After months of speculation, the creator of the Blackhole exploit kit can be demonstrated to be in custody. As usual with all things Russian in the Cybercrime world, Brian Krebs broke the story in the US with
, which provided photos of a character believed to be Paunch. These photos in turn were posted by the leading cyber investigations firm in Russia,
, who participated in the investigations with the Russian police, culminating in his arrest in the city of Togliatti on October 4, 2013.
The speculations that something may have been up with Paunch began back in October. The best early coverage we had was from Charlie Osborne, who posted over on ZDNet Blackhole malware toolkit creator Paunch suspect arrested, based off the single tip that every other source we had was also referring to -- a statement from Maarten Boone over at Fox-IT in the Netherlands.
At the time of the article in ZDNet, October 9th, Charlie quoted AVG as saying that "the Blackhole Exploit Kit is currently ranked 24th in the world of online malware, affecting 36,199 websites in 218 countries." The same link provided in that article now shows that BEH is ranked 161st, falling from position 132 on the list last week. To check the current status, use this link to AVG's AVG Info on Blackhole Exploit Kit.
Paunch posted updates about his malicious code as recently as September 2013, on Exploit.in (sorry, login required!) As usual, the authors shamelessly listed their contact information, which of course lead to their downfall:
.
The new version offered many options, including statistics about Windows 8 and Mobile Device infection, an option to have "less obvious" URLs for your Blackhole Exploit address, and the ability to automatically regenerate your .exe files in ways that would not be detected by AV engines. (This feature is the "Autoclean" offered for $300 per month.)
Many security features of the "auto-ban" variety were included to prevent the malware from functioning for "Reversers". These included:
I can tell you that those banning practices were creating quite a bit of chaos on "Reversers"! Fortunately, my lead malware analyst at Malcovery Security had found a fairly reliable (if time-consuming) way to defeat Paunch. To show the ease of identifying his previous URL pattern, look at this list of reports Malcovery generated in the past six months where BlackHole was found just using the URL path of a "/forum/viewtopic.php" URL!
Much, much more data is available in the several-times daily "Malcovery T3 Reports" and additional analysis is available for interested parties. This data is ONLY showing the "/forum/viewtopic.php" aspects of this malware.
In the first column, the date of the spam campaign and the "imitated brand" is listed
2013-05-13 | ADP | hxxp://116.122.158.195:8080 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-13 | ADP | hxxp://mail.yaklasim.com:8080 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-13 | ADP | hxxp://vulcantire.net /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-13 | ADP | hxxp://westautorepair.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-13 | AmericanExpress | hxxp://116.122.158.195:8080 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-13 | AmericanExpress | hxxp://mail.yaklasim.com:8080 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-13 | AmericanExpress | hxxp://vulcantire.net /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-13 | AmericanExpress | hxxp://westautorepair.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-13 | Citibank | hxxp://116.122.158.195:8080 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-13 | Citibank | hxxp://mail.yaklasim.com:8080 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-13 | Citibank | hxxp://vulcantire.net /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-13 | Citibank | hxxp://westautorepair.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-21 | eFax | hxxp://116.122.158.195:8080 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-21 | eFax | hxxp://debthelpsmart.org /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-21 | eFax | hxxp://debtsmartretirement.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-21 | eFax | hxxp://mail.yaklasim.com:8080 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-24 | ADP | hxxp://116.122.158.195:8080 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-24 | ADP | hxxp://monteazul.clicken1.com:81 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-24 | ADP | hxxp://panama.clicken1.com:81 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-24 | ADP | hxxp://talentos.clicken1.com:81 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-29 | WesternUnion | hxxp://199.168.184.198:81 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-29 | WesternUnion | hxxp://monteazul.clicken1.com:81 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-29 | WesternUnion | hxxp://panama.clicken1.com:81 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-29 | WesternUnion | hxxp://talentos.clicken1.com:81 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-24 | Chase | hxxp://116.122.158.195:8080 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-24 | Chase | hxxp://monteazul.clicken1.com:81 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-24 | Chase | hxxp://panama.clicken1.com:81 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-05-24 | Chase | hxxp://talentos.clicken1.com:81 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-06-05 | WesternUnion | hxxp://116.122.158.195:8080 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-06-05 | WesternUnion | hxxp://199.168.184.198:81 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-06-05 | WesternUnion | hxxp://verybestblueberry.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-06-05 | WesternUnion | hxxp://wildmaineblues.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-07-08 | Citi | hxxp://2ndtimearoundweddingphotography.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-07-08 | Citi | hxxp://bobkahnvideo.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-07-08 | Citi | hxxp://gfpmenusonline.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-07-08 | Citi | hxxp://gfponlineordering.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-07-10 | eFax | hxxp://gfpshoppingcarts.net /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-07-10 | eFax | hxxp://greatstockfoodimages.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-07-10 | eFax | hxxp://imhungrynow.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-07-10 | eFax | hxxp://one2onebiznet.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-07-12 | UPS | hxxp://buzztag.