{
  "timestamp": "2025-02-05T23:40:07.604559",
  "model": "deepseek/deepseek-r1-distill-llama-70b",
  "request": {
    "messages": [
      {
        "role": "system",
        "content": "You are a product security specialist explaining security features and capabilities.\n            Focus on clear, user-friendly explanations of technical security features."
      },
      {
        "role": "user",
        "content": "\n            Provide a detailed analysis of the product security features described in:\n            \n            Content to analyze:\n            Search Free Trial Get Demo Companion Ransomware  2-for-1 Malware Distribution March 26, 2017 As reported in February , Cerber and other ransomware groups are now offering Ransomware-as-a-Service, giving affiliatespartners a percentage of the collected ransom. In a new sort of two-for-one malware service deal, Cyren has detected variants of the Kovter click-fraud malware being distributed with companion Cerber ransomware by the Kovter malware team. Once the recipient has unknowingly activated the downloader, both pieces of malware are installed and activated. After encrypting files on the victims machine, the companion ransomware will announce its presence  and the victim will evidently now be aware of the existence of that specific malware on their computer. However, the click-fraud Kovter malware is designed to operate silently, and definitely does not announce its presence. Which leaves us to speculate as to why a malware distributor would take the chance of their malware being discovered due to the noisy companion Cerber ransomware, for which we have three not-mutually-exclusive guesses Maximize System Resources for Click-Fraud  Cerber encrypts document or image type files in the system, leaving the victim with almost nothing to work on. This might induce the victim to leave the system idle, the ideal environment for the click-fraud malware to get to work. Distract the Victim Once Kovter has been installed, it becomes file-less and is not easy to detect, since most of its components are encrypted and stored in the registry. Therefore if the victim removes Cerber and restores their files, they may inadvertently leave Kovter installed anyway. And, instead of calling attention to a second malware, the victim will focus on the ransomware and think theyve already taken care of matters. Diversify Revenue If the user pays the ransom, then the Kovter team gets earnings from the ransomware  and per the above will likely continue running a system that has Kovter installed. You Werent There Delivery Failure Notifications Moving on to the mechanics of this particular scheme, spoofed package delivery failure emails allegedly from outfits like FedEx and UPS are commonly used themes in this malware distribution, as shown below. Delivery failure notification emails Downloader Script The first thing we notice about the included attachments is that they are both ZIP file attachments named Delivery-Details.zip, aside from their size, which is coincidentally 666 bytes for both. The ZIP file contains a folder with a javascript, using the same name as the ZIP file, which Cyren heuristically detects as JSDownldr.HX2!Eldorado. Figure 1 Attachment filefolder structure Inspecting the content of Delivery-Details.js shows a really small amount of code which iterates over a list of URLs, where it tries to download and execute another set of scripts. Further research reveals the group behind these malware outbreaks are taking extra precautions and are using multiple, possibly short-lived, servers to hide their activities. Figure 2 Downloader Script Running the script in a script emulator shows the following sequence of events Figure 3 Emulation sequence of events At lines 8-12 , we can see that JSDownldr.HX2!Eldorado was able to download script payload from one of the five URLs in its list, and upon download it immediately executes the script payload using Eval . The downloaded script payload appears to be obfuscated using string concatenation, which forms another downloader script using a similar list of URLs , from where it attempts to download and execute two EXE files. These files are usually downloaded from the same server as iterated in its URL list. Figure 4 Downloaded script payload Executable Payloads The first executable, exe1.exe , yet another variant of the Cerber Ransomware, which Cyren detects as W32Cerber.MX. The ransomware searches for and encrypts files in the affected system, leaving behind ransom notes in the encrypted folders and changes the desktop wallpaper as shown in Figure 5. Figure 5 Cerber ransom note screenshots The second executable, exe2.exe , disguised as the media player WinAmp, is a variant of Kovter, a malware family known to have evolved drastically over the years. This Kovter variant is heuristically detected by Cyren as W32Kovter.T.gen!Eldorado . Figure 6 W32Kovter disguised as WinAmp Similar to the known variants of this malware, it also employs file-less persistence in the system by hiding its components in the system registry, and also taking advantage of Windows Power Shell to load and execute its core module into memory. Since Windows Power Shell is a key component in its persistence mechanism, it will first check if Windows Power Shell is installed in the