All news with #china nexus tag

🛡️ 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.

🔐 This week's recap highlights a broad set of high‑impact threats, from a suspected China‑linked intrusion exploiting a critical Motex Lanscope flaw to deploy Gokcpdoor, to North Korean BlueNoroff campaigns targeting Web3 executives. Researchers disclosed TEE.fail, a low‑cost DDR5 side‑channel that can extract secrets from Intel and AMD TEEs. Also noted: human‑mimicking Android banking malware, WSL‑based ransomware tactics, and multiple high‑priority CVEs.

🔒 Sophos researchers discovered China-linked espionage group Bronze Butler exploiting a zero-day in Motex Lanscope Endpoint Manager (CVE-2025-61932) to deploy an updated Gokcpdoor backdoor. The flaw enabled unauthenticated remote code execution as SYSTEM on affected versions (<=9.4.7.2), and attackers used OAED Loader, DLL sideloading, and multiplexed C2 channels to evade detection. Motex released patches on October 20, 2025, and CISA added the vulnerability to its KEV list; organizations are advised to upgrade immediately since no mitigations exist.

🛡️Arctic Wolf reports that Chinese government-linked actors, tracked as UNC6384 and linked to the longer-running Mustang Panda cluster, conducted spear-phishing campaigns in September and October targeting diplomats in Hungary, Belgium, Serbia, Italy and the Netherlands by abusing a long-known Windows .LNK shortcut parsing flaw. The vulnerability allows command-line instructions to be concealed in .LNK whitespace so attackers can display decoy PDFs—such as an agenda for a European Commission meeting—while executing payloads that deploy the PlugX remote-access Trojan. Trend Micro and ZDI previously documented the issue (i.e., ZDI-CAN-25373, later CVE-2025-9491), but Microsoft has so far declined to fully patch it; Arctic Wolf advises blocking or disabling .LNK execution, monitoring for related binaries like cnmpaui.exe, and blocking C2 domains as interim mitigations.

🔒 A China-affiliated group tracked as UNC6384 exploited an unpatched Windows shortcut flaw (ZDI-CAN-25373, CVE-2025-9491) to target diplomatic and government entities in Europe between September and October 2025. According to Arctic Wolf, the campaign used spear-phishing links to deliver malicious LNK files that launch a PowerShell stager, sideload a CanonStager DLL, and deploy the PlugX remote access trojan. Microsoft says Defender detections and Smart App Control can help block this activity.

⚠️ Sophos and JPCERT/CC have linked active exploitation of a critical Motex Lanscope Endpoint Manager vulnerability (CVE-2025-61932, CVSS 9.3) to the China-aligned Tick group. Attackers leveraged the flaw to execute SYSTEM-level commands and drop a Gokcpdoor backdoor, observed in both server and client variants that create covert C2 channels. The campaign used DLL side-loading to run an OAED Loader, deployed the Havoc post-exploitation framework on select hosts, and used tools like goddi and tunneled Remote Desktop for lateral movement. Organizations are advised to upgrade or isolate internet-facing LANSCOPE servers and review deployments of the MR and DA agents.