Alexis Dorais-Joncas

161 Followers
122 Following
15 Posts
Sr Manager, APT Threat Research
@Proofpoint

New APT observations from Proofpoint: Iranian threat actor #TA453 targeted a prominent religious figure with a fake podcast interview invite.

Blog: https://www.proofpoint.com/us/blog/threat-insight/best-laid-plans-ta453-targets-religious-figure-fake-podcast-invite-delivering

The July 2024 attack, which involved TA453 purporting to work for the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), was likely launched to gather intelligence.

The #malware was delivered via a GoogleDrive URL leading to a ZIP archive named “Podcast Plan-2024[.]zip”.

The ZIP contained an LNK titled “Podcast Plan 2024.lnk”.

The LNK delivered the BlackSmith toolset which eventually loaded TA453’s AnvilEcho Powershell Trojan.

This campaign demonstrates that TA453 hasn't given up on using modular #PowerShell backdoors. The toolset observed in the infection chain is likely the successor of GorjolEcho/PowerStar, TAMECURL, MischiefTut, and CharmPower.

Our blog has a full analysis of the infection chain.

TA453 uses various #socialengineering techniques to try and convince targets to engage with malicious content.

Based on extensive evidence, our analysts assess that #TA453 operates in support of intelligent collection efforts for the #IRGC.

The BlackSmith toolkit is just one sophisticated example of how TA453 attempts to streamline its malware functions to generate a full service PowerShell trojan.

Best Laid Plans: TA453 Targets Religious Figure with Fake Podcast Invite Delivering New BlackSmith Malware Toolset | Proofpoint US

Key findings  Proofpoint identified Iranian threat actor TA453 targeting a prominent religious figure with a fake podcast interview invitation.   The initial interaction attempted to lure the targe...

Proofpoint

Iran-aligned threat actor #TA450 (AKA #MuddyWater #MangoSandstorm #StaticKitten) has employed new tactics. For the first time, Proofpoint researchers have observed TA450 attempt to use a malicious URL in a PDF attachment rather than directly linking the file in an email.

Security Brief: https://www.proofpoint.com/us/blog/threat-insight/security-brief-ta450-uses-embedded-links-pdf-attachments-latest-campaign

In the March 7-11,2024 phishing campaign tracked by Proofpoint, TA450 sent Hebrew language lures with PDF attachments that contained malicious links.

Targets included Israeli individuals at global manufacturing, technology, and information security companies.

Proofpoint researchers observed the same targets receive multiple phishing emails with PDF attachments that had slightly different embedded links, which led to a variety of file sharing sites. If opened and clicked, a ZIP file containing AteraAgent would be downloaded and ultimately installed.

This activity marks a turn in TA450’s tactics:

➡️ The group is attempting to deliver a malicious URL in a PDF attachment

➡️ This campaign is the first time Proofpoint has observed TA450 using a sender email account that matches the lure content

➡️ This activity continues TA450's trend of leveraging Hebrew language lures and compromised

See our security brief for ET signatures and IOCs.

Security Brief: TA450 Uses Embedded Links in PDF Attachments in Latest Campaign  | Proofpoint US

What happened  Proofpoint researchers recently observed new activity by the Iran-aligned threat actor TA450 (also known as MuddyWater, Mango Sandstorm, and Static Kitten), in which the group used a...

Proofpoint

Hello, Mastodon community! 👋

Proofpoint's threat research team is officially here—we'll be sure to keep you updated on the threats we're seeing and monitoring across the landscape.

For now, we are thrilled to share the ✨50th✨ episode of DISCARDED, a Proofpoint #podcast for security practitioners, intelligence analysts, and threat hunters looking to learn more about threat behaviors and attack patterns.

In this can't-miss installment, Katie Nickels (@likethecoins) of Red Canary tackles CTI's biggest questions.

Tune in now wherever you stream your podcasts.

Website: https://ow.ly/kwFI50QEky1
Spotify: https://ow.ly/rCI050QEky8
Apple: https://ow.ly/Z74m50QEky2

DISCARDED | Proofpoint | Proofpoint US

DISCARDED: Tales from the Threat Research Trenches is a podcast for security practitioners, intelligence analysts, and threat hunters looking to learn more about the threat behaviors and attack pat...

