Among all the machines of the 8-bit home computer era which booted straight to a BASIC prompt, there were a very few that went their own way with another language. The Jupiter Ace springs immediately to mind, a diminutive Z80-based machine similar to Sinclair’s ZX81, which booted to FORTH.
The Ace wasn’t a commercial success, but what would have happened had it booted to a more accessible language? It’s a question [jordanhubbard] appears to be trying to answer, with an OS that boots to a Python interpreter.. The OS is Python, and everything on top of it uses the interpreter. Better still, it has a GUI mode.
The OS boots on an x86-64 platform or in QEMU, and appears to have been created using an LLM. There are two build options for the GUI version or the interpreter version. It provides a set of UNIX-like commands for interacting with the OS and disk, something which brings back memories of disk-based systems back in the BASIC days. We’re surprised to see no screenshots of the GUI in action though, an omission he’d do well to correct, we think.
It’s fair to say that in 2026 this is more a bit of fun than a serious OS contender, but maybe someone will run with it. It has competition too, not so long ago we featured a similar OS that runs a BASIC interpreter.
Like many of us, [Austin] finds writing code satisfying — especially if it is challenging. His latest challenge: shoehorn something that looks like Python into 512 bytes. Ok, that didn’t work out, but would you believe 1024 bytes of source code?
The goal was to properly execute a fizzbuzz program using a decidedly Python-like syntax. Since he is only interpreting Python, some things were simplified. In addition, he tried hard to minimize things like whitespace and variable names. Still, there were other things to do, and he borrowed from tips for code golfing.
The resulting code is essentially illegible, but it handles integer variables and literals, assignment, arithmetic, many control structures, functions, and even print. Not bad for 1 K.
Despite being tiny, the parser does a lot, but it does cut corners. No bytecode, no syntax tree, and no error handling. Variables have to be a single lowercase letter. So, ok, it isn’t really Python. But it is something.
[Adafruit]’s Voicebox FX gadget is a fun, well-documented project that serves another useful purpose: being a fantastic reference design for audio on CircuitPython, with I2S audio components. Be sure to check it out if you have a project that involves any of that and could use a few pointers, or if you just want to jog a few ideas loose.
I2S (Inter-IC Sound) is a protocol aimed squarely at moving audio data between components as digital signals. Our own [Jenny List] can tell you everything you need to know about I2S. It’s a relatively simple interface that is not at all fussy about actually being used for audio, and that has led to it being put to some unusual uses.
The Voicebox FX uses an I2S microphone, an I2S amplifier, and an RP2350 microcontroller to record and play sound as well as offer a variety of effects controlled by physical inputs. It’s all wrapped up in a slick 3D printed case, and while it’s a fantastic reference design, it looks like a fun toy in its own right.
A deadman’s switch can be very powerful defensive weapon. A deadman’s switch is only triggered if the human being holding is dead. Hence, the name. This can be powerful weapon if one’s life is threatened. You set up a deadman’s switch to trigger some powerful event (emails, data exposure, videos, graphics) if you are dead and can not maintain the switch. This might save you life someday!
As you know, Mr. Robot is my favorite TV show because of its realistic depiction of hacking. Nearly all of the hacks in the show are real, although the time frame may be compressed (real hacking is not like a TikTok video).
In the first season, Elliot’s “girlfriend”, Shayla, has been kidnapped and held as hostage by the psychopathic drug dealer, Vera. Vera has been arrested and is sitting in jail waiting for trial. He insists that Elliot get him out of jail by some sort of elaborate hack in 24 hours! For more of the prison hack, see my tutorial here and my David Bombal YouTube video here.
Elliot goes to the jail to visit Vera and explain the difficulties of hacking him out jail in 24 hours. Vera insists. Elliot explains that he has all the evidence from Vera’s brothers cellphone (he hacked it over the LAN in his apartment probably using the shellshock vulnerability) to put Vera and his brother away forever. When Vera threatens him, he explains that if anything happens to him, a deadman’s switch will be triggered and send all the evidence to law enforcement, thereby guaranteeing his safety,
Deadman’s switch is not a new concept. It has a long and storied history in its many physical forms. A deadman’s switch is simply a safety mechanism that triggers if there is NO user action. This means that if the owner or holder of the switch is dead or otherwise incapacitated, an action is triggered. They have long been used within industrial society to stop machines if the operator is “dead” such as locomotives, amusement rides, and aircraft refueling, among many applications. It has also been used by to preserve the operator’s life. Imagine a person wearing a suicide vest. They often hold a deadman’s switch that triggers the explosive should they be killed. You have probably seen this in many TV shows and movies.
