Windows Malware Annual Report 2015
Transcription
Windows Malware Annual Report 2015
Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 And Prognosis 2016 February2016 Copyright RedSocks B.V. © 2014-2016. All Rights Reserved. Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 Table of Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................ 5 2. Summary .................................................................................................................................................................................. 6 2.1. Data Breaches and Security News ............................................................................................................................ 7 Cybercriminals use these WEAK PASSWORDS to exfiltrate stolen data……………………………………………………..7 The EU General Data Protection Regulation is now law!.........................................................................................8 3. Methodology ......................................................................................................................................................................... 10 3.1. Collecting Malware ...................................................................................................................................................... 10 3.2. Processing Malware .................................................................................................................................................... 11 3.3. Detecting Malware ....................................................................................................................................................... 11 3.4. Classifying Malware ..................................................................................................................................................... 12 4. Trends ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 13 4.1. Adware............................................................................................................................................................................ 13 4.2. Backdoors ...................................................................................................................................................................... 13 4.3. Exploits ........................................................................................................................................................................... 15 4.4. Rootkits........................................................................................................................................................................... 16 4.4. Trojans ............................................................................................................................................................................ 17 4.5. Worms ............................................................................................................................................................................ 21 4.6. 64-Bit Malware.............................................................................................................................................................. 23 4.7. Others ............................................................................................................................................................................. 24 5. Geolocation ........................................................................................................................................................................... 26 6. Final Word and Prognoses 2016 ...................................................................................................................................... 28 Appendix A: The Numbers ..................................................................................................................................................... 27 Page | 2 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 Table of Figures Figure 01: Wolf Rat V2.1 Control Center ............................................................................................................................... 7 Figure 02: Top 10 RAT C&C Passwords Used By Cybercriminals ................................................................................... 8 Figure 03: Storage in GBs Needed 2015 vs. 2014 ........................................................................................................... 10 Figure 04: Unique New Malicious Files 2015 vs. 2014 .................................................................................................... 10 Figure 05: Detection by Anti-Virus Engines 2015 ............................................................................................................. 11 Figure 06: Files Identified as Adware 2015 vs. 2014........................................................................................................ 13 Figure 07: Distribution of Adware 2015 .............................................................................................................................. 13 Figure 08: Files Identified as Backdoor 2015 vs. 2014 .................................................................................................... 14 Figure 09: Distribution of Backdoors 2015 ........................................................................................................................ 14 Figure 010: Files Identified as Exploits 2015 vs. 2014 ..................................................................................................... 15 Figure 011: Distribution of Exploits 2015 ........................................................................................................................... 15 Figure 12: Files Identified as Rootkit 2015 vs. 2014......................................................................................................... 16 Figure 13: Distribution of Rootkits 2015 ............................................................................................................................. 16 Figure 14: Files Identified as Trojan 2015 vs. 2014 .......................................................................................................... 17 Figure 15: Distribution of Trojans 2015 .............................................................................................................................. 17 Figure 16: Distribution of Banking Trojans 2015 .............................................................................................................. 18 Figure 17: Distribution of Trojan Downloaders 2015 ...................................................................................................... 