China

Pierluigi Paganini March 24, 2023
China-linked hackers target telecommunication providers in the Middle East

Researchers reported that China-linked hackers targeted telecommunication providers in the Middle East in the first quarter of 2023. In the first quarter of 2023, SentinelLabs researchers spotted the initial phases of attacks against telecommunication providers in the Middle East. According to the researchers, the activity is part of the Operation Soft Cell that was first […]

Pierluigi Paganini March 09, 2023
SonicWall SMA appliance infected by a custom malware allegedly developed by Chinese hackers

Alleged China-linked threat actors infected unpatched SonicWall Secure Mobile Access (SMA) appliances with a custom backdoor. Mandiant researchers reported that alleged China-linked threat actors, tracked as UNC4540, deployed custom malware on a SonicWall SMA appliance. The malware allows attackers to steal user credentials, achieve persistence through firmware upgrades, and provides shell access. The analysis of a […]

Pierluigi Paganini March 08, 2023
China-linked APT Sharp Panda targets government entities in Southeast Asia

China-linked APT group Sharp Panda targets high-profile government entities in Southeast Asia with the Soul modular framework. CheckPoint researchers observed in late 2022, a campaign attributed to the China-linked APT group Sharp Panda that is targeting a high-profile government entity in the Southeast Asia. The state-sponsored hackers used a new version of the SoulSearcher loader, which eventually loads a new […]

Pierluigi Paganini March 03, 2023
MQsTTang, a new backdoor used by Mustang Panda APT against European entities

China-Linked Mustang Panda APT employed MQsTTang backdoor as part of an ongoing campaign targeting European entities. China-linked Mustang Panda APT group has been observed using a new backdoor, called MQsTTang, in attacks aimed at European entities. The hacking campaign began in January 2023, ESET researchers pointed out that the custom backdoor MQsTTang is not based on existing families […]

Pierluigi Paganini February 19, 2023
ENISA and CERT-EU warns Chinese APTs targeting EU organizations

A joint report published by ENISA and CERT-EU warns of Chinese APTs targeting businesses and government organizations in the European Union. The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) and CERT-EU warn of multiple China-linked threat actors targeting businesses and government organizations in the EU. The joint report focus on cyber activities conducted by multiple Chinese […]

Pierluigi Paganini February 10, 2023
Android mobile devices from top vendors in China have pre-installed malware

Researchers reported that the top-of-the-line Android mobile devices sold in China are shipped with malware. China is currently the country with the largest number of Android mobile devices, but a recent study conducted by researchers from the University of Edinburgh and the Trinity College of Dublin revealed that top-of-the-line Android devices sold in the country […]

Pierluigi Paganini January 20, 2023
Chinese hackers used recently patched FortiOS SSL-VPN flaw as a zero-day in October

An alleged Chinese threat actor was observed exploiting the recently patched CVE-2022-42475 vulnerability in FortiOS SSL-VPN. Researchers from Mandiant reported that suspected Chinese threat actors exploited the recently patched CVE-2022-42475 vulnerability in FortiOS SSL-VPN as a zero-day. According to the security firm, the vulnerability was exploited in attacks against a series of targets, including a […]

Pierluigi Paganini December 15, 2022
Chinese MirrorFace APT group targets Japanese political entities

A Chinese-speaking APT group, tracked as MirrorFace, is behind a spear-phishing campaign targeting Japanese political entities. ESET researchers recently discovered a spear-phishing campaign targeting Japanese political entities and attributed it to the Chinese-speaking APT group tracked as MirrorFace. The experts tracked the campaign as Operation LiberalFace, it aimed at Japanese political entities, especially the members of […]

Pierluigi Paganini December 13, 2022
Citrix and NSA urge admins to fix actively exploited zero-day in Citrix ADC and Gateway

Citrix urges customers to update their installs to fix actively exploited zero-day (CVE-2022-27518) in Citrix ADC and Gateway. Citrix urges administrators to apply security updates for a zero-day vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2022-27518, in Citrix ADC and Gateway. The vulnerability is actively exploited by China-linked threat actors to gain access to target networks. “We are aware […]

Pierluigi Paganini November 27, 2022
US FCC bans the import of electronic equipment from Chinese firms

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission announced it will completely ban the import of electronic equipment from Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision, and Dahua. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced the total ban for telecom and surveillance equipment from Chinese companies Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision, and Dahua due to an “unacceptable” national security threat. The US […]