Elliot is using this strategy to preserve his life from Vera’s assassins except that here he creates a digital deadman’s switch. If he is dead, the program triggers and notifies law enforcement with all the digital evidence against Vera and his brother.
Let’s see whether we can create such a digital deadman’s switch in Python, the favorite language of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.
Step # 1: Getting Started
A deadman’s switch is a safety mechanism that triggers an action if the user fails to perform a periodic task (like pressing a key or sending a signal) within a certain time frame. In our script, we will wait to get receive an ENTER from the user. If you user does not hit ENTER within a specified period of time, we assume they a are dead and execute the action, in this case send an SMS message.
To develop our deadman’s switch, we will need;
code or a function to send the message when the user is dead
some code or function to track the time and determined time is exhausted
a main function to take user input on the desired time out and determine when that time has exhausted and trigger the action function
Let’s get started by importing the modules necessary:
import threading
The threading module in Python allows your program to run multiple operations concurrently within the same process by using threads.
Wait for input or other blocking operations (like in your deadman’s switch).
Perform background tasks while the main program continues (e.g., downloading a file while updating a UI).
import requests
The requests module in Python is a simple and powerful library for making HTTP requests — it lets your program talk to websites or APIs over the internet
Step # 2: Create a function named action to send an SMS Message If the User is Dead
Now that we have all the necessary modules, let’s create a function called action. In this function, we will use the requests.post command to send a SMS message through textbelt.com (we have used this service before with the sending a fake SMS message here). This function executes if the action indicating life (hitting ENTER) is not completed within specified amount of time entered by the user in the main function below. So, to simplify, the user defines the amount of time and if no action is detected within that time period, the switch is triggered.
In this function, we named wait_for_input, we use the threading module to create a timer.
def wait_for_input(timeout):
“””
Waits for user input with a timeout.
Returns True if input received, False if timeout occurs.
“””
timer = threading.Timer(timeout, deadman_action)
timer.start()
try:
input(f”Press Enter within {timeout} seconds to reset the deadman’s switch: “)
timer.cancel()
return True
except Exception:
timer.cancel()
return False
Step 4: Create a main function
Here, we create our main function. In this function, we prompt the user for the number of seconds to wait and convert it into integer, then print the timeout for the user to see and another print statement simply telling the user that the switch is activated and they must press enter to keep it alive.
def main():
timeout = int(input(“Enter the length of timeout in seconds: “)) # seconds
print(“Deadman’s switch activated. Press Enter regularly to keep it alive.”)
while True:
if not wait_for_input(timeout):
break # Deadman’s switch triggered, exit loop or take other action
Step # 5
In this section, we use a python convention that ensures that some code only runs when the file is executed directly, not when it’s imported as a module in another script.
As you already know;
name is a special built-in variable in Python.
When a file is run directly, name == “__main__” is True.
When a file is imported, name is set to the module’s name, not “__main__”.
Now, we only need to give ourselves execute permissions;
kali > sudo chmod 755 deadmans_script.py
Now, if Vera’s thugs kill Elliot, the deadman’s switch will be triggered and law enforcement will be notified with all the evidence on Vera’s brother’s phone!
How It Works
The program waits for the user to press Enter within the timeout.
If the user presses Enter in time, the timer is canceled, and the loop continues.
If the user fails to press Enter before the timer expires, the action() function is called.
You can customize action() to perform any critical task (e.g., email, alerting, shutting down, encrypting files, etc.).
Summary
Mr. Robot is a fascinating TV show that demonstrates many of the realistic hacks we all use but in compressed time frames. In this tutorial, we demonstrated how you can use the hacker’s favorite scripting language, Python, to create a Deadman’s Switch that will only be triggered if the user fails to do the required action in the required time frame.
For more on Python, check out my upcoming book, Python Basics for Hackers!
