StrikeShark: Investigating a New Campaign Delivering Cobalt Strike Through SharkLoader

    Date: 06/25/2026

    Severity: High

    Summary

    Researchers discovered a previously undocumented malware loader named SharkLoader while investigating activity targeting a diplomatic organization in Indonesia. The malware is designed to deploy Cobalt Strike Beacon and has been delivered through the exploitation of internet-facing applications such as Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint, and Openfire Server, as well as malware-based infection chains. Related activity was observed across multiple countries and sectors, including government entities and software development organizations, indicating a broad and geographically diverse campaign. Tracked as StrikeShark, the operation currently lacks sufficient evidence for definitive attribution, although it utilizes several post-compromise tools commonly associated with Chinese-speaking developers. 

    Indicators of Compromise (IOC) List  

    Domains/URLs:

    connect-microsoft.com

    ms-record.com

    ms-record.top

    ms-tray.top

    Hash:

    C559CC68986933200FD5D9E4388E2F58

    B3352B42432DEDC4A519F011DC8B5D5A

    24FCEBDEECBA65004FDB0923763D74FD

    9C872A0D5D5A38950E8B9AC9B488BE3F

    AA3086BE652C8B20B0B29B2730D57119

    A514D1BB62D7916475946FE7C07AC0AA

    9CBD560F820C95D7C38342CD558CB5C6

    Gurucul Threat Detection and Incident Response (TDIR) Queries for Detection

    Detection Query 1 :

    domainname like "harivo.vip" or url like "harivo.vip" or siteurl like "harivo.vip"

    Detection Query 3 :

    md5hash IN ("B3352B42432DEDC4A519F011DC8B5D5A","9C872A0D5D5A38950E8B9AC9B488BE3F","24FCEBDEECBA65004FDB0923763D74FD","C559CC68986933200FD5D9E4388E2F58","AA3086BE652C8B20B0B29B2730D57119","A514D1BB62D7916475946FE7C07AC0AA","9CBD560F820C95D7C38342CD558CB5C6")

    Reference:   

    https://securelist.com/strikeshark-campaign/120326/


    Tags

    MalwareLoadersCobalt StrikeExploitGovernment Services and FacilitiesSharePointMicrosoftChinaInternet Information Services (IIS)Indonesia

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