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October 9, 2024

How Darktrace won an email security trial by learning the business, not the breach

Discover how Darktrace identified a sophisticated business email compromise (BEC) attack to successfully acquire a prospective customer in a trial alongside two other email security vendors. This case demonstrates the clear differentiator of true unsupervised machine learning applied to the right use cases, compared to miscellaneous vendor hype around AI.
Inside the SOC
Darktrace cyber analysts are world-class experts in threat intelligence, threat hunting and incident response, and provide 24/7 SOC support to thousands of Darktrace customers around the globe. Inside the SOC is exclusively authored by these experts, providing analysis of cyber incidents and threat trends, based on real-world experience in the field.
Written by
Carlos Gray
Senior Product Marketing Manager, Email
Written by
Django Beek
Solutions Engineer
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09
Oct 2024

Recently, Darktrace ran a customer trial of our email security product for a leading European infrastructure operator looking to upgrade its email protection.

During this prospective customer trial, Darktrace encountered several security incidents that penetrated existing security layers. Two of these incidents were Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks, which we’re going to take a closer look at here.  

Darktrace was deployed for a trial at the same time as two other email security vendors, who were also being evaluated by the prospective customer. Darktrace’s superior detection of threats in this trial laid the groundwork for the respective company to choose our product.

Let’s dig into some of the elements of this Darktrace tech win and how they came to light during this trial.

Why truly intelligent AI starts learning from scratch

Darktrace’s detection capabilities are powered by true unsupervised machine learning, which detects anomalous activity from its ever-evolving understanding of normal for every unique environment. Consequently, it learns every business from the beginning, training on an organization’s data to understand normal for its users, devices, assets and the millions of connections between them.  

This learning period takes around a week, during which the AI hones its understanding of the business to a precise degree. At this stage, the system may produce some noise or lack precision, but this is a testament to our unsupervised machine learning. Unlike solutions that promise faster results by relying on preset assumptions, our AI takes the necessary time to learn from scratch, ensuring a deeper understanding and increasingly accurate detection over time.

Real threats detected by Darktrace

Attack 1: Supply chain attack

BEC and supply chain attacks are notoriously difficult to detect, as they take advantage of established, trusted senders.  

This attack came from a legitimate server via a known supplier with which the prospective customer had active and ongoing communication. Using the compromised account, the attacker didn’t just send out randomized spam, they crafted four sophisticated social engineering emails with the aim of soliciting users to click on a link – directly tapping into existing conversations. Darktrace / EMAIL was configured in passive mode during this trial; it would otherwise have held the emails before they arrived in the inbox. Luckily in this instance, one user reported the email to the CISO before any other users clicked the link. Upon investigation, the link contained timed ransomware detonation.  

Darktrace was the only vendor that caught any of these four emails. Our unique behavioral AI approach enables Darktrace / EMAIL to protect customers from even the most sophisticated attacks that abuse prior trust and relationships.

How did Darktrace catch this attack that other vendors missed?

With traditional email security, security teams have been obliged to allow entire organizations to eliminate false positives – on the premise that it’s easier to make a broad decision based on an entire known domain and assume that potential risk of a supply chain attack.

By contrast, Darktrace adopts a zero trust mentality, analyzing every email to understand whether communication that has previously been safe remains safe. That’s why Darktrace is uniquely positioned to detect BEC, based on its deep learning of internal and external users. Because it creates individual profiles for every account, group and business composed of multiple signals, it can detect deviations in their communication patterns based on the context and content of each message. We think of this as the ‘self-learning’ vs ‘learning the breach’ differentiator.

Fig 1: Darktrace analysis of one of four malicious emails sent by the trusted supplier. It gives it an anomaly score of 100, despite it being from a known correspondent with a known domain relationship and moderate mailing history.

If set in autonomous mode where it can apply actions, Darktrace / EMAIL would have quarantined all four emails. Using machine learning indicators such as ‘Inducement Shift’ and ‘General Behavioral Anomaly’, it deemed the four emails ‘Out of Character’. It also identified the link as highly likely to be phishing, based purely on its context. These indicators are critical because the link itself belonged to a widely used legitimate domain, leveraging their established internet reputation to appear safe.  

Around an hour later the supplier regained control of the account and sent a legitimate email alerting a wide distribution list to the phishing emails sent. Darktrace was able to discern the previously sent malicious emails from the current legitimate emails and allowed these emails through. Compared to other vendors that have a static understanding of malicious which needs to be updated (in cases like this, once a supplier is de-compromised), Darktrace’s deep understanding of external entities enables further nuance and precision in determining good from bad.

