McAfee Showcases Increased Commitment to Cyber Threat Research with Shamoon Revelations
26 April 2017 - 7:01AM
Business Wire
McAfee Links Series of Shamoon Malware
Campaigns Targeting Saudi Arabia; Suggests One Common Actor Behind
Attacks
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
- McAfee to invest more in investigation
of the technology and tactics of the latest cyberwarfare and
cybercrime campaigns
- McAfee discloses detailed analysis of
the evolution of Shamoon malware campaigns from 2012 attacks to
2016 and 2017 campaigns
- Commonalities between Shamoon campaigns
targeting Saudi Arabia suggest common actor developing and
coordinating them
A few weeks after launching as a standalone company, McAfee LLC,
the globally trusted security provider, today announced it will
increase investments and resources in cyber threat research. As a
proof point of this commitment, McAfee released evidence that a
series of Shamoon malware campaigns targeting Saudi Arabia are the
work of one coordinated force of attackers, rather than that of
multiple independent renegade hacker groups.
McAfee’s new investment will focus on investigations of the
global threat landscape’s most sophisticated cyberwarfare and
cybercrime campaigns. In investigating the latest threats, their
design, and how they are built into cyber-attack campaigns, McAfee
will then look to help customers better understand the technology
and tactics of their adversaries. Areas of increased focus will
include advanced malware, ransomware, financial fraud, general
cybercrime, cyber espionage, cyberwarfare, and protection of
industrial control systems. Among other contributions, McAfee will
provide cyber security professionals the McAfee Threat Landscape
Dashboard, an overview of the latest, most significant threats
tracked by McAfee researchers.
McAfee will also increase its engagement with law enforcement
and academia, including coordinated efforts to take down criminal
networks, develop new approaches to fighting cybercrime, and
recruit more young people to join the ranks of cybersecurity
professionals.
“Campaign investigations complete our triad of research
capabilities focused on keeping the digital world safe,” said Steve
Grobman, Chief Technology Officer for McAfee LLC. “McAfee is
committed to bringing together world-class threat intelligence,
vulnerability research, and investigative expertise to provide
customers more insights into how specific malicious actors develop
and wage cyber-attacks.”
Today’s Shamoon disclosure surveys the evolution of Shamoon
malware campaigns, from the 2012 attacks on the Middle Eastern
energy sector, to the latest cyber espionage campaigns of 2016 and
2017. Whereas earlier Shamoon campaigns targeted a relatively small
number of energy sector organizations to disrupt the operations of
the region’s critical energy industry, the more recent attacks
focused on a greater number of organizations in the energy,
government, financial services and critical infrastructure sectors
of Saudi Arabia.
The commonalities between these campaigns suggest that, rather
than being the product of multiple independent hacker groups, they
are more likely the product of one comprehensive cyber espionage
operation on the scale one would expect from a serious geopolitical
actor. Furthermore, the findings illustrate the arch of the actor’s
development and increased sophistication over the last five years.
It is the latest evidence that rogue state and stateless actors are
developing cyberwarfare and cyber espionage capabilities without
which they would otherwise be unable to gain advantages versus
major state actors and their extensive conventional military and
surveillance capabilities.
The McAfee disclosure offers customers and partners constructive
guidance to fend off such attacks on their own organizations. For
information on this research into the Shamoon cyber-attacks, please
visit our executive summary and technical blogs on the
research.
"We strongly believe that the latest threat data must be
complemented with a deeper understanding of how today's advanced
cyberattacks operate," said Raj Samani, Chief Scientist and head of
McAfee Strategic Intelligence, the group leading McAfee’s
investigative research. "The revelations of this latest research
remind us that data can be the difference, but only if we can gain
a view into the inner workings of threats, the campaigns they
spearhead, and the individuals and organizations behind them."
About McAfee
McAfee is one of the world’s leading independent cybersecurity
companies. Inspired by the power of working together, McAfee
creates business and consumer solutions that make the world a safer
place. www.mcafee.com
McAfee and the McAfee logo are trademarks of McAfee LLC in the
United States and other countries.
*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of
others.
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McAfeeChris Palm, 408-346-3089Chris_Palm@McAfee.comorZeno
GroupJanelle Dickerson,
650-801-0936Janelle.Dickerson@zenogroup.com