December 19, 2023 at 07:35AM
Cybersecurity research uncovers an individual, “Yeremy,” misusing GitHub to host stage-two malware by exploiting “gists” and commits, evading detection. Hackers are increasingly leveraging public service platforms, like GitHub, for their illicit activities due to their access, lack of scrutiny, and minimal effort required. This tactic offers a stealth advantage over traditional infrastructure-based attacks.
From the meeting notes, it appears that a GitHub account operated by an individual known as Yeremy is using two unique features of the platform to host stage-two malware. This has been discovered by researchers who found that Yeremy’s packages were concealed using GitHub “gists” and commits for stealthy distribution of malware.
Yeremy took a circuitous approach by first publishing packages to the Python Package Index (PyPI) as honest libraries for handling network proxying, but these packages contained Base64-encoded strings concealing URLs pointing to secret GitHub gists, which in turn contained the stage-two malware.
It is noted that using public code repositories for hosting malicious files is a common tactic among cybercriminals, but Yeremy’s approach of utilizing specific features of GitHub to conceal the malware demonstrates a more sophisticated method. Additionally, the use of software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms in ways that are difficult to detect has created new challenges for identifying and removing such malicious content.
The researchers also pointed out the limitations of current security measures on package repositories like npm and PyPI, highlighting the need for users to take responsibility for protecting themselves when using such services.
Furthermore, the meeting notes emphasize that using public software services for carrying out cyberattacks offers advantages in terms of resiliency from account takedowns and ease of setup and maintenance, which makes them attractive for malicious actors.
Overall, it is evident from the meeting notes that there is an ongoing trend of cybercriminals leveraging public services such as GitHub and package repositories for their illicit activities, highlighting the need for enhanced security measures and user vigilance.