A newly discovered Linux malware dubbed ‘DISGOMOJI’ uses the novel approach of utilizing emojis to execute commands on infected devices in attacks on government agencies in India.
So to get infected, you need to download and unpack a ZIP archive sent to you from an unknown address, then execute the file it contains? In that case, I’m not too worried.
It’s more about C&C, novel ways to get around firewall restrictions. Deploying a payload is the hard part, but having control over a large botnet without raising red flags is an art as well.
Just like most malware
Especially Linux malware. It’s not a huge target, so it’s likely to be low effort stuff like this instead of zero-days attacking some linux-specific API. That level of attack is reserved for higher value targets, like servers and windows.
It’s not a huge target
I never understood that claim. Most of the internet, most servers and most machine controllers, as well as most cloud services (including Microsoft Azure) run on Linux.
It’s the biggest target in the world.Linux servers are, and I specifically called that out. The types of attacks you use against a server are very different than attacks against a desktop. Most desktops don’t run web servers, and most servers don’t run discord or web browsers.
So linux desktops should see a lot fewer attacks than servers because the value of successfully attacking them is much lower. As that changes, so will the amount of malware targeting linux desktops.
Linux servers are the biggest target though.
Exactly, because they’re high value targets, as I mentioned. But they’re going to use more exotic exploits than an attack on linux desktops, because the expected return vs work to get the exploit makes more sense. Grandma isn’t likely using linux to access her bank account, but she is likely accessing a linux server.
OP didn’t bother to write it, so I will. The infection vector is an executable distributed through mail, targeting computers of the Indian government.
According to Volexity, the malware was discovered after the researchers spotted a UPX-packed ELF executable in a ZIP archive, likely distributed through phishing emails. Volexity believes that the malware targets a custom Linux distribution named BOSS that Indian government agencies use as their desktop.
When executed, the malware will download and display a PDF lure that is a beneficiary form from India’s Defence Service Officer Provident Fund in case of an officer’s death.
However, additional payloads will be downloaded in the background, including the DISGOMOJI malware and a shell script named ‘uevent_seqnum.sh’ that is used to search for USB drives and steal data from them.
When DISGOMOJI is launched, the malware will exfiltrate system information from the machine, including IP address, username, hostname, operating system, and the current working directory, which is sent back to the attackers.
To control the malware, the threat actors utilize the open-source command and control project discord-c2, which uses Discord and emojis to communicate with infected devices and execute commands.
The malware will connect to an attacker-controlled Discord server and wait for the threat actors to type emojis into the channel.
Pretty clever to disguise the commands and replays as emojis. I bet it’s going to open yet another cat-and-mouse-game for pattern matching.
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If you actually read it, the emojis are just a silly little C2 frontend, the actual attack vector has nothing to do with Discord
