A suspected Iranian state-supported threat actor called ‘Agrius’ has launched a new ransomware strain called ‘Moneybird’ to target Israeli organizations. Agrius has been actively conducting attacks in Israel and the Middle East region since at least 2021, using various aliases and deploying destructive data wipers.
The introduction of ‘Moneybird’ is believed to be part of Agrius’ strategy to expand their operations while masking their activities.
To gain access to corporate networks, Agrius initially exploits vulnerabilities in public-facing servers. They then utilize Israel-based ProtonVPN nodes to deploy webshells hidden inside “Certificate” text files.
Agrius employs open-source tools for network reconnaissance, lateral movement, secure communication, credential stealing, and data exfiltration. The Moneybird ransomware executable is obtained from legitimate file hosting platforms like ‘ufile.io’ and ‘easyupload.io’.
Upon execution, the Moneybird ransomware encrypts target files using AES-256 with GCM, generating unique encryption keys for each file. It specifically targets the “F:\User Shares” folder used for corporate documents and collaboration files, indicating a focus on causing business disruption.
Data restoration and file decryption become extremely challenging due to the complex private key generation process involving system GUID, file content, path, and random numbers.
Although Moneybird is a revenue-generating ransomware strain, the high ransom demand suggests that Agrius anticipated the unlikelihood of payment and intended to cause significant damage.
Check Point Research noted that negotiations were unlikely due to the exorbitant demand, making the attack essentially destructive. While Moneybird lacks customization options for mass campaigns, it remains an effective tool for Agrius’ business-disruption objectives, with the potential for further development and more potent versions in the future.
