Introduction
(SentinelLabs) In Q1 of 2023, SentinelLabs observed initial phases of attacks against telecommunication providers in the Middle East. We assess that this activity represents an evolution of tooling associated with Operation Soft Cell. While it is highly likely that the threat actor is a Chinese cyberespionage group in the nexus of ‘Gallium’ and ‘APT 41’, the exact grouping remains unclear. SentinelLabs observed the use of a well-maintained, versioned credential theft capability and a new dropper mechanism indicative of an ongoing development effort by a highly-motivated threat actor with specific tasking requirements.
Activities and Tactics
Country of Origin: 🇨🇳 [“China”]
Notable Campaigns
Information pending cataloguing.
Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs)
Information pending cataloguing.
Notable Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)
No curated IOCs are currently published for this actor. This section will be updated when stable, attributable indicators are available.
Malware and Tools
- Mimikatz
- mim221
- Mimikatz:
- mim221:
Attribution and Evidence
Country of Origin: [“China”] Additional attribution information pending cataloguing.
References
References pending cataloguing.