| Name | NanoCore |
| Type of Malware | RAT |
| Location – Country of Origin | US (Arkansas) Taylor Huddleston, aka Aeonhacks |
| Date of initial activity | 2013 |
| Associated Groups | Group5, APT33, SilverTerrier, Gordon Group |
| Motivation | Compromise system security – with backdoor capabilities that can execute malicious commands. Violation of user privacy – gathers user credentials, logs keystroke and steals user information. |
| Attack Vectors | Social engineering and phishing |
| Targeted System | Windows |
Overview
The NanoCore remote access Trojan (RAT) was first discovered in 2013 when it was being sold in underground forums. The malware has a variety of functions such as keylogger, a password stealer which can remotely pass along data to the malware operator. It also has the ability to tamper and view footage from webcams, screen locking, downloading and theft of files, and more. The malware is sold on the dark web, and it is available for purchase by anyone who wants to use it.
Targets
Windows.
Tools/ Techniques Used
NanoCore RAT is being spread through malspam campaign which utilizes social engineering in which the email contains fake bank payment receipt and request for quotation. The emails also contain malicious attachments with .img or .iso extension. The .img and .iso files are used by disk image files to store raw dumps of either magnetic disk or optical disc. Another version of NanoCore is also distributed in phishing campaigns leveraging specially-crafted ZIP file which is designed to bypass secure email gateways. The malicious ZIP file can be extracted by certain versions of PowerArchiver, WinRar, and older 7-Zip. The stolen information is sent to the command and control (C&C) servers of the malware attacker.
Impact / Significant Attacks
In April 2019, Netskope discovered a campaign that used ISO image files to deliver two notorious Trojans: LokiBot and NanoCore. In 2015, targeted emails were sent to energy companies in Asia and the Middle East by spoofing email addresses of a legitimate South Korean oil company. Attached to the email was a malicious RTF file that dropped the NanoCore trojan.
