Unmasking Hazy Hawk: The Threat of Subdomain Hijacking through Abandoned Cloud Resources

In today’s digital landscape, the security of an organization’s online presence is paramount. A recent report from Infoblox sheds light on a growing threat: subdomain hijacking through abandoned cloud resources. This issue impacts organizations of all sizes, with the threat actor known as Hazy Hawk at the forefront, leveraging outdated cloud services to distribute malware and scams.

What is Subdomain Hijacking?

Subdomain hijacking occurs when attackers take control of a subdomain that a legitimate owner has abandoned or misconfigured. As organizations evolve and cloud services proliferate, it’s all too common for businesses to leave behind these digital resources without proper management. This oversight creates vulnerabilities that can be exploited by malicious entities.

Introducing Hazy Hawk

Hazy Hawk is a sophisticated threat actor that has honed its techniques to hijack overlooked DNS records associated with abandoned cloud services, particularly Amazon S3 buckets and Azure endpoints. By seizing control of these resources, Hazy Hawk creates a pathway for malicious URLs that lead unsuspecting users into traps of scams and malware.

Since December 2024, Hazy Hawk has targeted respected organizations, including national bodies like the US Center for Disease Control (CDC), government agencies, universities, and major corporations. This underscores the urgent need for institutions to maintain diligent oversight of their domain configurations.

The Challenge of Managing Abandoned Resources

Identifying vulnerable DNS records within cloud infrastructures poses unique challenges. Unlike conventional unregistered domains, abandoned cloud resources often evade detection. As the use of cloud services has surged, so too has the number of “fire and forget” assets—particularly within organizations that lack comprehensive visibility and management solutions for their digital resources.

When businesses fail to monitor these assets, they unwittingly leave gateways open for threats like Hazy Hawk, allowing attackers to leverage forgotten cloud allocations for nefarious purposes.

Hazy Hawk’s Techniques and Impact

Sophisticated Techniques

Hazy Hawk employs advanced methods that differentiate it from traditional domain hijackers. With access to commercial passive DNS services, the actor capitalizes on cloud misconfigurations, creating a more challenging landscape for defenders.

Wide-Reaching Impact

The ramifications of Hazy Hawk’s activities extend far and wide. Hijacked domains are utilized to facilitate scams, including fraudulent advertisements and malicious browser push notifications. Millions of users across the globe find themselves impacted, with the unsuspecting often unaware of the risks lurking behind reputable-sounding URLs.

Economic Consequences

The scams propagated by Hazy Hawk contribute to a multi-billion-dollar fraud market. Particularly vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, suffer significant financial losses, creating a humanitarian as well as economic crisis. The toll of these scams emphasizes the need for proactive measures in digital security.

Obfuscation Techniques

To perpetuate its operations, Hazy Hawk employs advanced obfuscation strategies. These include hijacking reputable domains, obscuring URLs, and redirecting traffic through multiple layers of domains. Such tactics complicate detection and mitigation efforts for security teams, requiring constant vigilance and advanced tools to identify threats.

Protective Measures for Organizations

In light of these sophisticated threats, organizations must adopt stringent DNS management practices. Regular audits of DNS records are crucial, particularly for entries associated with discontinued cloud services. Prompt removal of these records can significantly reduce the risk of subdomain hijacking.

Moreover, user education plays a vital role in safeguarding against scams. Individuals should be encouraged to refrain from authorizing push notifications from unfamiliar websites, curbing the impact of deceptive schemes propagated by threat actors like Hazy Hawk.

Conclusion

While this article does not provide a summary, the insights shared underscore the need for awareness and proactive security measures against the evolving threat landscape marked by actors such as Hazy Hawk. By understanding this specialized method of subdomain hijacking, organizations can better protect themselves and their users from the perils of the digital realm.