OopsSec - The Short Lived Campaign of Cthulhu Stealer

Explore how cybercriminals' operational security failures led to the exposure and downfall of a macOS malware campaign in this 22-minute conference talk. Examine the case study of Cthulhu Stealer, a previously undocumented macOS credential-stealing malware that targeted gaming and cryptocurrency accounts from 2023 to early 2024. Learn how the malware successfully harvested victim credentials until the campaign's administrator executed an exit scam, stealing cryptocurrency owed to affiliates and ultimately exposing the entire operation. Discover the OSINT techniques and reverse engineering methods used to uncover the campaign's details, demonstrating how malware developers' mistakes mirror those of legitimate software engineers but with far more revealing consequences. Gain insights into the operational dynamics of cybercriminal groups and understand how greed and poor security practices among threat actors can lead to their own exposure and the collapse of their malicious enterprises.