A RAT in the spreadsheet. [Research Saturday]

Today we are joined by Aaron Beardslee, Manager of Threat Research at Securonix, discussing "Analyzing SHEET#CREEP: SHEETCREEP is up again with different config obfuscation." Securonix researchers have identified an evolved version of the SHEETCREEP espionage campaign, using a diplomatic-themed ISO phishing lure to deliver a C# remote access trojan targeting Indian diplomatic interests. The malware abuses the Google Sheets API as a stealthy command-and-control channel, with researchers identifying 91 active victim tabs, including a high-confidence target in Pakistan. The campaign, assessed with moderate confidence as linked to Pakistan-aligned APT36, has added XOR-obfuscated configurations and other anti-analysis techniques to evade detection and maintain persistent access. The research and executive brief can be found here: ⁠Analyzing SHEET#CREEP: SHEETCREEP is up again with different config obfuscation