Fig 2: Darktrace let through four emails (subject line: Virus E-Mail) from the supplier once they had regained control of the compromised account, with a limited anomaly score despite having held the previous malicious emails. If any actions had been taken a red icon would show on the right-hand side – in this instance Darktrace did not take action and let the emails through.

Attack 2: Microsoft 365 account takeover

As part of building behavioral profiles of every email user, Darktrace analyzes their wider account activity. Account activity, such as unusual login patterns and administrative activity, is a key variable to detect account compromise before malicious activity occurs, but it also feeds into Darktrace’s understanding of which emails should belong in every user’s inbox.  

When the customer experienced an account compromise on day two of the trial, Darktrace began an investigation and was able to provide the full breakdown and scope of the incident.

The account was compromised via an email, which Darktrace would have blocked if it had been deployed autonomously at the time. Once the account had been compromised, detection details included:

  • Unusual Login and Account Update
  • Multiple Unusual External Sources for SaaS Credential
  • Unusual Activity Block
  • Login From Rare Endpoint While User is Active
Fig 3: Darktrace flagged the following indicators of compromise that deviated from normal behavior for the user in question, signaling an account takeover

With Darktrace / EMAIL, every user is analyzed for behavioral signals including authentication and configuration activity. Here the unusual login, credential input and rare endpoint were all clear signals a compromised account, contextualized against what is normal for that employee. Because Darktrace isn’t looking at email security merely from the perspective of the inbox. It constantly reevaluates the identity of each individual, group and organization (as defined by their behavioral signals), to determine precisely what belongs in the inbox and what doesn’t.  

In this instance, Darktrace / EMAIL would have blocked the incident were it not deployed in passive mode. In the initial intrusion it would have blocked the compromising email. And once the account was compromised, it would have taken direct blocking actions on the account based on the anomalous activity it detected, providing an extra layer of defense beyond the inbox.  

Account takeover protection is always part of Darktrace / EMAIL, which can be extended to fully cover Microsoft 365 SaaS with Darktrace / IDENTITY. By bringing SaaS activity into scope, security teams also benefit from an extended set of use cases including compliance and resource management.

Why this customer committed to Darktrace / EMAIL

“Darktrace was the only AI vendor that showed learning,” – CISO, Trial Customer

Throughout this trial, Darktrace evolved its understanding of the trial customer’s business and its email users. It identified attacks that other vendors did not, while allowing safe emails through. Furthermore, the CISO explicitly cited Darktrace as the only technology that demonstrated autonomous learning. As well as catching threats that other vendors did not, the CISO saw maturity areas such as how Darktrace dealt with non-productive mail and business-as-usual emails, without any user input.  Because of the nature of unsupervised ML, Darktrace’s learning of right and wrong will never be static or complete – it will continue to revise its understanding and adapt to the changing business and communications landscape.

This case study highlights a key tenet of Darktrace’s philosophy – that a rules and tuning-based approach will always be one step behind. Delivering benign emails while holding back malicious emails from the same domain demonstrates that safety is not defined in a straight line, or by historical precedent. Only by analyzing every email in-depth for its content and context can you guarantee that it belongs.  

While other solutions are making efforts to improve a static approach with AI, Darktrace’s AI remains truly unsupervised so it is dynamic enough to catch the most agile and evolving threats. This is what allows us to protect our customers by plugging a vital gap in their security stack that ensures they can meet the challenges of tomorrow's email attacks.

Interested in learning more about Darktrace / EMAIL? Check out our product hub.

Download: Darktrace / EMAIL Solution Brief

Discover the most advanced cloud-native AI email security solution to protect your domain and brand while preventing phishing, novel social engineering, business email compromise, account takeover, and data loss.

