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The HELLCAT ransomware group has intensified its cyberattacks, compromising four major organizations—HighWire Press, Asseco Poland, Racami, LLC, and LeoVegas Group—by exploiting stolen Jira (Atlassian) credentials obtained through Infostealer malware. The attackers exfiltrated sensitive internal files and financial records, deploying extortion tactics with countdown timers.
This follows HELLCAT’s prior breaches at Jaguar Land Rover, Orange, and Schneider Electric, all traced to Infostealer-harvested credentials. Proactive Infostealer monitoring could mitigate such risks.
Read the full analysis: https://lnkd.in/d4eq5VwF
Learn how to protect your organization: www.hudsonrock.com
You Should Know: Detecting and Preventing Infostealer Attacks
1. Identify Infostealer Activity
Use these commands to detect credential theft:
- Linux:
grep -r "jira" /home//.config/ /home//.local/share/ Search for stolen Jira creds journalctl -u ssh --no-pager | grep "Failed password" Check SSH brute-force attempts
- Windows (PowerShell):
Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{LogName='Security'; ID=4625} | Select-Object -First 10 Failed logins
2. Secure Jira/Atlassian Instances
- Enforce MFA:
Use Atlassian API to enforce MFA (example): curl -u admin:password -X PUT -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"enabled": true}' https://your-jira-instance/rest/api/2/mfa
- Block Suspicious IPs:
iptables -A INPUT -s 123.456.789.0/24 -j DROP Replace with attacker IP range
3. Monitor for Data Exfiltration
- Detect Large Outbound Transfers:
iftop -i eth0 Real-time network traffic monitoring netstat -anp | grep ESTABLISHED | awk '{print $5}' | cut -d: -f1 | sort | uniq -c Active connections
4. Ransomware Mitigation
- Isolate Infected Systems:
systemctl stop smbd nmbd Stop Samba shares if compromised
- Restore from Backups:
rsync -avz /backup/ /home/ Example restore command
What Undercode Say
HELLCAT’s reliance on Infostealers underscores the critical need for credential hygiene. Key takeaways:
1. Log Auditing: Regularly check `/var/log/auth.log` (Linux) or Event Viewer (Windows) for anomalous logins.
2. Network Segmentation: Use iptables
/nftables
to restrict lateral movement.
3. Endpoint Detection: Tools like `chkrootkit` or `rkhunter` can identify malware persistence.
4. Windows Hardening: Disable WScript with reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Script Host\Settings" /v "Enabled" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
.
Expected Output: A hardened infrastructure with active Infostealer monitoring and automated alerting on credential leaks.
References:
Reported By: Alon Gal – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