GINC-APT-0377 · State

APT20

Also APT 20, Operation Wocao, APT 20, Violin Panda, APT 8, APT8, Crawling Taurus and 4 other names.

Category
State · Attributed to a state or working for one.
Origin
China(high confidence)
Motivation
Information theft and espionage
Seen
2014
Sources
5 sources carry it
Identifier
GINC-APT-0377 · apt20

What it is

We’ve uncovered some new data and likely attribution regarding a series of APT watering hole attacks this past summer. Watering hole attacks are an increasingly popular component of APT campaigns, as many people are more aware of spear phishing and are less likely to open documents or click on links in unsolicited emails. Watering hole attacks offer a much better chance of success because they involve compromising legitimate websites and installing malware intended to compromise website visitors. These are often popular websites frequented by people who work in specific industries or have political sympathies to which the actors want to gain access. In contrast to many other APT campaigns, which tend to rely heavily on spear phishing to gain victims, “th3bug” is known for compromising legitimate websites their intended visitors are likely to frequent. Over the summer they compromised several sites, including a well-known Uyghur website written in that native language.

Names

The names each vendor, agency and source gives it. Naming differs by who tracks the actor, so one group carries many.

CrowdStrike
APT 20, Violin Panda, Violin Panda
Mandiant
APT 20, APT 8, APT8
Operations
Operation Wocao, Operation “Wocao”
Other names
Crawling Taurus, RIDGE CASTLE, TH3Bug

Attribution

Each attribution is a claim: who makes it, and to whom. Western and Eastern sources are kept apart, as they often disagree.

Targets

Countries
Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States
Sectors
Aviation, Chemical, Construction, Defense, Energy, Engineering, Financial, Government, Healthcare, High-Tech, Pharmaceutical, Telecommunications, Transportation

Tools

The tools and malware families the sources tie to it.

  • Archelaus Beta
  • China Chopper
  • CrossRat
  • Hacking Team UEFI Rootkit

Sources