  • Gain up to 13 days of earlier threat detection and maximize ROI on your current email security
  • Experience 20-25% more threat blocking power with Darktrace / EMAIL
  • Stop the 58% of threats bypassing traditional email security

Inside the SOC
Darktrace cyber analysts are world-class experts in threat intelligence, threat hunting and incident response, and provide 24/7 SOC support to thousands of Darktrace customers around the globe. Inside the SOC is exclusively authored by these experts, providing analysis of cyber incidents and threat trends, based on real-world experience in the field.
Written by
Carlos Gray
Senior Product Marketing Manager, Email
Written by
Django Beek
Solutions Engineer

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June 9, 2025

Modernising UK Cyber Regulation: Implications of the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill

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The need for security and continued cyber resilience

The UK government has made national security a key priority, and the new Cyber Security and Resilience Bill (CSRB) is a direct reflection of that focus. In introducing the Bill, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Peter Kyle, recognised that the UK is “desperately exposed” to cyber threats—from criminal groups to hostile nation-states that are increasingly targeting the UK's digital systems and critical infrastructure[1].

Context and timeline for the new legislation

First announced during the King’s Speech of July 2024, and elaborated in a Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) policy statement published in April 2025, the CSRB is expected to be introduced in Parliament during the 2025-26 legislative session.

For now, organisations in the UK remain subject to the 2018 Network and Information Systems (NIS) Regulations – an EU-derived law which was drafted before today’s increasing digitisation of critical services, rise in cloud adoption and emergence of AI-powered threats.

Why modernisation is critical

Without modernisation, the Government believes UK’s infrastructure and economy risks falling behind international peers. The EU, which revised its cybersecurity regulation under the NIS2 Directive, already imposes stricter requirements on a broader set of sectors.

The urgency of the Bill is also underscored by recent high-impact incidents, including the Synnovis attack which targeted the National Health Service (NHS) suppliers and disrupted thousands of patient appointments and procedures[2]. The Government has argued that such events highlight a systemic failure to keep pace with a rapidly evolving threat landscape[3].

What the Bill aims to achieve

This Bill represents a decisive shift. According to the Government, it will modernise and future‑proof the UK’s cyber laws, extending oversight to areas where risk has grown but regulation has not kept pace[4]. While the legislation builds on previous consultations and draws lessons from international frameworks like the EU’s NIS2 directive, it also aims to tailor solutions to the UK’s unique threat environment.

Importantly, the Government is framing cybersecurity not as a barrier to growth, but as a foundation for it. The policy statement emphasises that strong digital resilience will create the stability businesses need to thrive, innovate, and invest[5]. Therefore, the goals of the Bill will not only be to enhance security but also act as an enabler to innovation and economic growth.

Recognition that AI changes cyber threats

The CSRB policy statement recognises that AI is fundamentally reshaping the threat landscape, with adversaries now leveraging AI and commercial cyber tools to exploit vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure and supply chains. Indeed, the NCSC has recently assessed that AI will almost certainly lead to “an increase in the frequency and intensity of cyber threats”[6]. Accordingly, the policy statement insists that the UK’s regulatory framework “must keep pace and provide flexibility to respond to future threats as and when they emerge”[7].

To address the threat, the Bill signals new obligations for MSPs and data centres, timely incident reporting and dynamic guidance that can be refreshed without fresh primary legislation, making it essential for firms to follow best practices.

What might change in day-to-day practice?

New organisations in scope of regulation

Under the existing Network and Information Systems (NIS) Regulations[8], the UK already supervises operators in five critical sectors—energy, transport, drinking water, health (Operators of Essential Services, OES) and digital infrastructure (Relevant Digital Service Providers, RDSPs).

The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill retains this foundation and adds Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and data centres to the scope of regulation to “better recognise the increasing reliance on digital services and the vulnerabilities posed by supply chains”[9]. It also grants the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology the power to add new sectors or sub‑sectors via secondary legislation, following consultation with Parliament and industry.

Managed service providers (MSPs)

MSPs occupy a central position within the UK’s enterprise information‑technology infrastructure. Because they remotely run or monitor clients’ systems, networks and data, they hold privileged, often continuous access to multiple environments. This foothold makes them an attractive target for malicious actors.

The Bill aims to bring MSPs in scope of regulation by making them subject to the same duties as those placed on firms that provide digital services under the 2018 NIS Regulations. By doing so, the Bill seeks to raise baseline security across thousands of customer environments and to provide regulators with better visibility of supply‑chain risk.

The proposed definition for MSPs is a service which:

  1. Is provided to another organisation
  2. Relies on the use of network and information systems to deliver the service
  3. Relates to ongoing management support, active administration and/or monitoring of AI systems, IT infrastructure, applications, and/or IT networks, including for the purpose of activities relating to cyber security.
  4. Involves a network connection and/or access to the customer’s network and information systems.

