# Cyclops Blink malware sets up shop in ASUS routers

**theregister.com/2022/03/18/cyclops_asus_routers/**

Jessica Lyons Hardcastle

**[Security](https://www.theregister.com/security/)**

## Kremlin-backed Sandworm has its VPNFilter replacement, it seems

[Jessica Lyons Hardcastle Fri 18 Mar 2022 // 19:02 UTC](https://www.theregister.com/Author/Jessica-Lyons-Hardcastle)
**15**

Cyclops Blink malware has infected ASUS routers in what Trend Micro says looks like an
attempt to turn these compromised devices into command-and-control servers for future
attacks.

ASUS says it's [working on a remediation for Cyclops Blink and will post software updates if](https://www.asus.com/content/ASUS-Product-Security-Advisory/)
necessary. The hardware maker recommends users reset their gateways to factory settings
to flush away any configurations added by an intruder, change the login password, make
sure remote management access from the WAN is disabled, and ensure the latest firmware
is installed to be safe.

Cyclops Blink has ties to Kremlin-backed Sandworm, the criminal gang behind the nasty
[VPNFilter malware that in 2018 targeted routers and storage devices. The crew also carried](https://www.theregister.com/2018/09/27/fancy_bear_modules/)
out several high-profile attacks including the 2015 and 2016 cyber-assaults on Ukraine's


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electrical grid, NotPetya in 2017, and the French presidential campaign email leak that same
year.

A Trend Micro [warning about the router hijackings follows a joint advisory last month from the](https://www.trendmicro.com/en_us/research/22/c/cyclops-blink-sets-sights-on-asus-routers--.html)
FBI, CISA, the US Department of Justice, and the UK National Cyber Security Centre about
Cyclops Blink, which the agencies said looked to be Sandworm's replacement for VPNFilter.
At the time, the botnet had its sights set on [WatchGuard firewall appliances.](https://www.watchguard.com/wgrd-news/blog/important-detection-and-remediation-actions-cyclops-blink-state-sponsored-botnet)

"Our data also shows that although Cyclops Blink is a state-sponsored botnet, its C&C
servers and bots affect WatchGuard Firebox and Asus devices that do not belong to critical
organizations, or those that have an evident value on economic, political, or military
espionage," Trend Micro said. "Hence, we believe that it is possible that the Cyclops Blink
botnet's main purpose is to build an infrastructure for further attacks on high-value targets."

And while Cyclops Blink has infected routers from these two hardware providers, "we have
evidence that the routers of at least one vendor other than Asus and WatchGuard are
connecting to Cyclops Blink C&Cs as well, but so far we have been unable to collect
malware samples for this router brand," the security shop said.

It's not clear exactly right now how the malware gets onto a device, though it probably
involves exploiting a default admin password to gain access via an enabled remote
management service. According to Trend Micro's Cyclops Blink technical analysis, once the
modular malware, written in C, has been injected into the gateway and is running, it sets
itself up and renames its process to "[ktest]" presumably to appear as a Linux kernel thread.

Next, it waits for 37 seconds and decides on the hard-coded command-and-control (C2)
server to talk to along with the rate at which it communicates with the box. Then it begins
communicating with its C2 server using an OpenSSL-encrypted channel to join the Cyclops
Blink botnet. Among the commands it can receive, the compromised router can be given
more malware to run, allowing the botnet's controllers to do whatever they like on the
hijacked gateways. ®

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[Jessica Lyons Hardcastle Fri 27 May 2022 // 22:34 UTC](https://www.theregister.com/Author/Jessica-Lyons-Hardcastle)
Russian crooks are selling network credentials and virtual private network access for a
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Big Tech loves talking up privacy – while trying to kill privacy legislation

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[Thomas Claburn in San Francisco Fri 27 May 2022 // 21:48 UTC 2](https://www.theregister.com/Author/Thomas-Claburn)
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SEC probes Musk for not properly disclosing Twitter stake

Meanwhile, social network's board rejects resignation of one its directors

[Katyanna Quach Fri 27 May 2022 // 21:26 UTC 3](https://www.theregister.com/Author/Katyanna-Quach)
America's financial watchdog is investigating whether Elon Musk adequately disclosed
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[A letter [PDF] from the SEC addressed to the tech billionaire said he "[did] not appear"](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1418091/000000000022003713/filename1.pdf)
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[Jessica Lyons Hardcastle Fri 27 May 2022 // 19:19 UTC 6](https://www.theregister.com/Author/Jessica-Lyons-Hardcastle)
Cloud security company Lacework has laid off 20 percent of its employees, just months
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Talos names eight deadly sins in widely used industrial software

Entire swaths of gear relies on vulnerability-laden Open Automation Software (OAS)

[Jeff Burt Fri 27 May 2022 // 18:30 UTC](https://www.theregister.com/Author/Jeff-Burt)
A researcher at Cisco's Talos threat intelligence team found eight vulnerabilities in the
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Despite global uncertainty, $500m hit doesn't rattle Nvidia execs

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[Dylan Martin Fri 27 May 2022 // 16:08 UTC 1](https://www.theregister.com/Author/Dylan-Martin)
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Another AI supercomputer from HPE: Champollion lands in France

That's the second in a week following similar system in Munich also aimed at
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[Dan Robinson Fri 27 May 2022 // 15:30 UTC](https://www.theregister.com/Author/Dan-Robinson)
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Champollion brings together HPC and purpose-built AI technologies to train machine
learning models at scale and unlock results faster, HPE said. HPE already provides
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Figures disappoint analysts as SaaSy HR and finance application vendor navigates
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[Lindsay Clark Fri 27 May 2022 // 14:30 UTC 9](https://www.theregister.com/Author/Lindsay-Clark)
HR and finance application vendor Workday's CEO, Aneel Bhusri, confirmed deal wins
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UK monopoly watchdog investigates Google s online advertising business

Another probe? Mountain View is starting to look like a pincushion at this rate

[Richard Currie Fri 27 May 2022 // 14:00 UTC 3](https://www.theregister.com/Author/Richard-Currie)
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority is lining up yet another investigation into
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This latest inquiry, [announced Thursday, is the second major UK antitrust investigation](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/google-probed-over-potential-abuse-of-dominance-in-ad-tech)
into Google this year alone. In March this year the UK, together with the European
[Union, said it wished to examine Google's "Jedi Blue" agreement with Meta to allegedly](https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/11/cma_ec_blue_jedi/)
favor the former's Open Bidding ads platform.

[The news also follows proposals last week by a bipartisan group of US lawmakers to](https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/19/senate_ctda_advertising/)
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Microsoft slows some hiring for Windows, Teams, and Office

'Making sure the right resources are aligned to the right opportunity' ahead of next
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[Richard Speed Fri 27 May 2022 // 13:31 UTC 5](https://www.theregister.com/Author/Richard-Speed)
Microsoft has hit the brakes on hiring in some key product areas as the company
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[According to reports in the Bloomberg, the unit that develops Windows, Office, and](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-26/microsoft-to-slow-hiring-in-windows-office-teams-chat-groups?srnd=technology-vp)
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During a talk this week at JP Morgan's Technology, Media and Communications
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[Continue reading](https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/27/microsoft_hiring_paused/?td=keepreading-btm)


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Recession fears only stoking enterprise tech spending for Dell, others

Staving off entropy with digital transformation, hybrid office, and automation projects

[Paul Kunert Fri 27 May 2022 // 13:00 UTC](https://www.theregister.com/Author/Paul-Kunert)
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healthy," he added.

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