The menace actor often called Blind Eagle has been attributed with excessive confidence to using the Russian bulletproof internet hosting service Proton66.
Trustwave SpiderLabs, in a report revealed final week, stated it was in a position to make this connection by pivoting from Proton66-linked digital property, resulting in the invention of an energetic menace cluster that leverages Visible Fundamental Script (VBS) information as its preliminary assault vector and installs off-the-shelf distant entry trojans (RATS).
Many menace actors depend on bulletproof internet hosting suppliers like Proton66 as a result of these providers deliberately ignore abuse stories and authorized takedown requests. This makes it simpler for attackers to run phishing websites, command-and-control servers, and malware supply programs with out interruption.
The cybersecurity firm stated it recognized a set of domains with the same naming sample (e.g., gfast.duckdns[.]org, njfast.duckdns[.]org) starting in August 2024, all of which resolved to the identical IP handle (“45.135.232[.]38”) that is related to Proton66.
Using dynamic DNS providers like DuckDNS additionally performs a key function in these operations. As an alternative of registering new domains every time, attackers rotate subdomains tied to a single IP handle — making detection more durable for defenders.
“The domains in query had been used to host a wide range of malicious content material, together with phishing pages and VBS scripts that function the preliminary stage of malware deployment,” security researcher Serhii Melnyk stated. “These scripts act as loaders for second-stage instruments, which, on this marketing campaign, are restricted to publicly out there and sometimes open-source RATs.”
Whereas Visible Fundamental Script (VBS) may appear outdated, it is nonetheless a go-to software for preliminary entry as a result of its compatibility with Home windows programs and talent to run silently within the background. Attackers use it to obtain malware loaders, bypass antivirus instruments, and mix into regular consumer exercise. These light-weight scripts are sometimes step one in multi-stage assaults, which later deploy distant entry trojans (RATs), knowledge stealers, or keyloggers.
The phishing pages have been discovered to authentic Colombian banks and monetary establishments, together with Bancolombia, BBVA, Banco Caja Social, and Davivienda. Blind Eagle, often known as AguilaCiega, APT-C-36, and APT-Q-98, is thought for its concentrating on of entities in South America, significantly Colombia and Ecuador.
The misleading websites are engineered to reap consumer credentials and different delicate info. The VBS payloads hosted on the infrastructure come fitted with capabilities to retrieve encrypted executable information from a distant server, primarily performing as a loader for commodity RATS like AsyncRAT or Remcos RAT.
Moreover, an evaluation of the VBS codes has revealed overlaps with Vbs-Crypter, a software linked to a subscription-based crypter service referred to as Crypters and Instruments that is used to obfuscate and pack VBS payloads with an purpose to keep away from detection.
Trustwave stated it additionally found a botnet panel that permits customers to “management contaminated machines, retrieve exfiltrated knowledge, and work together with contaminated endpoints by means of a broad set of capabilities usually present in commodity RAT administration suites.”
The disclosure comes as Darktrace revealed particulars of a Blind Eagle marketing campaign that has been concentrating on Colombian organizations since November 2024 by exploiting a now-patched Home windows flaw (CVE-2024-43451) to obtain and execute the next-stage payload, a habits that was first documented by Verify Level in March 2025.
“The persistence of Blind Eagle and talent to adapt its techniques, even after patches had been launched, and the velocity at which the group had been in a position to proceed utilizing pre-established TTPs highlights that well timed vulnerability administration and patch utility, whereas important, is just not a standalone protection,” the corporate stated.