18 Figure 18: Distribution of Trojan Droppers 2015 ............................................................................................................. 19 Figure 19: Distribution of Trojan PWS 2015 ...................................................................................................................... 19 Figure 20: Distribution of Ransom Trojans 2015.............................................................................................................. 20 Figure 21: Distribution of Spy Trojans 2015 ...................................................................................................................... 21 Figure 22: Files Identified as Worm 2015 ........................................................................................................................... 21 Figure 23: Distribution of Worms 2015 .............................................................................................................................. 22 Figure 24: Distribution of Alleaple.e Worm 2015 ............................................................................................................. 22 Figure 25: Files Identified with 64-Bit Malware 2015 ...................................................................................................... 23 Figure 26: Distribution of 64-Bit Malware 2015 ................................................................................................................ 23 Figure 27: Files Identified as Other Malware 2015 vs. 2014 .......................................................................................... 24 Figure 28: Distribution of Other Malware 2015 ................................................................................................................ 24 Figure 29: Files Identified as Macro-based Malware 2015............................................................................................. 25 Figure 30: Top 10 C&C Hosting Countries 2015 vs. 2014 (1) ........................................................................................ 26 Figure 31: Top 10 C&C Hosting Countries 2015 vs. 2014 (2) ........................................................................................ 26 Figure 32: Active C&C Server in The Netherlands 2015 ................................................................................................. 27 Page | 3 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 Table of Tables Table 01: Malware Categories 2015 .................................................................................................................................... 12 Table 02: Top 10 Backdoor Families 2015 ......................................................................................................................... 14 Table 03: Top 10 Exploit Families 2015 .............................................................................................................................. 15 Table 04: Top 10 Rootkit Families 2015 .............................................................................................................................. 16 Table 05: Top 10 Banking Trojans 2015 ............................................................................................................................. 18 Table 07: Top 10 Trojan Droppers 2015 ............................................................................................................................ 19 Table 06: Top 10 Trojan Downloaders 2015 ..................................................................................................................... 19 Table 08: Top 10 Ransom Trojans 2015 ............................................................................................................................. 20 Table 09: Top 10 Password Stealing Trojans 2015 .......................................................................................................... 20 Table 10: Top 10 Spy Trojans Families 2015 ..................................................................................................................... 21 Table 11: Top 10 Worm Families 2015 ............................................................................................................................... 22 Table 12: Top 10 64-Bit Malware Families 2015 ............................................................................................................... 23 Table 13: Top 10 Macro-based Malware 2015 ................................................................................................................. 25 Table 14: Top 10 Countries Hosting C&C 2015 vs. 2014 ............................................................................................... 27 Table 15: Identified Malware per Category 2015 vs. 2014 ............................................................................................ 28 Page | 4 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 1. Introduction This is the second Windows Malware Year report from the RedSocks Malware Research Lab. RedSocks is a 100 percent Dutch company specializing in malware detection. Our product, the RedSocks Malware Threat Defender, is a network appliance that analyses digital traffic flows in real-time, based on algorithms and lists of malicious indicators. This critical information is compiled by the RedSocks Malware Intelligence Team (RSMIT). The team consists of specialists whose job it is to identify and analyse new threats and trends on the Internet and to translate our analyses into state-of-the-art malware detection capabilities. With this report we hope to provide the reader with a deeper insight into the trends we see in the malware we process as we look at data collected during 2015 and the prognoses for 2016. At RedSocks we analyse large numbers of malicious files on a daily basis, therefore we can only cover a few topics briefly in this annual report. Protecting your data from Internet-based threats is not an easy task, and relying solely on protection from Anti-Virus companies - no matter how established their brand - is not enough. Comprehensive protection requires an entirely new approach. Page | 5 Summary The overall detection by Anti-Virus software in 2015 was only 65.73 % In 2015, over 101 million new and unique malicious files were processed in the RedSocks Malware Labs. Compared with 2014, that is an increase of 116 percent. The overall detection by Anti-Virus software was only 65.73 percent, which is a small decrease of 1.78 percent when compared to the overall detection of 2014. Please note that identification rates can change based on