PUNCHTRACK

Punchtrack is a malicious software (malware) utilized by the cybercrime group FIN8 to exploit and damage computer systems, particularly Point-of-Sale (PoS) systems. This malware infiltrates systems through dubious downloads, emails, or websites, often unbeknownst to the user, with the intent to steal personal information, disrupt operations, or hold data for ransom. The FIN8 group, known for its use of sophisticated tools like Punchtrack and BADHATCH, has been active since 2016. They are notorious for their application of obfuscation and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) to remotely launch their POS-scraping malware, with the 2017 activity marking an early implementation of these evasion techniques. FireEye, a cybersecurity firm, has investigated numerous breaches instigated by FIN8 and discovered that the group had access to relatively advanced tools. These include a previously unknown elevation of privilege (EoP) exploit and an unnamed point of sale (POS) memory scraping tool referred to as PUNCHTRACK. Over the past year, this group has maintained a consistent modus operandi, using similar infrastructure, tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs). They are unique in their usage of the downloader PUNCHBUGGY and POS malware PUNCHTRACK. To mitigate the threat posed by Punchtrack and other associated malware, FireEye products and services identify this activity under various labels such as Exploit.doc.MVX, Malware.Binary.Doc, PUNCHBUGGY, Malware.Binary.exe, and PUNCHTRACK within their user interfaces. By identifying and understanding these threats, users can better protect their systems against potential breaches and minimize the risk of data theft.