Data centres

Building on the September 2024 designation of data centres as critical national infrastructure, the CSRB will fold data infrastructure into the NIS-style regime by naming it an “relevant sector" and data centres as “essential service”[10].

About 182 colocation facilities run by 64 operators will therefore come under statutory duties to notify the regulator, maintain proportionate CAF-aligned controls and report significant incidents, regardless of who owns them or what workloads they host.

New requirements for regulated organisations

Incident reporting processes

There could be stricter timelines or broader definitions of what counts as a reportable incident. This might nudge organisations to formalise detection, triage, and escalation procedures.

The Government is proposing to introduce a new two-stage incident reporting process. This would include an initial notification which would be submitted within 24 hours of becoming aware of a significant incident, followed by a full incident report which should be submitted within 72 hours of the same.

Supply chain assurance requirements

Supply chains for the UK's most critical services are becoming increasingly complex and present new and serious vulnerabilities for cyber-attacks. The recent Synnovis ransomware attacks on the NHS[11] exemplify the danger posed by attacks against the supply chains of important services and organisations. This is concerning when reflecting on the latest Cyber Security Breaches survey conducted by DSIT, which highlights that fewer than 25% of large businesses review their supply chain risks[12].

Despite these risks, the UK’s legacy cybersecurity regulatory regime does not explicitly cover supply chain risk management. The UK instead relies on supporting and non-statutory guidance to close this gap, such as the NCSC’s Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF)[13].

The CSRB policy statement acts on this regulatory shortcoming and recognises that “a single supplier’s disruption can have far-reaching impacts on the delivery of essential or digital services”[14].

To address this, the Bill would make in-scope organisations (OES and RDPS) directly accountable for the cybersecurity of their supply chains. Secondary legislation would spell out these duties in detail, ensuring that OES and RDSPs systematically assess and mitigate third-party cyber risks.

Updated and strengthened security requirements

By placing the CAF into a firmer footing and backing it with a statutory Code of Practice, the Government is setting clearer expectations about government expectations on technical standards and methods organisations will need to follow to prove their resilience.

How Darktrace can help support affected organizations

Demonstrate resilience

Darktrace’s Self-Learning AITM continuously monitors your digital estate across cloud, network, OT, email, and endpoint to detect, investigate, and autonomously respond to emerging threats in real time. This persistent visibility and defense posture helps organizations demonstrate cyber resilience to regulators with confidence.

Streamline incident reporting and compliance

Darktrace surfaces clear alerts and automated investigation reports, complete with timeline views and root cause analysis. These insights reduce the time and complexity of regulatory incident reporting and support internal compliance workflows with auditable, AI-generated evidence.

Improve supply chain visibility

With full visibility across connected systems and third-party activity, Darktrace detects early indicators of lateral movement, account compromise, and unusual behavior stemming from vendor or partner access, reducing the risk of supply chain-originated cyber-attacks.

Ensure MSPs can meet new standards

For managed service providers, Darktrace offers native multi-tenant support and autonomous threat response that can be embedded directly into customer environments. This ensures consistent, scalable security standards across clients—helping MSPs address increasing regulatory obligations.

[related-resource]

References

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/jul/29/uk-desperately-exposed-to-cyber-threats-and-pandemics-says-minister

[2] https://www.england.nhs.uk/2024/06/synnovis-cyber-attack-statement-from-nhs-england/

[3] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cyber-security-and-resilience-bill-policy-statement/cyber-security-and-resilience-bill-policy-statement

[4] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cyber-security-and-resilience-bill-policy-statement/cyber-security-and-resilience-bill-policy-statement

[5] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cyber-security-and-resilience-bill-policy-statement/cyber-security-and-resilience-bill-policy-statement

[6] https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/report/impact-ai-cyber-threat-now-2027

[7] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cyber-security-and-resilience-bill-policy-statement/cyber-security-and-resilience-bill-policy-statement

[8] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/nis-directive-and-nis-regulations-2018

[9] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cyber-security-and-resilience-bill-policy-statement/cyber-security-and-resilience-bill-policy-statement

[10] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cyber-security-and-resilience-bill-policy-statement/cyber-security-and-resilience-bill-policy-statement

[11] https://www.england.nhs.uk/2024/06/synnovis-cyber-attack-statement-from-nhs-england/

[12] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cyber-security-breaches-survey-2025/cyber-security-breaches-survey-2025

[13] https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/cyber-assessment-framework

[14] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cyber-security-and-resilience-bill-policy-statement/cyber-security-and-resilience-bill-policy-statement

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June 5, 2025

Unpacking ClickFix: Darktrace’s detection of a prolific social engineering tactic

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What is ClickFix and how does it work?