samples chosen, scanning engines used, and time of scanning. In 2015, a total of 8.3 million unique files were identified as Adware - a decrease of 19 percent when compared with 2014. The amount of unique files identified as backdoor in 2015 was 601 thousand, which is a 52 percent decrease when compared to the amount of backdoor files found in 2014. The Anti-Virus software identified 30,982 exploits and 67,496 rootkits in 2015. The identified exploits decreased by a 12 percent, and the rootkits increased by 145 percent when compared to the amount from 2014. A total of just under 13.7 million Trojan files were found in 2015 - a decrease of 53 percent when compared with 2014. Looking at the new and unique malicious files, most were worms. Over 15.1 million worm files were identified in 2015, which is a 321 percent increase when compared with 2014. Grouped together, all other malicious files - such as flooders, hacktools, spoofers, spyware, viruses, etc. – added up to 18.4 million unique malicious which is a decrease of 20 percent when compared to the amount of files found in 2014. Within the top 10 countries hosting C&C servers, there was little change in 2015. As in 2014, the United States is still leading, followed by the Russian Federation. China took the third place in 2015 from Germany. The sum of the top 10 hosting countries dropped with 24 percent when compared with 2014. The Netherlands hosted a total of 1,916 active C&C servers in 2015 a drop of 4 percent when compared with 2014. Within the top 10 countries, The Netherlands dropped from 6th place in 2014 to 7th place in 2015. 116% In 2015, with an average of 277,797 new malicious files per day, the total number of samples processed was 101.4 million, an increase of 116 percent compared to 2014. 25% The amounts of active C&C servers of the top 10 countries with 2014, a decrease of 25 percent is visible. The top 10 countries together were responsible for 27,683 active C&C servers. 10.98% In 2015, the average detection by antivirus engines was only 54.39 percent. This is a drop of 10.98 percent when compared with the 65.37 percent on average of 2014. Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 2.1. Data Breaches and Security News Cybercriminals use these WEAK PASSWORDS to exfiltrate stolen data The art of hacking has become extremely simple in the last couple of years. In the past 10 years, hundreds of new remote administration tool builders were released to the public. Figure 01: Wolf Rat V2.1 Control Center The hacking (cybercrime) community took the code of Remote Administration Tools and made sure that the Remote Administration Tools would stay alive without the official developer – the community continued to work on RATs and as a result, we are still seeing RATs. “But once the art of hacking becomes more simplified, more people will be able to perform hacking attempts.” Top 10 C&C passwords In order to get some insight into password hygiene used by cybercriminals we have analysed 17,373 binaries for this blog post. From those binaries, we were able to create the following top 10 chart of most used C&C passwords by cybercriminals. Page | 7 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 abcd1234 admin 123456 mypass cybergate 1234 12345 @client $321$ 123456789 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 123 Top 10 RAT C&C Passwords Used By Cybercriminals 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Figure 02: Top 10 RAT C&C Passwords Used By Cybercriminals (Source: http://redsocks.nl/blog-2/cybercriminals-use-these-weak-passwords-to-ex-filtrate-stolen-data/) The EU General Data Protection Regulation is now law! The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has achieved final approval after a long twoyear process. With the final draft clearing up a few ambiguities and loose ends, many are calling it a ‘milestone of the digital age.’ Here are a few key points regarding the GDPR: • • A company can be fined up to 2% for not having their records in order (article 28), not notifying the supervising authority and data subject about a breach (articles 31, 32), or not conducting impact assessments (article 33). More serious infringements can be fined up to 4% of annual revenue. The EU GDPR rules apply to both controllers and processors that is “the cloud”. So huge that cloud providers are not off the hook when it comes to GDPR enforcement. Data Protection Officers You will likely need a Data Protection Officer (DPO) according to article 35. If the core activities of your company involve “systematic monitoring of data subjects on a larger scale”, or large-scale processing of ‘special categories’ of data – racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, biometric data, health or sex life, or sexual orientation– then you’re required to have a DPO. Data Breach Notification Article 31 tells us that controllers are required to notify the appropriate supervisory authority of a personal data breach within 72 hours (at the latest) on learning about the exposure if it results in risk to the consumer. But even if the exposure is not serious, the company still has to keep the records internally. Page | 8 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 Rapid incident response and rem ediation The guidelines, which have now been published, stipulate that incidents must be reported within three working days of becoming aware of them. W ith the RedSocks M alicious Threat Detector (M TD) network solution, which analyses digital traffic flows in real-tim e; m alicious traffic is detected in real tim e, helping your organization: • To simplify data breach reporting • • • To put in place a data breach notification procedure To create compliance statements for annual business reports To set up and undertake regular compliance audits • And to store your data forensically sound for up to 36 months For more information contact us at sales@redsocks.nl. (Source: http://redsocks.nl/news/the-eu-general-data-protection-regulation-is-now-law/) Page | 9 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 3. Methodology 3.1. Collecting Malware At the RedSocks Malware Research Labs, we track large numbers of malware from our globally distributed honeypots, honey-clients, spam-nets, and various botnet monitoring sensors. Due to the distribution of our honeypots, we are able to automatically collect and process new malicious samples from across the globe. We also exchange large quantities of malicious files with the AntiVirus industry. Space in GBs to Store Only the New Samples 2015 vs. 2014 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 2014 2015 Figure 03: Storage in GBs Needed 2015 vs. 2014 In 2015, we needed 51.2 Terabytes of disk space to store only the new and unique malicious samples. This is an increase of 124 percent when compared with 2014. Unique New Malicious Files 2015 vs. 2014 15,000,000 10,000,000 5,000,000 0 2014 2015 Figure 04: Unique New Malicious Files 2015 vs. 2014 In figure 02, over 101 million new and unique malicious files were collected and processed in 2015. This is 14.2 million more files – an increase of 116 percent – when compared with 2014. With just over 11.3 million new malicious files, May was the best month of 2015. Page | 10 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 3.2. Processing Malware Working with malware is what we love to do. In 2015, on average, 278,000 new malicious files arrive at our automated malware collecting machines every day. This is a slight increase with the 239.,00 of 2014. All samples were renamed according to their hash calculation. We then checked to see if that particular piece of malware had already been processed. 