During our routine threat monitoring, we uncovered a new phishing campaign tied to a previously unknown APT group that we dubbed Armored Likho (also known as Eagle Werewolf based on circumstantial evidence). This targeted campaign focuses heavily on government agencies and the electric power sector. The geographical footprint of these attacks spans Russia, Brazil, and Kazakhstan, establishing the group as a global threat actor.
Armored Likho blends financially motivated campaigns targeting private individuals with targeted cyber-espionage aimed at organizations. Their toolkit features obfuscated, modular RATs and infostealers specifically engineered to bypass dynamic analysis. Alongside these, they leverage simpler tools like Go2Tunnel for remote access and network tunneling. This diverse malware stack enables the threat actor to maintain stealthy control of compromised hosts, exfiltrate credentials and other sensitive information, and dynamically deploy downloadable modules tailored to the victim’s profile and the tasks at hand.
Key campaign highlights:
The group is leveraging a previously undocumented tool dubbed BusySnake Stealer. This Python-based infostealer is designed to target Windows systems. We discovered multiple versions of the malware, along with an additional module dedicated to stealing cookies.
The first-stage malicious payload, consisting of loaders and stagers, was generated using AI, which blurs the attackers’ TTPs and complicates attribution efforts.
This campaign highlights several concurrent trends: the growing technical maturity of Armored Likho, tool polymorphism, and a shift toward more complex schemes aimed at bypassing security solutions — ranging from Python source code obfuscation to embedding network mechanisms directly into the malware code. In this post, we’ll dissect the campaign that remains active at the time of publication, as well as the toolkit utilized by the attackers.
Initial infection vector
Phishing remains one of the primary initial access vectors that this threat actor heavily relies on in its latest campaigns. Armored Likho uses spear-phishing emails, with themes ranging from official government notices to social programs. In their most recent campaign, the attackers distributed malicious attachments inside archive files with names such as 1bfb2e79-8084-429e-a35c-8b595ab9f839_psihologicheskiy_test.zip (psychological test) or zayavka_gumanitarnayapomosch.rar (humanitarian aid application). These archives contained executables or LNK files named to mimic the email themes, tricking users into executing them on their devices. Below, we break down several variants of how they achieve initial access.
EXE attachment
In one attack variant, the archive contains a dropper named psihologicheskiy_test.exe, which is a self-extracting archive built using the Nullsoft Scriptable Install System (NSIS). When the victim opens the file, a decoy application launches to disarm suspicion by presenting a fake psychological survey. While we have observed similar droppers in the group’s previous campaigns, those earlier versions were written in Rust.
Once executed, the dropper writes a legitimate executable, $temp\nsn5531.tmp\pnx.exe, to disk and launches it. Code is then injected into the pnx.exe process memory to execute a malicious loader. This loader, in turn, fetches several archives hosted in GitHub repositories. Our analysis of these repositories uncovered early development builds and test samples of the malware. Data release in the repository is automated, allowing for rapid rotation of both payloads and the repositories themselves.
Payload repository example
The downloaded archives are extracted into the $appdata\WindowsHelper directory. This serves as the malware’s working directory, where all subsequent components of the attack are staged and executed.
The fetched package contains the following components:
The primary payload: a stealer named module.pyw
The runtime directory with the components of the PyArmor execution environment
A Python 3.12 interpreter
The get-pip.py script: used to install the pip package manager and fetch required dependencies
Once executed, the script installs pip and pulls down the core dependencies required for the payload to run.
With all dependencies in place, the malware creates two VBScript files in the same $appdata\WindowsHelper directory. The first, wh_selfdelete.vbs, is used to wipe the initial pnx.exe loader from the system:
Loader removal script
The second script, run.vbs, is designed to execute module.pyw and is used to ensure persistence on the system by creating a scheduled task:
Persistence script
This task ensures that the payload, BusySnake Stealer, is executed every five minutes.
LNK attachment
In alternate campaigns, the archive contains a file named Zayavka_[redacted].lnk. The group leveraged the ZDI-CAN-25373 shortcut vulnerability to conceal the contents of their command line. This flaw allows the attackers to use spaces or line breaks to hide execution parameters.
Consequently, when the user runs the malicious LNK file, it triggers the following obfuscated command:
Obfuscated PowerShell command
This, in turn, spawns a PowerShell command that downloads and executes the malicious loader:
Downloading and executing the loader
Upon execution, the loader downloads and opens a decoy DOCX document. We have observed various decoy themes, ranging from humanitarian aid requests to debt clearance certificates.
