On August 10, 2022, Cisco officially confirmed its corporate network hack by the Yanluowang ransomware group earlier this year. The tech giant claims that the breach was reported internally on May 24 and was further investigated by Cisco Security Incident Response (CSIRT) team.
This Cisco’s security incident made the headlines after the Yanluowang threat actors leaked a list of stolen files on the darknet. The company representatives claim that adversaries could not exfiltrate sensitive data, having only acquired files from the exposed Box folder. According to the official statement released by Cisco Talos, the initial attack vector exploited by the Yanluowang gang was one employee’s failure at blocking adversaries’ phishing attempts. As a result, phishing attacks initiated by the Yanluowang gang led to the successful hijacking of a victim’s personal Google account, stealing synchronized credentials, and accessing Cisco VPN.
Detect Yanluowang-Related Compromises
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Yanluowang Ransomware Group
The Yanluowang ransomware gang has been around since August 2021, attacking predominantly US-based corporations. Interestingly, the ransomware family is named after a Chinese mythological character, the ruler of the underworld. The TTPs associated with this threat actor indicate similarities with approaches appropriated by UNC2447 and Lapsus$ groups.
Cisco’s Security Incident Analysis
It is no secret that ransomware operators often use social engineering as the primary infection vector. The Yanluowang threat actors also took the well-trodden path to breach Cisco’s network by applying phishing strategies to deceive a target. The adversaries launched multiple voice phishing attacks masquerading as legit orgs with the goal of duping a victim into approving multi-factor authentication notifications.
Upon establishing a foothold on the breached system, attackers moved laterally around the network, reaching the Citrix environment and getting domain admin rights. The Yanluowang operators employed tools like secretsdump, ntdsutil, and adfind for data harvesting. Evidence suggests that adversaries injected numerous malicious payloads into compromised systems.
Cisco products or services, as well as employee and customer sensitive information, remain secure despite the incident, reads the official vendor’s statement on the issue. The CSIRT team also did not confirm any ransomware deployment instances within the frames of this incident.
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