Two openings for APT researchers in my team just went live today:

Senior APT Threat Researcher (https://proofpoint.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/ProofpointCareers/job/California/Senior-APT-Threat-Researcher--Remote---Anywhere-in-the-US-or-Canada-_R9604)

Staff APT Threat Researcher (https://proofpoint.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/ProofpointCareers/job/California/Staff-APT-Threat-Researcher--Remote---Anywhere-in-the-US-or-Canada-_R9605)

Elevator pitch: full remote USA/Canada, the job is to team up with the other team members to hunt for state-aligned activity in the richest email-centric telemetry I know of in the whole security vendor space. You will triage, cluster, analyze and attribute suspected state-aligned activity to generate top-of-the-line threat intelligence and have a real day-to-day impact in keeping Proofpoint customers safe.

Of course there is much more to tell about these positions, have a look at the full postings for the full details. Feel free to DM with any questions!
#hiring #jobs #cti #threatintelligence #apt #threatresearch

Senior APT Threat Researcher (Remote - Anywhere in the US or Canada)

It's fun to work in a company where people truly BELIEVE in what they're doing! We're committed to bringing passion and customer focus to the business. The Role As a Proofpoint Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) researcher, you will spend time searching through data looking for threats, analyzing them, and making that information meaningful to our customers. Leveraging Proofpoint data, common threat intelligence data providers, information from trust groups, and other sources, you will be responsible for covering the threat landscape with a focus on state aligned threats in specific regions of interest as assigned by the APT team manager. As an APT specialist you’ll communicate your findings to various groups including customers, fellow threat researchers and teams who create detections in our products. You will also have the opportunity to present your research at public and private industry conferences. You’ll be a part of a team of dynamic and creative threat researchers focused on the threat landscape, finding threats, understanding them, and using that knowledge to improve our products and protect our customers. Making APT landscape research visible and useful for our customers is a large part of this role. · Monitor and analyze threat intelligence sources to stay abreast of new threats and tactics. · Collect, process, and disseminate intelligence to stakeholders in a timely and actionable manner. · Develop and maintain relationships with external organizations to improve information sharing and collaboration. · Identify gaps in collection, recommend, and participate in the implementation of solutions to fill those gaps. · Produce intelligence reports and technical briefings on current and emerging threats for various audiences: Proofpoint executives, public blogs and Proofpoint customers (including our APT Threat Intelligence customers) · Use excellent analytical skills to work in a diverse team environment, exchanging ideas and data with developers, support, product managers, and customers. Your day-to-day • Hunt in Proofpoint’s proprietary telemetry sources to identify and cluster state aligned cyber espionage activity. • Analyze APT-related attack chains, including phishing, malware and threat data from internal and external sources, with a focus on activity that has an email component. • Provide threat detection findings to detection teams as they create and deploy detections in our products • Occasionally conduct dynamic and static malware analysis on samples obtained from our customer data and threat hunting activity to assist in signature development • Piece together malicious campaigns, threat actors, and unattributed activity • Prepare APT activity notification reports for impacted customers • Generate intelligence to support Proofpoint’s mission to protect our customers • Create and present written deliverables to multiple audiences, both external and internal. • Present complex technical topics to senior management, internal stakeholders, our customers, and peers • Expand upon existing intelligence to build profiles of tracked Threat Actors • Collaborate on research projects with the wider threat research team What you bring to the team • A empathetic approach to collaboration and a flexible attitude, ready to work with a close knit team passionate about disrupting adversaries • A well-rounded understanding of the current APT threat landscape in general • Direct experience tracking apex cyber espionage actors of any region, familiarity with their TTPs and key features that can be used for attribution. • Strong knowledge of Cyber Threat Intelligence principles to include indicators of compromise (IOC) types, indicator pivoting and indicator attribution strength. • Skills to profile and track APT actors efficiently, including Yara, infrastructure tracking, reverse engineering capabilities, indicator pivoting techniques and enough experience with a scripting language to automate various aspects of your work • The ability to make a hypothesis based on your threat research, prove or disprove it using our data, and communicate that information to our customers or internal stakeholders • Ability to comfortably communicate directly with customers and the security community • Experience with Network and Host malware detection engineering • Excellent interpersonal, organizational, writing, communications, and briefing skills • Motivation to dig through internal and open-source data to find threat information and use it to provide value to customers • Experience with various technologies used for hunting in big data sets Nice to have • Formal university-level education in computer science, computer security or another related discipline, or equivalent certifications and/or work experience • Information security community experience; a blog, website, published papers, conference presentations, or other experience on the public side of the security field • Experience working remotely for a large information security vendor • Familiarity with email delivery mechanisms (DNS, SMTP, etc) & common email formats (RFC822 headers, MIME) • Familiarity with email-borne threats and related analysis techniques • Familiarity with Suricata or Snort • Familiarity with interpreting malware sandboxing reports • Amazing presentation skills #LI-EC1 #LI-Remote If you like wild growth and working with happy, enthusiastic over-achievers, you'll enjoy your career with us! Consistent with Proofpoint values and applicable law, we provide the following information to promote pay transparency and equity. Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.S. geographic markets, and we pay differently based on those defined markets as set out below. Pay within these ranges varies and depends on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The actual offer will be based on the individual candidate. The range provided may represent a candidate range and may not reflect the full range for an individual tenured employee. This role may be eligible for variable pay and/or equity. We offer a competitive benefits package that includes flexible time off, a robust well-being program that provides for 4 global wellbeing days per year, and a 3-week work from anywhere option. Base Pay Ranges: SF Bay Area, New York City Metro Area: Base Pay Range: 157,650.00 - 231,220.00 USD California (excludes SF Bay Area), Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Washington DC Metro, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas, Washington, Virginia, and Alaska: Base Pay Range: 129,000.00 - 189,200.00 USD All other cities and states excluding those listed above: Base Pay Range: 117,600.00 - 172,480.00 USD Proofpoint thrives on the invaluable contributions of our diverse workforce, which encompasses a kaleidoscope of lived experiences, thoughts, perspectives, and professional expertise. We attribute much of our success to our people, who are at the core of our organization and embody our people-centric ethos. We hire the most innovative minds globally to safeguard our customers’ sensitive data and intellectual property. Our talented workforce develops and leverages our advanced technology, combining their expertise to provide comprehensive protection against threat actors and mitigate the risks posed by both malicious and negligent employees. Cyberattacks have the potential to disrupt access to vital resources such as energy, water, transportation, healthcare, and financial services. At Proofpoint, our dedicated team works tirelessly to ensure world-class cyber resilience, protecting approximately 8,000 enterprise customers worldwide. We are committed to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment. We work every day to ensure that our employees feel that they are in a community that celebrates their unique identity, cultivates their sense of belonging, and invests in their professional growth. We have 9 employee-led employee inclusion groups which help support both employees and our organization by providing opportunities to network, discuss career and cultural development and uplift the corporate culture to create a more inclusive workplace. At Proofpoint, we have a passion for protecting people, data, and brands from today’s advanced threats and compliance risks. We hire the best people in the business to: Build and enhance our proven security platform Blend innovation and speed in a constantly evolving cloud architecture Analyze new threats and offer deep insight through data-driven intel Collaborate with customers to help solve their toughest security challenges   We are singularly devoted to helping our customers protect what matters most. That’s why we’re a leader in next-generation cybersecurity—and why more than half of the Fortune 100 trust us as a security partner. Proofpoint is an equal opportunity employer, we hire without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status or disability.

