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Financially Motivated Cyber Threats Erode Brazil’s Digital Security

As Brazil continues to grow in economic and geopolitical significance, the country is facing a unique set of cyber threats that are both domestically driven and globally sourced.

The Rise of Financially Motivated Cyber Attacks

A recent analysis by Google’s threat intelligence team has revealed that many financially motivated cyber attacks targeting Brazil originate from within the country itself. While North America and Europe remain the primary targets for ransomware and data theft campaigns, Brazilian organizations have also been impacted by these types of attacks.

Most Targeted Industries in Brazil

The top three most targeted industries in Brazil were found to be:

• Technology
• Healthcare
• Financial services

Enterprises in these sectors are disproportionately affected by malware distribution campaigns targeting Brazilians. These campaigns often use tax and finance-themed lures to convince recipients to open malicious links or files.

PINEAPPLE: A Significant Threat Actor in Brazil

One financially motivated group, PINEAPPLE, has been identified as a significant threat actor in Brazil. The group has been using various tactics to distribute malware, including:

• Impersonating official government services such as the Brazilian revenue service, Receita Federal do Brasil
• Abusing legitimate cloud services, including Google Cloud Run and Cloud Functions, Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and others

Credential Phishing: Another Common Threat in Brazil

Credential phishing is another common threat affecting users and organizations in Brazil. A recent campaign hosted on GCP serverless projects was used to harvest credentials for one of Latin America’s largest online payment platforms.

The pages were operated by a financially motivated actor known as FLUXROOT, which is also responsible for distributing the Grandoreiro banking malware.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

The following IOCs have been identified in connection with PINEAPPLE’s malware distribution campaigns:

• Host-Based Indicators (HBIs):
  • Question Sheet.pdf: e9841e5c218611add64c07b6d6e8b2f2a899ee32da2bb0326238b332f34bd045
  • 0tiukr. verdelimp.com518.429006.45528. lnk: 38fad88f0fefb385fdfba2e0be28a1fe6302387bc4a0a9f8b010cca09836361d
  • NFe92759625212697.115112.62531. lnk: 57a0a64ff7d5ca462fe18857f552ab186d118a80ecad741be62ee16e500ac424

Please note that the IOCs provided are for informational purposes only and should not be used for malicious activities.

Conclusion

To effectively safeguard Brazilian enterprises and users, it is essential to understand the complex interplay of threats and adopt a proactive approach to cybersecurity. Google is committed to supporting the safety and security of online users everywhere and will continue to take action to disrupt malicious activity to protect its users and help make the Internet safe for all.