Agent.BTZ

Posted: March 13, 2014

Threat Metric

The Threat Meter is a malware assessment that SpywareRemove.com's research team is able to give every identifiable malware threat. Our Threat Meter includes several criteria based off of specific malware threats to value their severity, reach and volume. The Threat Meter is able to give you a numerical breakdown of each threat's initial Threat Level, Detection Count, Volume Count, Trend Path and Percentage Impact. The overall ranking of each threat in the Threat Meter is a basic breakdown of how all threats are ranked within our own extensive malware database. The scoring for each specific malware threat can be easily compared to other emerging threats to draw a contrast in its particular severity. The Threat Meter is a useful tool in the endeavor of seeking a solution to remove a threat or pursue additional analytical research for all types of computer users.

The following fields listed on the Threat Meter containing a specific value, are explained in detail below:

Threat Level: The threat level scale goes from 1 to 10 where 10 is the highest level of severity and 1 is the lowest level of severity. Each specific level is relative to the threat's consistent assessed behaviors collected from SpyHunter's risk assessment model.

Detection Count: The collective number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular malware threat. The detection count is calculated from infected PCs retrieved from diagnostic and scan log reports generated by SpyHunter.

Volume Count: Similar to the detection count, the Volume Count is specifically based on the number of confirmed and suspected threats infecting systems on a daily basis. High volume counts usually represent a popular threat but may or may not have infected a large number of systems. High detection count threats could lay dormant and have a low volume count. Criteria for Volume Count is relative to a daily detection count.

Trend Path: The Trend Path, utilizing an up arrow, down arrow or equal symbol, represents the level of recent movement of a particular threat. Up arrows represent an increase, down arrows represent a decline and the equal symbol represent no change to a threat's recent movement.

% Impact (Last 7 Days): This demonstrates a 7-day period change in the frequency of a malware threat infecting PCs. The percentage impact correlates directly to the current Trend Path to determine a rise or decline in the percentage.

Threat Level:	8/10
Infected PCs:	1,522

First Seen:	March 13, 2014
Last Seen:	May 30, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

Agent.BTZ is a worm-based component of the Uroburos or Snake campaign, an ongoing series of information-gathering attacks against various countries that may be funded by Russian intelligence. Even though Agent.BTZ was seen as long ago as 2008, a veritable lifetime by the standards of threats, malware researchers and other industry experts also have confirmed the active use of recent, updated variants of this threatening software as of 2014. Agent.BTZ includes backdoor functions that enable Agent.BTZ to collect information and transfer it to a third-party silently, and also may distribute itself through self-copying functions – a move that complicates removing Agent.BTZ, by requiring that you isolate your PC from any removable hard drives or wireless networks.

From Yankees to Ukrainians: the Agent.BTZ's Serpentine Campaign

Agent.BTZ is a worm that managed to evade complete disinfection efforts from the Pentagon for over a year, during a 2008 campaign wherein Agent.BTZ infected a free USB device and, from there, managed to infiltrate various military networks. This campaign has, historically, been considered the worst compromise of electronic security in the US military's history. However, new versions of Agent.BTZ worms appear to have surfaced, along with evidence that ties Agent.BTZ to a global campaign of espionage.

This spy thriller novelesque plot is implicated through various details indicating that the Agent.BTZ's attacks are just one small part of the Snake or Uroburos project, which most likely is Russian in origin, with its developers working a regular nine to five schedule. Ukraine and Lithuania have been seen with the vast majority of Snake campaign-based infections confirmed, but other nations, including those in the first world, also have been targeted, albeit in reduced quantities. The basic attacks that malware researchers warn to expect from Agent.BTZ and most of its variants include:

Agent.BTZ may copy itself through unprotected networks to compromise additional PCs automatically.
Agent.BTZ will attempt to distribute copies of itself onto any peripheral hard drives, such as USB sticks, enabling Agent.BTZ to infect any PC that shares the device.
Agent.BTZ may create a backdoor vulnerability through which Agent.BTZ may transfer classified information or allow other persons to control your computer.
Agent.BTZ may include threat-downloading functions that allow Agent.BTZ to retrieve and install other threats, which may coordinate with its attacks to compromise the machine's security.
Agent.BTZ may lock several types of security software, which may require disabling all copies of Agent.BTZ, prior to deleting Agent.BTZ.

Cutting Off the Last Few Heads of an Ancient Cyber Serpent

By the terms of threats, Agent.BTZ, also known as AWF or Agent.AWF, has already lived a long life. However, with new variants of Agent.BTZ seen in recent months alongside rootkit technology included in the overall Uroburos campaign, Agent.BTZ does not seem to be going extinct anytime soon. Since nations throughout the world have suffered from these attacks, it falls to the hands of individual PC users to protect their networks and peripheral devices from Agent.BTZ contamination.

Deleting Agent.BTZ usually will call for detecting and removing more than one copy of this threat, potentially in multiple locations, along with any associated threatening software. Considering that the level of sophistication in Agent.BTZ's old variant was sufficient to evade the US military for fourteen months, it should be obvious why malware researchers suggest using only the strongest and most updated anti-malware tools available for disinfecting Agent.BTZ-compromised machines.

Agent.BTZ

Threat Metric

From Yankees to Ukrainians: the Agent.BTZ's Serpentine Campaign

Cutting Off the Last Few Heads of an Ancient Cyber Serpent

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