Dan Goodin's reporting here confirms what I suspected: FBI Denver's warning about juice jacking was based on bullshit. Not any new known case/s.

https://infosec.exchange/@dangoodin/110188301817196614

Dan Goodin (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image Sigh. Let's see if y'all can play along at home: The FCC and the FBI's Denver field office are both warning people to beware of Juice Jacking attacks at airports and other public places. Both cite "cybersecurity experts." https://www.fcc.gov/juice-jacking-dangers-public-usb-charging-stations An FBI spox told me the Denver field office warning was reporting information from the FCC. An FCC spox said its information came from a 2019 NYT article, but that the agency has received consumer complaints of juice jacking.The NYT article cited a warning from the LA DA's office. The DA's post was taken down in December 2021, a couple weeks after @[email protected] reported DA officials had no cases and could point to no cases of it happening. Even though the the LA DA's warning was depublished ~18 months ago and the FCC spox can't name a single cybersecurity expert issuing such warnings, there are no plans to correct the post and no mechanism for the public to challenge the warning.

Infosec Exchange
#Botconf2023 the live feed is back online on this direct link :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6ccbSs2QAE
Diffusion en direct de botconf eu

YouTube
‎DISCARDED: Tales From the Threat Research Trenches: New Year, New Threats: Prepping for the 2023 Threat Landscape on Apple Podcasts

‎Show DISCARDED: Tales From the Threat Research Trenches, Ep New Year, New Threats: Prepping for the 2023 Threat Landscape - Jan 24, 2023

Apple Podcasts
Rumors suggest that the New York Times’ refusal to acknowledge anyone else’s reporting make it arrogant, offensive and wrong.

@m4iler @maldr0id there is a site to track that behavior, aptly called plaintext offenders!

https://plaintextoffenders.com/

Plain Text Offenders

Did you just email me back my own password?!

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@ciubotaruoa I'm still there! Maybe not for long though, crazy elon

twitter.com/adorais