Cybercriminals are constantly evolving their tactics for delivering malware and one of the most recent changes concerns the Remcos RAT. Remcos was developed by Breaking Security as a legitimate remote administration tool that can be used for network maintenance, system monitoring, surveillance, and penetration testing; however, the tool has been weaponized to create the Remcos Remote Access Trojan (RAT).
The Remocos RAT has extensive capabilities and has been used by cybercriminals since 2016. The malware allows threat actors to take control of systems and maintain persistent, highly privileged remote access. The malware can be used for a range of purposes, with threat actors commonly using it for credential theft, man-in-the-middle internet connections, and to create botnets of infected devices that can be used for distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS).
The Remcos RAT is distributed in spam email campaigns. Since 2016, the most common method for distributing the malware used spam emails with malicious Office attachments. Social engineering techniques were used to trick users into opening the files and enabling macros; however, campaigns have recently been detected that deliver the malware via weaponized virtual hard disk (VHD) files.
Security awareness training often focuses on teaching users to be careful when opening Office files and other file types commonly associated with malware distribution. The change to a more unusual file type could result in the file being opened, and VHD files are less likely to be identified as malicious by email security solutions.
An analysis of the extracted VHD files revealed a shortcut file that contained a PowerShell command line that executed a malicious script that ultimately delivered the Remcos RAT via a sophisticated multi-stage delivery method designed to evade security solutions. Once installed, the malware can log keystrokes, take screenshots, and exfiltrate data to its command-and-control server. The malware also has mass-mailer capabilities and can send copies of itself via email from an infected device. According to Check Point, the Remcos RAT rose to the 4th most prevalent malware threat in March 2024.
The constantly changing tactics for distributing malware mean network defenders need cybersecurity solutions that can adapt and detect zero-day threats. SpamTitan is an advanced email filtering service with AI and machine learning-driven threat detection which is capable of identifying and blocking novel phishing and malware distribution methods. The machine learning algorithm uses predictive technology to identify previously unseen attacks, emails are scanned using twin antivirus engines, and suspicious file types are sent to a next-generation sandbox for behavioral analysis, ensuring even previously unseen malware variants can be identified and blocked.
SpamTitan scans all inbound emails and also includes an outbound email filter to identify malicious emails that are sent from compromised email accounts and by malicious insiders. SpamTitan also has data loss protection capabilities, allowing IT teams to detect and block internal data loss. If your corporate email filter does not include advanced threat protection including AI-driven detection and sandboxing, or if you rely on Microsoft’s anti-spam and anti-phishing protection, sophisticated threats such as zero-day attacks are unlikely to be blocked and your business will be at risk.
Give the TitanHQ team a call today to find out more about SpamTitan. SpamTitan is delivered as a cloud-based anti-spam service that integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365 to improve protection, or as a gateway solution for on-premises protection, which can be installed on existing hardware as a virtual anti-spam appliance.