Amid heightened security awareness, threat actors continue to seek stealthy methods to infiltrate target networks, often finding the human end user to be the most vulnerable and easily exploited entry point.

ClickFix baiting is an exploitation of the end user, making use of social engineering techniques masquerading as error messages or routine verification processes, that can result in malicious code execution.

Since March 2024, the simplicity of this technique has drawn attention from a range of threat actors, from individual cybercriminals to Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups such as APT28 and MuddyWater, linked to Russia and Iran respectively, introducing security threats on a broader scale [1]. ClickFix campaigns have been observed affecting organizations in across multiple industries, including healthcare, hospitality, automotive and government [2][3].

Actors carrying out these targeted attacks typically utilize similar techniques, tools and procedures (TTPs) to gain initial access. These include spear phishing attacks, drive-by compromises, or exploiting trust in familiar online platforms, such as GitHub, to deliver malicious payloads [2][3]. Often, a hidden link within an email or malvertisements on compromised legitimate websites redirect the end user to a malicious URL [4]. These take the form of ‘Fix It’ or fake CAPTCHA prompts [4].

From there, users are misled into believing they are completing a human verification step, registering a device, or fixing a non-existent issue such as a webpage display error. As a result, they are guided through a three-step process that ultimately enables the execution of malicious PowerShell commands:

  1. Open a Windows Run dialog box [press Windows Key + R]
  2. Automatically or manually copy and paste a malicious PowerShell command into the terminal [press CTRL+V]
  3. And run the prompt [press ‘Enter’] [2]

Once the malicious PowerShell command is executed, threat actors then establish command and control (C2) communication within the targeted environment before moving laterally through the network with the intent of obtaining and stealing sensitive data [4]. Malicious payloads associated with various malware families, such as XWorm, Lumma, and AsyncRAT, are often deployed [2][3].

Attack timeline of ClickFix cyber attack

Based on investigations conducted by Darktrace’s Threat Research team in early 2025, this blog highlights Darktrace’s capability to detect ClickFix baiting activity following initial access.

Darktrace’s coverage of a ClickFix attack chain

Darktrace identified multiple ClickFix attacks across customer environments in both Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) and the United States. The following incident details a specific attack on a customer network that occurred on April 9, 2025.

Although the initial access phase of this specific attack occurred outside Darktrace’s visibility, other affected networks showed compromise beginning with phishing emails or fake CAPTCHA prompts that led users to execute malicious PowerShell commands.

Darktrace’s visibility into the compromise began when the threat actor initiated external communication with their C2 infrastructure, with Darktrace / NETWORK detecting the use of a new PowerShell user agent, indicating an attempt at remote code execution.

Darktrace / NETWORK's detection of a device making an HTTP connection with new PowerShell user agent, indicating PowerShell abuse for C2 communications.
Figure 1: Darktrace / NETWORK's detection of a device making an HTTP connection with new PowerShell user agent, indicating PowerShell abuse for C2 communications.

Download of Malicious Files for Lateral Movement

A few minutes later, the compromised device was observed downloading a numerically named file. Numeric files like this are often intentionally nondescript and associated with malware. In this case, the file name adhered to a specific pattern, matching the regular expression: /174(\d){7}/. Further investigation into the file revealed that it contained additional malicious code designed to further exploit remote services and gather device information.

Darktrace / NETWORK's detection of a numeric file, one minute after the new PowerShell User Agent alert.
Figure 2: Darktrace / NETWORK's detection of a numeric file, one minute after the new PowerShell User Agent alert.

The file contained a script that sent system information to a specified IP address using an HTTP POST request, which also processed the response. This process was verified through packet capture (PCAP) analysis conducted by the Darktrace Threat Research team.

By analyzing the body content of the HTTP GET request, it was observed that the command converts the current time to Unix epoch time format (i.e., 9 April 2025 13:26:40 GMT), resulting in an additional numeric file observed in the URI: /1744205200.

PCAP highlighting the HTTP GET request that sends information to the specific IP, 193.36.38[.]237, which then generates another numeric file titled per the current time.
Figure 3: PCAP highlighting the HTTP GET request that sends information to the specific IP, 193.36.38[.]237, which then generates another numeric file titled per the current time.

