MuddyWater, an Iranian threat actor that has been active since at least 2017, has been found to be using the SimpleHelp remote support software to take over targeted systems. The group has previously used ScreenConnect, RemoteUtilities, and Syncro, but this is the first time it has been found to be using SimpleHelp.
According to a senior threat analyst at Group-IB, the tool is not compromised, and the threat actors were able to download it from the official website and use it in their attacks.
MuddyWater is assessed to be a subordinate element within Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), and some of its top targets include Turkey, Pakistan, the U.A.E., Iraq, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the U.S., Azerbaijan, and Afghanistan.
The exact distribution method used to drop the SimpleHelp samples is currently unclear, although the group is known to send spear-phishing messages bearing malicious links from already compromised corporate mailboxes.
Earlier this January, Slovak cybersecurity firm ESET also corroborated Group-IB’s findings, detailing MuddyWater’s attacks in Egypt and Saudi Arabia that entailed the use of SimpleHelp to deploy its Ligolo reverse tunneling tool and a credential harvester dubbed MKL64.
The company was able to identify hitherto unknown infrastructure operated by the group, as well as a PowerShell script capable of receiving commands from a remote server. The disclosure comes weeks after Microsoft detailed the group’s modus operandi of carrying out destructive attacks on hybrid environments under the guise of a ransomware operation.
This latest discovery highlights MuddyWater’s ongoing reliance on legitimate remote administration tools to infiltrate and control targeted systems.
It also underscores the importance of organizations remaining vigilant against spear-phishing and other tactics used by nation-state threat actors to gain access to their networks.
