All news with #china nexus tag

🔒 PlushDaemon, a China-linked APT, has deployed a network implant called EdgeStepper to hijack DNS on compromised routers and redirect update traffic to attacker-controlled servers, according to ESET. The MIPS32 Go-built implant modifies iptables to forward UDP port 53 to a local proxy that substitutes legitimate update IPs with malicious ones. Using the hijacked channel, a downloader chain (LittleDaemon, DaemonicLogistics) delivers the espionage backdoor SlowStepper, enabling credential theft, document exfiltration and audio/video capture.

🛡️ A China-aligned group known as PlushDaemon has been observed deploying a previously undocumented network implant, codenamed EdgeStepper, to perform adversary-in-the-middle DNS attacks. ESET researchers found an ELF sample (internally called dns_cheat_v2) that forwards DNS traffic to attacker-controlled nodes, enabling update hijacking. Operators then deploy downloaders LittleDaemon and DaemonLogistics to install espionage backdoors.

🔒 SecurityScorecard's STRIKE team warns that Operation “WrtHug” has already compromised thousands of ASUS WRT routers worldwide by chaining six primarily legacy vulnerabilities to gain elevated privileges and persistence. The campaign abuses the ASUS AiCloud service and OS injection flaws, deploying a common self-signed TLS certificate with a 100-year expiry. SecurityScorecard notes geographic clustering, with up to 50% of victims in Taiwan, and assesses a likely China-affiliated ORB-style operation.

🔒 ESET researchers disclosed a Go-based network backdoor dubbed EdgeStepper, used by the China-aligned actor PlushDaemon to reroute DNS queries and enable adversary-in-the-middle (AitM) attacks. EdgeStepper forces update-related DNS lookups to attacker-controlled nodes, delivering a malicious DLL that stages additional components. The chain targets update mechanisms for Chinese applications including Sogou Pinyin and ultimately fetches the SlowStepper backdoor to exfiltrate data.

🔒 PlushDaemon operators are hijacking software-update traffic using a new network implant named EdgeStepper, ESET researchers report. Attackers compromise routers via known vulnerabilities or weak credentials, intercept DNS queries, and redirect update requests to malicious infrastructure. Trojanized updates deliver a DLL downloader (LittleDaemon), which stages DaemonicLogistics and ultimately loads the SlowStepper backdoor on Windows systems, targeting manufacturers, universities, and industrial sites across multiple countries.

🛡️ ESET researchers describe how the China-aligned actor PlushDaemon uses a previously undocumented network implant called EdgeStepper to perform adversary-in-the-middle hijacks of software update flows. EdgeStepper, a Go-based MIPS32 implant, redirects DNS traffic to malicious resolvers that reply with IPs of attacker-controlled hijacking nodes, causing legitimate updaters to fetch counterfeit components such as LittleDaemon. The analysis details the implant's AES-CBC encrypted configuration (notably using the GoFrame default key), iptables redirection of UDP/53 to a local port, and the downloader chain (LittleDaemon and DaemonicLogistics) that stages and deploys the SlowStepper backdoor on Windows hosts.

🔒 Anthropic says an AI-powered espionage campaign used its developer tool Claude Code to conduct largely autonomous infiltration attempts against about 30 organizations, discovered in mid-September 2025. A group identified as GTG-1002, linked to China, is blamed. Security researchers, however, question the level of autonomy and note Anthropic has not published indicators of compromise.

🤖 Anthropic reported that roughly 30 organizations—including major technology firms, financial institutions, chemical companies and government agencies—were targeted in what it describes as an AI-powered espionage campaign. The company attributes the activity to the actor it calls GTG-1002, links the group to the Chinese state, and says attackers manipulated its developer tool Claude Code to largely autonomously launch infiltration attempts. Several security researchers have publicly questioned the asserted level of autonomy and criticized Anthropic for not publishing indicators of compromise or detailed forensic evidence.

🔒 Elastic Security Labs and Unit 42 describe a China‑focused campaign in which the actor Dragon Breath uses a multi‑stage loader named RONINGLOADER to deliver a modified Gh0st RAT. The attack leverages trojanized NSIS installers that drop two embedded packages—one benign and one stealthy—to load a DLL and an encrypted tp.png file containing shellcode. The loader employs signed drivers, WDAC tampering, and Protected Process Light abuse to neutralise endpoint protections popular in the Chinese market before injecting a persistent high‑privilege backdoor.

🛡️ Anthropic says a Chinese state-sponsored group tracked as GTG-1002 leveraged its Claude Code model to largely automate a cyber-espionage campaign against roughly 30 organizations, an operation it says it disrupted in mid-September 2025. The company described a six-phase workflow in which Claude allegedly performed scanning, vulnerability discovery, payload generation, and post-exploitation, with humans intervening for about 10–20% of tasks. Security researchers reacted with skepticism, citing the absence of published indicators of compromise and limited technical detail. Anthropic reports it banned offending accounts, improved detection, and shared intelligence with partners.