system, and if not will download and silently install the legitimate Windows patch installers for this Windows component. Once the malware has put everything in place to persist in the system, it proceeds to gather system information, and it sends this out to its control server at either hxxp185.117.72.90upload.php or hxxp185.117.72.90upload2.php . It uses a configuration file, which is encrypted and stored in the malware binary RCDATA resource. This configuration file contains a lot of the information needed by Kovter to run its malicious routines, including the download and control server links used during its initial routines. Figure 7 Decrypted Kovter config file This malware collects and sends out quite a lot of system information, including the following Virtualization VirtualBox VirtualPC QEmu VMWare Sandboxing JoeBox Sunbelt CWS iDefense SysAnalyzer Monitoring Tools regmon filemon procmon Network Analysis Tools WireShark Fiddler HTTPAnalyzer Charles Anti-malware AVG Trend Micro Being an Adware Click Fraud Trojan as it is, the malware then proceeds to silently visit websites, triggering clicks on advertisements by injecting Javascript code that automatically plays document element tags, as shown in the figure below. Figure 8 Kovter adclick-fraud scripts Other References       Try it for Free Instant Data Classification Cyren URL Category Chacker Prev IT Security Survey in the UK  75 Hacked in Past Year Cyren Unified Internet Security Goes Live Next Company Partners Resources Investor Relations Products Freeware Demo Solutions Contact Us Privacy Management Service by Data443\n            \n            Your analysis should cover:\n            1. Key security features and capabilities\n            2. User benefits and protection measures\n            3. Integration with existing security systems\n            4. Compliance and certification details\n            5. Security best practices for users\n            6. Technical specifications and requirements\n            "
      }
    ],
    "model": "deepseek/deepseek-r1-distill-llama-70b"
  },
  "response": {
    "content": "**Analysis of the Cerber and Kovter Malware Distribution**\n\n**1. Key Security Features and Capabilities:**\n   - **email Filtering:** Detects and blocks phishing emails, such as those spoofing FedEx or UPS, to prevent initial infection.\n   - **Behavioral Analysis:** Identifies unusual activities, like unknown script executions or PowerShell usage, to spot malicious behavior early.\n   - **Endpoint Protection:** Utilizes heuristics and signature-based detection to block known and unknown threats, including file-less malware.\n   - **Network Monitoring:** Monitors for suspicious traffic to detect communication with command and control servers.\n   - **Regular Backups:** Ensures data recovery in case of ransomware attacks.\n\n**2. User Benefits and Protection Measures:**\n   - **Multi-layered Security:** Combines email filtering, endpoint protection, and network monitoring for comprehensive defense.\n   - **Silent Threat Detection:** Uses behavioral analysis and PowerShell monitoring to catch hidden threats like Kovter.\n   - **Disaster Recovery:** Regular backups mitigate ransomware impact, allowing quick data restoration.\n   - **System Hardening:** Restricts script execution from emails and keeps software updated to prevent exploitation.\n\n**3. Integration with Existing Systems:**\n   - **Security Tools Integration:** Behavioral analysis tools integrate with SIEM systems for enhanced visibility.\n   - **Compliance alignment:** Protects against threats in line with GDPR and HIPAA, ensuring audit readiness.\n   - **Disaster Recovery Planning:** Backups are incorporated into broader strategies to ensure business continuity.\n\n**4. Compliance and Certification:**\n   - Aligns with GDPR and HIPAA by protecting data integrity and confidentiality.\n   - Regular security audits ensure controls are effective and up-to-date.\n\n**5. Security Best Practices for Users:**\n   - **Employee Training:** Educates users to recognize phishing attempts and avoid suspicious emails.\n   - **Script Execution Control:** Restricts running scripts from untrusted sources to prevent initial infection.\n   - **Prompt Patching:** Regularly updates software to close vulnerabilities exploited by attackers.\n   - **Network Segmentation:** Limits malware spread by segmenting networks.\n\n**6. Technical Specifications and Requirements:**\n   - **Detection Methods:** Requires up-to-date signature databases and heuristic-based detection for evolving threats.\n   - **System Monitoring:** Uses tools that monitor process creation and network activity to detect in-memory threats.\n   - **Email Security:** Employs DMARC, SPF, and DKIM protocols to reduce spoofing effectiveness.\n\n**Conclusion:**\nThis attack combines social engineering with advanced techniques, emphasizing the need for vigilant users, multi-layered defenses, and robust backup strategies. Sophisticated attackers use evasion techniques, making behavioral analysis and monitoring crucial. Staying informed and proactive is essential for safeguarding against such threats.",
    "usage": {
      "prompt_tokens": 1389,
      "completion_tokens": 1846,
      "total_tokens": 3235
    },
    "model": "deepseek/deepseek-r1-distill-llama-70b"
  }
}