Tuesday , June 24 2025
telco

China-linked spies target Asian Telcos since 2021

A group believed to be linked to China has hacked multiple telecom operators in an Asian country since 2021, according to the Symantec Threat Hunter Team.

The attackers used tools linked to Chinese spying groups. They installed several backdoors on targeted companies’ networks to steal passwords.

WhatsApp banned on all US House of Representatives devices

The U.S. House of Representatives has banned congressional staff from using WhatsApp on government devices due to security concerns, as...
Read More
WhatsApp banned on all US House of Representatives devices

Kaspersky found “SparkKitty” Malware on Google Play, Apple App Store

Kaspersky found a new mobile malware dubbed SparkKitty in Google Play and Apple App Store apps, targeting Android and iOS....
Read More
Kaspersky found “SparkKitty” Malware on Google Play, Apple App Store

OWASP AI Testing Guide Launched to Uncover Vulns in AI Systems

OWASP has released its AI Testing Guide, a framework to help organizations find and fix vulnerabilities specific to AI systems....
Read More
OWASP AI Testing Guide Launched to Uncover Vulns in AI Systems

Axentec Launches Bangladesh’s First Locally Hosted Tier-4 Cloud Platform

In a major milestone for the country’s digital infrastructure, Axentec PLC has officially launched Axentec Cloud, Bangladesh’s first Tier-4 cloud...
Read More
Axentec Launches Bangladesh’s First Locally Hosted Tier-4 Cloud Platform

Hackers Bypass Gmail MFA With App-Specific Password Reuse

A hacking group reportedly linked to Russian government has been discovered using a new phishing method that bypasses two-factor authentication...
Read More
Hackers Bypass Gmail MFA With App-Specific Password Reuse

Russia detects first SuperCard malware attacks via NFC

Russian cybersecurity experts discovered the first local data theft attacks using a modified version of legitimate near field communication (NFC)...
Read More
Russia detects first SuperCard malware attacks via NFC

Income Property Investments exposes 170,000+ Individuals record

Cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler discovered an unsecured database with 170,360 records belonging to a real estate company. It contained personal...
Read More
Income Property Investments exposes 170,000+ Individuals record

ALERT (CVE: 2023-28771)
Zyxel Firewalls Under Attack via CVE-2023-28771 by 244 IPs

GreyNoise found attempts to exploit CVE-2023-28771, a vulnerability in Zyxel's IKE affecting UDP port 500. The attack centers around CVE-2023-28771,...
Read More
ALERT (CVE: 2023-28771)  Zyxel Firewalls Under Attack via CVE-2023-28771 by 244 IPs

CISA Flags Active Exploits in Apple iOS and TP-Link Routers

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has recently included two high-risk vulnerabilities in its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV)...
Read More
CISA Flags Active Exploits in Apple iOS and TP-Link Routers

10K Records Allegedly from Mac Cloud Provider’s Customers Leaked Online

SafetyDetectives’ Cybersecurity Team discovered a public post on a clear web forum in which a threat actor claimed to have...
Read More
10K Records Allegedly from Mac Cloud Provider’s Customers Leaked Online

“The attacks have been underway since at least 2021, with evidence to suggest that some of this activity may even date as far back as 2020. Virtually all of the organizations targeted were telecoms operators, with the addition of a services company that serves the telecoms sector and a university in another Asian country.” reads the report published by Broadcom Symantec Threat Hunter Team.

The experts have found evidence indicating that the cluster activity may have started in 2020.

In a recent espionage operation, the attackers used custom malware linked to various Chinese APT groups. Some of the malware used by the attackers are:

Coolclient: A backdoor associated with the Fireant group (also known as Mustang Panda or Earth Preta) hasA backdoor was found to be associated with the Fireant group, also known as Mustang Panda or Earth Preta. It records keystrokes, handles files, and communicates with a C2 server. This campaign utilized a disguised version of VLC Media Player (named googleupdate.exe) to load a Coolclient loader. The loader is responsible for decrypting and executing the payloads.

Quickheal: There is a backdoor linked to the Needleminer group. It is also known as RedFoxtrot or Nomad Panda. The attackers used a 32-bit DLL variant in recent attacks. It communicates with a fixed C&C server using a custom protocol that imitates SSL traffic.

Rainyday: A recent espionage campaign used a backdoor connected to the Firefly group, also known as Naikon.

Other TTPs
Aside from the aforementioned custom backdoors, the attackers employed a diverse range of tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs):
Keylogging malware, possibly custom-developed
Port scanning: At least three distinct port-scanning tools were deployed
Credential theft through the dumping of registry hives
Responder: A publicly available tool that acts as a Link-Local Multicast Name Resolution (LLMNR) NetBIOS Name Service (NBT-NS) and multicast DNS (mDNS) poisoner
Enabling RDP

The cyber espionage group used custom backdoors and a variety of tactics and tools to attack their targets. They used keylogging malware, port scanning tools, credential theft, a tool called Responder, and enabled RDP.

“Tools used in this campaign have strong associations with multiple Chinese groups and at least three of the custom backdoors deployed are believed to be used exclusively by Chinese espionage actors.” concludes the report.” “The nature of the link between the actors involved in the current campaign remains unclear. Possibilities include, but are not limited to:

Attacks by multiple separate actors.
One actor using tools and/or personnel obtained or shared from other groups.
Multiple actors collaborating in a single campaign.

The ultimate motive of the intrusion campaign remains unclear.”

(Media Disclaimer: This report is based on research conducted internally and externally using different ways. The information provided is for reference only, and users are responsible for relying on it. Infosecbulletin is not liable for the accuracy or consequences of using this information by any means)

Check Also

New Android Malware ‘Crocodilus’ Targets Banks in 8 Countries

In March 2025, the Threatfabric mobile Threat Intelligence team identified Crocodilus, a new Android banking …

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *