SUNBURST

Malware Profile Updated 8 days ago
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Sunburst is a sophisticated malware that has been linked to the Kazuar code, indicating its complexity. It was used in several well-known cyber attack campaigns such as SUNBURST, OilRig, xHunt, DarkHydrus, and Decoy Dog, which employed DNS tunneling techniques for command and control (C2) communication. This strategy allowed threat actors to bypass network security measures by encapsulating C2 traffic within DNS protocols. The Sunburst campaign came to light when cybersecurity firm FireEye, now part of Trellix, announced it had been compromised via SolarWinds' Orion platform. The Sunburst malware was notably used in the 2020 attack targeting SolarWinds products. In this incident, threat actors exploited an unremediated VPN vulnerability to access SolarWinds' internal systems in January 2019. They managed to avoid detection for nearly two years, during which they inserted malicious code, leading to the Sunburst cyberattack. The attack was attributed to APT29, also known as Nobelium, which is believed to be associated with Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, the SVR. This group was previously implicated in the 2015 attack against the American Democratic National Committee. In response to the Sunburst attack, SolarWinds claimed to have made accurate disclosures both before and after the incident. The company stated that it had promptly disclosed key facts about the attack and its severity, including the potential risk of compromise for up to 18,000 customers, and cooperated with investigations launched by the FBI and U.S. intelligence community. Despite these efforts, SolarWinds faced legal challenges related to the incident, including a lawsuit filed by the SEC, which the company moved to dismiss. The aftermath of the Sunburst supply chain attack led to increased measures to bolster the nation’s cybersecurity, including Executive Order 14028 issued by the Biden administration.
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Possible Aliases / Cluster overlaps
It's hard to track cluster overlaps and naming conventions between vendors, so here are some possible overlapping names / profiles you also may want to look at.
IDVotesProfile Description
Solorigate
2
Solorigate, also known as SUNBURST, is a sophisticated malware that was used in a series of cyberattacks in 2021. The malware was discovered to have been implanted into the SolarWinds Orion software through a supply-chain compromise, which Microsoft initially dubbed as "Solorigate". This allowed the
OilRig
2
OilRig is a well-known threat actor in the cybersecurity landscape, notorious for its sophisticated attacks on various targets, including Middle Eastern telecommunications organizations and Israel's critical infrastructure sector. This entity has been linked to several high-profile campaigns such as
SUPERNOVA
2
SUPERNOVA is a potent and novel malware, as reported by FireEye during the SolarWinds compromise. It stands out due to its in-memory execution, sophistication in parameters and execution, and flexibility by implementing a full programmatic API to the .NET runtime. This malware compiles parameters on
TEARDROP
2
Teardrop is a sophisticated malware used in cyber attacks, often associated with APT29/Cozy Bear, a group known for deploying advanced tactics and techniques. It has been linked to the Solorigate (SUNBURST) backdoor and is part of a suite of tools including Raindrop, GoldMax, and others used by the
xHunt
1
The xHunt campaign is a series of related cyber activities with a unified goal, similar to other well-known campaigns such as DarkHydrus, OilRig, SUNBURST, and Decoy Dog. These campaigns are known for their use of DNS tunneling for command and control (C2) communications, a method which allows data
DarkHydrus
1
DarkHydrus is a notable threat actor known for executing malicious activities. The group has been associated with several well-known campaigns including DarkHydrus, OilRig, xHunt, SUNBURST, and Decoy Dog. These campaigns have leveraged DNS tunneling for Command and Control (C2) communications, a tec
SUNSPOT
1
Sunspot is a sophisticated and novel malware associated with the SolarWinds intrusion that occurred in December 2020. This malicious software, linked to COZY BEAR (also known as APT29 or "The Dukes"), infiltrates systems undetected, often through suspicious downloads, emails, or websites. Once insid
Miscellaneous Associations
Other elements of context that could aid in the identification of relevance
Backdoor
Solarwinds
Malware
Vulnerability
DNS
Microsoft
Exploit
Sec
Windows
Source
Fraud
Vpn
Phishing
Reconnaissance
State Sponso...
xHunt
Payload
Proxy
Antivirus
Azure
Teamcity
CISA
Exploits
Pypi
Linux
Remote Code ...