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-07-12 | UPS | hxxp://customkids.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-07-12 | UPS | hxxp://webersmokeymountaincookerreview.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-07-12 | UPS | hxxp://wiiunlockplusreview.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-07-25 | CNN | hxxp://198.57.130.35:8080 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-07-25 | CNN | hxxp://alsultantravel.com:8080 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-07-25 | CNN | hxxp://webmail.alsultantravel.com:8080 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-07-25 | CNN | hxxp://webmail.alsultantravel.info:8080 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-07-25 | Facebook | hxxp://198.57.130.35:8080 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-07-25 | Facebook | hxxp://alsultantravel.com:8080 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-07-25 | Facebook | hxxp://webmail.alsultantravel.com:8080 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-07-25 | Facebook | hxxp://webmail.alsultantravel.info:8080 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-02 | Moneygram | h00p://50.57.185.72:8080 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-02 | Moneygram | h00p://arki.com:8080 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-02 | Moneygram | h00p://northernforestcanoetrail.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-02 | Moneygram | h00p://www.arki.com:8080 /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-14 | BankofAmerica | hxxp://gutterglovegutterprotection.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-14 | BankofAmerica | hxxp://gutterguardbuyersguide.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-14 | BankofAmerica | hxxp://gutterhelmetleafguardgutterprotection.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-14 | BankofAmerica | hxxp://gutterprosmaryland.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-14 | WellsFargo | hxxp://gutterglovegutterprotection.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-14 | WellsFargo | hxxp://gutterguardbuyersguide.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-14 | WellsFargo | hxxp://gutterhelmetleafguardgutterprotection.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-14 | WellsFargo | hxxp://gutterprosmaryland.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-15 | FAX | hxxp://1800callabe.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-15 | FAX | hxxp://1866callabe.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-15 | FAX | hxxp://abemoussa.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-15 | FAX | hxxp://abemuggs.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-16 | ADP | hxxp://hubbywifeco.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-16 | ADP | hxxp://hubbywifedesigns.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-16 | ADP | hxxp://hubbywifedesserts.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-16 | ADP | hxxp://hubbywifefoods.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-16 | WellsFargo | hxxp://hubbywifeco.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-16 | WellsFargo | hxxp://hubbywifedesigns.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-16 | WellsFargo | hxxp://hubbywifedesserts.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-16 | WellsFargo | hxxp://hubbywifefoods.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-19 | ADP | hxxp://hubbywifewines.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-19 | ADP | hxxp://ipodwalla.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-19 | ADP | hxxp://jerseycitybags.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-19 | ADP | hxxp://jerseyluggage.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-19 | Facebook | hxxp://frankcremascocabinets.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-19 | Facebook | hxxp://giuseppepiruzza.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-19 | Facebook | hxxp://gordonpoint.biz /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-19 | Facebook | hxxp://gordonpoint.info /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-20 | UKLandRegistry | hxxp://giuseppepiruzza.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-20 | UKLandRegistry | hxxp://gordonpoint.biz /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-20 | UKLandRegistry | hxxp://gordonpoint.info /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-20 | UKLandRegistry | hxxp://gordonpoint.org /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-26 | UPS | hxxp://gordonpoint.org /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-26 | UPS | hxxp://hitechcreature.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-26 | UPS | hxxp://industryseeds.ca /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-08-26 | UPS | hxxp://infocreature.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-06 | CitizensBank-KeyBank | hxxp://luggagepoint.de /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-06 | CitizensBank-KeyBank | hxxp://luggagepreview.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-06 | CitizensBank-KeyBank | hxxp://luggagewalla.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-06 | CitizensBank-KeyBank | hxxp://luxluggage.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-09 | FedEx | hxxp://luxurybrandswalla.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-09 | FedEx | hxxp://mickmicheyl.biz /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-09 | FedEx | hxxp://mickmicheyl.ca /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-09 | FedEx | hxxp://mickmicheyl.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-10 | FedEx | hxxp://actorbell.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-10 | FedEx | hxxp://facebookfansincrease.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-10 | FedEx | hxxp://fillmaka.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-10 | FedEx | hxxp://fillmmaka.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-11 | FedEx | hxxp://actorbell.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-11 | FedEx | hxxp://facebookfansincrease.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-11 | FedEx | hxxp://fillmaka.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-11 | FedEx | hxxp://fillmmaka.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-11 | FedEx | hxxp://filmaka.biz /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-11 | FedEx | hxxp://filmaka.co.uk /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-12 | FedEx | hxxp://fillmmaka.