Again, NCC Alerts of Hacking Group Targeting Telcos, ISPs
Tuesday, November 16, 2021 / 09:39 AM / by
NCC / Header Image Credit: Tech Edge
In keeping with its commitment to continuously keep
stakeholders in the country’s telecoms sector informed, educated, and protected,
the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) wishes to, once again, notify the
public of the existence of another hacking group orchestrating cyberespionage
in the African telecoms space.
An Iranian hacking group known as Lyceum (also known
as Hexane, Siamesekitten, or Spirlin) has been reported to be targeting
telecoms, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Ministries of Foreign Affairs
(MFA) in Africa with upgraded malware in a recent politically motivated attacks
oriented in cyberespionage.
Information about this cyber attack is contained in
the latest advisory issued by the Nigerian Computer Emergency Response Team
(ngCERT). The ngCERT rated the probability and damage level of the new malware
as high.
According to the advisory, the hacking group is known
to be focused on infiltrating the networks of telecoms companies and ISPs.
Between July and October 2021, Lyceum was implicated in attacks against ISPs
and telecoms organisations in Israel, Morocco, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia.
The advanced persistent threat (APT) group has been
linked to campaigns that hit Middle Eastern oil and gas companies in the past.
Now, the group appears to have expanded its focus to the technology sector. In
addition, the APT is responsible for a campaign against an unnamed African
government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
By the attackers’ mode of operation, Lyceum’s initial
onslaught vectors include credential stuffing and brute-force attacks. So, once
a victim’s system is compromised, the attackers conduct surveillance on
specific targets. In that mode, Lyceum will attempt to deploy two different
kinds of malware: Shark and Milan (known together as James).
Both malware are backdoors. Shark, a 32-bit executable
written in C# and .NET, generates a configuration file for domain name system
(DNS) tunneling or Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) C2 communications;
whereas Milan – a 32-bit Remote Access Trojan (RAT) retrieves data.
Source…
NCC Raises The Alarm Over New Malware Attacking Android Devices
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has alerted telecom consumers and the general public that a new Android malware that can be used to attack Android devices has been discovered.
According to a statement issued yesterday by the NCC director of public affairs, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, the malware, named ‘AbstractEmu’, can gain access to smartphones, take complete control of infected smartphones and silently modify device settings while simultaneously taking steps to evade detection.
This discovery was announced recently by the Nigerian Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT), the national agency established by the federal government to manage the risks of cyber threats in the Nigeria, which also coordinates incident response and mitigation strategies to proactively prevent cyber-attacks against Nigeria
AbstractEmu has been found to be distributed via Google Play Store and third-party stores such as the Amazon Appstore and the Samsung Galaxy Store, as well as other lesser-known marketplaces like Aptoide and APKPure.
The advisory stated that a total of 19 Android applications that posed as utility apps and system tools like password managers, money managers, app launchers and data saving apps have been reported to contain the rooting functionality of the malware.
“The apps are said to have been prominently distributed via third-party stores such as the Amazon Appstore and the Samsung Galaxy Store, as well as other lesser-known marketplaces like Aptoide and APKPure. The apps include All Passwords, Anti-ads Browser, Data Saver, Lite Launcher, My Phone, Night Light and Phone Plus, among others,” the statement said.
According to the report, rooting malware although rare, is very dangerous. By using the rooting process to gain privileged access to the Android operating system, the threat actor can silently grant itself dangerous permissions or install additional malware – steps that would normally require user interaction. Elevated privileges also give the malware access to other apps’ sensitive data, something not possible under normal circumstances.
The ngCERT advisory also captured the consequences of users making their devices susceptible to AbstractEmu…
NCC warns of new malware gaining control of smartphones
The Nigerian Communications Commission has said there is a new android malware gaining access to smartphones and taking control of infected phones.
In a statement signed by the commission’s Director, Public Affairs, Ikechukwu Adinde, the NCC said the malware is called AbstractEmu and can gain access to smartphones, take complete control of infected smartphones and silently modify device settings while simultaneously taking steps to evade detection.
According to the NCC, this discovery was made by the Nigerian Computer Emergency Response Team. The commission claimed that the malware is distributed through Google Play Store and other third-party stores.
The commission said, “AbstractEmu is distributed via Google Play Store and third-party stores such as the Amazon Appstore and the Samsung Galaxy Store, as well as other lesser-known marketplaces like Aptoide and APKPure.
“The advisory stated that a total of 19 Android applications that posed as utility apps and system tools like password managers, money managers, app launchers, and data saving apps have been reported to contain the rooting functionality of the malware.
“The apps are said to have been prominently distributed via the third-party stores and the apps include All Passwords, Anti-ads Browser, Data Saver, Lite Launcher, My Phone, Night Light and Phone Plus, among others.”
According to the commission, rooting malware is very dangerous, and uses the rooting process to gain privileged access to an android operating system.
The NCC added that once installed, the attack chain is designed to leverage one of five exploits for older Android security flaws that would allow it to gain root permissions.
The NCC said the malware will take over the device, install additional malware, extract sensitive data, and transmit to a remote attack-controlled server.
The commission said, “Additionally, the malware can modify the phone settings to give app ability to reset the device password, or lock the device, through device admin; draw over other windows; install other packages; access accessibility services; ignore battery optimisation; monitor notifications; capture screenshots; record device…
New malware, AbstractEmu attacking, destroying Android phones – NCC warns Nigerians
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has warned telecom consumers and the general public of a new Android malware that has been discovered.
According to the Commission, the malware, named ‘AbstractEmu’, can gain access to smartphones, take complete control of infected smartphones and silently modify device settings while simultaneously taking steps to evade detection.
In a statement made available to DAILY POST by Ikechukwu Adinde, the NCC Spokesman, said that this discovery was announced recently by the Nigerian Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT), the national agency established by the Federal Government to manage the risks of cyber threats in Nigeria, which also coordinates incident response and mitigation strategies to proactively prevent cyber-attacks against Nigeria
AbstractEmu, the NCC said has been found to be distributed via Google Play Store and third-party stores such as the Amazon Appstore and the Samsung Galaxy Store, as well as other lesser-known marketplaces like Aptoide and APKPure.
The advisory stated that a total of 19 Android applications that posed as utility apps and system tools like password managers, money managers, app launchers, and data saving apps have been reported to contain the rooting functionality of the malware.
The apps are said to have been prominently distributed via third-party stores such as the Amazon Appstore and the Samsung Galaxy Store, as well as other lesser-known marketplaces like Aptoide and APKPure. The apps include All Passwords, Anti-ads Browser, Data Saver, Lite Launcher, My Phone, Night Light and Phone Plus, among others.
According to the report, rooting malware although rare, is very dangerous. By using the rooting process to gain privileged access to the Android operating system, the threat actor can silently grant itself dangerous permissions or install additional malware – steps that would normally require user interaction. Elevated privileges also give the malware access to other apps’ sensitive data, something not possible under normal circumstances.
The ngCERT advisory also captured the consequences of making their devices susceptible to AbstractEmu attacks. Once installed, the attack chain is…