LockBit affiliates are using phishing emails to install the Amadey bot to take control of a device and encrypt it.
The malicious software is for sale on illegal forums, and the threat is aimed at companies with phishing emails disguised as job offers or copyright infringement notices.
ASEC researchers discovered Amadey malware distributed by SmokeLoader in July that was hidden in software cracks and serial generation programs available on several websites.
In one of the distribution cases, the threat actors used a malicious Word document called “Sia Sim.docx” It downloads a Word file that contains a malicious VBA macro, and the body of the text contains an image that asks the user to click “Enable Content” to enable the VBA macro.
The text contains an image that asks the user to click “Enable content” to activate the VBA macro, which then executes a PowerShell command to download and execute Amadey. The malicious Microsoft Word document (“.docx”) was uploaded to VirusTotal on October 28, 2022.
In a second distribution method, the threat actors disguised the Amadey malware as a seemingly harmless Word file, but in fact it is an executable (“Resume.exe”). The file is distributed via phishing emails, but ASEC has yet to identify the email used as a lure. Amadey registers with the task scheduler after installation to gain persistence, connects to the C&C server, sends the default information of the infected system, and receives commands.
The sources for this piece include an article in BleepingComputer.