Across Darktrace’s investigations into other customers' affected by ClickFix campaigns, both internal information discovery events and further execution of malicious code were observed.

Data Exfiltration

By following the HTTP stream in the same PCAP, the Darktrace Threat Research Team assessed the activity as indicative of data exfiltration involving system and device information to the same command-and-control (C2) endpoint, , 193.36.38[.]237. This endpoint was flagged as malicious by multiple open-source intelligence (OSINT) vendors [5].

PCAP highlighting HTTP POST connection with the numeric file per the URI /1744205200 that indicates data exfiltration to 193.36.38[.]237.
Figure 4: PCAP highlighting HTTP POST connection with the numeric file per the URI /1744205200 that indicates data exfiltration to 193.36.38[.]237.

Further analysis of Darktrace’s Advanced Search logs showed that the attacker’s malicious code scanned for internal system information, which was then sent to a C2 server via an HTTP POST request, indicating data exfiltration

Advanced Search further highlights Darktrace's observation of the HTTP POST request, with the second numeric file representing data exfiltration.
Figure 5: Advanced Search further highlights Darktrace's observation of the HTTP POST request, with the second numeric file representing data exfiltration.

Actions on objectives

Around ten minutes after the initial C2 communications, the compromised device was observed connecting to an additional rare endpoint, 188.34.195[.]44. Further analysis of this endpoint confirmed its association with ClickFix campaigns, with several OSINT vendors linking it to previously reported attacks [6].

In the final HTTP POST request made by the device, Darktrace detected a file at the URI /init1234 in the connection logs to the malicious endpoint 188.34.195[.]44, likely depicting the successful completion of the attack’s objective, automated data egress to a ClickFix C2 server.

Darktrace / NETWORK grouped together the observed indicators of compromise (IoCs) on the compromised device and triggered an Enhanced Monitoring model alert, a high-priority detection model designed to identify activity indicative of the early stages of an attack. These models are monitored and triaged 24/7 by Darktrace’s Security Operations Center (SOC) as part of the Managed Threat Detection service, ensuring customers are promptly notified of malicious activity as soon as it emerges.

Darktrace correlated the separate malicious connections that pertained to a single campaign.
Figure 6: Darktrace correlated the separate malicious connections that pertained to a single campaign.

Darktrace Autonomous Response

In the incident outlined above, Darktrace was not configured in Autonomous Response mode. As a result, while actions to block specific connections were suggested, they had to be manually implemented by the customer’s security team. Due to the speed of the attack, this need for manual intervention allowed the threat to escalate without interruption.

However, in a different example, Autonomous Response was fully enabled, allowing Darktrace to immediately block connections to the malicious endpoint (138.199.156[.]22) just one second after the initial connection in which a numerically named file was downloaded [7].

Darktrace Autonomous Response blocked connections to a suspicious endpoint following the observation of the numeric file download.
Figure 7: Darktrace Autonomous Response blocked connections to a suspicious endpoint following the observation of the numeric file download.

This customer was also subscribed to our Managed Detection and Response service, Darktrace’s SOC extended a ‘Quarantine Device’ action that had already been autonomously applied in order to buy their security team additional time for remediation.

Autonomous Response blocked connections to malicious endpoints, including 138.199.156[.]22, 185.250.151[.]155, and rkuagqnmnypetvf[.]top, and also quarantined the affected device. These actions were later manually reinforced by the Darktrace SOC.
Figure 8: Autonomous Response blocked connections to malicious endpoints, including 138.199.156[.]22, 185.250.151[.]155, and rkuagqnmnypetvf[.]top, and also quarantined the affected device. These actions were later manually reinforced by the Darktrace SOC.

Conclusion

ClickFix baiting is a widely used tactic in which threat actors exploit human error to bypass security defenses. By tricking end point users into performing seemingly harmless, everyday actions, attackers gain initial access to systems where they can access and exfiltrate sensitive data.

Darktrace’s anomaly-based approach to threat detection identifies early indicators of targeted attacks without relying on prior knowledge or IoCs. By continuously learning each device’s unique pattern of life, Darktrace detects subtle deviations that may signal a compromise. In this case, Darktrace's Autonomous Response, when operating in a fully autonomous mode, was able to swiftly contain the threat before it could progress further along the attack lifecycle.

