NEW: Microsoft Vulnerabilities Report 2022 - Read the Findings of Our Annual Report Read Now

  • Partners
  • Support
  • Careers
  • English
    • Deutsch
    • français
    • español
    • 한국어
    • português
BeyondTrust
  • Products

    Privileged Password Management

    Discover, manage, audit, and monitor privileged accounts and credentials.

    • Password Safe
    • DevOps Secrets Safe
    • Privileged Access Discovery Application

    Endpoint Privilege Management

    Enforce least privilege across Windows, Mac, Linux, and Unix endpoints.

    • Windows and Mac
    • Unix and Linux
    • Active Directory Bridge

    Secure Remote Access

    Centrally manage remote access for service desks, vendors, and operators.

    • Remote Support
    • Privileged Remote Access
    • Privileged Access Discovery Application

    Cloud Security Management

    Automate the management of identities and assets across your multicloud footprint.

    • Cloud Privilege Broker

    BeyondInsight

    Experience the industry’s most innovative, comprehensive platform for privileged access management.

  • Solutions

    Use Cases

    • Cloud Security
    • Compliance
    • Cyber Insurance
    • Digital Transformation
    • Endpoint Security
    • Operational Technology
    • Ransomware
    • Service Desk Efficiency
    • Zero Trust

    Industry Applications

    • Financial Services
    • Government Agencies
    • Healthcare
    • Law Enforcement
    • Manufacturing
    • Schools & Universities

    Solutions

    The BeyondTrust Privileged Access Management portfolio is an integrated solution that provides visibility and control over all privileged accounts and users.

  • Resources

    Learn

    • Blog
    • Customer Stories
    • Competitor Comparisons
    • Datasheets
    • Demos
    • Glossary
    • Podcast
    • Whitepapers

    Attend

    • Events
    • Go Beyond
    • Training
    • Webinars

    Support

    • Changelog
    • Professional Services
    • Technical Documentation

    Universal Privilege Management

    Our innovative Universal Privilege Management approach secures every user, asset, and session across your entire enterprise.

  • Company
    • About
    • Leadership
    • Core Values
    • Partners
    • Careers
  • Watch Demo
  • Contact Sales

How proactive protection can eclipse Shamoon

October 20, 2017

  • Blog
  • Archive

In recent days, Saudi Arabia has warned organizations in the kingdom to be on the alert for the Shamoon computer virus, a variant of which gained notoriety after being linked to attacks against Saudi Aramco in 2012 and reportedly damaged over 30,000 systems.

Shamoon is an attack campaign delivering an aggressive malware strain known as Disttrack which destroys target systems by wiping data rendering them unable to boot.

In late 2016 Shamoon 2 appeared and has been increasingly active in targeting organizations in the Middle East. Several Government ministries and chemical companies have been attacked. With many believing this is just the start of a renewed campaign many are wondering what can be done to prevent this latest threat.

So how does it work?

As with most advanced threats, the Shamoon campaign is modular and composed of three main components.

Shamoon Dropper – This is the initial point of infection and used by the attackers to establish a foothold.

Shamoon Wiper – This inflicts the damage by installing a malicious disk driver to overwrite data.

Shamoon Reporter - This reports back to the attacker the domain of the target machine and the number of files that have been overwritten.

This modular approach allows the attacker to reduce the risk of being detected, as not all the malicious code is delivered at once and droppers can be quickly evolved to evade AV and other detection technologies.

Although there are few available details of how exactly the attack is delivered, phishing emails or stolen credentials are the most likely source.

Once the attack begins, the malware rapidly embeds itself into the target system and uses several tricks to appear legitimate and maintain persistence. In the observed attacks, we see that exploiting admin rights and the ability of unknown payloads to execute is key to the success of the campaign.

The files dropped to disk are not commonly detected by AV solutions and use filenames that appear legitimate to avoid arousing suspicion.

How can it be stopped?

Defendpoint takes proven best security practices and combines them to offer multiple layers of proactive prevention on the endpoint. This allows organizations to stay secure and prevent attacks such as Shamoon and Disttrack.
Shamoon

As shown on this revised attack chain, Defendpoint’s layers of proactive prevention offer multiple ways to mitigate the risk of the attack. As with many advanced modular attacks, there are a number of points at which Defendpoint can break the attack chain and prevent the attack.

Looking beyond Shamoon

Many organizations are concerned about not only the current Shamoon campaign but what the next attack will be. With an ever-increasing number of attacks, the traditional approaches of relying on detection technologies simply can’t stay ahead of the threats as the attacks continually evolve.

With Defendpoint, organizations can stay ahead by significantly reducing the attack surface of their endpoints using proactive measures to stop even the most advanced cyber attacks. This technology is simple to deploy and simple to manage, offering protection from day one.

For more detail and analysis on the Shamoon virus as well as how it can be mitigated download our article.

Photograph of James Maude

James Maude, Lead Cyber Security Researcher

James Maude is the Lead Cyber Security Researcher at BeyondTrust’s Manchester, U.K., office. James has broad experience in security research, conducting in-depth analysis of malware and cyber threats to identify attack vectors and trends in the evolving security landscape. His background in forensic computing and active involvement in the security research community makes him an expert voice on cybersecurity. He regularly presents at international events and hosts webinars to discuss threats and defense strategies.

Stay Up To Date

Get the latest news, ideas, and tactics from BeyondTrust. You may unsubscribe at any time.

I agree to receive product related communications from BeyondTrust as detailed in the Privacy Policy, and I may manage my preferences or withdraw my consent at any time.

You May Also Be Interested In:

Whitepapers

Microsoft Vulnerabilities Report 2022

Whitepapers

Cybersecurity Insurance Checklist

Whitepapers

Privileged Access Management: PAM Checklist

Keep up with BeyondTrust

I agree to receive product related communications from BeyondTrust as detailed in the Privacy Policy, and I may manage my preferences or withdraw my consent at any time.

Customer Support
Contact Sales

Products

  • Endpoint Privilege Management
  • Password Management
  • Privileged Remote Access
  • DevOps Secrets Safe
  • Remote Support
  • Cloud Privilege Broker

Resources

  • Blog
  • Case Studies
  • Competitor Comparisons
  • Datasheets
  • Glossary
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Webcasts
  • Whitepapers

About

  • Company
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Events
  • Leadership Team
  • Partner Program
  • Press
BeyondTrust Logo
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Privacy
  • Security
  • Manage Cookies
  • WEEE Compliance

Copyright © 1999 — 2022 BeyondTrust Corporation. All rights reserved. Other trademarks identified on this page are owned by their respective owners. BeyondTrust Corporation is not a chartered bank or trust company, or depository institution. It is not authorized to accept deposits or trust accounts and is not licensed or regulated by any state or federal banking authority.