Unit 42 identified a campaign targeting government entities and state-affiliated infrastructure, with observed activity spanning from October 2025–April 2026. We track this activity as CL-UNK-1211.
In the operations we witnessed, the attackers relied on AI-generated payloads. Multiple artifacts deployed throughout the intrusion contained AI-made conversational annotations and developer reasoning comments, suggesting that the code was either generated using large language models (LLMs) or executed by an automated AI agent.
The attackers behind this cluster of activity focused on Linux environments to conduct extensive reconnaissance and maintain persistent network access to support intelligence-gathering. The attackers attempted to dump sensitive databases and exfiltrate government mailboxes to access social media accounts.
Read more…
Source: Palo Alto Unit 42
Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- Critical Bugs in Rockwell, Johnson Controls ICS Gear
March 10, 2020
Security vulnerabilities that require very little skill to exploit have been discovered in industrial control systems (ICS) gear from Rockwell Automation and Johnson Controls, which anchor a flurry of bug disclosures impacting critical infrastructure. First, a set of critical vulnerabilities in Rockwell Automation gear affect MicroLogix 1400 Controllers, MicroLogix 1100 Controllers and RSLogix 500 Software. The ...
- Nasty phishing scams aim to exploit coronavirus fears
March 6, 2020
Cyber criminals are aiming to take advantage of fears over coronavirus as a means of conducting phishing attacks and spreading malware, along with stealing login credentials and credit card details. Cybersecurity companies have identified a number of campaigns by hackers who are attempting to exploit concerns about the COVID-19 outbreak for their own criminal ends. Crooks often use ...
- Next-Gen Ransomware Packs a ‘Human’ Punch, Microsoft Warns
March 6, 2020
Researchers are warning that “human operated” ransomware campaigns are growing more sophisticated, adopting new infection tactics and lateral movement techniques that traditional defense teams aren’t equipped to handle. Researchers said that “auto-spreading” ransomware – like WannaCry and NotPetya – are making headlines due to the crippling downtimes that these attacks cause. However, “human operated” ransomware – like REvil, Bitpaymer, and Ryuk – ...
- Zoho zero-day published on Twitter
March 6, 2020
A security researcher published yesterday details on Twitter about a zero-day vulnerability in a Zoho enterprise product. Cyber-security experts who have reviewed the vulnerability have told ZDNet that the zero-day could spell trouble for companies around the world, as it could be an entry point for ransomware gangs to infect corporate networks and ransom their data. The vulnerability impacts ...
- Chinese hackers use decade-old Bisonal Trojan in cyberespionage campaigns
March 5, 2020
Chinese cyberattackers continue to improve and deploy a decade-old Remote Access Trojan (RAT) in ongoing campaigns against Russian, Japanese, and South Korean targets. On Thursday, researchers from Cisco Talos said that the Bisonal RAT is an unusual sample of malware that has been improved, rolled back, and refined over a period of 10 years, an uncommon practice by ...
- DoppelPaymer Ransomware Used to Steal Data from Supplier to SpaceX, Tesla
March 3, 2020
A company that provides custom parts to aerospace giants Lockheed Martin, SpaceX and Boeing, has been the target of an attack by an emerging type of ransomware that can both encrypt files and exfiltrate data. Colorado-based Visser Precision said it was targeted by a “cyber incident” that involved the attacker accessing and stealing company data after a security ...