CISA Alert AA22-057A – Destructive malware targeting organizations in Ukraine.
·4 min
The episode is a CISA cybersecurity alert (AA22-057A) originally released on February 26, 2022, and revised on March 1, 2022. It focuses on destructive malware deployed against organizations in Ukraine leading up to Russia's unprovoked attack. The alert describes two specific malware types: WhisperGate and Hermetic Wiper. WhisperGate was disclosed by the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center on January 15, 2022, and is designed to render targeted devices inoperable. Hermetic Wiper was disclosed by several cybersecurity researchers, including Sentinel Labs, on February 23, 2022. Hermetic Wiper targets Windows devices by manipulating the master boot record, causing boot failure. The episode warns that further disruptive cyber attacks against Ukrainian organizations are likely and may spill over to organizations in other countries. It notes that the malware uses popular communication tools to spread, including worms sent through email and instant messages, Trojan horses from websites, and virus-infected files from peer-to-peer connections. These malware groups have the capability to target a large scope of systems throughout a network. As a result, organizations are advised to assess their environment for atypical channels for malware delivery and propagation. The alert provides high-level summaries of campaigns employing the malware. CISA recommends organizations review the technical details in the alert for an in-depth analysis, indicators of compromise, and mitigations. The episode is part of the Cyber Wire Network, powered by N2K Networks, and serves as a public service adaptation of government advisories. It maintains a neutral, informational tone throughout, presenting facts without commentary. The structure is straightforward, moving from context to specific malware details to warnings and recommendations. No guests or hosts are featured; it is a solo narration of the alert content. The primary theme is cybersecurity threat awareness and mitigation in a geopolitical conflict context.
