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MixShell Malware Targets U.S. Supply Chain Manufacturers via Contact Forms

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Last updated
📰 2 unique sources, 2 articles

Summary

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A sophisticated social engineering campaign dubbed ZipLine targets U.S. supply chain manufacturers with MixShell in-memory malware. Attackers initiate contact through companies' public 'Contact Us' forms, building trust over weeks before delivering malicious ZIP files. The campaign spans multiple sectors and countries, including Singapore, Japan, and Switzerland. The malware uses in-memory execution, DNS-based command-and-control (C2), and advanced evasion techniques. It exploits legitimate services like Heroku to blend with normal network activity, posing severe risks including intellectual property theft and supply chain disruptions. The threat actors use abandoned or dormant domains with legitimate business histories to bypass security filters and gain trust. The fake company websites used by attackers are cloned from a single template, featuring stock images of White House butlers as supposed founders. The malicious ZIP file contains real PDF and DOCX files related to the discussion topic, hosted on a Heroku subdomain.

Timeline

  1. 27.08.2025 23:35 📰 1 articles

    Threat Actors Use Abandoned Domains and Cloned Websites

    The threat actors use abandoned or dormant domains with legitimate business histories to bypass security filters and gain trust. The fake company websites used by attackers are cloned from a single template, featuring stock images of White House butlers as supposed founders. The campaign targets managers within sales, operations, and business partnership functions. The malicious ZIP file contains real PDF and DOCX files related to the discussion topic, hosted on a Heroku subdomain. The PowerShell script sets up long-term persistence by altering the system registry and periodically checks the .lnk payload's activity. The ZipLine campaign exemplifies evolving tactics to exploit human trust, integrating into legitimate business workflows.

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  2. 26.08.2025 16:30 📰 1 articles

    MixShell Malware Delivered via Contact Forms Targets U.S. Supply Chain Manufacturers

    A sophisticated social engineering campaign, codenamed ZipLine, targets U.S. supply chain manufacturers with MixShell in-memory malware. Attackers initiate contact through companies' public 'Contact Us' forms, building trust over weeks before delivering malicious ZIP files. The campaign spans multiple sectors and countries, including Singapore, Japan, and Switzerland. The malware uses in-memory execution, DNS-based command-and-control (C2), and advanced evasion techniques. It exploits legitimate services like Heroku to blend with normal network activity, posing severe risks including intellectual property theft and supply chain disruptions.

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Information Snippets

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