A classy cyber marketing campaign is exploiting search engine marketing (search engine marketing) to distribute a malicious installer disguised as Microsoft Groups, focusing on unsuspecting organizations.
This marketing campaign, lively since November 2025, makes use of a faux Microsoft Groups web site to lure customers into downloading a trojanized utility, which then deploys the “ValleyRAT” malware.
This malware provides attackers distant management over contaminated techniques, permitting them to steal delicate knowledge, execute instructions, and keep a persistent presence inside the community.
The assault begins when customers, trying to find Microsoft Groups, are directed to a malicious web site via poisoned search outcomes.
The web site, teamscn[.]com, is a typosquatted area designed to focus on Chinese language-speaking customers.
Reliaquest safety analysts/researchers famous that the menace actors, recognized because the Chinese language APT group “Silver Fox,” have a twin goal: conducting state-sponsored espionage and fascinating in cybercrime for monetary achieve.
Using a faux Microsoft Groups utility as a lure is a strategic alternative, given the widespread use of the collaboration platform in company environments, which will increase the chance of a profitable an infection.
What makes this marketing campaign notably misleading is the usage of “false flag” strategies to mislead safety researchers.
The malware loader, as an illustration, incorporates Cyrillic characters and Russian language components, a deliberate tactic to attribute the assault to Russian menace actors.
Advanced ValleyRAT an infection chain (Supply – ReliaQuest)
Nevertheless, Reliaquest safety researchers have linked the marketing campaign to “Silver Fox” with excessive confidence, citing overlapping infrastructure with earlier assaults.
This misdirection is a calculated transfer to complicate attribution and decelerate incident response efforts, giving the attackers extra time to realize their goals.
An infection and Evasion
The an infection course of is a multi-stage operation designed to bypass safety measures and deceive customers.
It begins with the obtain of a ZIP file named MSTчamsSetup.zip. This file incorporates a trojanized executable, Setup.exe.
As soon as executed, Setup.exe performs a number of actions to compromise the system. It first checks for the presence of “360 Complete Safety,” a well-liked antivirus resolution in China.
It then makes use of a PowerShell command so as to add exclusions for the C:, D:, E:, and F: drives in Home windows Defender, stopping the antivirus from scanning these places.
The command used is:-
powershellpowershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath C:, D:,E:,F:
Verifier utility in Russian (Supply – ReliaQuest)
Following this, it executes Verifier.exe, a trojanized however legitimate-looking Microsoft installer that’s introduced in Russian. This utility then reads binary knowledge from a Profiler.json file.
Faux Microsoft Groups web site (Supply – ReliaQuest)
To finish the deception, the malware installs a professional model of Microsoft Groups and creates a desktop shortcut, making the person consider the set up was profitable whereas the malware operates covertly within the background.
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