#Lazarus group password

Disk Wiping: Lazarus previously used wipers for disruption and sabotage.Their backdoor KLIPOD, on the other hand, receives its C2 server as a command line argument.

#Lazarus group password

The installer of the Nestegg framework, for example, requires a password as an argument along with other switches. Aside from separating the components, they also require specific arguments for execution.

Command line tools: Lazarus, again via Bluenoroff, makes use of command line backdoors and installers.Separation of components: In the later years of Lazarus operations, particularly operations related to the Bluenoroff subgroup, they made use of component separation for their malware.Lazarus also employed some anti-forensics techniques in their operations, which include: However, during their actual attacks, we have seen them deploy both protected and unprotected versions of their tools on the same target: Lazarus makes use of commercially available protectors for its tools. While the objectives of these attacks vary from sabotage to financial gain, Lazarus did put some effort to misdirect attribution efforts towards other entities. While it is possible that Lazarus has members from different countries, the Romanized Russian words do not appear to be written by a native speaker, and arguably used for misdirection. One example is the KLIPOD backdoor, which uses Romanized Russian words for its backdoor commands.

Lazarus also plants false flags inside their tools as another misdirection technique. They also tried to emulate the modus operandi of hacktivists by defacing web pages and leaking information. Some operations were disguised as hacktivist activities, with groups such as 'GOP,' 'WhoAmI,' and 'New Romanic Army' claiming responsibility for these alleged hacktivism attacks. Lazarus also included misdirection on some of their campaigns. DESTOVER, a backdoor equipped with wiping capabilities, is another example. These include KILLMBR with a hard-coded wiping date, and QDDOS, which has duration date that wipes data ten days after infection. The disruptive operations performed by Lazarus involve DDOS attacks and Wipers with time-based triggers. Here are some examples of the group's objectives, tools, and procedures: The group is fairly versatile as well, as they use a wide variety of tools and tactics to perform their attacks. Lazarus and its various subgroups will typically perform disruption and misdirection operations as part of their objectives. The chart below shows a timeline of the group’s activities and objectives over the years.įigure 1: Timeline of Lazarus Group activitiesĪ quick glance at the timeline of the group’s activities provides clues on the way they operate. They are responsible for a wide array of financial theft incidents, including the aforementioned attack on a Bangladeshi bank.Ī subgroup focused on South Korean organizations and businesses using specifically tailored methods created for maximum effectivity. The organization also has “spin-off” groups, which focus on specific kinds of attacks and targets:Ī subgroup focused on attacking foreign financial institutions. The Lazarus group has had multiple operations over the years, most of which involve either disruption, sabotage, financial theft or espionage. Recently, the group was seen expanding into cryptocurrency attacks, with the use of the RATANKBA malware to target cryptocurrency companies Two of the group's most notable campaigns include the 2014 Sony hack, which involved sensitive company and personal information, and the 2016 Bangladeshi bank attack that stole millions of dollars from the financial institution. Ever since their first attacks, which involved DDoS operations against various organizations across different industries, the group has managed to step up their attacks even further. What do the 2014 Sony hack and the 2016 Bangladeshi bank attacks have in common? Aside from being two of the most noteworthy cybercrime incidents of the past few years, these seemingly unrelated attacks are tied together by a common thread: their perpetrator, a cybercrime group called Lazarus.įew cybercrime groups throughout history have had as much disruptive power and lasting impact as the Lazarus Group.