Hakopsbot
Overview
Executive Summary
Hakopsbot is a specialized Information Stealer (InfoStealer) and Keylogger designed specifically to harvest sensitive authentication credentials and personal data from infected Windows systems. Often created using commercial or freely available "builder" tools found on cybercriminal forums, Hakopsbot focuses on silently capturing user inputs and exfiltrating saved passwords from web browsers and email clients.Infection Vector and Technical Capabilities
Hakopsbot is typically distributed via low-sophistication phishing campaigns, often masquerading as game cheats, software "cracks," or generic malicious email attachments (like zip files containing executable screensavers). Once active, it operates entirely in the background to harvest data:- Global Keylogging: The malware utilizes Windows API hooking (such as `SetWindowsHookEx`) to intercept all keystrokes globally, capturing passwords typed into banking sites, social media, and corporate VPN portals before they are even encrypted by the browser.
- Credential Dumping: Hakopsbot actively targets the credential stores of popular web browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge) and FTP/Email clients (FileZilla, Outlook), extracting saved usernames, passwords, and active session cookies.
- Data Exfiltration: The stolen data is typically compiled into a hidden text or log file and periodically exfiltrated to the attacker via SMTP (emailing the logs to a disposable address) or by uploading it to a compromised FTP server.
Threat Assessment
An active Hakopsbot infection is a severe data privacy and security breach. While the malware itself does not destroy data, the theft of valid corporate credentials can immediately lead to catastrophic secondary attacks, including unauthorized VPN access, data breaches, and Business Email Compromise (BEC) fraud.Incident Response and Remediation
- Mandatory Credential Reset: The absolute most critical step is an immediate reset of all passwords that were typed or saved on the infected machine. This includes corporate Active Directory accounts, personal email, and financial institutions.
- MFA Enforcement: Ensure Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is strictly enforced across all external-facing corporate portals to mitigate the risk of stolen passwords being reused.
- Antivirus Sweeps and EDR: Utilize enterprise EDR to identify the execution path of the keylogger, remove the executable, and delete the hidden log files containing the exfiltrated keystrokes.
Known aliases
Threat reports may refer to this family under multiple names:
MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
This family has been observed using the following ATT&CK techniques: T1056.001 T1552.001 T1048
Tactical Mitigations
Based on the techniques used by this family, consider the following defensive strategies:
- T1056.001: Implement Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) to monitor for suspicious API calls related to keystroke interception. Enforce Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to render stolen passwords useless.
Generated Detections (Boilerplate)
These YARA and Sigma rules are auto-generated based on the family name and aliases. They must be heavily tuned before deployment in a production environment.
YARA Rule
rule MALWARE_WIN_HAKOPSBOT {
meta:
description = "Detects Hakopsbot (advanced_threat)"
author = "SystemHelpdesk Boilerplate Generator"
date = "2026-07-06"
strings:
$s1 = "hakopsbot" ascii wide nocase
$s2 = "keylogger.hakopsbot" ascii wide nocase
$s3 = "spyware.hakops" ascii wide nocase
$s4 = "trojan.pws.hakops" ascii wide nocase
condition:
uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and any of them
}Sigma Rule
title: Suspicious Hakopsbot Activity
id: 9cd5ff2248fb11bc6a6ef77a3d3680ad
status: experimental
description: Detects generic indicators of the hakopsbot malware family.
logsource:
category: process_creation
product: windows
detection:
selection:
Image|endswith:
- '\cmd.exe'
- '\powershell.exe'
CommandLine|contains:
- "*hakopsbot*"
- "*keylogger.hakopsbot*"
- "*spyware.hakops*"
- "*trojan.pws.hakops*"
condition: selection
level: mediumReferences & External Analysis
- Search "hakopsbot" on VirusTotal (External Analysis)
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I remove the Hakopsbot Advanced_Threat from Windows?
Manual removal of Hakopsbot is highly discouraged as it may leave persistence mechanisms intact. We recommend disconnecting the device from the internet and utilizing a professional incident response service or enterprise-grade EDR software to conduct a full forensic sweep.
Is Hakopsbot a virus or a Advanced_Threat?
Hakopsbot is classified as a Advanced_Threat. Unlike traditional viruses that infect files, modern malware like Hakopsbot typically operates as a standalone payload designed to compromise systems, steal data, or deploy secondary stage implants.
What are the main symptoms of a Hakopsbot infection?
Symptoms of Hakopsbot can include unexpected system slowness, unauthorized outbound network traffic to unknown IP addresses, disabled security software, and suspicious background processes running from AppData or Temp directories.
Related Families (Category: advanced_threat)
Explore other malware families in the same category:
Protect Your Network Against Advanced_Threats
Want to prevent Hakopsbot and similar threats from compromising your organization? Read our comprehensive defensive guide: Suspect an Infection? What to do.
Machine-readable
Get this profile as JSON: https://jordanricky1604-ship-it.github.io/malware-families-catalog/api/hakopsbot.json
Ecosystem & Interactive Environments
This profile is part of the Malware Families Catalog, a public dataset of 2,899 malware families. The catalog is also published across our ecosystem: Hugging Face, Kaggle, Zenodo, Replit, StackBlitz, CodeSandbox, and CodePen.