The Racoon Stealer is a relatively new form of malware that was first detected in April 2019. The malware is not sophisticated, it does not incorporate any never before seen features, in fact it is pretty unremarkable. The Racoon Stealer can take screenshots, harvest system information, monitor emails, and steal information from browsers, such as passwords, online banking credentials, and credit card numbers.
However, the malware is effective and very popular. In the past six months, the Racoon Stealer has been installed on hundreds of thousands of Windows devices and it is now one of the most talked about malware variants on underground forums.
What makes the Racoon Stealer stand out is a highly aggressive marketing campaign aimed at signing up as many affiliates as possible. Racoon is being marketed as malware-as-a-service on underground forums and affiliates can sign up to use the malware for a flat fee of $200 per month.
The information stealer can be used to steal a range of sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, and cryptocurrencies. Under this distribution model, affiliates do not have to develop their own malware, and little skill is required to start conducting campaigns. The malware developers are also providing bulletproof hosting and are available to give affiliates support 24/7/365, and the package comes with an easy to use backend system.
While the cost is certainly high compared to other malware-as-a-service and ransomware-as-a-service offerings, affiliates are likely to make that back and much more from the information that they can steal. There is no shortage of takers.
How is the Racoon Stealer Being Distributed?
Affiliates are distributing the Racoon Stealer via phishing emails containing Office and PDF files that incorporate code that downloads the Racoon payload. The information stealer has been bundled with software on third-party websites, although a large percentage of the infections come from exploit kits.
The Racoon Stealer has been added to both the Fallout and Rig exploit kits which are loaded onto compromised websites and attacker-owned domains. Traffic is sent to those sites via malicious adverts on third party ad networks (malvertising).
When a user lands on a webpage hosting an exploit kit, their device is probed for vulnerabilities that can be exploited. If a vulnerability is found it is exploited and the Racoon Stealer is silently downloaded.
Once installed, Racoon connects to its C2 server and the resources required to start stealing information are obtained, that information can be sold on darknet marketplaces or used by affiliates to conduct their own attacks.
Given the huge potential for profit, it is no surprise that malware developers are now opting for this business model. The problem is likely to get a lot worse before it gets better and the threat from these malware-as-a-service offerings is significant.
How to Block the Racoon Stealer and Other Web and Email Threats
Fortunately, there are steps that businesses can take to improve their defenses against these MaaS campaigns.
Exploit kits usually incorporate exploits for a small number of known vulnerabilities rather than zero-day vulnerabilities for which no patches have been released. To block these exploit kit attacks, businesses need to apply patches and update software promptly.
It is not always possible for businesses to apply patches promptly as extensive testing may be necessary before the patches can be applied. Some devices may be skipped – accidentally or deliberately due to compatibility issues. Those devices will remain vulnerable to attack.
Patching is important, but it will not stop drive-by malware downloads from the internet that do not involve exploit kits. What is therefore required is a web security solution that can block access to malicious sites and prevent downloads of risky file types.
A DNS filtering solution such as WebTitan provides an additional layer of security to block these web-based threats. Through a combination of blacklists, content control, and scanning websites for malicious content, businesses can protect themselves against web-based attacks. A DNS filter will also prevent employees from visiting websites used for phishing.
Blocking attacks that take place via email requires strong email security defenses. An advanced spam filter such as SpamTitan can prevent malicious emails and attachments from reaching end users’ inboxes. SpamTitan scans all incoming emails for malware using two anti-virus engines but is also effective at blocking zero-day threats. SpamTitan includes a Bitdefender-powered sandbox, where suspicious attachments are subjected to in-depth analysis to identify any potentially malicious actions.
With these two solutions in place, businesses will be well protected from malware threats and phishing attacks and managed service providers can ensure their environment and those of their clients are kept malware free.
To find out more about these two powerful anti-malware solutions and to discover why TitanHQ is the global leader in cloud-based email and web security for the managed service provider serving the SMB market, give the TitanHQ team a call.
The event will be attended by thousands of IT professionals, business owners, and industry leaders who will be discussing the IT industry, recent advances in information technology, and the latest trends affecting MSPs. The conference provides an excellent opportunity for learning, networking, and collaboration and boasts an extensive program of interactive sessions, keynotes, and in-depth training sessions. The event also showcases the latest IT solutions and provides tips and tricks to ensure every ounce of value is squeezed from those tools.
This year’s event promises to be bigger and better than ever before, thanks to an all-star cast of thought leaders and industry professionals who will provide practical advice to help you improve every aspect of your business.
Connect IT Europe covers the entire Kaseya universe and the diverse ecosystem of solutions that serve IT professionals. The conference will help attendees find new revenue streams, increase their profit margins, and simplify IT management through educational presentations, workshops, roundtables, and interactive challenges.
As the leading provider of cloud-based email and web security solutions for MSPs serving the SMB market, TitanHQ is proud to be a Silver sponsor of the event. Attendees will have the opportunity to discover why TitanHQ is the leading provider of cloud-based email and web security solutions for MSPs servicing the SMB marketplace and the features and benefits of SpamTitan email security, WebTitan DNS filtering, and ArcTitan email archiving that make the solutions such a hit with MSPs and IT professionals.
The event will be attended by TitanHQ Strategic Alliance Manager Marc Ludden and Alliances/MSP Partner Manager Eddie Monaghan. Marc and Eddie will be explaining the recently launched TitanShield program for MSPs and how TitanHQ solutions can help MSPs improve efficiency, profitability, and security of their operations and enhance their customers’ security postures.
