• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

My TechDecisions

  • Best of Tech Decisions
  • Topics
    • Video
    • Audio
    • Mobility
    • Unified Communications
    • IT Infrastructure
    • Network Security
    • Physical Security
    • Facility
    • Compliance
  • RFP Resources
  • Resources
  • Podcasts
  • Project of the Week
  • About Us
    SEARCH
IT Infrastructure, Network Security, News

Hackers Using Public Cloud Infrastructure, RATs to Deploy Malware

New research from Cisco Talos details how threat actors are increasingly using cloud services to carry out their malicious activities.

January 14, 2022 Zachary Comeau Leave a Comment

Cisco Talos Cloud RATs

A new report from Cisco Talos, the IT vendor’s security research team, details how hackers are increasingly using public cloud services like Azure and AWS that eliminates the need to host their own infrastructure.

Specifically, researchers narrowed in on a fall 2021 campaign that utilized variants of known remote access trojans that were deployed and delivered via cloud services. The remote administration tools (RATs) were packed with features that allowed the operator to take control over the victim’s environment and execute arbitrary commands remotely, researchers say.

As with many large-scale cyberattacks, the initial infection vector in this case is a phishing email with a malicious ZIP attachment that contains an ISO image with a malicious loader in the form of JavaScript, a Windows batch file or Visual Basic script, according to Cisco Talos.

When the initial script is executed on the victim’s computer, it connects to a download server to download the next stage, which can be hosted on an Azure cloud-based Windows server of an AWS EC2 instance.

The hackers registered several malicious subdomains using DuckDNS, a free dynamic DNS service, to deliver the malware payload. The hackers use this to regularly change the IP addresses of C2 servers and quickly add new subdomains.

Researchers also discovered an obfuscated PowerShell dropper script built by HCrypt builder associated with the download servers of the campaign.

According to researchers, the malware families used are variants of the Netwire, Nanocore and AsyncRAT remote access trojans.

According to Cisco Talos, this research demonstrates that threat actors are increasingly using cloud services to carry out their malicious activities.

To prevent against these kind of attacks, Cisco Talos advises organizations to monitor their outgoing connections to cloud computing services for malicious traffic. The company also urges organizations to take a multi-layered approach to security.

“Defenders should monitor traffic to their organization and implement robust rules around the script execution policies on their endpoints,” researchers say. “It is even more important for organizations to improve email security to detect and mitigate malicious email messages and break the infection chain as early as possible.”

If you enjoyed this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our digital newsletters!

Tagged With: AWS, Azure, Cloud, Remote Access

Related Content:

  • Cloud, SASE, Aryaka How the Cloud is Redefining Media Production and…
  • Singlewire Software mass notification interview Singlewire Software on Mass Notification Solutions
  • URI catchbox 1 Catchbox Plus: The Mic Solution That Finally Gave…
  • Engaging virtual meeting with diverse participants discussing creative ideas in a bright office space during daylight hours Diversified Survey: Workplace AV Tech is Falling Short,…

Free downloadable guide you may like:

  • Practical Design Guide for Office SpacesPractical Design Guide for Office Spaces

    Recent Gartner research shows that workers prefer to return to the office for in-person meetings for relevant milestones, as well as for face-to-face time with co-workers. When designing the office spaces — and meeting spaces in particular — enabling that connection between co-workers is crucial. But introducing the right collaboration technology in meeting spaces can […]

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Downloads

Practical Design Guide for Office Spaces
Practical Design Guide for Office Spaces

Recent Gartner research shows that workers prefer to return to the office for in-person meetings for relevant milestones, as well as for face-to-fa...

New Camera Can Transform Your Live Production Workflow
New Camera System Can Transform Your Live Production Workflow

Sony's HXC-FZ90 studio camera system combines flexibility and exceptional image quality with entry-level pricing.

Creating Great User Experience and Ultimate Flexibility with Clickshare

Working and collaborating in any office environment today should be meaningful, as workers today go to office for very specific reasons. When desig...

View All Downloads

Would you like your latest project featured on TechDecisions as Project of the Week?

Apply Today!

More from Our Sister Publications

Get the latest news about AV integrators and Security installers from our sister publications:

Commercial IntegratorSecurity Sales

AV-iQ

Footer

TechDecisions

  • Home
  • Welcome to TechDecisions
  • Contact Us
  • Comment Guidelines
  • RSS Feeds
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linkedin

Free Technology Guides

FREE Downloadable resources from TechDecisions provide timely insight into the issues that IT, A/V, and Security end-users, managers, and decision makers are facing in commercial, corporate, education, institutional, and other vertical markets

View all Guides
TD Project of the Week

Get your latest project featured on TechDecisions Project of the Week. Submit your work once and it will be eligible for all upcoming weeks.

Enter Today!
Emerald Logo
ABOUTCAREERSAUTHORIZED SERVICE PROVIDERSYour Privacy ChoicesTERMS OF USEPRIVACY POLICY

© 2025 Emerald X, LLC. All rights reserved.