Decoy documents
Once the decoy is displayed, the loader initializes the environment variables required to stage the next phase, including URL paths, installation directories, and required library manifests. While we observed variations across different first-stage payload samples, their core functionality remains identical.
Variable initialization example in loader code
Next, the loader fetches a Python 3.12 interpreter (python.zip), the get-pip.py script, and a data.zip archive containing the module.pyw payload. From this point, mirroring the first infection vector, the malware installs its dependencies and establishes persistence through a combination of a VBScript file and a scheduled task.
Example of downloading and installing Python and the pip package manager
As shown in the screenshots, the loader’s source code contains verbose comments and bullet-point emojis. This coding style is highly uncharacteristic of human-developed malware. It strongly indicates that the group is leveraging LLMs to generate their malicious payloads.
Ultimately, both infection vectors lead to the execution of the primary payload, which we break down in detail below.
BusySnake Stealer
The primary payload in this campaign is a previously undocumented, Python-based infostealer that we have dubbed BusySnake Stealer.
The stealer’s source code implements multiple evasion techniques designed to thwart detection and complicate static analysis. Specifically, the BusySnake Stealer code is obfuscated and encrypted using PyArmor Pro version 9.2.0. The malware dynamically decrypts its bytecode only at the exact moment a function is called, re-encrypting the data immediately afterward. Additionally, the malware runs in the background without spawning a console window, as indicated by its PYW file extension.
During our analysis, we successfully stripped the protector and disassembled the executable functions. Below, we break down the stealer’s configuration and core functionality.
Before executing its main routines, the malware initializes its configuration file. It contains the C2 server address, directory paths, regular expressions, screenshot intervals, a User-Agent string for network communications, and many more. An example configuration from one of the captured samples is shown below.
Stealer configuration example
The stealer’s architecture relies on handlers, each responsible for specific functions. The table below details the role of each handler.
Handler Name
Description
single_instance_lock
Prevents multiple instances of the stealer from running concurrently on the compromised host.
start_key_clipboard_logger
Steals data from the system clipboard.
start_inventory_background
Enumerates files across the system and logs their metadata into a local database.
extract_hex64_from_file
Attempts to extract 64-character hexadecimal keys from the files.
start_send_documents_priority_background
Forwards user documents to the C2 server.
take_screenshot
Captures screenshots and saves them to the SCREEN_DIR directory.
archive_pngs
Archives captured screenshots and purges previously created archives from the disk.
poll_task
Waits for incoming C2 commands to execute.
ensure_schtask
Checks for the presence of a scheduled task to maintain persistence. If none is found, it drops a VBScript launcher and registers a new scheduled task.
Below, we break down the execution logic of the malware’s core functions.
Upon execution, the malware calls the single_instance_lock function to ensure that only one instance of the stealer is active on the system. To achieve this, the sample utilizes a non-standard lock-file algorithm, rather than traditional methods like creating a mutex or setting a registry value. The function first checks if the file Roaming\WindowsHelper\screenshots\.lock is locked by another process; if it is, the new instance fails to launch. If the file is not locked, the malware reads the Process ID (PID) stored within it. If that process doesn’t exist and the system uptime exceeds the file’s last modification timestamp, the stealer overwrites the lock file and proceeds with execution.
Immediately after initialization, the start_key_clipboard_logger function begins harvesting data from the system clipboard. The malware polls the clipboard contents in an infinite loop, appending any new or updated data to the KEYLOG_FILE using the following format:
Additionally, the stealer maps out the local file system using the start_inventory_background function.
This background process first initializes a database at Roaming\WindowsHelper\inventory_state.db. Within this database, the stealer generates a tracking table to log file metadata:
sqlite3.connect(STATE_DB_PATH)
execute CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS scanned_files (path TEXT PRIMARY KEY,mtime REAL,size INTEGER)'
The malware then enumerates files and directories to build an object tree. During this scanning phase, the stealer explicitly skips core system directories, ignores files larger than 16 MB, and filters out files matching a hardcoded exclusion list of extensions.