Log4j
Ransomware
Webshell
Outlook
Trojan
Loader
Cobalt Strike
Implant
exploitation
Beacon
Github
Apt
Moveit
Malwarebytes
Espionage
Associated Malware
To see the evidence that has resulted in this association, create a free account
IDTypeVotesProfile Description
Kazuaris related to
6
Kazuar is a sophisticated multiplatform trojan horse malware, linked to the Russian-based threat group Turla (also known as Pensive Ursa, Uroburos, Snake), which has been operating since at least 2004. This group, believed to be connected to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), utilizes an ar
GoldMaxUnspecified
2
GoldMax is a sophisticated malware, initially discovered to target Windows platforms with the earliest identified timestamp indicating a compilation in May 2020. The malicious software was designed by threat actors to exploit and damage computer systems, often infiltrating without the user's knowled
TomirisUnspecified
2
Tomiris is a malicious software (malware) group that has been active since before 2019. Known for its use of the QUIETCANARY backdoor, Tomiris has expanded its capabilities and influence within the region, targeting government entities and other high-value targets. The group has shown a particular i
Decoy DogUnspecified
1
Decoy Dog is a notorious malware that utilizes DNS tunneling for Command and Control (C2) operations, similar to well-known campaigns like DarkHydrus, OilRig, xHunt, and SUNBURST. This malware uses the underlying tunneling tool Pupy, which applies the character '9' as padding when encoding data. Fir
MamadogsUnspecified
1
None
CrimsonboxUnspecified
1
None
RaindropUnspecified
1
Raindrop is a type of malware discovered during the Solorigate investigation, along with other malicious software such as TEARDROP, SUNBURST, and various custom loaders for the Cobalt Strike beacon. These malware types, including Raindrop, are likely generated using custom Artifact Kit templates. Ra
SunshuttleUnspecified
1
Sunshuttle is a malicious software (malware) that has been linked to various cyber threats. Initial reports identified connections between Sunshuttle, a Tomiris Golang implant, NOBELIUM (also known as APT29 or TheDukes), and Kazuar, which is associated with Turla. However, interpreting these connect
Associated Threat Actors
To see the evidence that has resulted in this association, create a free account
IDTypeVotesProfile Description
NOBELIUMUnspecified
3
Nobelium, a threat actor linked to Russia's SVR, has been actively targeting French diplomatic entities as part of its cyber-espionage activities. The Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) group has utilized sophisticated techniques such as phishing and attempts to install Cobalt Strike, an advanced malw
APT29Unspecified
3
APT29, also known as Cozy Bear, SVR group, BlueBravo, Nobelium, Midnight Blizzard, and The Dukes, is a threat actor linked to Russia. This group is notorious for its malicious activities in the cybersecurity realm, executing actions with harmful intent. It has been associated with several high-profi
TurlaUnspecified
2
Turla, also known as Pensive Ursa, is a sophisticated threat actor linked to Russia that has been active for many years. The group is known for its advanced cyber-espionage capabilities and has been associated with numerous high-profile breaches. According to the MITRE ATT&CK and MITRE Ingenuity dat
PensiveUnspecified
1
Pensive Ursa, also known as Turla or Uroburos, is a Russian-based threat group that has been active since at least 2004 and is linked to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). The group employs advanced and stealthy tools like Kazuar, a .NET backdoor used as a second stage payload. In 2023, Pen
Pensive UrsaUnspecified
1
Pensive Ursa, also known as Turla, Uroburos, Venomous Bear, and Waterbug, is a Russian-based advanced persistent threat (APT) group that has been operating since at least 2004. The group, linked to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), is renowned for its sophisticated cyber-espionage activiti
SolarStormUnspecified
1
SolarStorm is a threat actor group known for executing actions with malicious intent. Notable among their operations was the 2020 attack on SolarWinds Orion software, which was a sophisticated supply-chain attack that compromised the company's software updates, resulting in malware being served to i
UNC2452Unspecified
1
UNC2452, also known as APT29, Cozy Bear, Nobelium, and Midnight Blizzard, is a highly skilled and disciplined threat actor group linked to Russia's SVR intelligence agency. The group gained notoriety for its role in the SolarWinds compromise in December 2020, an extensive cyberattack that involved a
StellarParticleUnspecified
1
StellarParticle, a threat actor associated with the COZY BEAR adversary group, has been identified as a significant cybersecurity risk by CrowdStrike. StellarParticle is known for its extensive knowledge of Windows and Linux operating systems, Microsoft Azure, O365, and Active Directory, and it has
Associated Vulnerabilities
To see the evidence that has resulted in this association, create a free account
IDTypeVotesProfile Description
Log4ShellUnspecified
1
Log4Shell is a software vulnerability, specifically a flaw in the design or implementation of the popular Java logging library, Log4j. Identified as CVE-2021-44228, this vulnerability allows an attacker to remotely execute arbitrary code, often leading to full system compromise. Advanced Persistent
Source Document References
Information about the SUNBURST Malware was read from the documents corpus below. This display is limited to 20 results, create a free account to see more
SourceCreatedAtTitle
InfoSecurity-magazine
7 days ago
Sunburst: US Judge Dismisses Most SEC Charges Against SolarWinds
DARKReading
8 days ago
Sizable Chunk of SEC Charges Vs. SolarWinds Dismissed
InfoSecurity-magazine
a month ago
French Diplomatic Entities Targeted by Russian-Aligned Nobelium
Unit42
2 months ago
Leveraging DNS Tunneling for Tracking and Scanning
DARKReading
3 months ago
SolarWinds 2024: Where Do Cyber Disclosures Go from Here?
CERT-EU
4 months ago
White House adds teeth to secure software development requirements
DARKReading
6 months ago
SolarWinds Files Motion to Dismiss SEC Lawsuit
BankInfoSecurity
6 months ago
SolarWinds Requests Court Dismiss Regulator's Fraud Case
CERT-EU
6 months ago
Cyber Safety Review Board needs stronger authorities, more independence, experts say
CERT-EU
7 months ago
The JetBrains TeamCity software supply chain attack: Lessons learned
CERT-EU
7 months ago
Cyber risk strategies in hot seat as SEC rules go live
DARKReading
7 months ago
Adapting to the Post-SolarWinds Era: Supply Chain Security in 2024
MITRE
7 months ago
Assembling the Russian Stacking Doll: UNC2452 Merged into APT29
MITRE
7 months ago
SolarStorm Supply Chain Attack Timeline
CERT-EU
8 months ago
Securities and Exchange Commission Civil Suit Against SolarWinds | #hacking | #cybersecurity | #infosec | #comptia | #pentest | #ransomware | National Cyber Security Consulting
CERT-EU
8 months ago
Limiting Remote Access Exposure in Hybrid Work Environments
CERT-EU
8 months ago
New SEC Disclosure Rules Can Help Cybersecurity: Lessons from SolarWinds - IT Governance USA Blog
CERT-EU
9 months ago
SEC charges SolarWinds and CISO with securities fraud and control failures
CERT-EU
8 months ago
Federal Government Continues Its Big Push for Cybersecurity with SEC Action Against SolarWinds and Its CISO
CERT-EU
8 months ago
SEC Turning Up the Heat: SolarWinds and Its CISO Charged with Fraud Regarding Cyber-related Disclosures