Understanding GreyEnergy Programs

Every year, cyber attacks become more specialized. In 2015 a series of attacks on the Ukrainian power system was made. During these large-scale attacks, ESET researchers began to detect another family of malicious programs, called GreyEnergy.

GreyEnergy is the successor to the BlackEnergy APT group, and, according to the analysis by ESET, it belongs to Telebots. Currently, GreyEnergy malware does not have destructive capabilities, and is focused on spyware and intelligence operations on workstations of an industrial management system with software and SCADA servers. However, it has a modular architecture, which means that its capabilities can be expanded. Plug-ins, observed by security researchers, give such possibilities a backdoor access, file filtering, screenshots capture, keystroke recording and credential theft.

In the analysis ESET researchers state that  GreyEnergy’s goal is to penetrate the goal network and gather information. GreyEnergy operators also use common tools in their arsenal, such as Mimikatz, PsExec, WinExe, Nmap, and a custom port scanner. It is also worth noting that the connection is based  on  the technical indicators, such as code similarity, the overall infrastructure of C & C, the chain of execution of malicious programs and other evidence.

Attacks on critical infrastructure continue to grow, so stay vigilant. ESET analysis is important for providing protection against these attacks, as well as for a better understanding of the tactics, tools and procedures of modern APT groups.