Discovered files are passed to the extract_hex64_from_file function to scrape for 64-character hexadecimal keys. The malware opens each file in read mode and scans for strings matching the [0-9a-fA-F]{64} regular expression. Any identified keys are logged into the previously created database. The keys themselves are written to a separate file and forwarded to the C2 server. Once the full scan wraps up, a completion message is committed to the log file using the following format:
Next, the start_send_documents_priority_background function kicks off to map out logical drives. The malware identifies the system drive and recursively sweeps the user directories under /Desktop, /Documents, and /Downloads. During this enumeration phase, it filters the paths — checking only directories whose names start with $ and do not contain the string System Volume Information. Directory contents are also filtered based on an ignore list of extensions. The remaining files are then checked: if a file has not been previously sent and its size does not exceed 5 MB, it is transmitted to the C2 server.
The stealer maintains an active connection with the C2 server to await incoming instructions during execution. The poll_task function polls the C2 server in a continuous loop for new commands. Below is an excerpt of a typical request packet:
GET /get_task?client_id=DESKTOP-[redacted] HTTP/1.1\r\n
Host: 159.198.41.140
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/143.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 Edg/143.0.0.0
The C2 sign-in form interface is shown below:
C2 administration panel sign-in form
Commands are transmitted from the C2 server as function names, which are detailed in the table below:
Function Name
Description
handle_send_screenshots_command
Captures screenshots at a designated interval, bundles them into an archive, and exfiltrates them to the C2 server.
send_and_clear_keystroke_log
Exfiltrates logged keystroke data to the C2 server and clears the log file afterward.
handle_extract_chromium_passwords
Decrypts stored passwords from Chromium-based browser databases using the DPAPI.
handle_extract_firefox_passwords
Decrypts passwords from Firefox databases by invoking the PK11SDR_Decrypt function.
handle_collect_and_send_cookies
Extracts cookies from browser databases and uploads them to the C2 server.
handle_extract_cookies_v7_command
Extracts cookies by installing an extension into the browser.
handle_search_2fa_secrets_command
Scrapes for OTP keys by continuously monitoring the clipboard and parsing local files; if an otpauth:// string is matched, the key is logged to 2fa_secrets.txt.
handle_search_wallet_jsons_command
Sweeps user directories to locate cryptocurrency wallet files with a JSON extension.
handle_split_and_send_tdata_command
Harvests Telegram session and credential data from the APPDATA/Telegram Desktop/tdata directory; it force-terminates the telegram.exe process, stages the files in a temporary directory, compresses them, and exfiltrates the archive to the C2 server.
Establishes a reverse SSH tunnel using an SSH command and private key previously received from the C2 server.
The second function terminates the connection and purges the key from the host.
handle_remote_control_command
Checks for an active installation of RustDesk on the endpoint. If missing, it downloads the application from GitHub. If already present, it restarts the RustDesk process to prompt the user to re-enter their ID and password, grabs a screenshot of the credentials, and exfiltrates the captured data to the C2 server.
After executing each command, the stealer sends a report back to the C2 server containing the task completion status.
Password exfiltration from Firefox and Chromium-based browsers
When BusySnake Stealer receives a C2 command to harvest passwords from Chromium-based browsers, it passes the task to the handle_extract_chromium_passwords function. The malware locates the specific browser data directory, verifies that it is not empty, and targets the Login State file, which contains the master key used to encrypt the local password database.
Locating the file containing the master key
The master key is protected via the Windows Data Protection API (DPAPI). By operating within the security context of the user who originally encrypted the key, the stealer is able to decrypt it using the win32crypt.CryptUnprotectData() function.
Master key decryption
Then, user accounts are extracted from the browser database via an SQL query, while passwords remain encrypted.
SELECT origin_url, username_value, password_value FROM logins
Next, the passwords are decrypted using a master key and saved in plaintext to the Roaming\WindowsHelper\chromium_passwords.json file.
For Firefox, the exfiltration workflow follows a similar logic. The stealer receives a command to extract browser credentials, which is then processed by the handle_extract_firefox_passwords function. The implant then scans the Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles directory and checks each user profile for the presence of both logins.json and key4.db. If either file is missing, the profile is skipped. The malware then parses the contents of logins.json, extracting the hostname, encryptedUsername, and encryptedPassword fields from each entry.
