APT trends report Q3 2020 (DPRK-related paragraph 1)

Kaspersky Securelist

During a recent investigation of a targeted campaign, we found a UEFI firmware image containing rogue components that drop previously unknown malware to disk. Our analysis showed that the revealed firmware modules were based on a known bootkit named Vector-EDK, and the dropped malware is a downloader for further components. By pivoting on unique traits of the malware, we uncovered a range of similar samples from our telemetry that have been used against diplomatic targets since 2017 and have different infection vectors. While the business logic of most is identical, we could see that some had additional features or differed in implementation. Due to this, we infer that the bulk of samples originate from a bigger framework that we have dubbed MosaicRegressor . Code artefacts in some of the framework’s components, and overlaps in C2 infrastructure used during the campaign, suggest that a Chinese-speaking actor is behind these attacks, possibly one that has connections to groups using the Winnti backdoor. The targets, diplomatic institutions and NGOs in Asia, Europe and Africa, all appear to be connected in some way to North Korea.