Crooks use PaperCut exploits to deliver Cl0p and LockBit ransomware

Microsoft revealed that recent attacks against PaperCut servers aimed at distributing Cl0p and LockBit ransomware.

Microsoft linked the recent attacks against PaperCut servers to a financially motivated threat actor tracked as Lace Tempest (formerly DEV-0950). The group is known to be an affiliate of the Clop ransomware RaaS affiliate, it has been linked to GoAnywhere attacks and Raspberry Robin infection. Since April 13, Lace Tempest added the PaperCut exploits to its arsenal.

In the attack observed by Microsoft, the group ran multiple PowerShell commands to deliver a TrueBot DLL, which connected to a C2 server, attempted to steal LSASS credentials, and injected the TrueBot payload into the conhost.exe service.

Then Lace Tempest dropped a Cobalt Strike Beacon implant, gathered additional information on the target environment, and used WMI for lateral movement. The group used the file-sharing app MegaSync for data exfiltration.

Microsoft is also monitoring a separate cluster of attacks exploiting PaperCut flaws to deliver the Lockbit ransomware. The company warns that other financially motivated groups could adopt a similar infection chain.

About the author: Vilius Petkauskas, Senior Journalist at CyberNews

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Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, PaperCut)

Pierluigi Paganini

Pierluigi Paganini is member of the ENISA (European Union Agency for Network and Information Security) Threat Landscape Stakeholder Group and Cyber G7 Group, he is also a Security Evangelist, Security Analyst and Freelance Writer. Editor-in-Chief at "Cyber Defense Magazine", Pierluigi is a cyber security expert with over 20 years experience in the field, he is Certified Ethical Hacker at EC Council in London. The passion for writing and a strong belief that security is founded on sharing and awareness led Pierluigi to find the security blog "Security Affairs" recently named a Top National Security Resource for US. Pierluigi is a member of the "The Hacker News" team and he is a writer for some major publications in the field such as Cyber War Zone, ICTTF, Infosec Island, Infosec Institute, The Hacker News Magazine and for many other Security magazines. Author of the Books "The Deep Dark Web" and “Digital Virtual Currency and Bitcoin”.