Cloud Abuse at Scale

SUMMARY :

A large-scale attack infrastructure dubbed TruffleNet has been identified, built around the open-source tool TruffleHog. This infrastructure is used to systematically test compromised credentials and perform reconnaissance across AWS environments. The campaign involves over 800 unique hosts across 57 distinct Class C networks, characterized by consistent configurations and the use of Portainer. Alongside TruffleNet, adversaries are exploiting Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) to facilitate Business Email Compromise (BEC) campaigns. The attackers create email identities using compromised WordPress sites and conduct aggressive cloud reconnaissance. This activity highlights the evolving tactics of threat actors in exploiting cloud infrastructure at scale, combining credential theft, reconnaissance automation, and SES abuse to conduct high-volume fraud with minimal detection.

OPENCTI LABELS :

credential abuse,trufflehog,coroxy,systembc,aws,xmrig,bec,cloud infrastructure,identity compromise,portainer,trufflenet,ses


AI COMMENTARY :

1. Cloud Abuse at Scale describes an emerging threat campaign operating under the TruffleNet moniker, exploiting the elasticity of cloud infrastructure for illicit gains. Researchers have observed adversaries leveraging an open-source reconnaissance tool called TruffleHog to systematically harvest and validate stolen credentials across Amazon Web Services environments. By automating credential abuse and reconnaissance workflows, these threat actors have achieved unprecedented reach and persistence in the cloud ecosystem.

2. At the core of TruffleNet’s operation is the TruffleHog scanner, which sifts through repositories and storage buckets to uncover secrets, access keys, and other sensitive tokens. Once valid credentials are obtained, the attackers deploy Portainer containers to orchestrate large-scale activities while maintaining a modular and reproducible infrastructure. This approach allows for rapid reconfiguration, enabling the threat group to pivot between compromised accounts without losing momentum.

3. The campaign’s footprint spans over 800 unique hosts distributed among 57 distinct Class C networks, each exhibiting remarkably consistent configuration profiles. These instances routinely run auxiliary tools such as Coroxy for proxying traffic, SystemBC for command-and-control tunneling, and XMRig for covert cryptocurrency mining. The uniform deployment strategy suggests the use of infrastructure-as-code templates, which facilitate rapid expansion and streamline the onboarding of new attack nodes.

4. In parallel with credential abuse, the adversaries have innovated on the Business Email Compromise front by weaponizing Amazon Simple Email Service. Compromised WordPress sites serve as staging grounds to create legitimate-looking email identities, which are then used to launch targeted BEC campaigns. By leveraging SES, the attackers achieve high deliverability rates while evading traditional email security controls, effectively turning cloud-native platforms into unwitting accomplices in fraud schemes.

5. This multi-pronged assault demonstrates the evolving tactics employed by modern cybercriminals, who combine identity compromise with automated cloud reconnaissance and large-scale fraud mechanisms. The seamless integration of TruffleNet’s scanning capabilities with container orchestration and SES abuse underscores the need for security teams to adopt a holistic approach to cloud defense, encompassing credential hygiene, infrastructure monitoring, and email authentication protocols.

6. Organizations can mitigate similar threats by enforcing least-privilege access controls, rotating credentials regularly, and deploying advanced anomaly detection solutions that correlate unusual provisioning patterns and outbound traffic. Implementing strict SES identity verification and monitoring for unauthorized email-sending activity will also help to curb BEC attacks. By remaining vigilant and proactively auditing cloud assets, defenders can disrupt the automated workflows that fuel large-scale campaigns like TruffleNet.


OPEN NETMANAGEIT OPENCTI REPORT LINK!


Use public read only username and password on login page.

NOTE : Use Public READ only user credentials on login page banner.


Cloud Abuse at Scale