Viasat: Acid Rain Virus Disable Satellite Modems

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The cyberattack which targeted the KA-SAT satellite broadband service to erase SATCOM modems on February 24 used a newly discovered data wiper virus. It impacted thousands in Ukraine and thousands more across Europe. 
A cybersecurity firm, SentinelOne, claims to have discovered a malware sample, which disrupted internet connectivity on February 24. The malware, called AcidRain, which was also likely utilized in the Viasat breach, is a Unix executable application which is meant to attack MIPS-based devices. This could indicate the attackers’ lack of experience with the filesystem and firmware of the targeted devices, or their desire to create a reusable tool.
The same sample came from SkyLogic, the Viasat operator in charge of the damaged network, which is also situated in Italy. The software sample was also tagged with the moniker “ukrop,” which could be a reference to the Ukraine Operation. 
The researchers underscored that Viasat did not offer technical indicators of compromise or a detailed incident response report. Instead, rogue commands damaged modems in Ukraine and other European countries, according to the satellite industry. The SentinelOne duo were perplexed as to how valid orders could produce such mayhem in the modem, “scalable disruption is more feasibly performed by delivering an update, script, or executable,” they added. 
Viasat: Acid Rain Virus Disable Satellite Modems