Phishing Attack in Armenia Shows Possible MuddyWater TTPs with PowerShell Use
- Actor Motivations: Espionage,Exfiltration
- Attack Vectors: Malware,Phishing
- Attack Complexity: Medium
- Threat Risk: Low Impact/Low Probability
Threat Overview
A recent phishing campaign has targeted Armenian individuals through a benign Word document containing a link that directs users to a fake CAPTCHA page. Victims who follow the prompts inadvertently activate a "PasteJacking" technique, where malicious PowerShell code is silently copied and executed in the system's Run box. This script installs PDQ RMM, a legitimate remote management tool, granting attackers remote access without relying on traditional malware. Indicators point to possible attribution to MuddyWater, based on specific social engineering tactics, PowerShell usage, and open-source adaptations, although a definitive link remains unconfirmed. The incident underscores the use of targeted social engineering attacks against Armenian-speaking users, with potential geopolitical implications.
Detected Targets
Type | Description | Confidence |
---|---|---|
Case | Police of Armenia Police of Armenia has been targeted by MuddyWater with abusive purposes. | Verified |
Region | Armenia | High |
Extracted IOCs
- desktop_app[.]zip
- police-am[.]info
- 4da4da7034d90ac233918d6f852cc40866ad7d1279ca872a6d92859b0fc22f76
- 96f5bb770d363c54d6657b877c16e7559ba7cc6341f084fee64166b7760a8572
- dcb5fbd24b219eb6ed9ddedffc93ad34c0b498e14bdcdc933d08535659cbca51
- fec64dd6eb25bdc32a1125753ed9f17b4d27f3115a1c48d794cdd385b121417a
- armenianeconomy[.]com/desktop_app.zip
- police-am[.]info/i.msi
- police-am[.]info/news/view/galstanyan151026.html
Tip: 9 related IOCs (0 IP, 2 domain, 3 URL, 0 email, 4 file hash) to this threat have been found.