Description

The government and telecommunications sectors in Southeast Asia have been targeted since June 2024 by a newly identified advanced persistent threat (APT) group known as Earth Kurma. According to research by Trend Micro, this sophisticated campaign has focused on countries including the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia. The attackers employ custom malware, rootkits operating at the kernel level, and legitimate cloud storage services like Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive to stealthily extract sensitive data. This poses a significant business risk due to potential espionage, credential theft, and the persistent access achieved through these advanced techniques. Trend Micro's analysis indicates that Earth Kurma's activities can be traced back to November 2020. The group utilizes a range of malicious tools, including TESDAT and SIMPOBOXSPY for data exfiltration via cloud services, and sophisticated rootkits named KRNRAT and Moriya for maintaining a deep foothold within compromised systems. Notably, Moriya has been previously linked to the TunnelSnake espionage campaign targeting high-profile organizations in Asia and Africa. The initial access methods used by Earth Kurma are currently unknown, but once inside, the attackers leverage various tools for network scanning and lateral movement, along with a keylogger called KMLOG to steal credentials. A distinguishing feature of Earth Kurma's tactics is their use of "living-off-the-land" (LotL) techniques to deploy rootkits, utilizing legitimate system files like syssetup.dll to evade detection. The rootkits, KRNRAT and Moriya, are designed for stealthy operations, including process manipulation, file hiding, shellcode execution, and concealed communication with command-and-control servers. Before data exfiltration, the TESDAT loader collects specific document types (.pdf, .doc, .xlsx, etc.), archives them using WinRAR with a password, and then uploads them to Dropbox or OneDrive using bespoke tools like SIMPOBOXSPY and ODRIZ. Trend Micro warns that Earth Kurma remains highly active and adaptable, capable of reusing code and even leveraging victim infrastructure to achieve their espionage goals in Southeast Asia.