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Indian Users Targeted in Tax Phishing Campaign Delivering Blackmoon Malware

In a concerning development, cybersecurity researchers have uncovered an ongoing campaign targeting Indian users with sophisticated phishing emails impersonating the Income Tax Department to distribute malware and engage in cyber espionage. The activity, as detailed by eSentire Threat Response Unit (TRU), involves tricking victims into downloading a malicious archive containing Blackmoon, a banking trojan variant, and SyncFuture TSM, an enterprise tool.

Key Indicators:

• Phishing Email: Emulates Income Tax Department emails
• Malware Components: – Blackmoon banking trojan variant – SyncFuture TSM (Terminal Security Management) enterprise tool
• Domain Used for Malware Delivery: eaxwwyr[.]cn

Technical Details:

1. Phishing Email Construction: – Emails impersonate the Income Tax Department of India – Request for tax-related documents or penalties to be reviewed via attachments or embedded links
2. Malicious Archive Structure: – Contains five files, with only “Inspection Document Review.exe” visible externally – “180.exe,” a key payload, is downloaded from “eaxwwyr[.]cn”
3. Payload Execution and Persistence: – “180.exe” runs multiple batch scripts that modify user permissions on the Desktop and create custom directories – It uses COM-based techniques to sideload a malicious DLL present in the archive – The malware also modifies its own Process Environment Block (PEB) to masquerade as “explorer.exe” for stealth

Potential Mitigation Strategies:

• User Education: Regular phishing awareness training and case studies
• Security Software Upgrades: Latest antivirus software, including ones that support heuristic analysis
• Security Audits: Periodic security audits by independent third-party organizations to identify potential vulnerabilities in enterprise tools like SyncFuture TSM

Threat Intelligence Impact on Organizations:

1. Data Exfiltration Risk: Sensitive information such as financial records and business operations details may be stolen through phishing emails.
2. Persistence Mechanism: The deployment of SyncFuture TSM grants persistent access, enabling the threat actors to maintain remote control over compromised systems.

Summary:

This campaign underscores the importance of robust email security protocols, regular software audits, and user education in preventing such sophisticated cyber espionage activities. Organizations must remain vigilant against phishing tactics and continuously update their cybersecurity measures to protect against emerging threats like Blackmoon malware variants deployed via legitimate enterprise tools.

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