Trellix Insights: Fake Interview: The New Activity of Charming Kitten
Technical Articles ID:
KB92506
Last Modified: 2022-08-16 12:38:13 Etc/GMT
Last Modified: 2022-08-16 12:38:13 Etc/GMT
Environment
IMPORTANT: This Knowledge Base article discusses a specific threat that is being automatically tracked by Trellix Insights technology. The content is intended for use by Trellix Insights users, but is provided for general knowledge to all customers. Contact us for more information about Trellix Insights.
Summary
Description of Campaign
The Charming Kitten threat group targeted multiple entities with spear-phishing emails containing a malicious link that appeared to come from several legitimate companies including The Wall Street Journal. The campaign's focus was to capture user names and passwords using fake webpages and then exfiltrate sensitive information including contacts from the victim's email accounts.
How to use this article:
Campaign IOC
Minimum Content Versions:
Detection Summary
Minimum set of Manual Rules to improve protection to block this campaign
IMPORTANT: Always follow best practices when you enable new rules and signatures.
When you implement new rules or signatures, always set them to Report mode first and check the alerts generated. Resolve any issues that arise and then set the rules to Block. This step mitigates against triggering false positives and allows you to refine your configuration.
For more information, see KB87843 - List of and best practices for Endpoint Security Dynamic Application Containment rules.
Endpoint Security - Advanced Threat Protection:Rule ID: 4 Use GTI file reputation to identify trusted or malicious files
Endpoint Security - Access Protection Custom Rules:Rule: 1
Executables (Include): cmd.exe
Subrules: Subrule Type: Files
Operations: Create
Targets (Include):
?:\users\*\appdata\roaming\*\*.txt
Rule: 2
Executables (Include): findstr.exe
Subrules: Subrule Type: Files
Operations: Write
Targets (Include):
?:\users\*\appdata\roaming\*\*.txt
VirusScan Enterprise - Access Protection Custom Rules:Rule: 1
Rule Type: File
Process to include: cmd.exe
File or folder name to block: *\users\*\appdata\roaming\*\*.txt
File actions to prevent: Create
Rule: 2
Rule Type: File
Process to include: findstr.exe
File or folder name to block: *\users\*\appdata\roaming\*\*.txt
File actions to prevent: Write
Endpoint Security - Access Protection Rules:
Virusscan Enterprise - Access Protection Rules:
Aggressive set of Manual Rules to improve protection to block this campaign
IMPORTANT: Always follow best practices when you enable new rules and signatures.
When you implement new rules or signatures, always set them to Report mode first and check the alerts generated. Resolve any issues that arise and then set the rules to Block. This step mitigates against triggering false positives and allows you to refine your configuration.
For more information, see KB87843 - List of and best practices for Endpoint Security Dynamic Application Containment rules.
Endpoint Security - Access Protection Custom Rules:Rule: 1
Executables (Include): *
Subrules: Subrule Type: Files
Operations: Create
Targets (Include):
?:\users\*\appdata\roaming\*\*.exe
Rule: 2
Executables (Include): ?script.exe
Subrules: Subrule Type: Files
Operations: Execute
Targets (Include): cmd.exe
VirusScan Enterprise - Access Protection Custom Rules:Rule: 1
Rule Type: File
Process to include: *
File or folder name to block: *\users\*\appdata\roaming\*\*.exe
File actions to prevent: Create
Rule: 2
Rule Type: File
Process to include: ?script.exe
File or folder name to block: cmd.exe
File actions to prevent: Execute
Host Intrusion Prevention:Rule ID: 6011 Generic Application Invocation Protection
Rule ID: 1148 CMD Tool Access by a Network Aware Application
Rule ID: 6010 Generic Application Hooking Protection
The Charming Kitten threat group targeted multiple entities with spear-phishing emails containing a malicious link that appeared to come from several legitimate companies including The Wall Street Journal. The campaign's focus was to capture user names and passwords using fake webpages and then exfiltrate sensitive information including contacts from the victim's email accounts.
How to use this article:
- If a Threat Hunting table has been created, use the rules contained to search for malware related to this campaign.
- Review the product detection table and confirm that your environment is at least on the specified content version.
To download the latest content versions, go to the Security Updates page. - Scroll down and review the "Product Countermeasures" section of this article. Consider implementing them if they are not already in place.
- Review
KB91836 - Countermeasures for entry vector threats . - Review KB87843 - Dynamic Application Containment rules and best practices.
- Review KB82925 - Identify what rule corresponds to an Adaptive Threat Protection and Threat Intelligence Exchange event.
Campaign IOC
Type | Value |
amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;service=mailservice& amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;type=password |
|
Minimum Content Versions:
Detection Summary
IOC | Scanner | Detection |
Minimum set of Manual Rules to improve protection to block this campaign
IMPORTANT: Always follow best practices when you enable new rules and signatures.
When you implement new rules or signatures, always set them to Report mode first and check the alerts generated. Resolve any issues that arise and then set the rules to Block. This step mitigates against triggering false positives and allows you to refine your configuration.
For more information, see KB87843 - List of and best practices for Endpoint Security Dynamic Application Containment rules.
Endpoint Security - Advanced Threat Protection:
Endpoint Security - Access Protection Custom Rules:
Subrules: Subrule Type: Files
Operations: Create
Targets (Include):
Subrules: Subrule Type: Files
Operations: Write
Targets (Include):
VirusScan Enterprise - Access Protection Custom Rules:
Process to include: cmd.exe
File or folder name to block: *\users\*\appdata\roaming\*\*.txt
File actions to prevent: Create
Rule: 2
Process to include: findstr.exe
File or folder name to block: *\users\*\appdata\roaming\*\*.txt
File actions to prevent: Write
Endpoint Security - Access Protection Rules:
Executing scripts by Windows script host (CScript.exe or Wscript.exe) from common user folders
Virusscan Enterprise - Access Protection Rules:
Protect Internet Explorer favorites and settings
Aggressive set of Manual Rules to improve protection to block this campaign
IMPORTANT: Always follow best practices when you enable new rules and signatures.
When you implement new rules or signatures, always set them to Report mode first and check the alerts generated. Resolve any issues that arise and then set the rules to Block. This step mitigates against triggering false positives and allows you to refine your configuration.
For more information, see KB87843 - List of and best practices for Endpoint Security Dynamic Application Containment rules.
Endpoint Security - Access Protection Custom Rules:
Subrules: Subrule Type: Files
Operations: Create
Targets (Include):
Subrules: Subrule Type: Files
Operations: Execute
Targets (Include): cmd.exe
VirusScan Enterprise - Access Protection Custom Rules:
Process to include: *
File or folder name to block: *\users\*\appdata\roaming\*\*.exe
File actions to prevent: Create
Rule: 2
Process to include: ?script.exe
File or folder name to block: cmd.exe
File actions to prevent: Execute
Host Intrusion Prevention:
Rule ID: 1148 CMD Tool Access by a Network Aware Application
Rule ID: 6010 Generic Application Hooking Protection