Yesterday, Symantec published details about a new distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack carried out by a gang dubbed "DarkSeoul" against South Korean websites. We identified their previous attacks against South Korea, including the devastating Jokra attacks in March 2013 that wiped numerous computer hard drives at South Korean banks and television broadcasters. As a result of our continued investigations into attacks against South Korea, we have come across a new threat—detected as Trojan.Korhigh—that attempts to perform a similar wiping action.
Similar to previous wipers encountered by Symantec in attacks against South Korea, Trojan.Korhigh has the functionality to systematically delete files and overwrite the Master Boot Record (MBR) on the compromised computer, rendering it unusable. The Trojan accepts several command line switches for added functionality, such as changing user passwords on compromised computers to "highanon2013" or executing specific wipe instructions related to the following file types:
- asp
- aspx
- avi
- bmp
- dll
- do
- exe
- flv
- gif
- htm
- html
- jpeg
- jpg
- jsp
- mp4
- mpeg
- mpg
- nms
- ocx
- php
- php3
- png
- sys
- wmv
The Trojan may also change the computer wallpaper as an indication of compromise. At this time, we cannot confirm the identity of the attackers.
Figure. Trojan.Korhigh wallpaper
The threat may also attempt to gather system information about the compromised machine (operating system version, computer name, current date) which it sends to the following IP addresses:
- 112.217.190.218:8080
- 210.127.39.29:80
Symantec is continuing its analysis of this threat and is monitoring on-going attacks against South Korea. To ensure the best protection, Symantec recommends that you use the latest Symantec technologies and up-to-date antivirus definitions.