Malware Uses AWS Lambda to collect data; Govt Org’s Across S E Asia affected by HazyBeacon
Data Stolen from various government based organizations across South east-Asia via State-Backed HazyBeacon Malware that Uses AWS Lambda was discovered and tracked by researchers Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 under the moniker CL-STA-1020.
Here “CL” stands for “cluster” and “STA” refers to “state-backed motivation, data collected include information about recent tariffs and trade disputes. The initial access vector used to deliver the malware is currently not known, although evidence shows the use of DLL side-loading techniques to deploy it on compromised hosts. Specifically, it involves planting a malicious version of a DLL called “mscorsvc.dll” along with the legitimate Windows executable, “mscorsvw.exe.”
Campaign execution flow
As per researchers backdoor leverages AWS Lambda URLs as command and control (C2) infrastructure. AWS Lambda URLs are a feature of AWS Lambda that allows users to invoke serverless functions directly over HTTPS.
This technique uses legitimate cloud functionality to hide in plain sight, creating a reliable, scalable and difficult-to-detect communication channel.
Figure 1 shows the high-level execution flow of this attack.
Key points:
The malware is using a newly discovered Windows backdoor dubbed HazyBeacon.
Secondly, it exploits a legitimate feature of the AWS Lambda serverless compute service called Lambda URLs, to hide its malicious activities
AWS Lambda URLs are a part of AWS Lambda that allow users to invoke serverless functions directly over HTTPS.
In this attack, the HazyBeacon backdoor uses the service to establish C2 communications, allowing the actor to engage in covert intelligence gathering.
Researchers at Trellix, revealed the attacker tactic of using Lambda to obscure C2 activity in late June, noting that such obscurity “makes network-based detection nearly impossible without decryption or deep behavioral analysis,” according to their report.
During backdoor deployment, attackers also establish persistence on the compromised Windows endpoint by creating a Windows service named msdnetsvc, which ensures that the HazyBeacon DLL would be loaded even after rebooting the system.
Unit 42 included a list of indicators of compromise (IoCs) in the post to help identify a potential attack. Defenders can set their machine-learning models and analysis techniques to be triggered by those IoCs, as well as use behavioral threat protection to detect and block the execution of processes with malicious behavior in their cloud environments.
How the malware reaches out to serverless AWS Lambda endpoints
- These URLs are hosted on cloud infrastructure that’s globally trusted
- Traffic looks like regular HTTPS communication
- Detection becomes near-impossible for traditional firewalls or EDRs
This use of cloud-native tools for C2 is a growing trend in advanced persistent threats (APTs).
South east Asia a focal point of target
The reason why Southeast Asia has increasingly becoming a focal point for cyber espionage mainly due various sensitive trade negotiations being done by countries, defense enhancement taken up by countries as a part of modernization and power alignment between U.S.–China.
Why threat actors chose this area via targeting government agencies as the data stolen carried various intelligence inputs that were based on foreign policy direction, infrastructure planning and various regulatory shifts that further influence the behavior of global markets.
HazyBeacon reflects a broader aspect and trend in cyber security related to advanced persistent threats using trusted platforms as covert channels.
This cloud-based malware cluster, similar techniques have been observed in threats using Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, or Dropbox APIs to evade detection and facilitate persistent access.
Once the malware is on the system, it doesn’t want to leave. HazyBeacon registers itself as a Windows service, making sure it gets relaunched after every reboot.
Organizations who detect and mitigate this emerging threats also understand how attackers exploit cloud services for malicious purposes.
The misuse of AWS Lambda occurs when the malicious DLL, mscorsvc.dll, establishes a C2 channel through an AWS Lambda URL. AWS Lambda runs code in response to events without requiring server provisioning or management; the URLs feature, introduced in 2022, extends this functionality by providing customers with a way to configure dedicated HTTPS endpoints for Lambda functions.
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