3.3. Detecting Malware At RedSocks Malware Labs we use an in-house classification system for grouping malware. We have classified over 300 types for which we have created detailed statistics. Once multiple antivirus scanners (in ‘paranoid’ mode) have performed their on-demand scan, we know which malware was detected by them and, perhaps more importantly, which was not. Figure 03 shows the percentage detected per month for 2015 in green and the missed samples in red. December November October September August July June May April February January 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% March Detection by Anti-Virus Software 2015 2015 Figure 05: Detection by Anti-Virus Engines 2015 In 2015, the average detection by anti-virus engines was only 54.39 percent. This is a drop of 10.98 percent when compared with the 65.37 percent on average of 2014. A stunning 45.5 million new malicious files were not detected by Anti-Virus Software in 2015. Page | 11 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 3.4. Classifying Malware We categorise malware according to its primary feature. In 2015, malware was grouped as follows: Malware Categories Backdoors Exploits Rootkit s Trojans Worms Others Backdoors ADODB (D)DoS Trojans Email-Worms Adware Bot-Trojans HTML Banking Trojans Generic Worms (D)DoS Tools Java Batch Trojans IM-Worms AV Tools JS FakeAV IRC-Worms Constructors Linux GameThief Trojans Net-Worms DOS based MSExcel Generic Trojans P2P-Worms Encrypted Malware MSPPoint IRC Trojans Packed Worms Flooders MSWord Java Trojan Script Worms Fraud Tools OSX LNK Trojans Generic Malware PDF Packed Trojans Hack Tools Script Password Stealing Tr. Macro based SWF Proxy Trojans Malware Heuristic Win32 Ransom Trojans Monitors Win64 Rogue Trojans Nukers Script Trojans Porn-Dialers SMS Trojans Porn-Downloaders Spy Trojans Porn-Tools Trojan Clickers PSW-Tools Trojan Dialers PUPs Trojan Downloaders RemoteAdmin Trojan Droppers Riskware Trojan Flooders Spammers Trojan Mailfinder Spoofers Trojan Notifiers SpyTools Trojan RATs Spyware WinREG Trojans Suspicious Viruses Table 01: Malware Categories 2015 The ‘Others’ category consists of malicious samples that do not fit in any of the six main categories. See appendix A for the numbers by month and category. Page | 12 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 4. Trends Discovering malware-propagation trends starts with an analysis of the raw data behind the collection and processing of malware. From October to December, RedSocks Malware Research Labs identified the following trends by malware category. 4.1. Adware The amounts of new malicious files identified as Adware have been dropping since they reached 1.6 million in November 2014. Files Identified as Adware 2015 vs. 2014 2,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 0 2014 2015 Figure 06: Files Identified as Adware 2015 vs. 2014 In figure 06 we can see the distribution of Adware in 2015. Distribution of Adware 2015 1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 0 Figure 07: Distribution of Adware 2015 The total of new files identified as Adware is 8.3 million for 2015, a decrease of nearly 16 percent when compared with 2014. 4.2. Backdoors In 2015, over 601,000 unique files were identified either as have been infected with a backdoor, or as having backdoor functions. This is a decrease of 52 percent when compared with the 1.3 million of 2014. Page | 13 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 Files Identified as Backdoor 2015 vs. 2014 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 0 2014 2015 Figure 08: Files Identified as Backdoor 2015 vs. 2014 In figure 07, we see that the amount of new files identified as backdoor, or as having bot functions, create a wave between 27,000 and 70,000 unique samples. Distribution of Backdoor 2015 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 Figure 09: Distribution of Backdoors 2015 Wabot.a was first reported on March 14, 2014. In 2015 it was by far the most seen backdoor. When the backdoor is executed, it creates in the %System% directory two files, an executable copy of itself, and a text file containing ASCII art. It will add an auto-start entry to the registry entry. The backdoor renames itself to that file and Top 10 Backdoor Fam ilies 2015 Family Backdoor.Win32.Wabot.a Backdoor.Win32.Generic Backdoor.Win32.Poison.dyvj Backdoor.Win32.Allaple.a Backdoor.Win32.DarkKomet.xyk Backdoor.Win32.Plite.bhrm Backdoor.Win32.Padodor.gen Backdoor.Win32.Agent.dele Backdoor.Win32.Udr.a Backdoor.Win32.Spammy.gf adds random data to the end of itself so it matches the file's length. Table 02: Top 10 Backdoor Families 2015 Amount 87,292 55,594 39,664 26,934 19,542 19,361 13,630 12,701 9,121 7,768 Page | 14 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 4.3. Exploits Exploits are used for attacking computer systems, especially by taking advantage of a particular vulnerability. In 2015, 30,982 unique files were identified as exploit. This is a decrease of 12 percent when compared to 2014. Files Identified as Exploit 2015 vs. 2014 10,000 5,000 0 2014 2015 Figure 010: Files Identified as Exploits 2015 vs. 2014 Distribution of Exploits 2015 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 Figure 011: Distribution of Exploits 2015 In figure 09, we can see that exploits identified in June peak at a surprising 8,327 new examples. Looking closer we see that, by far, the most identified exploits are taking advantage of vulnerabilities in Adobe’s .PDF Reader Top 10 Exploit Fam ilies 2015 Family Exploit.PDF.Generic Exploit.Script.Generic Exploit:W32/Kakara.A Exploit:W32/CVE-2010-0188.C Exploit.JS.Pdfka.fhg Exploit.PDF-JS.Gen Exploit.JS.PDF.EE Exploit.CVE-2009-0927.Gen