Credit to Keanna Grelicha (Cyber Analyst) and Jennifer Beckett (Cyber Analyst)

Appendices

NETWORK Models

  • Device / New PowerShell User Agent
  • Anomalous Connection / New User Agent to IP Without Hostname
  • Anomalous Connection / Posting HTTP to IP Without Hostname
  • Anomalous Connection / Powershell to Rare External
  • Device / Suspicious Domain
  • Device / New User Agent and New IP
  • Anomalous File / New User Agent Followed By Numeric File Download (Enhanced Monitoring Model)
  • Device / Initial Attack Chain Activity (Enhanced Monitoring Model)

Autonomous Response Models

  • Antigena / Network::Significant Anomaly::Antigena Significant Anomaly from Client Block
  • Antigena / Network::Significant Anomaly::Antigena Enhanced Monitoring from Client Block
  • Antigena / Network::External Threat::Antigena File then New Outbound Block
  • Antigena / Network::External Threat::Antigena Suspicious File Block
  • Antigena / Network::Significant Anomaly::Antigena Alerts Over Time Block
  • Antigena / Network::External Threat::Antigena Suspicious File Block

IoC - Type - Description + Confidence

·       141.193.213[.]11 – IP address – Possible C2 Infrastructure

·       141.193.213[.]10 – IP address – Possible C2 Infrastructure

·       64.94.84[.]217 – IP address – Possible C2 Infrastructure

·       138.199.156[.]22 – IP address – C2 server

·       94.181.229[.]250 – IP address – Possible C2 Infrastructure

·       216.245.184[.]181 – IP address – Possible C2 Infrastructure

·       212.237.217[.]182 – IP address – Possible C2 Infrastructure

·       168.119.96[.]41 – IP address – Possible C2 Infrastructure

·       193.36.38[.]237 – IP address – C2 server

·       188.34.195[.]44 – IP address – C2 server

·       205.196.186[.]70 – IP address – Possible C2 Infrastructure

·       rkuagqnmnypetvf[.]top – Hostname – C2 server

·       shorturl[.]at/UB6E6 – Hostname – Possible C2 Infrastructure

·       tlgrm-redirect[.]icu – Hostname – Possible C2 Infrastructure

·       diagnostics.medgenome[.]com – Hostname – Compromised Website

·       /1741714208 – URI – Possible malicious file

·       /1741718928 – URI – Possible malicious file

·       /1743871488 – URI – Possible malicious file

·       /1741200416 – URI – Possible malicious file

·       /1741356624 – URI – Possible malicious file

·       /ttt – URI – Possible malicious file

·       /1741965536 – URI – Possible malicious file

·       /1.txt – URI – Possible malicious file

·       /1744205184 – URI – Possible malicious file

·       /1744139920 – URI – Possible malicious file

·       /1744134352 – URI – Possible malicious file

·       /1744125600 – URI – Possible malicious file

·       /1[.]php?s=527 – URI – Possible malicious file

·       34ff2f72c191434ce5f20ebc1a7e823794ac69bba9df70721829d66e7196b044 – SHA-256 Hash – Possible malicious file

·       10a5eab3eef36e75bd3139fe3a3c760f54be33e3 – SHA-1 Hash – Possible malicious file

MITRE ATT&CK Mapping

Tactic – Technique – Sub-Technique  

Spearphishing Link - INITIAL ACCESS - T1566.002 - T1566

Drive-by Compromise - INITIAL ACCESS - T1189

PowerShell - EXECUTION - T1059.001 - T1059

Exploitation of Remote Services - LATERAL MOVEMENT - T1210

Web Protocols - COMMAND AND CONTROL - T1071.001 - T1071

Automated Exfiltration - EXFILTRATION - T1020 - T1020.001

References

[1] https://www.logpoint.com/en/blog/emerging-threats/clickfix-another-deceptive-social-engineering-technique/

[2] https://www.proofpoint.com/us/blog/threat-insight/security-brief-clickfix-social-engineering-technique-floods-threat-landscape

[3] https://cyberresilience.com/threatonomics/understanding-the-clickfix-attack/

[4] https://www.group-ib.com/blog/clickfix-the-social-engineering-technique-hackers-use-to-manipulate-victims/

[5] https://www.virustotal.com/gui/ip-address/193.36.38.237/detection

[6] https://www.virustotal.com/gui/ip-address/188.34.195.44/community

[7] https://www.virustotal.com/gui/ip-address/138.199.156.22/detection

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About the author
Keanna Grelicha
Cyber Analyst
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