Glupteba Malware Uses Bitcoin Blockchain To Update C2 Domains

In a report published September 4, 2019, Trend Micro reported its analysis of a new variant of Glupteba malware, which primarily affects Windows systems and routers. Trend Micro discovered that Glubteba is now using the Electrum Bitcoin blockchain to distribute command-and-control information. Intruders controlling systems compromised by Glupteba can update their C2 server list by using a platform normally used for legitimate Bitcoin transactions. This clever mechanism makes it difficult to prevent updates to the C2 list without denying authorized use of Electrum. The idea to abuse blockchain technology in this specific manner was introduced in a 2015 research paper by Ali, McCorry, Lee, and Hao titled "ZombieCoin: Powering Next-Generation Botnets with Bitcoin," but Glubteba may be the first criminal implementation. Enterprise defenders seeking to counter this activity can leverage network security monitoring data to look for Bitcoin-related traffic, as well as the URLs, IP addresses, and domains accompanying the Trend Micro report.