During recent daily operations, the QiAnXin Threat Intelligence Center discovered that the new OceanLotus group, which we have been continuously tracking since mid-2022, has begun to re-activate and is using a new tactic of MSI file misuse.
Even though the MSI TRANSFORMS technique was theoretically disclosed in 2022, this is the first time that QiAnXin researchers have ever captured an APT campaign targeting a domestic governmental enterprise. The researchers currently divide the APT-Q-31 (OceanLotus) group into two attack sets, after they have observed for a long time that the old and new OceanLotus carry out espionage activities against the country alternately every year through rounds of warfare, and that the two attack sets have completely different TTPs, but share attack resources. The last time the new OceanLotus group was active was at the end of 2023, so far it has been exactly one year.
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Source: QiAnXin Threat Intelligence Center
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