Carbanaks

Carbanak is a sophisticated malware strain that primarily targets financial institutions and their customers. It emerged around 2015 and is known for its complex operations, often involving human operators who direct its activities. The malware's name is derived from "Carberp" and "Anunak," two other malware families from which it borrows functionality.

The primary goal of Carbanak is to facilitate financial fraud. It achieves this by compromising systems and then enabling attackers to initiate fraudulent transactions, steal sensitive information, and manipulate financial records. Carbanak employs a variety of techniques to achieve its objectives, including keylogging, screen capture, and the ability to remotely control infected machines.

The infection vector for Carbanak typically involves phishing emails or exploiting vulnerabilities in software. Once inside a network, it can spread laterally and escalate its privileges. The operators behind Carbanak are known to be highly organized and patient, often conducting extensive reconnaissance before launching attacks. This allows them to meticulously plan and execute their fraudulent activities, making them difficult to detect and attribute.

The malware's modular design allows it to be updated and adapted to evade security measures. Its persistent presence and ability to conduct a wide range of malicious actions have made it a significant threat to the global financial sector. Investigations into Carbanak have implicated various threat actors, with many attributing its development and operation to Russian-speaking cybercriminal groups.