Inception

Inception is a cyber espionage group active since at least 2014. The group has targeted multiple industries and governmental entities primarily in Russia, but has also been active in the United States and throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.[1][2][3]

ID: G0100
Associated Groups: Inception Framework, Cloud Atlas
Contributors: Oleg Skulkin, Group-IB
Version: 1.2
Created: 08 May 2020
Last Modified: 11 April 2024

Associated Group Descriptions

Name Description
Inception Framework

[2]

Cloud Atlas

[3]

Techniques Used

Domain ID Name Use
Enterprise T1555 .003 从密码存储中获取凭证: Credentials from Web Browsers

Inception used a browser plugin to steal passwords and sessions from Internet Explorer, Chrome, Opera, Firefox, Torch, and Yandex.[2]

Enterprise T1005 从本地系统获取数据

Inception used a file hunting plugin to collect .txt, .pdf, .xls or .doc files from the infected host.[4]

Enterprise T1090 .003 代理: Multi-hop Proxy

Inception used chains of compromised routers to proxy C2 communications between them and cloud service providers.[2]

Enterprise T1573 .001 加密通道: Symmetric Cryptography

Inception has encrypted network communications with AES.[3]

Enterprise T1547 .001 启动或登录自动启动执行: Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder

Inception has maintained persistence by modifying Registry run key value HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\.[3]

Enterprise T1059 .001 命令与脚本解释器: PowerShell

Inception has used PowerShell to execute malicious commands and payloads.[1][3]

.005 命令与脚本解释器: Visual Basic

Inception has used VBScript to execute malicious commands and payloads.[1][3]

Enterprise T1203 客户端执行漏洞利用

Inception has exploited CVE-2012-0158, CVE-2014-1761, CVE-2017-11882 and CVE-2018-0802 for execution.[4][3][2][1]

Enterprise T1071 .001 应用层协议: Web Protocols

Inception has used HTTP, HTTPS, and WebDav in network communications.[3][1]

Enterprise T1083 文件和目录发现

Inception used a file listing plugin to collect information about file and directories both on local and remote drives.[2]

Enterprise T1069 .002 权限组发现: Domain Groups

Inception has used specific malware modules to gather domain membership.[2]

Enterprise T1221 模板注入

Inception has used decoy documents to load malicious remote payloads via HTTP.[1]

Enterprise T1027 .013 混淆文件或信息: Encrypted/Encoded File

Inception has encrypted malware payloads dropped on victim machines with AES and RC4 encryption.[3]

Enterprise T1204 .002 用户执行: Malicious File

Inception lured victims into clicking malicious files for machine reconnaissance and to execute malware.[3][4][2][1]

Enterprise T1218 .005 系统二进制代理执行: Mshta

Inception has used malicious HTA files to drop and execute malware.[4]

.010 系统二进制代理执行: Regsvr32

Inception has ensured persistence at system boot by setting the value regsvr32 %path%\ctfmonrn.dll /s.[3]

Enterprise T1082 系统信息发现

Inception has used a reconnaissance module to gather information about the operating system and hardware on the infected host.[2]

Enterprise T1102 网络服务

Inception has incorporated at least five different cloud service providers into their C2 infrastructure including CloudMe.[3][2]

Enterprise T1588 .002 获取能力: Tool

Inception has obtained and used open-source tools such as LaZagne.[4]

Enterprise T1518 软件发现

Inception has enumerated installed software on compromised systems.[2]

Enterprise T1057 进程发现

Inception has used a reconnaissance module to identify active processes and other associated loaded modules.[2]

Enterprise T1566 .001 钓鱼: Spearphishing Attachment

Inception has used weaponized documents attached to spearphishing emails for reconnaissance and initial compromise.[3][2][1][4]

Software

References