Exploit.JS.Pdfka.fmg Exploit.JS.Pdfka.fkc Amount 17,875 2,817 1,316 1,186 1,144 1,129 909 876 730 683 Table 03: Top 10 Exploit Families 2015 Page | 15 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 4.4. Rootkits A rootkit is a type of software designed to hide the fact that an operating system has been compromised. This can be done in various ways, such as replacing vital executables or by introducing a new kernel module. Rootkits allow malware to hide in plain sight. Rootkits themselves are not harmful; they are simply used to hide malware, bots, and worms. Files Identified as Rootkit 2015 vs. 2014 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 2014 2015 Figure 12: Files Identified as Rootkit 2015 vs. 2014 The total amount of identified rootkits in 2015 was 67,496, a 145 percent increase when compared with 2015. Distribution of Rootkits 2015 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 Figure 13: Distribution of Rootkits 2015 The Agent.egxj was the most seen rootkit of 2015. The malware is normally compressed with UPX and used to hide other malware. Like other rootkits, Agent.egxj is not able to spread and multiply by itself. Top 10 Rootkit Fam ilies 2015 Family Rootkit.Win32.Agent.egxj Rootkit.Win32.Agent.diuy Rootkit.Win32.Lapka.an Rootkit.Win32.Agent.ehck Rootkit.Win32.Plite.pvb Rootkit.Win32.Small.bse Rootkit.Win32.Small.vkd Rootkit.Win32.Agent.dqkh Rootkit.Win32.Agent.dqnx Rootkit.Win32.Small.bsf Amount 18,370 5,544 4,858 3,581 2,933 2,016 1,913 1,738 981 978 Table 04: Top 10 Rootkit Families 2015 Page | 16 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 4.4. Trojans With almost 13.7 million new unique samples in 2015, trojans are no longer the biggest category of malware. On average 37,000 new files per day were identified as trojan in 2015. This is a drop of 53 percent when compared with the amount of trojans from 2014. Files Identified as Trojan 2015 vs. 2014 4,000,000 3,000,000 2,000,000 1,000,000 0 2014 2015 Figure 14: Files Identified as Trojan 2015 vs. 2014 In figure 15 we see the distribution of all the different types of trojans in 2015. Distribution of Trojan 2015 2,500,000 2,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 0 Figure 15: Distribution of Trojans 2015 We want to share six of the many trojan subcategories with you. These are the Banking Trojans, Trojan Downloaders, Trojan Droppers, Password Stealing Trojans, Ransom Trojans, and the Spy Trojans. Page | 17 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 Distribution of Banking Trojans 2015 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 Figure 16: Distribution of Banking Trojans 2015 A total of 82,101 unique files were identified as Banking Trojan in 2015. In May a stunning 26,954 Banking Trojans were identified. With 28,058 unique files, the Banbra.bjyk Banking Trojan was the most common in this subcategory in 2015. Top 10 Banking Trojans 2015 Family Trojan-Banker.Win32.Banbra.bjyk Trojan-Banker.Win32.ChePro.ink Trojan-Banker.Win32.Lohmys.a Trojan-Banker.Win32.Metel.cai Trojan-Banker.Win32.Banker.etk Trojan-Banker.Win32.Dyre.dl Trojan-Banker.Win32.Bancos.u Trojan-Banker.Win32.Bancos.ha Trojan-Banker.Win32.Banz.qdn Trojan-Banker.Win32.Banker.azm Amount 28,058 2,364 2,107 1,229 953 505 482 414 349 342 Table 05: Top 10 Banking Trojans 2015 Distribution of Trojan Downloaders 2015 250,000 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 0 Figure 17: Distribution of Trojan Downloaders 2015 On average 2,728 unique samples per day were identified as Trojan Downloader in 2015. In total 995,616 unique samples were classified as Trojan Downloader. In August, we saw almost 205.000 Trojan Downloaders. On the next page, in table 6, you find the top 10 Trojan Download families, and in table 7, the top 10 Trojan Droppers. Page | 18 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 Top 10 Trojan Downloaders 2015 Family Amoun t Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Klevate.j Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Agent.hfxr Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Upatre.dfv Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Generic Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Adload.hkrf Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Small.jzm Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Adload.icjy Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Adload.cfms Trojan-Downloader:Win32.Upatre.I Trojan-Downloader:Win32.Upatre.D 44,071 42,625 32,823 29,501 23,912 16,128 14,905 13,714 13,592 12,576 Table 07: Top 10 Trojan Downloaders 2015 Top 10 Trojan Droppers 2015 Family Trojan-Dropper.Win32.Dinwod.unm Trojan-Dropper.Win32.VB.canh Trojan-Dropper.Win32.Agent.bjpedi Trojan-Dropper.Win32.Agent.sbcy Trojan-Dropper.Win32.Injector.ltsy Trojan-Dropper.Win32.Agent.jkob Trojan-Dropper.Win32.Injector.hxbu Trojan-Dropper.Win32.Agent.peok Trojan-Dropper.Win32.Agent.jkoa Trojan-Dropper.Win32.Daws.awfy Amount 343,412 33,588 12,581 10,224 9,763 8,764 8,639 7,623 7,050 5,612 Table 06: Top 10 Trojan Droppers 2015 Distribution of Trojan Droppers 2015 300,000 250,000 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 0 Figure 18: Distribution of Trojan Droppers 2015 In 2015, a total of 1,135,946 samples were identified as Trojan Dropper. Most Trojan Droppers were intercepted in May (275,390). With 343,412 unique samples, the Dinwod.unm was by far the most common Trojan Dropper of 2015. Distribution of Password Stealing Trojans 2015 100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 Figure 19: Distribution of Trojan PWS 2015 Password Stealing Trojans were identified in 366,949 unique samples in 2015. During August we identified an incredible 92,901unique malicious files as Password Stealing Trojans. Page | 19 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 With 33,145 unique samples, the OnLineGames.bomg malware family was by far the most common Password Stealing Trojan of 2015. Top 10 PSW Trojans 2015 Family Top 10 Ransom Trojans 2015 Amoun t Trojan-PSW.Win32.OnLineGames.bomg Trojan-PSW.Win32.OnLineGames2.nf Trojan-PSW.Win32.OnLineGames.tcou Trojan-PSW.Win32.QQPass.cosb Trojan-PSW.Win32.OnLineGames.tavh Trojan-PSW.Win32.OnLineGames.bomh Trojan-PSW.Win32.OnLineGames.bomf Trojan-PSW.Win32.Makuha.bxs Trojan-PSW.Win32.Tepfer.gen Trojan-PSW.Win32.Magania.dpvu 33,145 13,659 12,087 8,709 6,683 6,267 6,264 5,407 4,539 4,112 Family Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Blocker.mgn Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Agent.ife Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Crypmodadv.fe Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Blocker.pxa