Security News

Ransomware groups are abusing unpatched versions of a Linux-based Mitel VoIP application and using it as a springboard plant malware on targeted systems. The Mitel focuses on VoIP technology allowing users to make phone calls using an internet connection instead of regular telephone lines.

A suspected ransomware intrusion against an unnamed target leveraged a Mitel VoIP appliance as an entry point to achieve remote code execution and gain initial access to the environment.The findings come from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which traced the source of the attack to a Linux-based Mitel VoIP device sitting on the network perimeter, while also identifying a previously unknown exploit as well as a couple of anti-forensic measures adopted by the actor on the device to erase traces of their actions.

Hackers used a zero-day exploit on Linux-based Mitel MiVoice VOIP appliances for initial access in what is believed to be the beginning of a ransomware attack. Mitel VOIP devices are used by critical organizations in various sectors for telephony services and were recently exploited by threat actors for high-volume DDoS amplification attacks.