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CRYPTOCHAMELEON ATTACKERS TARGET APPLE, OKTA USERS WITH TECH SUPPORT GAMBIT

A sophisticated threat actor using an MO similar to Scattered Spider is
camouflaging itself with convincing impersonation techniques in targeted
attacks.

Nathan Eddy, Contributing Writer

March 1, 2024

3 Min Read
Source: imageBROKER.com GmbH & Co. KG via Alamy Stock Photo


A phishing kit dubbed CryptoChameleon has been discovered targeting
cryptocurrency platforms, including employees of Binance and Coinbase — as well
as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

According to an analysis from Lookout, the victims primarily use Apple iOS and
Google Android devices with single sign-on (SSO) solutions, including Okta,
Outlook, and Google.

Worryingly, successful attacks have yielded sensitive data beyond just usernames
and passwords — for example, password reset URLs and photo IDs — making the
attacks more damaging.



"Cryptocurrency platforms, single sign-on services, government agencies, and
other B2C-facing organizations should look at stronger forms of authentication,
such as WebAuthn-based passkeys," says Jason Soroko, senior vice president of
product at Sectigo.


SOPHISTICATED CRYPTOCHAMELEON'S PHISHING TACTICS ARE CONVINCING

The sophisticated cyberattackers behind CryptoChameleon are notably exhibiting
advanced tactics, such as personal outreach. The social engineering includes
personalized text messages and voice calls impersonating legitimate support
personnel from reputable companies.



And they're also convincingly duplicating legitimate pages, making them harder
to recognize, according to Lookout. Specifically, the use of phone numbers and
websites that mimic real company support teams adds another layer of
authenticity to the phishing attempts, further misleading the victims.

Meanwhile, the CryptoChameleon kit also utilizes hCaptcha to evade automated
analysis tools.



In general, CryptoChameleon's MO resembles techniques used by the Scattered
Spider financial cyberthreat group, in particular targeting Okta users through
voice calls by purporting to be help desk personnel — but Lookout noted the
attacks are carried out with enough variance to suggest a different threat
actor.

In fact, the researchers suspect the phishing kit might be offered as an
as-a-service offering on Dark Web forums.

"It is unknown whether this is a single threat actor, or a common tool being
used by many different groups," according to Lookout's researchers. "However,
there are many similarities in the backend C2 [command-and-control] servers and
test data our team found across the various phishing sites."




DON'T BE DUPED BY FAKE PHONE CALLS FROM TECH SUPPORT

When it comes to social engineering from text messages and phone calls,
organizations must educate their employees and set up a policy to verify the
source of requests, Soroko says.

"We have seen deepfake audio phone calls that were very effective, which means
that normal means of communication that were once fully trusted require a higher
level of scrutiny," he notes. "You need to verify who is texting and calling,
and moving forward, we need better ways to make that easier."

Patrick Tiquet, vice president of security and architecture at Keeper Security,
agrees that organizations should prioritize user education, emphasizing the
risks associated with unsolicited messages and the importance of additional
verification to ensure the URL of the destination website matches the authentic
website. 

"When a password manager is used, it automatically identifies when a site's URL
doesn't match what's contained in the user's vault, which provides a critical
extra layer of security," he explains.

Tiquet says multifactor authentication (MFA) can also provide a critical second
layer of protection that protects against phishing attacks — but he warns that
cybercriminals are working to evade MFA protections and are developing advanced
tactics to gain access to high-value accounts and steal credentials.





ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)

Nathan Eddy, Contributing Writer



Nathan Eddy is a freelance journalist and award-winning documentary filmmaker
specializing in IT security, autonomous vehicle technology, customer experience
technology, and architecture and urban planning. A graduate of Northwestern
University’s Medill School of Journalism, Nathan currently lives in Berlin,
Germany.

See more from Nathan Eddy, Contributing Writer
Keep up with the latest cybersecurity threats, newly discovered vulnerabilities,
data breach information, and emerging trends. Delivered daily or weekly right to
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