Security News

Security researchers have found a new piece of malware targeting Microsoft SQL servers. Named Maggie, the backdoor has already infected hundreds of machines all over the world.

Cybercriminals wielding the FARGO ransomware are targeting Microsoft SQL servers, AhnLab's ASEC analysis team has warned. They haven't pinpointed how the attackers are getting access to the targeted servers, but noted that typical attacks targeting database servers include brute force and dictionary attacks aimed at ferreting out the passwords of existing, poorly secured accounts.

Organizations are being warned about a wave of attacks targeting Microsoft SQL Server with ransomware known as Fargo, which encrypts files and threatens victims that their data may be published online if they do not pay up. The warning comes in a blog posting from analysts at the AhnLab Security Emergency Response Center, which says that Fargo is one of the most prominent ransomware strains targeting vulnerable SQL Server instances, and was previously also known as Mallox because it used the file extension.

Vulnerable Microsoft SQL servers are being targeted in a new wave of attacks with FARGO ransomware, security researchers are warning. BleepingComputer has reported similar attacks in February, dropping Cobalt Strike beacons, and in July when threat actors hijacked vulnerable MS-SQL servers to steal bandwidth for proxy services.

Threat actors are generating revenue by using adware bundles, malware, or even hacking into Microsoft SQL servers, to convert devices into proxies rented through online proxy services. To steal a device's bandwidth, the threat actors install software called 'proxyware' that allocates a device's available internet bandwidth as a proxy server that remote users can use for various tasks, like testing, intelligence collection, content distribution, or market research.

Threat actors have been adopting a less common method to generate revenue and are leveraging payloads to install proxyware services on target systems. Proxyware is a program that allows allocating available internet bandwidth over a proxy to users that need it for various tasks, like testing, intelligence collection, content distribution, or market research.

Microsoft on Tuesday warned that it recently spotted a malicious campaign targeting SQL Servers that leverages a built-in PowerShell binary to achieve persistence on compromised systems. The intrusions, which leverage brute-force attacks as an initial compromise vector, stand out for their use of the utility "Sqlps.exe," the tech giant said in a series of tweets.

Threat analysts have observed a new wave of attacks installing Cobalt Strike beacons on vulnerable Microsoft SQL Servers, leading to deeper infiltration and subsequent malware infections. The attacks start with threat actors scanning for servers with an open TCP port 1433, which are likely public-facing MS-SQL servers.

A trio of researchers at Palo Alto Networks has detailed vulnerabilities in the JET database engine, and demonstrated how those flaws can be exploited to ultimately execute malicious code on systems running Microsoft's SQL Server and Internet Information Services web server.In a talk today at Black Hat Asia titled Give Me a SQL Injection, I Shall PWN IIS and SQL Server, the three explained they found the JET engine - for years an underlying tech for Microsoft Access and other products, and still downloadable today - has many vulnerabilities.

Now, researchers with Sophos have tracked the origin of the campaign to what they claim is a small software development company based in Iran. "The name of an Iran-based software company was hardcoded into the miner's main configuration file," said researchers with Sophos in a Thursday analysis.