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-12 | FedEx | hxxp://filmaka.biz /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-12 | FedEx | hxxp://filmaka.co.uk /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-12 | FedEx | hxxp://filmaka.info /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-13 | FedEx | hxxp://filmaka.org /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-13 | FedEx | hxxp://filmaka.us /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-13 | FedEx | hxxp://filmmaka.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-13 | FedEx | hxxp://filmpunjab.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-16 | FedEx | hxxp://rockims.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-16 | FedEx | hxxp://swingingwiththefinkelsthemovie.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-16 | FedEx | hxxp://taxipunjab.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-16 | FedEx | hxxp://taxisamritsar.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-17 | FedEx | hxxp://defeat-autism.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-17 | FedEx | hxxp://defeat-autism.org /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-17 | FedEx | hxxp://saltlakecityutahcommercialrealestate.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-17 | FedEx | hxxp://utahbankownedhomesonline.info /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-17 | FedEx | hxxp://utahonlinerealestate.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-18 | FedEx | hxxp://defeat-autism.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-18 | FedEx | hxxp://defeat-autism.org /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-18 | FedEx | hxxp://glgkorea.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-18 | FedEx | hxxp://jadecreditdesign.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-19 | FedEx | hxxp://louievozza.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-19 | FedEx | hxxp://louvozza.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-19 | FedEx | hxxp://lvconcordecontracting.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-19 | FedEx | hxxp://lv-contracting.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-20 | FedEx | hxxp://lvconcordecontracting.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-20 | FedEx | hxxp://mcbelectrical.ca /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-20 | FedEx | hxxp://oliviagurun.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-20 | FedEx | hxxp://onecable.ca /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-23 | FedEx | hxxp://dsostermanlaw.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-23 | FedEx | hxxp://nefcapital.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-23 | FedEx | hxxp://simpacswings.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-23 | FedEx | hxxp://wetalkbb.net /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-24 | FedEx | hxxp://acedataintelligence.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-24 | FedEx | hxxp://acedataintelligence.net /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-24 | FedEx | hxxp://dsostermanlaw.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-24 | FedEx | hxxp://nefcapital.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-27 | Facebook | hxxp://directgrid.org /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-27 | Facebook | hxxp://directgrid.us /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-27 | Facebook | hxxp://integra-inspection.ca /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-27 | Facebook | hxxp://watttrack.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-27 | LinkedIn | hxxp://directgrid.org /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-27 | LinkedIn | hxxp://directgrid.us /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-27 | LinkedIn | hxxp://integra-inspection.ca /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-09-27 | LinkedIn | hxxp://watttrack.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-01 | FedEx | hxxp://smartstartfinancial.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-01 | FedEx | hxxp://thewalletslip.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-01 | FedEx | hxxp://tootle.us /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-01 | FedEx | hxxp://tungstenrents.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-09 | WellsFargo | hxxp://integrainspection.co /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-09 | WellsFargo | hxxp://integrainspection.info /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-09 | WellsFargo | hxxp://integrainspection.net /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-09 | WellsFargo | hxxp://integrainspection.org /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-10 | FedEx | hxxp://denisemoussa.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-10 | FedEx | hxxp://integrainspection.net /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-10 | FedEx | hxxp://integrainspection.org /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-10 | FedEx | hxxp://integrainspections.ca /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-11 | FedEx | hxxp://integrainspection.net /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-11 | FedEx | hxxp://integrainspection.org /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-11 | FedEx | hxxp://integrainspections.ca /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-11 | FedEx | hxxp://integrainspections.co /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-14 | WellsFargo | hxxp://integrainspection.org /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-14 | WellsFargo | hxxp://integrainspections.ca /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-14 | WellsFargo | hxxp://integrainspections.co /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-14 | WellsFargo | hxxp://stratuscomputing.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-15 | WellsFargo | hxxp://integrainspection.org /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-15 | WellsFargo | hxxp://integrainspections.ca /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-15 | WellsFargo | hxxp://integrainspections.co /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-15 | WellsFargo | hxxp://stratuscomputing.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-23 | VoiceMessage | hxxp://bernaandthebern-outs.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-23 | VoiceMessage | hxxp://sayitwithpower.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-23 | VoiceMessage | hxxp://thewinewars.com /forum/viewtopic.php |
2013-10-23 | VoiceMessage | hxxp://www.benfrederick.com:8080 /forum/viewtopic.php |