Threat actors have been targeting VMware ESXi servers with a Linux variant of the RTM Locker ransomware strain based on leaked Babuk ransomware source code, according to BleepingComputer.
Attempted encryption of all VMware ESXi virtual machines commences upon launching the RTM Locker Linux encryptor, which will then be followed by the termination of all running VMs and the encryption of log, virtual disk, virtual machine memory, VM snapshot, and swap files, a report from Uptycs revealed.
Researchers also found that ECDH on Curve25519 and ChaCha20 are being used by RTM Locker for asymmetric and symmetric encryption, respectively, while static implementation of cryptographic algorithms into the binary code has enhanced encryption reliability for the ransomware strain.
RTM Locker was also found to leverage Tox for ransom payment negotiations, a change from using Tor sites.
Such findings indicate the significant enterprise threat posed by RTM Locker although BleepingComputer noted the relative inactivity of the RTM Locker operation.
Golden Chickens malware developer unmasked SecurityWeek reports that Golden Chickens malware, which has been used by the Russian Cobalt Group and FIN6 cybercrime operations, had its second developer identified by eSentire to be a Romanian named Jack, also known as Lucky and badbullzvenom. Password stealers were Jack's main specialty when he began engaging in cybercrime as a teen, releasing the Voyer malware tool for exfiltrating Yahoo instant messages between 2007 and 2008, followed by the FlyCatcher tool for keystroke logging between 2008 and 2009, and the Con password stealer for browser, instant messenger, VPN, and FTP app credential theft in 2010, according to the eSentire report. Jack was noted by researchers to have met with Golden Chickens co-developer 'Chuck from Montreal' in the dark web from late 2012 to October 2013, before proceeding to release Multiplier and VenomKit in 2015 and 2017, respectively, which were later consolidated into Golden Chickens. "Security experts assert that in 2017 the Cobalt Group used badbullzvenoms (aka: Lucky) VenomKit to deploy Cobalt Strike in attacks on banks and then they used it again in 2018," said eSentire, which noted that the malware suite was leveraged by FIN6 in 2019, the same year when the suite included the PureLocker ransomware plugin.
Different information-stealing malware strains have been distributed in separate campaigns leveraging websites masquerading as the TikTok video editor CapCut, according to BleepingComputer.
Open source password manager KeePass is being impacted by a security flaw, tracked as CVE-2023-32784, which could be exploited to facilitate master password retrieval from program memory, SecurityWeek reports. "The memory dump can be a KeePass process dump, swap file (pagefile.sys), hibernation file (hiberfil.sys), or RAM dump of the entire system.