodeFix): Detecting OAuth2 Authorization Code Phishing

ConsentFix (a.k.a.AuthCodeFix) is the latest variant of the fix-type phishing attacks, initially identified by Push Security. In this technique, the adversary tricks the victim into generating an OAuth authorization code that is part of a localhost URL, by signing in to the Azure CLI instance (or other vulnerable applications). Then, the victim is instructed to copy that URL and paste it into a phishing website, essentially handing over the authorization code to the adversary, who is now able to exchange it for an access token. Using the access token, the adversary gets access to the victim's Microsoft account.

Detecting Teams Chat Phishing Attacks (Black Basta)

A person in a suit is overwhelmed by a pile of envelopes while typing on a keyboard, with a computer screen displaying "Help Desk" nearby. Another individual in a hooded jacket is reaching towards the person, symbolizing a phishing threat. The background is filled with binary code.

For quite a while now, there has been a new ongoing threat campaign where the adversaries first bomb a user's mailbox with spam emails and then pose as Help Desk or IT Support on Microsoft Teams to trick their potential victims into providing access. This social engineering tactic is being attributed to the ransomware group "Black Basta".

Hunting for Remote Management Tools: Detecting RMMs

In our previous blog post about RMM (Remote Management and Monitoring) tools, we highlighted the prevalence of such tooling in nearly every organization’s environment. In today’s world, where many organizations support remote work, RMM tools are frequently utilized to help provide assistance to end users and to allow IT administrators to perform their tasks from … Continue reading Hunting for Remote Management Tools: Detecting RMMs →

Validate your Windows Audit Policy Configuration with KQL

We provide a KQL query that will help you validate your defined Windows audit security policy configuration. Defining a Windows audit policy is an important step in establishing a robust security posture. Ensuring that the audit policy is applied consistently across your environment is just as important as defining that policy and quality controls should be in place.

Hunting Emotet campaigns with Kusto

Introduction Emotet doesn't need an introduction anymore - it is one of the more prolific cybercriminal gangs and has been around for many years. In January 2021, a disruption effort took place via Europol and other law enforcement authorities to take Emotet down for good. [1] Indeed, there was a significant decrease in Emotet malicious … Continue reading Hunting Emotet campaigns with Kusto →