Trellix Insights: The Resurgence of Emotet
Technical Articles ID:
KB95836
Last Modified: 2022-08-22 10:48:49 Etc/GMT
Last Modified: 2022-08-22 10:48:49 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
Emotet was first discovered in 2014 and continues to attack various sectors around the world. Recent Emotet spam campaigns have used malicious links or attachments as the initial infection vector.
PowerShell, Rundll32, Mshta, LNK files, and Regsvr32 have been used to carry out the infection process. Emotet has been used to drop Cobalt Strike beacons, Gootkit, IcedID, Qakbot, and Trickbot.
Our ATR team gathers and analyzes information from multiple open and closed sources before disseminating intelligence reports. This campaign was researched by Trend Micro and shared publicly.
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
Rule ID: 5 Use GTI URL reputation to identify trusted or malicious processes
Rule ID: 239 Identify suspicious command parameter execution
Rule ID: 309 Block processes attempting to launch from office applications. Rule enabled only in high security policies
Rule ID: 301 Blocks common process'es like cmd.exe from being spawned by office applications in suspicious manner
Endpoint Security - Exploit Prevention:Rule ID: 6163 T1055 - Suspicious Behavior: Malicious Shellcode Injection Detected
Rule ID: 2844 Microsoft Word WordPerfect5 Converter Module Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
Rule ID: 6107 MS Word trying to execute unwanted programs
Host Intrusion Prevention:Rule ID: 6073 Execution Policy Bypass in PowerShell
Rule ID: 2844 Microsoft Word WordPerfect5 Converter Module Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
Rule ID: 6113 T1055 - Fileless Threat: Reflective Self Injection
Rule ID: 6085 PowerShell Command Restriction - File
Rule ID: 6082 PowerShell Command Restriction - ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted
Rule ID: 6070 Hidden PowerShell Detected
Rule ID: 6086 PowerShell Command Restriction - Command
Rule ID: 6107 MS Word trying to execute unwanted programs
Rule ID: 6083 PowerShell Command Restriction - NonInteractive
Rule ID: 6081 PowerShell Command Restriction - NoProfile
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.
VirusScan Enterprise - Access Protection Rules:Prevent creation of new executable files in the Windows folder
Host Intrusion Prevention:Rule ID: 6010 Generic Application Hooking Protection
Rule ID: 1020 Windows Agent Shielding - File Access
Rule ID: 1148 CMD Tool Access by a Network Aware Application
Rule ID: 6011 Generic Application Invocation Protection
Emotet was first discovered in 2014 and continues to attack various sectors around the world. Recent Emotet spam campaigns have used malicious links or attachments as the initial infection vector.
PowerShell, Rundll32, Mshta, LNK files, and Regsvr32 have been used to carry out the infection process. Emotet has been used to drop Cobalt Strike beacons, Gootkit, IcedID, Qakbot, and Trickbot.
Our ATR team gathers and analyzes information from multiple open and closed sources before disseminating intelligence reports. This campaign was researched by Trend Micro and shared publicly.
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
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Minimum Content Versions
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Detection Summary
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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: 5 Use GTI URL reputation to identify trusted or malicious processes
Rule ID: 239 Identify suspicious command parameter execution
Rule ID: 309 Block processes attempting to launch from office applications. Rule enabled only in high security policies
Rule ID: 301 Blocks common process'es like cmd.exe from being spawned by office applications in suspicious manner
Endpoint Security - Exploit Prevention:
Rule ID: 2844 Microsoft Word WordPerfect5 Converter Module Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
Rule ID: 6107 MS Word trying to execute unwanted programs
Host Intrusion Prevention:
Rule ID: 2844 Microsoft Word WordPerfect5 Converter Module Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
Rule ID: 6113 T1055 - Fileless Threat: Reflective Self Injection
Rule ID: 6085 PowerShell Command Restriction - File
Rule ID: 6082 PowerShell Command Restriction - ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted
Rule ID: 6070 Hidden PowerShell Detected
Rule ID: 6086 PowerShell Command Restriction - Command
Rule ID: 6107 MS Word trying to execute unwanted programs
Rule ID: 6083 PowerShell Command Restriction - NonInteractive
Rule ID: 6081 PowerShell Command Restriction - NoProfile
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.
VirusScan Enterprise - Access Protection Rules:
Host Intrusion Prevention:
Rule ID: 1020 Windows Agent Shielding - File Access
Rule ID: 1148 CMD Tool Access by a Network Aware Application
Rule ID: 6011 Generic Application Invocation Protection