Trojan-Ransom.Win32.PornoAsset.cphk Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Blocker.frrr Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Foreign.mvgc Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Cidox.aajq Trojan-Ransom.Win32.Cryptodef.zv Trojan-Ransom.Win32.PornoBlocker.bbeo Amount 33,676 28,888 6,424 5,918 5,014 4,395 1,748 1,730 1,587 1,545 Table 08: Top 10 Ransom Trojans 2015 Table 09: Top 10 Password Stealing Trojans 2015 Distribution of Ransom Trojans 2015 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 Figure 20: Distribution of Ransom Trojans 2015 210,106 unique samples were identified in 2015 as Ransom Trojan, of which a stunning 70,245 samples were identified in March. The Blocker.mgn family was, with 33,676 samples, by far the most common Ransom Trojan of 2015. Page | 20 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 Distribution of Spy Trojan 2015 150,000 100,000 50,000 0 Figure 21: Distribution of Spy Trojans 2015 Looking at the Spy Trojans 654,743 unique samples were identified in 2015. Top 10 Spy Trojans Fam ilies 2015 Family In table 10 we can see that the Lydra.aamt and Agent.cpyi amounted to 182,691 and 77,505 respectively, the most common Spy Trojans of 2015. By far the most Spy Trojans were identified in April: 141,671. Trojan-Spy.Win32.Lydra.aamt Trojan-Spy.Win32.Agent.cpyi Trojan-Spy.Win32.Agent.cvbc Trojan-Spy.Win32.Zbot.sjqo Trojan-Spy.Win32.Zbot.rmwh Trojan-Spy.Win32.Zbot.sjyj Trojan-Spy.Win32.Zbot.qntr Trojan-Spy.Win32.Agent.btsm Trojan-Spy.Win32.Zbot.side Trojan-Spy.Win32.Zbot.txpe Amount 182,691 77,505 15,995 12,814 10,013 9,791 9,302 8,508 7,836 7,240 Table 10: Top 10 Spy Trojans Families 2015 4.5. Worms We identified worm traces and functionalities in more than 15.1 million new files – a stunning increase of 321 percent when compared to the 4.7 million worms of 2014. Files Identified as Worm 2015 vs. 2014 4,000,000 3,000,000 2,000,000 1,000,000 0 2014 2015 Figure 22: Files Identified as Worm 2015 Page | 21 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 Distribution of Worms 2015 4,000,000 3,000,000 2,000,000 1,000,000 0 Figure 23: Distribution of Worms 2015 In figure 22, we see that from July the amount of identified worms are increasing rapidly. In December the amount of identified worms was a stunning 3.1 million. In table 11, we can see that the most common worm is the Allaple.e. Allaple.e is a network worm that was first reported back in 2008. It spreads by replicating across existing network shares with weak Top 10 W orm Fam ilies 2015 Family Amount Net-Worm.Win32.Allaple.e 12,457,172 P2P-Worm.Win32.Sytro.o 1,538,081 Net-Worm.Win32.Allaple.b 737,100 Net-Worm.Win32.Allaple.a 304,254 Worm.Win32.VBNA.alxm 249,145 P2P-Worm.Win32.Sytro.j 184,614 It will make modifications to the system settings Email-Worm.Win32.Runouce.b 115,501 and the registry, which may cause the system to perform slower than usual. P2P-Worm.Win32.Picsys.c 72,119 P2P-Worm.Win32.Sytro.k 61,395 Worm:W32/Palevo.DZ 56,100 passwords. Allaple.e will use brute force to get access to the network shares. Allaple.e is a computer threat that should be Table 11: Top 10 Worm Families 2015 taken seriously. 400,000 300,000 200,000 100,000 0 19/02/2015 07/04/2015 16/04/2015 25/04/2015 04/05/2015 13/05/2015 22/05/2015 31/05/2015 09/06/2015 18/06/2015 27/06/2015 06/07/2015 15/07/2015 24/07/2015 02/08/2015 11/08/2015 20/08/2015 29/08/2015 07/09/2015 16/09/2015 25/09/2015 04/10/2015 13/10/2015 22/10/2015 31/10/2015 09/11/2015 18/11/2015 27/11/2015 06/12/2015 15/12/2015 24/12/2015 Distribution of the Allaple.e Net-Worm 2015 Figure 24: Distribution of Alleaple.e Worm 2015 Page | 22 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 4.6. 64-Bit Malware Malware designed to run on Windows 64-bit was identified in nearly 242,000 new malicious samples in 2015 - a decrease of 25 percent when compared with 2014. 64-Bit Malware 2015 vs. 2014 100,000 50,000 0 2014 2015 Figure 25: Files Identified with 64-Bit Malware 2015 In figure 24, we see that in September 62,910 samples were identified with 64-bit malware. Distribution of 64-Bit Malware 2015 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 Figure 26: Distribution of 64-Bit Malware 2015 A closer look at all the 64-bit malicious files reveals that 50.72 percent are viruses. Second with 31.29 percent are the adware followed by the tools with 14.52 percent. Only 1.5 percent were trojans. In table 12, we can see the top 10 64-bit malware families of 2015. Top 10 64-Bit M alware Fam ilies 2015 Family Amount Win64.Expiro.Gen.3 AdWare.Win64.Agent.ar Win64.Expiro.Gen.2 NetTool.Win64.NetFilter.k Win64.Expiro.A Win64.Expiro.Gen.4 NetTool.Win64.NetFilter.l Virus.Win64.Expiro.e AdWare.Win64.Agent.j Virus.Win64.Expiro.f 48,076 27,795 27,751 25,207 14,094 10,445 7,388 6,275 5,386 3,227 Table 12: Top 10 64-Bit Malware Families 2015 Page | 23 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 4.7. Others After the backdoors, exploits, rootkits, trojans, worms, and the 64-bit malware, we are still left with 18.4 million identified malicious files. This is a decrease of 20 percent when compared with 2014. Files Identified as Other Malware 2015 vs. 2014 3,000,000 2,000,000 1,000,000 0 2014 2015 Figure 27: Files Identified as Other Malware 2015 vs. 2014 Distribution of Other Malware 2015 3,000,000 2,500,000 2,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 0 Figure 28: Distribution of Other Malware 2015 Within the category Other Malware, we find Macro-based malware. Macro-based malware was identified in 52,968 new malicious samples in 2015. Files Identified with Macro-based Malware 2015 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 Page | 24 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 Figure 29: Files Identified as Macro-based Malware 2015 In figure 28, the distribution of Macro-based malware per month for 2015. Most macro-based malware was identified in February 9,398. September was, with 8,550 samples, second to best. During the last quarter of 2015, Macrobased malware declines rapidly in popularity. In table 7, we see that Macro-based malware is primarily targeting Microsoft Excel and Word. Top 10 M acro Fam ilies Q4-2015 Family Amount Virus.MSExcel.Agent.f 14,247 Virus.MSWord.Marker.kn 4,505 Virus.MSExcel.Sic.f 2,508 Trojan-Downloader.MSWord.Agent.oa 1,865 Virus.MSExcel.Laroux.jm 1,700 Virus.MSWord.Xaler.g 1,642 Trojan-Dropper.MSWord.Agent.jj 1,511 Virus.MSExcel.Laroux.zc 1,360 Virus.MSExcel.Laroux.cs 1,299 Virus.MSExcel.NetSnak.a 1,289 Table 13: Top 10 Macro-based Malware 2015 Page | 25 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 5. Geolocation When we compare the amounts of active C&C servers of the top 10 countries with 2014, a decrease of 25 