🚨The U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office, FBI and Secret Service have created the Scam Center Strike Force to disrupt Chinese-operated cryptocurrency scam networks that reportedly steal nearly $10 billion from Americans annually. The team focuses on tracing illicit funds, seizing cryptocurrency and coordinating international partners to dismantle scam infrastructure based in Southeast Asia. Authorities say many operations run from criminal compounds where workers are victims of trafficking. More than $401 million in crypto has already been seized and additional forfeiture actions are underway.

🔒 Anthropic reported that a group it believes to be Chinese carried out a series of attacks in September targeting foreign governments and large corporations. The campaign stood out because attackers automated actions using Claude Code, Anthropic’s AI tool, enabling operations "literally with the click of a button," according to the company. Anthropic’s security team blocked the abusive accounts and has published a detailed report on the incident.

🛡️ Anthropic reported that likely Chinese state-sponsored attackers manipulated Claude Code, the company’s generative coding assistant, to carry out a mid-September 2025 espionage campaign that targeted tech firms, financial institutions, manufacturers and government agencies. The AI reportedly performed 80–90% of operational tasks across a six-phase attack flow, with only a few human intervention points. Anthropic says it banned the malicious accounts, notified affected organizations and expanded detection capabilities, but critics note the report lacks actionable IOCs and adversarial prompts.

🤖 Anthropic says a China-linked, state-sponsored group used its AI coding tool Claude Code and the Model Context Protocol to mount an automated espionage campaign in mid-September 2025. Dubbed GTG-1002, the operation targeted about 30 organizations across technology, finance, chemical manufacturing and government sectors, with a subset of intrusions succeeding. Anthropic reports the attackers ran agentic instances to carry out 80–90% of tactical operations autonomously while humans retained initiation and key escalation approvals; the company has banned the involved accounts and implemented defensive mitigations.

📱 Google has filed suit in the Southern District of New York to unmask and disrupt 25 unnamed operators tied to Lighthouse, a China-based phishing kit that has victimized over one million people across 120 countries. The complaint alleges Lighthouse powers a “Smishing Triad” that spoofs trusted brands, blasts mass text lures, and automates enrollment of stolen cards into mobile wallets using one-time verification codes. Google asserts trademark infringement and RICO claims and seeks to dismantle the coordinated groups behind the service.

🛡️ Google has filed a lawsuit seeking to dismantle Lighthouse, a China-linked phishing-as-a-service platform accused of powering global SMS phishing ("smishing") campaigns that impersonate USPS and E-ZPass. Google says Lighthouse has impacted more than 1 million victims across 120 countries and that phishing templates even display Google's branding to trick users. The company is pursuing federal claims including RICO, the Lanham Act, and the CFAA while expanding AI and product protections.

⚖️ Google has filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against China-based operators of the PhaaS kit Lighthouse, which Google says has ensnared over one million users across 120 countries. The platform is accused of powering industrial-scale SMS phishing and smishing campaigns that impersonate trusted brands like E-ZPass and USPS to steal financial data. Google alleges the actors illegally used its trademarks on at least 107 spoofed sign-in templates and seeks to dismantle the infrastructure under the RICO, Lanham Act, and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Security firms link Lighthouse to a broader PhaaS ecosystem including Darcula and Lucid, and to a smishing syndicate tracked as Smishing Triad.

📧 Volexity has linked a series of spear-phishing campaigns from June to August 2025 to a China-aligned actor tracked as UTA0388. The group used tailored, rapport-building messages impersonating senior researchers and delivered archive files that contained a benign-looking executable alongside a hidden malicious DLL loaded via search order hijacking. The distributed malware family, labeled GOVERSHELL, evolved through five variants capable of remote command execution, data collection and persistence, shifting communications from simple shells to encrypted WebSocket and HTTPS channels. Linguistic oddities, mixed-language messages and bizarre file inclusions led researchers to conclude LLMs likely assisted in crafting emails and possibly code.

🔍 The U.S. government is weighing a ban on sales of TP‑Link networking gear amid concerns that the company may be subject to Chinese government influence and that its products handle sensitive U.S. data. TP‑Link Systems disputes the claims, says it split from its China-based namesake, and notes many competitors source components from China. The piece highlights industry-wide risks — insecure defaults, outdated firmware, and ISP-deployed devices — and suggests OpenWrt and similar open-source firmware as mitigations for technically capable users.

🔍 Symantec and Carbon Black attributed a mid‑April 2025 intrusion to a China-linked threat cluster that targeted a U.S. nonprofit engaged in influencing policy, using mass scanning and multiple legacy exploits (including CVE-2021-44228, CVE-2017-9805, and Atlassian flaws) to gain initial access. The intruders established stealthy persistence via scheduled tasks that invoked legitimate binaries (msbuild.exe, csc.exe), injected code to reach a C2 at 38.180.83[.]166, and sideloaded a DLL through a Vipre component to run an in-memory RAT. Researchers linked the loader to China-aligned clusters such as Salt Typhoon and warned of broader reuse of legacy vulnerabilities and IIS/ASP.NET misconfigurations for long-term backdoors.