• Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
MUST READ

Critical WordPress Post SMTP plugin flaw exposes 200K+ sites to full takeover

 | 

Scattered Spider targets VMware ESXi in using social engineering

 | 

China-linked group Fire Ant exploits VMware and F5 flaws since early 2025

 | 

Allianz Life data breach exposed the data of most of its 1.4M customers

 | 

SECURITY AFFAIRS MALWARE NEWSLETTER ROUND 55

 | 

Security Affairs newsletter Round 534 by Pierluigi Paganini – INTERNATIONAL EDITION

 | 

Law enforcement operations seized BlackSuit ransomware gang’s darknet sites

 | 

Arizona woman sentenced for aiding North Korea in U.S. IT job fraud scheme

 | 

Operation CargoTalon targets Russia’s aerospace with EAGLET malware,

 | 

Unpatched flaw in EoL LG LNV5110R cameras lets hackers gain Admin access

 | 

Koske, a new AI-Generated Linux malware appears in the threat landscape

 | 

Mitel patches critical MiVoice MX-ONE Auth bypass flaw

 | 

Coyote malware is first-ever malware abusing Windows UI Automation

 | 

SonicWall fixed critical flaw in SMA 100 devices exploited in Overstep malware attacks

 | 

DSPM & AI Are Booming: $17.87B and $4.8T Markets by 2033

 | 

Stealth backdoor found in WordPress mu-Plugins folder

 | 

U.S. CISA adds CrushFTP, Google Chromium, and SysAid flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

U.S. CISA urges FCEB agencies to fix two Microsoft SharePoint flaws immediately and added them to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

Sophos fixed two critical Sophos Firewall vulnerabilities

 | 

French Authorities confirm XSS.is admin arrested in Ukraine

 | 
  • Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
  • Home
  • APT
  • Breaking News
  • Hacking
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Malware
  • Experts warn of China-linked APT’s Raptor Train IoT Botnet

Experts warn of China-linked APT’s Raptor Train IoT Botnet

Pierluigi Paganini September 18, 2024

Researchers warn of a new IoT botnet called Raptor Train that already compromised over 200,000 devices worldwide.

Cybersecurity researchers from Lumen’s Black Lotus Labs discovered a new botnet, named Raptor Train, composed of small office/home office (SOHO) and IoT devices. The experts believe the botnet is controlled by a Chine-linked APT group Flax Typhoon (also called Ethereal Panda or RedJuliett).

The botnet has been active since at least May 2020, reaching its peak with 60,000 compromised devices in June 2023.

Since May 2020, over 200,000 devices, including SOHO routers, NVR/DVR devices, NAS servers, and IP cameras, have been compromised and added to the Raptor Train botnet, making it one of the largest China-linked IoT botnets discovered. A command and control (C2) domain from a recent campaign even appeared on the Cloudflare Radar and Cisco Umbrella “top 1 million” lists, indicating widespread device exploitation. Researchers estimate that hundreds of thousands of devices have likely been compromised since the botnet’s creation.

“The botnet operators manage this large and varied network through a series of distributed payload and C2 servers, a centralized Node.js backend, and a cross-platform Electron application front-end that the actors have dubbed “Sparrow.” This is a robust, enterprise-grade control system used to manage upwards of 60 C2 servers and their infected nodes at any given time.” reads the report published by Lumen. “This service enables an entire suite of activities, including scalable exploitation of bots, vulnerability and exploit management, remote management of C2 infrastructure, file uploads and downloads, remote command execution, and the ability to tailor IoT-based distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks at-scale.”

The three-tiered architecture consists of the following levels:

  • Tier 1: Compromised SOHO/IoT devices
  • Tier 2: Exploitation servers, payload servers, and command-and-control (C2) servers
  • Tier 3: Centralized management nodes and a cross-platform Electron application front-end referred to as Sparrow (aka Node Comprehensive Control Tool, or NCCT)

The Raptor Train botnet operates as a multi-tiered, evolving network with at least three levels of activity observed over four years. Tier 3 “Sparrow” nodes initiate bot tasks, which are routed through Tier 2 command and control (C2) servers to Tier 1 bots. Tier 1, the largest level, is composed of compromised devices with a short lifecycle, averaging 17 days. Tiers 2 and 3 use Virtual Private Servers (VPSs), lasting around 77 days, with Tier 3 primarily based in Hong Kong and China. Tier 2 servers are distributed globally, managing the control and exploitation capabilities of the bot.

Raptor Train botnet

Below are some of the devices included in the botnet: 

Modems/Routers 

  • ActionTec PK5000 
  • ASUS RT-*/GT-*/ZenWifi 
  • TP-LINK 
  • DrayTek Vigor 
  • Tenda Wireless 
  • Ruijie 
  • Zyxel USG* 
  • Ruckus Wireless 
  • VNPT iGate 
  • Mikrotik 
  • TOTOLINK 

IP Cameras 

  • D-LINK DCS-* 
  • Hikvision 
  • Mobotix 
  • NUUO 
  • AXIS 
  • Panasonic 

NVR/DVR 

  • Shenzhen TVT NVRs/DVRs 

NAS 

  • QNAP (TS Series) 
  • Fujitsu 
  • Synology 

The attribution of the Raptor Train botnet to the Chinese nation-state actor is based on multiple factors, including the operational timelines, targeting of sectors aligned with Chinese interests, use of the Chinese language, and other tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) that overlap with known Chinese cyber activities.

“This botnet has targeted entities in the U.S. and Taiwan across various sectors, including military, government, higher education, telecommunications, defense industrial base, and IT.” concludes the report. “The investigation has yielded insights into the botnet’s network architecture, exploitation campaigns, malware components, and operational use, illuminating the evolving tactics and techniques employed by the threat actors. A major concern of the Raptor Train botnet is the DDoS capability that we have not yet observed actively deployed, but we suspect is being maintained for future use. “

Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, botnet)


facebook linkedin twitter

APT botnet Hacking hacking news information security news IT Information Security malware Pierluigi Paganini Raptor Train Security Affairs Security News

you might also like

Pierluigi Paganini July 28, 2025
Critical WordPress Post SMTP plugin flaw exposes 200K+ sites to full takeover
Read more
Pierluigi Paganini July 28, 2025
Scattered Spider targets VMware ESXi in using social engineering
Read more

leave a comment

newsletter

Subscribe to my email list and stay
up-to-date!

    recent articles

    Critical WordPress Post SMTP plugin flaw exposes 200K+ sites to full takeover

    Security / July 28, 2025

    Scattered Spider targets VMware ESXi in using social engineering

    Cyber Crime / July 28, 2025

    China-linked group Fire Ant exploits VMware and F5 flaws since early 2025

    Hacking / July 28, 2025

    Allianz Life data breach exposed the data of most of its 1.4M customers

    Data Breach / July 27, 2025

    SECURITY AFFAIRS MALWARE NEWSLETTER ROUND 55

    Malware / July 27, 2025

    To contact me write an email to:

    Pierluigi Paganini :
    pierluigi.paganini@securityaffairs.co

    LEARN MORE

    QUICK LINKS

    • Home
    • Cyber Crime
    • Cyber warfare
    • APT
    • Data Breach
    • Deep Web
    • Digital ID
    • Hacking
    • Hacktivism
    • Intelligence
    • Internet of Things
    • Laws and regulations
    • Malware
    • Mobile
    • Reports
    • Security
    • Social Networks
    • Terrorism
    • ICS-SCADA
    • POLICIES
    • Contact me

    Copyright@securityaffairs 2024

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities...
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT