China’s Cyber Comedy: When Hacking Non-Profits Becomes a ‘Persistent’ Hobby
A China-linked threat actor targeted a U.S. non-profit in a cyber attack, aiming for long-term persistence and policy influence. Using exploits like CVE-2022-26134, they set up a scheduled task with “msbuild.exe” to run unknown payloads. Symantec and Carbon Black noted the attackers’ interest in domain controllers and stealthy network presence.
Hot Take:
Looks like China is back on their cyber espionage A-game, with a buffet of exploits and a penchant for persistence. All this to influence U.S. policy? Apparently, nothing says diplomacy like a well-timed DLL sideload. Keep your friends close, and your firewalls closer, folks.
Key Points:
- China-linked cyber attack targets a U.S. non-profit involved in international policy.
- Attackers used multiple well-known exploits, including the notorious Log4j.
- Persistence achieved via scheduled tasks and DLL sideloading.
- Chinese groups share tools, making attribution challenging.
- Broader Chinese cyber campaigns are active worldwide, aligned with geopolitical goals.
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