Threat Actors Database

Recorded Future’s Insikt Group has identified a large cluster of new operational infrastructure associated with use of the custom Windows and Linux backdoor KEYPLUG. We attribute this activity to a threat activity group tracked as RedGolf, which is highly likely to be a Chinese state-sponsored group. RedGolf closely overlaps with threat activity reported in open sources under the aliases APT41/BARIUM and has likely carried out state-sponsored espionage activity in parallel with financially motivated operations for personal gain from at least 2014 onward.

Kaspersky described DarkHotel in a 2014 report as: '... DarkHotel drives its campaigns by spear-phishing targets with highly advanced Flash zero-day exploits that effectively evade the latest Windows and Adobe defenses, and yet they also imprecisely spread among large numbers of vague targets with peer-to-peer spreading tactics. Moreover, this crews most unusual characteristic is that for several years the Darkhotel APT has maintained a capability to use hotel networks to follow and hit selected targets as they travel around the world.'

Unit 42 threat researchers have recently observed a threat group distributing new, custom developed malware. We have labelled this threat group the Gamaredon Group and our research shows that the Gamaredon Group has been active since at least 2013. In the past, the Gamaredon Group has relied heavily on off-the-shelf tools. Our new research shows the Gamaredon Group have made a shift to custom-developed malware. We believe this shift indicates the Gamaredon Group have improved their technical capabilities.

Turkish nationalist hacktivist group that has been active for roughly one year. According to Domaintools, the group’s site has been registered since December 2015, with an active Twitter account since January 2016. The group carries out distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks and defacements against the sites of news organizations and governments perceived to be critical of Turkey’s policies or leadership, and purports to act in defense of Islam

Zarya is a pro-Russian hacktivist group that emerged in March 2022. Initially operating as a special forces unit under the command of Killnet, Zarya has since become an independent entity. The group is primarily known for engaging in Denial-of-Service attacks, website defacement campaigns, and data leaks. Zarya targets government agencies, service providers, critical infrastructure, and civil service employees, both domestically and internationally.

Operation Shadow Force is a group of malware that is representative of Shadow Force and Wgdrop from 2013 to 2020, and is a group activity that attacks Korean companies and organizations. The group's first confirmed attack was in March 2013, but considering the date of malware creation, it is likely to have been active before 2012. Since the malware used mainly by them is Shadow Force, it was named Operation Shadow Force, and it has not been confirmed whether the attacker is associated with a known group.

The Bitter threat group initially started using RAT tools in their campaigns, as the first Bitter versions, for Android released in 2014 were based on the AndroRAT framework. Over time, they switched to a custom version that has been known as BitterRAT ever since.

This threat actor targets organizations in the satellite communications, telecommunications, geospatial-imaging, and defense sectors in the United States and Southeast Asia for espionage purposes.

We’ve uncovered some new data and likely attribution regarding a series of APT watering hole attacks this past summer. Watering hole attacks are an increasingly popular component of APT campaigns, as many people are more aware of spear phishing and are less likely to open documents or click on links in unsolicited emails. Watering hole attacks offer a much better chance of success because they involve compromising legitimate websites and installing malware intended to compromise website visitors. These are often popular websites frequented by people who work in specific industries or have political sympathies to which the actors want to gain access. In contrast to many other APT campaigns, which tend to rely heavily on spear phishing to gain victims, “th3bug” is known for compromising legitimate websites their intended visitors are likely to frequent. Over the summer they compromised several sites, including a well-known Uyghur website written in that native language.

China-based cyber threat group. It has previously used newsworthy events as lures to deliver malware and has primarily targeted organizations involved in financial, economic, and trade policy, typically using publicly available RATs such as PoisonIvy, as well as some non-public backdoors. This threat actor targets prodemocratic activists and organizations in Hong Kong, European and international financial institutions, and a U.S.-based think tank.

A suspected Iranian threat activity cluster has been linked to attacks aimed at Israeli shipping, government, energy, and healthcare organizations, in a campaign stretching back to late 2020. Researchers believe that the data harvested during the campaign could be used to support various activities. UNC3890, the threat actor behind the attacks, deployed two proprietary pieces of malware – a backdoor named “SUGARUSH” and a browser credential stealer called “SUGARDUMP”, which exfiltrates password information to email addresses registered with Gmail, ProtonMail, Yahoo and Yandex email services. The threat actor also employs a network of C&C servers that host fake login pages impersonating legitimate platforms such as Office 365, LinkedIn and Facebook. These servers are designed to communicate with the targets and also with a watering hole hosted on the login page of a legitimate Israeli shipping company.

GhostSec is a hacktivist group that emerged as an offshoot of Anonymous. They primarily focused on counterterrorism efforts and monitoring online activities associated with terrorism. They gained prominence following the 2015 Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris and the rise of ISIS.

Elastic's security team has published a report on REF5961, a cyber-espionage group they found on the network of a Foreign Affairs Ministry from a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Elastic says it found the group's tools next to the malware of another cyber-espionage group it tracks as REF2924. REF5961's arsenal includes malware such as EAGERBEE, RUDEBIRD, and DOWNTOWN.

GOLD FAIRFAX is a financially motivated cybercriminal threat group responsible for the creation, distribution, and operation of the Ramnit botnet. Ramnit, the phonetic spelling of RMNet, the internal name of the core module, began operation in April 2010 and became widespread in July 2010. A particularly virulent file-infecting component of early Ramnit variants that spreads by modifying executables and HTML files has resulted in the continued prevalence of those early variants. Currently, Ramnit remains an actively maintained and distributed threat. The intent of Ramnit is to intercept and manipulate online financial transactions through modification of web browser behavior ('man-in-the-browser').

TA406 is engaging in malware distribution, phishing, intelligence collection, and cryptocurrency theft, resulting in a wide range of criminal activities.

Putter Panda were the subject of an extensive report by CrowdStrike, which stated: 'The CrowdStrike Intelligence team has been tracking this particular unit since2012, under the codename PUTTER PANDA, and has documented activity dating back to 2007. The report identifies Chen Ping, aka cpyy, and the primary location of Unit 61486.'

IndigoZebra is a Chinese state-sponsored actor mentioned for the first time by Kaspersky in its APT Trends report Q2 2017, targeting, at the time of its discovery, former Soviet Republics with multiple malware strains including Meterpreter, Poison Ivy, xDown, and a previously unknown backdoor called “xCaon.”

A threat group that has been active for at least seven years has used malware, phishing and disinformation tactics to target activists, journalists, politicians and public figures in various Latin American countries. The threat actor, dubbed Packrat based on its preference for remote access Trojans (RATs) and because it has used the same infrastructure for several years, has been analyzed by Citizen Lab researchers John Scott-Railton, Morgan Marquis-Boire, and Claudio Guarnieri, and Cyphort researcher Marion Marschalek, best known for her extensive analysis of state-sponsored threats.