StrifeWater

StrifeWater is a stealthy Remote Access Trojan (RAT) used in targeted ransomware attacks, primarily deployed by the Iranian APT group, Moses Staff. This malware has been identified as a key tool for initial infiltration and reconnaissance on compromised targets, with various capabilities including listing system files, executing system commands, taking screen captures, creating persistence, and downloading updates and auxiliary modules. StrifeWater is typically introduced into the system under the name "calc.exe" and has the unique ability to remove itself from the system to cover the tracks of the attackers, making it difficult for investigators to fully understand the attack flow. The deployment of StrifeWater appears to be part of a broader hacking operation conducted by Moses Staff, which involves exfiltrating data from targeted organizations using custom tools like PyDCrypt, DCSrv, and StrifeWater. The RAT distinguishes between types of data being sent to the command and control server (C2) using specific parameters, although the functionality of additional modules downloaded based on received commands remains unknown. It's suspected that StrifeWater is one of the main tools used to establish a foothold in victim environments, predominantly during the earlier stages of an attack. Cybereason's Nocturnus Team has been at the forefront of analyzing this previously unknown RAT, StrifeWater, and its role in targeted ransomware attacks. Their XDR Platform successfully detects and blocks StrifeWater RAT and other advanced tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used in these operations. Despite the stealthy nature of StrifeWater, Cybereason's efforts have provided valuable insights into the workings of this RAT and the broader operations of the Moses Staff group.