Credential extraction
The extracted data is placed into a SECItem structure. Upon calling the NSS_Init() function, the NSS library — which Firefox relies on — automatically initializes its built-in cryptographic module and accesses the key4.db database. If the database is not protected by a master password, the module loads the signing key stored within it. In this scenario, the PK11SDR_Decrypt() function can successfully decrypt the credentials without requiring any user prompts or additional steps. Thus, BusySnake Stealer exploits insecure Firefox browser practices: storing the database master key in plaintext and the lack of re-authentication when decrypting data with it.
Credential decryption
The decrypted credentials are saved directly to the Roaming\WindowsHelper\firefox_passwords.json file.
Cookie extraction
The stealer harvests cookies using a workflow nearly identical to its browser credential theft routine. Upon receiving the handle_collect_and_send_cookies command from the C2 server, the malware triggers the corresponding function. It then scans browser directories for the following database files: Cookies for Chromium-based browsers and cookies.sqlite for Firefox. Once located, it uses SQL queries to extract the cookies.
For Chromium-based browsers, the malware executes the following query:
SELECT host_key, name, value, encrypted_value, path, expires_utc FROM cookies
For Firefox, it uses this query:
SELECT host, name, value, path, expiry FROM moz_cookies
All harvested data is decrypted and saved to a file located at Roaming\WindowsHelper\all_browser_data.json, which is then exfiltrated to the C2 server and wiped from the host.
In addition to this method, the stealer fetches a supplementary module designed to extract cookies by installing a browser extension. Upon receiving the appropriate directive, the malware executes the handle_extract_cookies_v7_command function. It then pulls down the additional module as an archive from the Releases page of a GitHub repository, mirroring the initial staging process used by the stealer itself.
The source code of this secondary module is also protected with PyArmor. Once executed, the module spins up a local web server to capture and parse the cookies extracted from the browser. Next, the module creates the files for a browser extension used to steal cookies:
manifest.json: details the extension structure and required permissions
sw.js: contains the primary execution logic for the extension
Once these components are staged, the extension is installed into the browser.
Extension configuration file (manifest.json)
Extension execution logic (sw.js)
To ensure Google Chrome launches with the extension installed, the module uses specific arguments to start the browser.
Chrome execution parameters
Once active, the extension verifies the availability of the local web server initialized during the previous stage. If the server is responsive, the extension reads the cookie data, stores it in a cookiesData object, and transmits it to the following URL:
http://127.0.0.1:8000/?data_type=c
The local server processes the incoming payload, saves it to a file named extracted_cookies.json, and subsequently exfiltrates it to the C2 server.
Reverse SSH tunneling
The group previously used a Go-based tool for creating reverse SSH tunnels, named Go2Tunnel by researchers. BusySnake Stealer implements a similar feature as a built-in function.
The implant receives a directive from the C2 server to establish a reverse SSH tunnel, routing the task to the handle_start_proxy_command function. The stealer initially sends a request to the following URL, appending the victim’s unique machine identifier to the request parameters:
The malware extracts the private key and the specific SSH command from this response. Using these components, it initiates a connection to a remote server controlled by the attackers, granting them persistent remote access and interactive control over the compromised host.
To close the tunnel, the stealer receives the handle_stop_proxy_command command and processes it with the function of the same name, after which the private key file is deleted and the associated SSH process is terminated.
New version of the BusySnake Stealer
During our infrastructure analysis of the threat actor, we uncovered a newer iteration of the stealer. The distribution method and static obfuscation mechanism remained unchanged; however, Armored Likho modified their TTPs and altered the code structure of BusySnake Stealer.
In the new version, instead of calling schtasks directly, the malware uses the win32com.client library to create scheduled tasks through interaction with the Schedule.Service COM object, indicating a shift toward less detectable execution methods.
Creating a scheduled task via the COM object
This approach ensures a more stealthy persistence mechanism. Furthermore, to bypass dynamic analysis mechanism, the authors added a function that pauses execution before triggering malicious routines.
We also observed refinements to the architectural design of BusySnake Stealer. The attackers built a new task-management framework to handle incoming C2 commands. Each task is assigned a unique identifier, and before execution, the stealer checks for the presence of this task in a specified list. To track execution states in real time, tasks are dynamically assigned one of four operational statuses: SCHEDULED, IN_PROGRESS, SUCCEEDED, or FAILED.
