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Mitre
Alias
Ziptoken, Apt 27, Lucky Mouse, Earth Smilodon, Group 35, Greedytaotie, Operation �pzchao�, Red Phoenix, Atk 15, Iron Tiger, Temp.hippo, Iron Taurus, Operation �iron Tiger�, Apt27, Emissary Panda, Operation �stealthytrident�, Budworm, Bronze Union, Operation �drbcontrol�, Tg-3390, G0027, Operation �spoiledlegacy�, Luckymouse
Country
China
Sponsor
Unknown
Motivation
Information Theft And Espionage
First Seen
2010
Description
Threat Group-3390 is a Chinese threat group that has extensively used strategic Web compromises to target victims. The group has been active since at least 2010 and has targeted organizations in the aerospace, government, defense, technology, energy, and manufacturing sectors.
Emissary Panda has some overlap with {{Turbine Panda, APT 26, Shell Crew, WebMasters, KungFu Kittens}} and possibly {{UNC215}}.
This actor worked together with {{TA428}} in Operation StealthyTrident.
Targeted
Industries
Government, Aerospace, Defense, Embassies, Education, Manufacturing, Telecommunications, Aviation, Technology, Think Tanks, Private Sector
Targeted
Countries
Canada, Hong Kong, Turkey, France, Middle East, United Kingdom, Philippines, China, Russia, Germany, Taiwan, Israel, Usa, Iran, Uk, United States, Japan, India, Australia, Mongolia, Thailand, Republic Of Korea, Tibet, Spain, South Korea
Tools
Htran
Mimikatz
Zxshell
Gh0st
Living
Windows
China
Gh0st Rat
Sysupdate
Plugx
Owaauth
China Chopper
Gsecdump
Httpbrowser
Nishang
Psexec
Aspxspy
Living Off The Land
Twoface
Antak
Hunter
Hyperbro
Procdump
Windows Credentials Editor
TTP
T1195.002
T1074.001
T1560.002
T1053
T1021
T1016
T1548.002
T1566.001
T1059.003
T1189
T1562.002
T1056.001
T1078
T1547
T1056
T1070
T1119
T1133
T1112
T1543.003
T1055
T1003.004
T1505
T1567.002
T1608
T1003.002
T1608.002
T1074.002
T1021.006
T1210
T1562
T1204
T1070.005
T1033
T1027
T1071
T1190
T1543
T1547.001
T1005
T1199
T1018
T1049
T1068
T1087.001
T1574.002
T1560
T1574.001
T1071.001
T1140
T1567
T1059
T1588.002
T1012
T1195
T1055.012
T1555.005
T1204.002
T1003
T1574
T1046
T1047
T1030
T1074
T1548
T1059.001
T1003.001
T1505.003
T1203
T1608.001
T1070.004
T1555
T1588
T1105
T1087
T1608.004
T1027.002
T1053.002
T1566
Operations
Performed
[2010] operation �iron Tiger� (operation Iron Tiger Is A Targeted Attack Campaign Discovered To Have Stolen Trillions Of Data From Defense Contractors In The Us, Including Stolen Emails, Intellectual Property, Strategic Planning Documents � Data And Records That Could Be Used To Destabilize An Organization. (https://github.com/cybermonitor/apt_cybercriminal_campagin_collections/blob/master/2015/2015.09.17.operation_iron_tiger/wp-operation-iron-tiger.pdf)
[2015] penetration Of Networks For Industrial Espionage (designated As Threat Group 3390 And Nicknamed �emissary Panda� By Researchers, The Hacking Group Has Compromised Victims� Networks Largely Through �watering Hole� Attacks Launched From Over 100 Compromised Legitimate Websites, Sites Picked Because They Were Known To Be Frequented By Those Targeted In The Attack. (https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/08/newly-discovered-chinese-hacking-group-hacked-100-websites-to-use-as-watering-holes/)
[2017-07] operation �pzchao� (the Past Few Years Have Seen High-profile Cyber-attacks Shift To Damaging The Targets� Digital Infrastructures To Stealing Highly Sensitive Data, Silently Monitoring The Victim And Constantly Laying The Ground For A New Wave Of Attacks. (this Is Also The Case Of A Custom-built Piece Of Malware That We Have Been Monitoring For Several Months As It Wrought Havoc In Asia. Our Threat Intelligence Systems Picked Up The First Indicators Of Compromise In July Last Year, And We Have Kept An Eye On The Threat Ever Since. (https://labs.bitdefender.com/2018/02/operation-pzchao-a-possible-return-of-the-iron-tiger-apt/)
