AdvisoriesCISAAA23-129AMay 9, 2023
May 9, 2023
The Snake implant is a highly sophisticated cyber espionage tool developed and utilized by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB). It is designed for long-term intelligence gathering on sensitive targets. The FSB has created a covert peer-to-peer network using Snake-infected computers worldwide, with many systems serving as relay nodes to disguise operational traffic. Snake employs custom communication protocols with encryption and fragmentation to ensure confidentiality and hinder detection.
While Snake targets various industries, its focus is purposeful and tactical. In the United States, the FSB has targeted industries like education, small businesses, and media, as well as critical infrastructure sectors such as government facilities, financial services, critical manufacturing, and communications.
May 9, 2023
Defending against Snake in the long-term will be a cat-and-mouse game, as the malware can take on many forms through its micro-service design (each component can be upgraded separately). Written in C, the most unique characteristic of Snake is its server-like behavior. Most C2 malware opens a port on the compromised device to allow the operator command-level access. This ubiquitous signature is a red flag to endpoint defenses, which can be tuned to detect the new port. Snake avoids this altogether by sniffing the TCP traffic flowing through a device and examining each first packet for a directive from the operator. Because of the advanced (fluctuating) behavior of Snake, the best front-line defense is to keep an EDR updated and tuned correctly.
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AdvisoryCISAAA24-207AJuly 25, 2024