If you would like further information on TitanHQ products, feel free to reach out to Marc and Eddie ahead of the event:
Eddie Monaghan, MSP Alliance Manager, LinkedIn
Marc Ludden, MSP Alliance Manager, LinkedIn
TitanHQ is proud to be a platinum sponsor of DattCon19, Paris – The leading event for MSPs looking to keep up to date on the latest industry trends, learn best practices, form new and profitable partnerships, and obtain invaluable advice that will help them grow their business and become more successful.
The event gives the TitanHQ team an opportunity to meet with leading MSPs, MSSPs, and ISPs and explain why TitanHQ is the global leader in cloud-based email and web security solutions for the MSP that services the SMB market.
The team will be available to explain the benefits of the TitanShield MSP program and show just how easy it is to integrate TitanHQ products into your service stacks and start rolling out spam filtering, web filtering, and email archiving to your customers… and the best way to sell those services, reduce the time you spend on providing support, and improve the profitability of your business.
The event will be attended by Rocco Donnino, TitanHQ VP of Strategic Partnerships, Marc Ludden, TitanHQ Strategic Alliance Manager, and Eddie Monaghan. Alliances/MSP Partner Manager.
On Tuesday October 22 between 11:15am and 11:35am, Rocco Donnino will be explaining Email & Web Security for the SMB Market. Rocco will talk about the trends TitanHQ are seeing in the email and web security for SMB markets globally, drawing on the experience from working with over 2,200 MSP customers worldwide.
Marc Ludden and Eddie Monaghan will be on hand to meet with MSPs and ISPs to explain the benefits of joining the TitanShield MSP Program and how best to take advantage of TitanHQ’s proven technology and deliver our advanced network security solutions directly to their client base. The pair will be helping MSP partners push TitanHQ products downstream to their customers and grow their businesses.
The event will be attended by more than 1000 MSPs, ITSPs, and industry leaders. Over the three days of the conference, attendees will get to hear from the most successful MSPs and MSSPs and discover what they are doing differently and how they are driving growth.
The sessions, keynotes, and networking opportunities will help you get better at running your business with Datto Solutions and discover how the addition of key products such as SpamTitan email security, WebTitan DNS filtering, and ArcTitan email archiving can improve profitability and add greater value.
The keynotes will be bigger and better than ever before and will be taken by 80 of the best and brightest business tycoons, MSPs, and Datto executives, who will share valuable real-world insights and best practices.
The Peer Forums are more intimate small-group roundtable sessions that provide high-value networking on key topics. These sessions are driven by attendees who will share pain points, success stories, and best practices that have been proven to help MSPs grow their business. This year’s Peer Forums are on the following topics:
Business Strategy
Service Delivery: Driving Efficiency & Automation
Selling Networking as a Managed Service
Women in Tech
French Language Peer Forum: Business Strategy
Service Delivery: Service Desk & Professional Services
M&A: How Do I Acquire or Be Acquired?
Security: Securing Your MSP First
German Language Peer Forum: Business Strategy
Service Delivery: Client Engagement & vCIO
Add to that the networking opportunities and the stunning location and you have an invaluable event that is not to be missed.
DattoCon19 Paris will be taking place on October 21st, 22nd and 23rd at the Palais des congrès de Paris, 2 Place de la Porte Maillot, 75017 Paris, France.
Malvertising is the term given to the abuse of ad networks to serve malicious adverts on legitimate websites that scam visitors by displaying popup ads or direct them to malicious websites hosting phishing forms or exploit code to silently deliver malware. Many website owners place third-party advertising blocks on their websites to increase revenue. While the ad networks have controls in place to prevent abuse, cybercriminals often succeed in bypassing those security measures.
One cybercriminal group has been particularly active over the past year and has been conducting attacks on a massive scale. Researchers at Confiant have been tracking the activity of the group – known as eGobbler – and report that the group delivered fake adverts on 500 million user sessions in Europe and the United States in the past week alone. The campaigns are on a truly massive scale. One of the latest campaigns, conducted between August 1 and September 23 involved around 1.16 billion ad impressions.
Typically, the criminals behind these campaigns target mobile users as the security protections on their devices are nowhere near as robust as on desktop computers; however, this campaign has targeted desktop users on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
Several content delivery networks have been used to serve the malicious adverts, which redirect users to websites that exploit two browser vulnerabilities to deliver their malicious payloads. The first is a bug in the Chrome browser – CVE-2019-5840 – which was patched by Google in June. The second is a zero-day vulnerability in WebKit, the browser engine used by old Chrome versions and the Safari web browser. The bug has already been patched for Safari, but currently Google has not patched Chrome. Since the latest browser engine used by Chrome is based on WebKit, later versions are also affected.
While sandboxing features protect advertising iframes, the zero-day vulnerability has allowed the group to break out of the iframes and display malicious code to visitors and perform redirects.
This cybercriminal group is atypical of most groups that use malvertising to deliver malware. The group is highly skilled and capable of finding bugs in the source code of browsers and conducts campaigns on a massive scale. The group poses a significant threat to internet users although there are steps that can be taken to reduce the likelihood of an attack.
Personal users can harden their defenses by using ad-blockers and ensuring they keep their browsers updated. Businesses similarly need to ensure browsers are updated and block these malicious adverts using a web filtering solution.
In addition to blocking malicious adverts, a web filter can be configured to block the download of malicious files and prevent employees from visiting phishing websites and other malicious websites. A web filter can also be used by businesses to enforce acceptable internet usage policies.
TitanHQ has developed a powerful DNS-based web filtering solution for SMBs and MSPs – WebTitan – that provides protection against malvertising and other types of web-based attacks. The solution is easy to use and can be implemented in just a few minutes. No technical skill is required.
Considering the level of protection provided by WebTitan, you are likely to be surprised at how little the solution costs. To find out more, to arrange a product demonstration, or to set up free trial of the full solution, give the TitanHQ sales team a call.