percent is visible. The top 10 countries together were responsible for 27,683 active C&C servers. Top 10 C&C Hosting Countries 2015 vs. 2014 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 2014 2015 Figure 30: Top 10 C&C Hosting Countries 2015 vs. 2014 (1) In April and in August the number of active C&C servers drop dramatically. This is a direct effect of the multi-national effort from Microsoft, FBI, and Security companies, to disrupt various large botnets. In figure 29, a closer look at the top C&C-hosting countries in 2015 and 2014. Top 10 C&C Hosting Countries 2015 vs. 2014 16,000 14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 2014 2015 Figure 31: Top 10 C&C Hosting Countries 2015 vs. 2014 (2) Like in 2014, the United States still led the pack (8,626), followed by the Russian Federation (4,444). Germany could be found on the 3rd place in 2014. In 2015 the 3rd place is for China (2,559). Page | 26 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 Top 10 Countries Hosting C&C Servers 2015 United States Russian Federation China Germany United Kingdom Ukraine The Netherlands France Korea Canada 2014 8,626 4,444 2,595 2,463 2,069 1,927 1,916 1,397 983 357 United States Russian Federation Germany United Kingdom China The Netherlands Ukraine Turkey Korea Iran 13,512 5,736 3,242 3,016 2,293 1,992 1,772 1,509 1,235 843 Table 14: Top 10 Countries Hosting C&C 2015 vs. 2014 The Netherlands, as a hosting country for C&C Servers, dropped one place and ended up 7th in 2015. In figure 30, we can see the amount of active C&C servers per month for The Netherlands. Active C&C Server in The Netherlands 2015 400 300 200 100 0 Figure 32: Active C&C Server in The Netherlands 2015 The multi-national clean up in April and August also had a direct impact on the amount of C&C servers hosted in The Netherlands. Page | 27 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 6. Final Word and Prognoses 2016 Without a decent working crystal ball, we cannot predict the future. We can make a few prognoses for 2016 based on the data we have collected, processed, and analysed in 2015. In 2015, with an average of 277,797 new malicious files per day, the total number of samples processed was 101.4 million, an increase of 116 percent compared with the Category Total 2015 % of Total Identified Compared with 2014 8,265,109 14.78% +0.06% 601,319 1.08% -0.81% Exploits 30,982 0.06% +0.00% Rootkits 67,496 0.12% +0.05% Trojans 13,684,161 24.47% -19.23% Worms 15,131,085 27.05% +19.99% Others 18,382,908 32.45% -0.07% Adware Backdoors amount of new malicious files from 2014. Table 15: Identified Malware per Category 2015 vs. 2014 For 2016 a 120 percent increase is expected bringing the amount of new malicious files to ~125 million. For 2016 we can make the following prognoses: • Adware numbers have been dropping in 2015. But we expect to see them grow to ~10 million of them in 2016. • The amount of backdoors, Botnets, and C&C servers have been going up and down. They drop after clean-up operations, but popup elsewhere in the same or slightly modified versions. C&C Servers will remain the most used method for cybercriminals to control large • international networks with infected client. The hunt for exploits is on. Large companies, like Microsoft and Google, spy agencies, and security researchers all over the world are looking for bugs to exploit, and so will the cybercriminals. Exploits decreased 12 percent in 2015, but are expected to increase to 40,000 for 2016. • Rootkits have increased 145 percent in 2015. If this trend continues, we might reach 100,000 new rootkit samples in 2016. In 2014, ~43 percent of the new malicious files we analysed were trojans. In 2015, only 25 • percent of all the new malicious files were identified as trojan. For 2016, we expect the amount of new trojans to stabilise around 15 million. During 2014, cybercriminals have gained interest in worms as tools for financial gain. Of all • the new malware we have seen in 2015, around 15 million were worms. If this trend continues, we might see ~50 million worms in 2016 - but we don t think so. A more realistic estimate would be 20 to 25 million. • The amount of 64-bit Malware dropped by 25 percent in 2015. Because cybercriminals don t really need 64-bit versions of their malware, it is hard to say if this is going to be a trend or not. For 2016 we expect around 400,000 new and unique 64-bit samples. Page | 28 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 2016 will be a year with many small and large data breaches, new exploits and vulnerabilities, and international spying and hacking. Cybercriminals will use mobile malware and - via BYOD - infect, hack, and spy on your work. The growing popularity of Cloud storage, and in particular, the homebased Clouds will be exploited by cybercriminals for their own usage and get infected with ransomware. In 2016 more ransomware will infect additional smart-devices like smart-tvs, smartwatches, etc. The RedSocks Malware Intelligence Team has formulated five predictions for the year ahead. These predictions conclude that in 2016, cyber security threats will become the new normal, yet security efforts and behaviours – of both businesses and consumers – will fail to catch up. Hybrid threats using cyber-attacks as a battering-ram will continue to rise. Cyber-attacks are increasingly being used as part of a bigger plan. Concepts and techniques from the commercial hacker industry (aimed at gaining financial advantage) will increasingly be incorporated into nationsponsored and targeted cyber-attacks. Critical environments and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA)-systems will continue to be targeted. Since they target operational capabilities within power plants, factories and refineries, SCADA attacks tend to be political in nature. Wellknown examples of such attacks are Shamoon hitting companies in the oil and gas industry, such as Saudi Aramco, and Stuxnet, sabotaging the Iranian nuclear program. Harm ful hardware will play a growing role in the risk and strength of cyber-attacks. Why? First, the chances of acquiring hardware components with a backdoor is high. And as Edward Snowden revealed, western countries are no stranger to using this tactic. Second, hardware is cheap as chips,. This means it could cost as little as €9,000 to build a 1,000 core machine capable of wreaking exponential havoc. Virtualized Environm ents – Cyber security on a shoestring will leave companies virtually exposed. Virtualized environments are complex and create new network layers. According to Gartner, the hypervisor layer is particularly vulnerable to attack because of the privileged layer it holds in the