AI-Generated Slopoly Malware Used in Interlock Ransomware Attack
AI-Generated Slopoly Malware Used in Interlock Ransomware Attack 🚨
A new malware strain dubbed Slopoly, likely created using generative AI tools, has allowed a threat actor to remain on a compromised server for more than a week and steal data in an Interlock ransomware attack. IBM X-Force researchers analyzed the script and found strong indicators that it was created using a large language model (LLM), but could not determine which one. Evidence pointing to AI-assisted development includes extensive commentary in the code, structured logging, error handling, and clearly named variables. All this is rare in human-developed malware.
According to the researchers, Slopoly is rather unsophisticated, although its deployment in ransomware operators’ attack chains indicates that AI tools are actively used to accelerate custom malware development, which can help evade detection.
The breach started with a ClickFix ruse, and in later stages of the attack, the hackers deployed the Slopoly backdoor as a PowerShell script acting as a client for the command-and-control (C2) framework. Although comments in the Slopoly script describe it as a “Polymorphic C2 Persistence Client,” IBM X-Force did not find any feature that would allow modifying its own code during execution. “The script does not possess any advanced techniques and can hardly be considered polymorphic, since it’s unable to modify its own code during execution,” reads the IBM report.
IBM X-Force researchers believe that Slopoly was generated by a builder that inserted configuration values, such as beaconing intervals, command-and-control addresses, mutex names, and session IDs.
The malware is deployed in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Runtime\. Its main functions include:
- Collecting system information
- Sending a heartbeat beacon every 30 seconds to
/api/commands - Polling for commands every 50 seconds
- Executing received commands via
cmd.exe - Sending command output back to the C2 server
- Maintaining a rotating
persistence.logfile - Establishing persistence through a scheduled task named “Runtime Broker”.
The commands it supports allow downloading and executing EXE, DLL, or JavaScript payloads; running shell commands and returning the results; changing beaconing intervals; updating itself; or exiting its own process.
They attributed the attack to a financially motivated group they track as Hive0163, whose main objective is extortion through large-scale data exfiltration and ransomware. The attack IBM observed started with a ClickFix social engineering flow and deployed multiple malware components besides Slopoly, including the NodeSnake and InterlockRAT backdoors.
The Interlock ransomware payload observed in the attacks reported by IBM is a 64-bit Windows executable delivered via the JunkFiction loader. It can execute as a scheduled task running as SYSTEM and uses Windows Restart Manager API to release locked files, appending the ‘. !NT3RLOCK’ or ‘.int3R1Ock’ extensions on their encrypted copies. IBM reports that Hive0163 may also have associations with the developers behind Broomstick, SocksShell, PortStarter, SystemBC, and the Rhysida ransomware operators.