Tracking the Progression of Earth Hundun’s Cyberespionage Campaign in 2024


In their previous report, Trend Micro researchers introduced the sophisticated cyberespionage campaign orchestrated by Earth Hundun, a threat actor known for targeting the Asia-Pacific region using the Waterbear malware and its latest iteration, Deuterbear. We first observed Deuterbear being used by Earth Hundun in October 2022, and it has since been part of the group’s subsequent campaigns.

Trend Micro analysis provided insights into the intricate workings of the downloader, detailing its infection flow, traffic behavior, anti-analysis techniques, and evolutionary trajectory. In this entry, we examine the behavior of the final Remote Access Trojan (RAT) that the researchers recently managed to download from a C&C server, based on an Earth Hundun campaign from 2024.

Read more…
Source: Trend Micro


Sign up for our Newsletter


Related:

  • China used stolen data to expose CIA operatives in Africa and Europe

    March 21, 2023

    Around 2013, U.S. intelligence began noticing an alarming pattern: Undercover CIA personnel, flying into countries in Africa and Europe for sensitive work, were being rapidly and successfully identified by Chinese intelligence, according to three former U.S. officials. The surveillance by Chinese operatives began in some cases as soon as the CIA officers had cleared passport control. Read ...

  • New malware variant has “radio silence” mode to evade detection

    March 7, 2023

    The Sharp Panda cyber-espionage hacking group is targeting high-profile government entities in Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia with a new version of the ‘Soul’ malware framework. The particular malware was previously seen in espionage campaigns targeting critical Southeast Asian organizations, attributed to various Chinese APTs. Read more… Source: Bleeping Computer  

  • Iron Tiger’s SysUpdate Reappears, Adds Linux Targeting

    March 1, 2023

    Iron Tiger is an advanced persistent threat (APT) group that has been focused primarily on cyberespionage for more than a decade. In 2022, we noticed that they updated SysUpdate, one of their custom malware families, to include new features and add malware infection support for the Linux platform. We found the oldest sample of this updated ...

  • Clasiopa: New group targets materials research organization in Asia

    February 23, 2023

    A hitherto unknown attack group has been observed targeting a materials research organization in Asia. The group, which Symantec calls Clasiopa, is characterized by a distinct toolset, which includes one piece of custom malware (Backdoor.Atharvan). At present, there is no firm evidence on where Clasiopa is based or whom it acts on behalf. The infection vector ...

  • Hydrochasma: Previously unknown group targets medical and shipping organizations in Asia

    February 22, 2023

    Shipping companies and medical laboratories in Asia are being targeted in a likely intelligence-gathering campaign that relies exclusively on publicly available and living-off-the-land tools. Hydrochasma, the threat actor behind this campaign, has not been linked to any previously identified group, but appears to have a possible interest in industries that may be involved in COVID-19-related treatments ...

  • Earth Kitsune delivers new WhiskerSpy backdoor via watering hole attack

    February 17, 2023

    Trend Micro researchers discovered a new backdoor which Trend Micro have attributed to the advanced persistent threat actor known as Earth Kitsune, which they have covered before. Since 2019, Earth Kitsune has been distributing variants of self-developed backdoors to targets, primarily individuals who are interested in North Korea. In many of the cases, Trend Micro have ...