stack. As organizations move to virtualized environments, security needs to be designed from the outset to deliver effective protection. The increase in system complexity, impacted by developments such as virtualization, IoT and mobile, is still not being matched with an increase in security effort or budget. Both remain minimal. M obile paym ents will become increasingly attractive to cyber criminals. The growth of mobile payment platforms is currently overwhelming. Banks investment in security for new mobile platforms doesn’t (yet) match this growth. Traditional banking tools such as ATMs and bank/credit cards are increasingly difficult to hack or copy. However, with mobile payments on the rise, criminals interest will gravitate towards these new forms of digital (mobile) payments. Hactivism will spread substantially. Generation Z (those aged between 5 and 19) is coming of age in the aftermath of the great recession and the era of war on terrorism. Hactivism, their means of rebellion, will rise significantly. Recent attacks on Ziggo in the Netherlands and TalkTalk in the UK have shown that these teenagers do not shy away from paralyzing large parts of national networks. All generations will be confronted by more fake social media profiles which criminal organizations are using to educate followers for criminal activities (grooming). Page | 29 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 On a larger scale, hactivism will continue to be used by nations as a strategy to intim idate or retaliate. Russia, ISIS Cyber Caliphate and China are examples of nations or states that are typically associated with this type of attack. A good example of this is the recent Pawn Storm attack on the Dutch Safety Board following publication of its detailed report on the MH17 incident on October 13, 2015. Cybercrime investigations in 2016 must be robust. Citizens and businesses alike must assume responsibility for their own security. Public sector cyber security levels should also be raised with government institutions and businesses having access to threat assessments and advanced knowledge about how to reduce vulnerabilities. Special attention to the public sector is warranted. Public servants working with IT, which is almost all of them, must understand how important they are in the current cyber security arena and step up to the plate. With its sheer scale and reach, the public sector can, and should, become a formidable force in the defence and defeat of all but the most persistent adversarial actors and cyber threats. It is, after all, the largest organized group that represents a nation. RedSocks attributing Malware Intelligence Team (Niels Groeneveld, Pepijn Janssen, Adrianus Warmenhoven, Rickey Gevers, and Reza Rafati). We hope that you have enjoyed our fourth Malware Trend Report of 2015, and that it provided you with insight into the trends we have seen during this quarter of 2015. We continue to innovate, so please check back with us for our next quarterly trend report which will also include mobile threats. Questions, comments, and requests can be directed towards the RedSocks Malware Research Labs. RedSocks B.V. W: www.redsocks.nl T: +31 (0) 55 36 61 396 G.J.Vroon Anti-Malware Behavioural Researcher E: info@redsocks.nl Page | 30 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 Appendix A: The Numbers Diskspace in GBs Month January February March April May June July August September October November December Grand Total 2015 2014 4,706 4,308 4,104 4,284 4,878 3,809 3,798 4,262 3,281 5,179 4,352 4,216 3,016 2,731 3,272 3,348 3,071 2,956 3,949 3,647 3,549 3,616 3,969 4,087 51,177 New Samples 2015 6,961,880 5,989,640 7,031,834 7,770,861 11,315,818 8,794,698 7,893,833 8,919,549 9,471,431 9,317,916 8,628,175 9,300,184 Detected 2014 2015 2014 6,958,809 5,177,386 8,206,419 7,101,558 6,766,688 7,185,853 8,679,055 7,370,594 6,580,583 7,233,993 8,150,025 7,788,370 2,779,828 2,464,672 2,816,098 3,084,641 6,989,419 5,027,612 3,601,974 5,358,500 6,115,967 6,457,363 5,317,162 5,917,462 4,617,329 3,383,198 6,153,370 5,421,834 5,058,110 5,707,969 6,600,384 5,741,453 5,339,496 6,235,241 6,826,556 5,705,904 41,211 101,395,819 87,199,333 55,930,698 66,790,844 Adware Backdoors 2015 Month 2015 2014 January February March April May June July August September October November December Grand Total 535,462 407,114 12,813 574 785,173 689,028 811,100 1,326,380 1,196,560 1,095,267 690,082 715,556 304,819 310,829 574,776 909,793 712,782 720,297 865,256 902,668 742,090 1,036,728 1,646,837 1,100,656 63,626 26,501 56,181 40,398 65,356 46,843 50,483 59,404 70,197 59,081 31,962 31,287 114,006 62,443 187,311 184,083 70,316 54,097 39,407 94,489 117,540 102,062 136,043 100,514 3,338 2,237 2,112 345 1,559 8,327 1,086 4,626 5,429 610 160 1,153 2,156 5,316 4,497 2,409 2,598 1,222 1,835 1,647 2,094 1,628 4,329 5,298 8,265,109 9,827,531 601,319 1,262,311 30,982 35,029 Rootkits Month January February March April May June July August September October November December 2015 2,725 1,193 4,524 8,478 12,287 2,538 2,496 24,138 2,178 3,530 867 2,542 2014 Exploits Trojans 2014 2,289 1,456 2,248 17,678 1,769 2,775 3,301 5,969 1,052 2,480 1,928 3,493 2015 2014 Worms 2015 2014 2015 1,592,039 1,007,195 1,460,899 1,018,494 2,204,454 793,623 1,015,408 1,195,820 1,398,650 1,033,545 479,176 484,858 2,253,204 1,445,814 2,969,842 2,195,606 2,161,105 2,659,318 2,354,007 2,494,340 2,001,113 2,579,294 3,618,789 2,450,271 85,573 138,671 126,303 132,813 1,435,055 2,461,350 417,760 573,818 1,563,707 2,245,907 2,817,724 3,132,404 2014 243,197 211,503 185,658 432,775 348,065 311,519 772,820 306,350 392,367 408,064 622,495 482,449 Page | 27 Windows Malware Annual Report 2015 and Prognosis 2016 Grand Total 67,496 46,438 13,684,161 29,182,703 15,131,085 4,717,262 Other Malware Month 2015 2014 January February March April May June July August September October November December Grand Total 650,679 939,040 1,174,735 1,883,539 2,485,535 1,025,903 1,303,641 2,174,314 1,879,246 2,019,423 1,297,191 1,549,662 1,697,658 1,345,834 2,229,039 1,684,339 1,761,475 1,981,372 2,563,757 1,935,990 2,083,236 2,104,987 2,119,592 1,563,220 18,382,908 23,070,499 Page | 28 REDSOCKS RedSocks is a cyber-security company specialised in malware detection. RedSocks supplies RedSocks Malicious Threat Detection (MTD) as a hardware or a virtual network appliance. This innovative appliance analyses digital traffic flows in real time based on the algorithms and lists of malicious indicators compiled by the RedSocks Malware Intelligence Team. This team consists of specialists in identifying new threats on the internet and translating them into state-of-the-art malware detection. www.redsocks.eu