This post was written with contributions from Joseph Lozowski.
Comprehensive incident preparedness requires building out and testing response plans that consider the possibility that threats will bypass all security protections. An example of a threat vector that can bypass security protections is “shadow IT” and it is one that organizations must prepare for. Shadow IT is the use of any hardware or software operating within an enterprise without the knowledge or permission of IT or Security.
IBM Security X-Force responds to security incidents across the globe, and from those incidents, X-Force gains valuable insights into how adversaries can gain access to organizations to carry out their attacks. In this blog, we will highlight three incidents where Shadow IT was leveraged during the attack to help organizations realize how Shadow IT can quickly transform from a threat to an incident.
WannaCry About Some Rogue Systems
X-Force responded to an incident where a client had received a network-based alert for an endpoint within their network attempting to connect to a malicious domain. X-Force was able to trace the alert back to a small unknown deployment of unpatched Windows 7 systems within one of their facilities. These systems were operating completely outside the purview of the security team and were not protected by any of the organization’s security tooling.
Through X-Force’s investigation, it was determined that one of the rogue Windows systems downloaded a WannaCry dropper (mssecsvc.exe) and upon execution attempted to make a connection to iuqerfsodp9ifjaposdfjhgosurijfaewrwergwea[.]com. After the initial connection attempt, a new service was created named “Microsoft Security Center 2.0.” Following the creation of the Microsoft Security Center 2.0 service, the service loaded two embedded resources responsible for facilitating the spread of the WannaCry ransomware t ..
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