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Home > Cybersecurity > Hackers are using fake cryptocurrency apps to spread malware

Hackers are using fake cryptocurrency apps to spread malware

Volexity announced that Lazarus Group is targeting cryptocurrency users and organizations with a variant of the AppleJeus malware.


Erdem Yasar Erdem Yasar
December 6, 2022
2 min read
Hackers using fake cryptocurrency apps to spread malware
  • Volexity has observed new activity tied to a North Korean threat actor that involves a campaign likely targeting cryptocurrency users and organizations.
  • The threat actor is using a variant of the AppleJeus malware by way of malicious Microsoft Office documents.
  • The analysis of the deployed AppleJeus malware uncovered a new variation of DLL side-loading to load their payload.

Volexity has announced that the company has observed new activity related to the notorious North Korean hacker group known as Lazarus Group. The report shows that the threat actors are targeting cryptocurrency users and organizations with fake cryptocurrency apps to spread a variant of the AppleJeus malware by way of malicious Microsoft Office documents.

Live cryptocurrency-themed website

During the investigation, Volexity discovered a live cryptocurrency-themed website. Its contents are stolen from a legitimate cryptocurrency website, HaasOnline. The website, bloxholder[.]com, was registeerd in June of 2022. The website was discovered when a new AppleJeus malware sample that was bundled as part of a Microsoft Installation file was identified. 

The application, which is also named BloxHolder, installs AppleJeus along the open-source cryptocurrency trading application QTBitcoinTrader, which is a legitimate application that can be found on GitHub. According to CISA’s reports, this is not the first time the hacker group is using the application. While installing the application, the MSI file also creates a scheduled task and additional malicious files. That task is executed at log-on and executes another legitimate executable, CameraSettingsUIHost.exe, a Microsoft file that assists with the usage of a webcam on the system, with two arguments, 18e190413af045db88dfbd29609eb877 and lion.

The second argument on the command line, “lion”, is the XOR key, which is 8 bytes in length, used to decode the file. The decoded PE file is a downloader that has two variants. It aims to collect data from the system and download shellcode from the command and control server. The following data is collected:

  • MAC address
  • Computer name
  • OS version

The AppleJeus variant’s network communication is similar to that described in the previous reporting by Kaspersky and CISA. Volexity said,

« The Lazarus Group continues its effort to target cryptocurrency users, despite ongoing attention to their campaigns and tactics. Perhaps in an attempt to allude detection, they have decided to use chained DLL side-loading to load their payload. Additionally, Volexity has not previously noted the use of Microsoft Office documents to deploy AppleJeus variants. Despite these changes, their targets remain the same, with the cryptocurrency industry being a focus as a means for the DPRK to bolster their finances. »

See more Cybersecurity News


Tags: Volexity
Erdem Yasar

Erdem Yasar

Erdem Yasar is a news editor at Cloud7 News. Erdem started his career by writing video game reviews in 2007 for PC World magazine while he was studying computer engineering. In the following years, he focused on software development with various programming languages. After his graduation, he continued to work as an editor for several major tech-related websites and magazines. During the 2010s, Erdem Yasar shifted his focus to cloud computing, hosting, and data centers as they were becoming more popular topics in the tech industry. Erdem Yasar also worked with various industry-leading tech companies as a content creator by writing blog posts and other articles. Prior to his role at Cloud7 News, Erdem was the managing editor of T3 Magazine.

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