ENTERPRISE MOBILE PRE-ATT&CK
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  4. Clipboard Data

Clipboard Data

Adversaries may collect data stored in the Windows clipboard from users copying information within or between applications.

Windows

Applications can access clipboard data by using the Windows API. [1]

Mac

OSX provides a native command, pbpaste, to grab clipboard contents [2].

ID: T1115
Tactic: Collection
Platform: Linux, Windows, macOS
Data Sources: API monitoring
CAPEC ID: CAPEC-637
Version: 1.0

Procedure Examples

Name Description
Agent Tesla

Agent Tesla can steal data from the victim’s clipboard.[9][10][11]
APT38

APT38 used a Trojan called KEYLIME to collect data from the clipboard.[26]
Astaroth

Astaroth collects information from the clipboard by using the OpenClipboard() and GetClipboardData() libraries.[21]
Catchamas

Catchamas steals data stored in the clipboard.[6]
CosmicDuke

CosmicDuke copies and exfiltrates the clipboard contents every 30 seconds.[15]
DarkComet

DarkComet can steal data from the clipboard.[19]
Empire

Empire can harvest clipboard data on both Windows and macOS systems.[5]
Helminth

The executable version of Helminth has a module to log clipboard contents.[13]
JHUHUGIT

A JHUHUGIT variant accesses a screenshot saved in the clipboard and converts it to a JPG image.[7]
jRAT

jRAT can capture clipboard data.[23]
Koadic

Koadic can retrieve the current content of the user clipboard.[3]
KONNI

KONNI had a feature to steal data from the clipboard.[20]
Machete

Machete hijacks the clipboard data by creating an overlapped window that listens to keyboard events. [24][25]
MacSpy

MacSpy can steal clipboard contents.[12]
Remcos

Remcos steals and modifies data from the clipboard.[4]
Remexi

Remexi collects text from the clipboard.[22]
RTM

RTM collects data from the clipboard.[8]
RunningRAT

RunningRAT contains code to open and copy data from the clipboard.[14]
TinyZBot

TinyZBot contains functionality to collect information from the clipboard.[17]
VERMIN

VERMIN collects data stored in the clipboard.[18]
Zeus Panda

Zeus Panda can hook GetClipboardData function to watch for clipboard pastes to collect.[16]

Mitigations

This type of attack technique cannot be easily mitigated with preventive controls since it is based on the abuse of system features.

Detection

Access to the clipboard is a legitimate function of many applications on a Windows system. If an organization chooses to monitor for this behavior, then the data will likely need to be correlated against other suspicious or non-user-driven activity.

References

  1. Microsoft. (n.d.). About the Clipboard. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  2. rvrsh3ll. (2016, May 18). Operating with EmPyre. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  3. Magius, J., et al. (2017, July 19). Koadic. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  4. Klijnsma, Y. (2018, January 23). Espionage Campaign Leverages Spear Phishing, RATs Against Turkish Defense Contractors. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  5. Schroeder, W., Warner, J., Nelson, M. (n.d.). Github PowerShellEmpire. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  6. Balanza, M. (2018, April 02). Infostealer.Catchamas. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  7. Unit 42. (2017, December 15). Unit 42 Playbook Viewer. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  8. Faou, M. and Boutin, J.. (2017, February). Read The Manual: A Guide to the RTM Banking Trojan. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  9. Brumaghin, E., et al. (2018, October 15). Old dog, new tricks - Analysing new RTF-based campaign distributing Agent Tesla, Loki with PyREbox. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  10. Zhang, X. (2018, April 05). Analysis of New Agent Tesla Spyware Variant. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  11. Zhang, X. (2017, June 28). In-Depth Analysis of A New Variant of .NET Malware AgentTesla. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  12. Patrick Wardle. (n.d.). Mac Malware of 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  13. Falcone, R. and Lee, B.. (2016, May 26). The OilRig Campaign: Attacks on Saudi Arabian Organizations Deliver Helminth Backdoor. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  1. Sherstobitoff, R., Saavedra-Morales, J. (2018, February 02). Gold Dragon Widens Olympics Malware Attacks, Gains Permanent Presence on Victims’ Systems. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  2. F-Secure Labs. (2014, July). COSMICDUKE Cosmu with a twist of MiniDuke. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  3. Ebach, L. (2017, June 22). Analysis Results of Zeus.Variant.Panda. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  4. Cylance. (2014, December). Operation Cleaver. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  5. Lancaster, T., Cortes, J. (2018, January 29). VERMIN: Quasar RAT and Custom Malware Used In Ukraine. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  6. Kujawa, A. (2018, March 27). You dirty RAT! Part 1: DarkComet. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  7. Rascagneres, P. (2017, May 03). KONNI: A Malware Under The Radar For Years. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  8. Salem, E. (2019, February 13). ASTAROTH MALWARE USES LEGITIMATE OS AND ANTIVIRUS PROCESSES TO STEAL PASSWORDS AND PERSONAL DATA. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  9. Legezo, D. (2019, January 30). Chafer used Remexi malware to spy on Iran-based foreign diplomatic entities. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  10. Kamluk, V. & Gostev, A. (2016, February). Adwind - A Cross-Platform RAT. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  11. ESET. (2019, July). MACHETE JUST GOT SHARPER Venezuelan government institutions under attack. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  12. Kaspersky Global Research and Analysis Team. (2014, August 20). El Machete. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  13. FireEye. (2018, October 03). APT38: Un-usual Suspects. Retrieved November 6, 2018.