June 22, 2023
1 min read

China-linked APT groups dominate nation-state threat activity

Despite efforts in 2022 to make it more difficult for threat actors to abuse the tool, the Cobalt Strike tool grows in popularity among cybercriminals and ransomware actors….reports Asian Lite News

China-linked APT groups, including Mustang Panda and UNC4191, are the most active in targeting nation-states, producing nearly 79 per cent of all detected threat activity in the first quarter of 2023, a new report showed on Wednesday.

According to the cybersecurity company Trellix, APT groups will continue cyber espionage and disruptive cyberattacks in tandem with physical military activity.

“For both leading and developing countries, we see risks to critical infrastructures like telecommunications, energy, and manufacturing by notable APT groups — a warning to public and private organisations to deploy modern protections to stay ahead of rapidly evolving threats,” said John Fokker, Head of Threat Intelligence, Trellix Advanced Research Center.

Moreover, the report said that motivations for ransomware are still financial — reflected in the Insurance (20 per cent) and Financial Services (17 per cent) sectors having the most detections of potential attacks.

The most common leak site victims are US-based (48 per cent) mid-sized businesses with 51-200 employees (32 per cent) and $10-50M in revenue (38 per cent).

Despite efforts in 2022 to make it more difficult for threat actors to abuse the tool, the Cobalt Strike tool grows in popularity among cybercriminals and ransomware actors.

The report found Cobalt Strike in 35 per cent of nation-state activity and 28 per cent of ransomware incidents, nearly doubling from the fourth quarter of 2022.

Further, the report mentioned that attacks on Amazon, Microsoft, and Google’s cloud infrastructure are on the rise.

Though more sophisticated attacks involving multifactor authentication, proxy penetration, and API execution continue, the dominant attack technique employs valid accounts, with valid accounts accounting for twice as many detections as any other vector.

ALSO READ: India slams China for blocking ‘terror tag’ on Sajid Mir

Previous Story

Gen Munir joins council formed for economic revival

Next Story

Microsoft to build quantum supercomputers

Latest from -Top News

EU, China United on Climate, Split on Rest

Climate pact offers rare unity as trade rifts, Ukraine war, and economic tensions dominate EU-China summitChina and the European Union struck a rare note of unity on climate change Thursday, issuing a

Hungary Pays the Trump Price

Despite his success in wooing Trump’s conservative base, Hungary is among the EU nations most vulnerable to Trump’s incoming tariff blitz Hungary’s populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has spent years forging close

Meta Muzzles Election Ads

Meta to Halt Political Ads in EU, Citing Legal Uncertainty Over New Rules Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, announced on Friday that it will suspend all political advertising

Holy War Talk

Russian officials have downplayed the Vatican’s potential role as a mediator, citing its location within NATO-member Italy, which has firmly supported Ukraine throughout the war. In a move that may signal an

Greece Battles Blazes, Heatwave Chaos

With temperatures soaring above 38°C (100°F), and dry, windy conditions prevailing, fires are spreading fast. A wildfire tore through a northern suburb of Athens on Saturday, forcing residents to evacuate as Greece
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Japan Snubs China, Recognizes Taiwan in Registry

Earlier, the only option in the family registry for Chinese

Jaishankar, Wang’s Munich Meet Sparks Diplomatic Dialogue

External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart