Russian State-Backed ‘Infamous Chisel’ Android Malware Targets Ukrainian Military

Cybersecurity and intelligence agencies from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.K., and the U.S. on Thursday disclosed details of a mobile malware strain targeting Android devices used by the Ukrainian military.

The malicious software, dubbed Infamous Chisel and attributed to a Russian state-sponsored actor called Sandworm, has capabilities to “enable unauthorized access to compromised devices, scan files, monitor traffic, and periodically steal sensitive information.”

Some aspects of the malware were uncovered by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) earlier in August, highlighting unsuccessful attempts on part of adversaries to penetrate Ukrainian military networks and gather valuable intelligence.

Sandworm, also known by the names FROZENBARENTS, Iron Viking, Seashell Blizzard, and Voodoo Bear, refers to the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate’s (GRU) Main Centre for Special Technologies (GTsST).

Active since at least 2014, the hacking crew is best known for its string of disruptive and destructive cyber campaigns using malware such as Industroyer, BlackEnergy, and NotPetya.

In July 2023, Google-owned Mandiant said that the malicious cyber operations of GRU adhere to a playbook that offers tactical and strategic benefits, enabling the threat actors to adapt swiftly to a “fast-paced and highly contested operating environment” and at the same time maximize the speed, scale, and intensity without getting detected.

Infamous Chisel is described as a collection of multiple components that’s designed with the intent to enable remote access and exfiltrate information from Android phones.

Besides scanning the devices for information and files matching a predefined set of file extensions, the malware also contains functionality to periodically scan the local network and offer SSH access.

“Infamous Chisel also provides remote access by configuring and executing TOR with a hidden service which forwards to a modified Dropbear binary providing a SSH connection,” the Five Eyes (FVEY) intelligence alliance said.

A brief description of each of the modules is as follows –

• netd – Collate and exfiltrate information from the compromised device at set intervals, including from app-specific…