Iron Group Backdoor

The Iron cybercrime group has developed a backdoor that is used to install ransomware and mine cryptocurrency on affected systems.

Threat ID:: CC-2470
Category:
Threat Severity:: Low
Threat Vector:
Published:: 7 June 2018 12:00 AM

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Summary

The Iron cybercrime group has developed a backdoor that is used to install ransomware and mine cryptocurrency on affected systems.

Affected platforms

The following platforms are known to be affected:

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows - all versions

Threat details

At the time of publication it is not known how the backdoor is spread, but it is most likely to be via spam emails or malvertising. The Iron group is believed to be based in China.

When the malware is executed it installs a Windows service with the name helpsvc and an infected version of the Adblock Plus extension for the Chrome web browser. A scheduled task is created to launch Chrome as a background process whenever it is not running.

The malware attempts to obtain cryptocurrency by a range of means including mining, stealing wallet addresses and redirecting payments to the group's own wallet address. It also drops a version of the Maktub ransomware in an attempt to obtain cryptocurrency by extortion.

The group has developed anti-analysis features in the malware. It installs a fake root authority certificate to make the malware appear genuine, it obfuscates some function names and it refuses to install on some virtual machines.

Remediation advice

To prevent and detect an 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, antivirus 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 infected machines 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, antivirus 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 infected machines should be reset on a clean computer.

Last edited: 17 February 2020 12:45 pm