ARS VBSLoader Remote Access Trojan

A newly observed remote access trojan, ARS VBSLoader, has been seen targeting European industrial and financial organisations.

Threat ID:: CC-2278
Category:: Trojan
Threat Severity:: Medium
Threat Vector:: Email spam, Phishing
Published:: 19 April 2018 12:00 AM

Report a cyber attack: call 0300 303 5222 or email [email protected]

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Summary

A newly observed remote access trojan, ARS VBSLoader, has been seen targeting European industrial and financial organisations.

Affected platforms

The following platforms are known to be affected:

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows - All versions

Threat details

ARS VBSLoader is delivered via malicious email attachments distributed by spam and phishing campaigns. It is written entirely in VBScript, making it difficult for anti-virus products to detect.

Once installed ARS VBSLoader creates several entries in the registry, scheduled tasks list and startup folder to maintain persistence. It will then collect information of the system and user before sending this to a command and control server. ARS VBSLoader has numerous capabilities including:

Uploading, downloading and executing files.
Stealing credentials.
Participating in application-layer denial-of-service attacks.

Remediation advice

To prevent and detect a trojan infection, ensure that:

Remediation steps

Type	Step
	A robust program of education and awareness training is delivered to users to ensure they don’t open attachments or follow links within unsolicited emails. All operating systems, anti-virus and other security products are kept up-to-date. All day-to-day computer activities such as email and internet are performed using non-administrative accounts. Strong password policies are in place and password reuse is discouraged. Network, proxy and firewall logs should be monitored for suspicious activity. User accounts accessed from affected devices should be reset on a clean computer.

Type

Step

A robust program of education and awareness training is delivered to users to ensure they don’t open attachments or follow links within unsolicited emails.
All operating systems, anti-virus and other security products are kept up-to-date.
All day-to-day computer activities such as email and internet are performed using non-administrative accounts.
Strong password policies are in place and password reuse is discouraged.
Network, proxy and firewall logs should be monitored for suspicious activity.
User accounts accessed from affected devices should be reset on a clean computer.

Last edited: 17 February 2020 12:38 pm