Abaddon RAT

Cybercriminals continue to experiment with legitimate applications that could be weaponized and used to assist them in their threatening campaigns. Recently, the popular Discord application has been a frequent target of cybercriminals. Initially, it was used as a data-dumping tool, and recently it was plagued by threatening implants, which replaced legitimate Discord files to collect data. The latest threat, however, is even more impressive. The new Abaddon RAT uses Discord as a Command & Control server – all victims of the Remote Access Trojan (RAT) will ping a pre-defined Discord server to receive commands to execute. Furthermore, the RAT can offload collected files and information to the Discord server.

Malware researchers believe the Abaddon RAT to be the first cyber-threat reling on Discord to be its sole Command & Control server. In terms of functionality, the Abaddon RAT has the typical features you would expect to find in a Trojan of this type, but its authors also appear to be developing a ransomware component that could prove to be very threatening. The good news is that Abaddon RAT's ransomware module is not yet active, and the only thing hinting of its existence is a placeholder ransom note planted in the project's code.

When the Abaddon RAT is launched on a computer, it will try to collect specific data immediately, if it available:

• Google Chrome cookies, credit cards and login credentials.
• Steam credentials and files, as well as a list of installed games.
• Discord tokens and files.
• A list of files.
• Basic system, software and hardware details.

Once the Abaddon RAT connects to the Discord server, it will transmit the aforementioned data. After this, the operator can command it to perform one of the following tasks:

• Collect a specific file or directory (and its contents.)
• List available hard drive partitions.
• Execute remote commands.
• Launch the ransomware module.
• Transmit stolen information from the compromised system to the Discord server.

It is possible that the Abaddon RAT is not being spread actively yet, since its authors might want to finish the ransomware module first. It is recommended to make sure your system is protected against threats like this by investing in a reputable anti-virus product, which receives regular updates.