The introduction of task execution statuses resulted in an updated C2 communication schema. The updated endpoints and request packet structure are detailed in the table below:
One of the most significant architectural upgrades is the introduction of a dedicated class designed to execute arbitrary Python scripts. In this updated variant of the stealer, the poll_commands function is responsible for retrieving commands from the C2 server, while the poll_tasks routine is specifically dedicated to fetching Python scripts. Before running a retrieved script, the malware dynamically installs any required dependencies via pip. It then spawns a new process and executes the script’s code directly within memory without ever writing the file to disk — a technique intended to bypass security.
Attribution
We attribute this campaign to the Armored Likho threat group with medium confidence, basing our assessment on the analysis of the tools and network activity.
In previously identified campaigns, the group used the Go2Tunnel tool designed to create reverse SSH tunnels. In BusySnake Stealer, similar functionality is implemented as a built-in feature. Both tools receive a tunnel establishment command and a private SSH key from the C2 server, while making requests to similar endpoints. Furthermore, both payloads initiate their tunnels using SSH commands with an identical set of arguments:
The Armored Likho group has historically deployed the AquilaRAT remote access Trojan. It shares a similar structure with BusySnake Stealer: the malware receives tasks from the C2 server, and their execution is carried out by dedicated handlers. Additionally, BusySnake Stealer and AquilaRAT utilize similar endpoints for C2 communications — for example, when reporting task execution statuses back to the server:
AquilaRAT
Another structural overlap is seen in their persistence mechanisms. Both BusySnake Stealer and AquilaRAT maintain their footprint on compromised hosts by registering scheduled tasks that masquerade as legitimate Microsoft system utilities. While AquilaRAT typically names its task MicrosoftOfficeUpdate, BusySnake Stealer uses the name WindowsHelper.
Victims
We continue to actively monitor the ongoing deployment campaigns of BusySnake Stealer, alongside its related artifacts and network infrastructure.
To date, confirmed victims have been identified across Russia, Kazakhstan, and Brazil. The attacks are primarily focused on the governmental and electrical power infrastructure sectors.
Takeaways
An analysis of Armored Likho’s campaigns over the past few months shows a trend toward using AI tools to generate first-stage payloads, as indicated by redundant comments and code blocks. This allows the group to broaden its available attack vectors.
In parallel, the group is aggressively refining and modifying its core toolkit. While Go2Tunnel previously operated as a standalone utility, its reverse-tunneling functionality has now been integrated directly into the stealer as a built-in feature that ingests parameters from the C2 server. Furthermore, the structural design of this newly discovered stealer shares pronounced architectural overlaps with AquilaRAT, another staple tool in the group’s arsenal.
At the time of writing, Armored Likho remains highly active. Despite the evolution of their malware variants and their efforts to obfuscate their TTPs, we continue to closely monitor the group’s footprint and detect emerging campaigns.
Defensive solutions detect the threat actor’s activity at the initial stage when the LNK downloader is executed. Upon execution, the shortcut runs an obfuscated command via rundll32.exe, which subsequently triggers a PowerShell command to pull down the second-stage payload. This malicious chain of events is caught by the following detection rules:
The Kaspersky Cloud Sandbox solution can be used for a comprehensive analysis of the malicious activity described here. The figure below shows the Kaspersky Cloud Sandbox interface, demonstrating the event chain of the obfuscated command execution by the LNK downloader.
LNK downloader execution graph in Kaspersky Cloud Sandbox
Additionally, inside Kaspersky Cloud Sandbox, it can be observed that during execution the stealer contacts remote URLs to download additional files, specifically a DOCX decoy document as well as the web_script.txt stager.
File downloads by the LNK downloader in Kaspersky Cloud Sandbox
If the EXE dropper is executed, Kaspersky Cloud Sandbox also records the downloading of additional tools from a GitHub repository.
EXE dropper execution graph in Kaspersky Cloud Sandbox
File downloads by the EXE dropper in Kaspersky Cloud Sandbox
Furthermore, dynamic analysis results show that the sample writes an additional file to the disk, which is used in subsequent stages of the attack.
Malicious file written to disk by the EXE dropper in Kaspersky Cloud Sandbox
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