TA410 is a likely state-sponsored threat actor targeting the US utilities sector with the Lookback malware.
Analyst brief
TA410 is a likely state-sponsored threat actor active since at least 2019, targeting the US utilities sector. The group uses spear phishing emails impersonating licensing bodies, delivering the 'Lookback' malware via malicious Microsoft Office attachments. Defenders should focus on detecting emails from lookalike domains related to utility certifications and enforce strict macro execution policies to block this initial infection vector.
TA410
unknown
Early in August 2019, Proofpoint described what appeared to be state-sponsored activity targeting the US utilities sector with malware that we dubbed “Lookback”. Between August 21 and August 29, 2019, several spear phishing emails were identified targeting additional US companies in the utilities sector. The phishing emails originated from what appears to be an actor-controlled domain: globalenergycertification[.]net. This domain, like those used in previous campaigns, impersonated a licensing body related to the utilities sector. In this case, it masqueraded as the legitimate domain for Global Energy Certification (“GEC”). The emails include a GEC examination-themed body and a malicious Microsoft Word attachment that uses macros to install and run LookBack. (Note confusion between Malware, Campaign and ThreatActor)