[2018-03] campaign Targeting A National Data Center In The Central Asia (the Choice Of Target Made This Campaign Especially Significant � It Meant The Attackers Gained Access To A Wide Range Of Government Resources At One Fell Swoop. We Believe This Access Was Abused, For Example, By Inserting Malicious Scripts In The Country�s Official Websites In Order To Conduct Watering Hole Attacks. (https://securelist.com/luckymouse-hits-national-data-center/86083/)
[2018-04] operation �spoiledlegacy� (we Have Been Monitoring A Campaign Targeting Vietnamese Government And Diplomatic Entities Abroad Since At Least April 2018. (https://securelist.com/apt-trends-report-q1-2019/90643/)
[2019-04] in April 2019, Unit 42 Observed The Emissary Panda (aka Apt27, Tg-3390, Bronze Union, Lucky Mouse) Threat Group Installing Webshells On Sharepoint Servers To Compromise Government Organizations Of Two Different Countries In The Middle East. (https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/emissary-panda-attacks-middle-east-government-sharepoint-servers/)
[2019 Summer] operation �drbcontrol� (https://documents.trendmicro.com/assets/white_papers/wp-uncovering-drbcontrol.pdf)
[2020] apt27 Turns To Ransomware (https://shared-public-reports.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/apt27+turns+to+ransomware.pdf)
[2020] iron Tiger Apt Updates Toolkit With Evolved Sysupdate Malware (https://www.trendmicro.com/en_us/research/21/d/iron-tiger-apt-updates-toolkit-with-evolved-sysupdate-malware-va.html)
[2020-03] is Apt27 Abusing Covid-19 To Attack People ?! (https://marcoramilli.com/2020/03/19/is-apt27-abusing-covid-19-to-attack-people/)
[2020-04] investigation With A Twist: An Accidental Apt Attack And Averted Data Destruction (https://www.ptsecurity.com/ww-en/analytics/pt-esc-threat-intelligence/incident-response-polar-ransomware-apt27/)
[2020-06] operation �stealthytrident� (eset Researchers Discovered That Chat Software Called Able Desktop, Part Of A Business Management Suite Popular In Mongolia And Used By 430 Government Agencies In Mongolia. (https://www.welivesecurity.com/2020/12/10/luckymouse-ta428-compromise-able-desktop/ (https://decoded.avast.io/luigicamastra/apt-group-targeting-governmental-agencies-in-east-asia/)
[2021-03] exchange Servers Under Siege From At Least 10 Apt Groups (https://www.welivesecurity.com/2021/03/10/exchange-servers-under-siege-10-apt-groups/)
[2021-03] german Government Warns Of Apt27 Activity Targeting Local Companies (https://therecord.media/german-government-warns-of-apt27-activity-targeting-local-companies/)
[2022-04] budworm: Espionage Group Returns To Targeting U.s. Organizations (https://symantec-enterprise-blogs.security.com/blogs/threat-intelligence/budworm-espionage-us-state)
[2022-05] luckymouse Uses A Backdoored Electron App To Target Macos (https://blog.sekoia.io/luckymouse-uses-a-backdoored-electron-app-to-target-macos/)
[2022-07] iron Tiger�s Sysupdate Reappears, Adds Linux Targeting (https://www.trendmicro.com/en_us/research/23/c/iron-tiger-sysupdate-adds-linux-targeting.html)
[2022-08] iron Tiger Compromises Chat Application Mimi, Targets Windows, Mac, And Linux Users (https://www.trendmicro.com/en_us/research/22/h/irontiger-compromises-chat-app-mimi-targets-windows-mac-linux-users.html
Counter
Operations
Nil
Information
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