APT15

Threat Actor Profile Updated 3 months ago
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APT15, also known as Vixen Panda, Nickel, Flea, KE3CHANG, Royal APT, and Playful Dragon, is a threat actor group suspected to be of Chinese origin. The group targets global sectors including trade, economic and financial, energy, and military, aligning with the interests of the Chinese government. Initial compromise typically involves well-crafted spearphishing emails sent to entities of interest. Notably, APT15 uses backdoors and infrastructure that are not exclusive to them, making attribution challenging. Additionally, the group shares resources, such as backdoors and infrastructure, with other Chinese Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups. Significant code similarities have been found between the Signal Plus Messenger and FlyGram samples, and the BadBazaar malware family, which Lookout attributes to the GREF cluster of APT15. In June last year, the Backdoor.Graphican was used by APT15 against foreign affairs ministries in the Americas. While some sources associate this toolset with APT15, Sekoia.io analysts' delineation of APT15 and APT25 leads us to associate both backdoors to Ke3chang, consistent with ESET. In November 2022, APT15 reportedly targeted the Uyghur community in China mainland and abroad, including in Turkey and Afghanistan, leveraging the BadBazaar malware disguised as Android mobile applications and the MOONSHINE app-based Android surveillance tooling. Despite several vendors attributing BadBazaar to APT15, ESET has not been able to conclusively establish this link. There is also disagreement among researchers about whether the GREF group is associated with APT15, due to insufficient evidence supporting this connection.
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Possible Aliases / Cluster overlaps
It's hard to track cluster overlaps and naming conventions between vendors, so here are some possible overlapping names / profiles you also may want to look at.
IDVotesProfile Description
NICKEL
3
Nickel is a notable threat actor, or malicious entity, that has been involved in significant cyber operations. Notably, Nickel targeted government organizations across Latin America and Europe, alongside other nation-state affiliated threat actors such as FIN6 and Emissary Panda. These groups focuse
Vixen Panda
2
Vixen Panda, also known as APT15, Flea, KE3CHANG, Nickel, Playful Dragon, Royal APT, and BackdoorDiplomacy, among other names, is a significant threat actor believed to be sponsored by the Chinese government. The group has been operational since at least 2004, targeting government entities, diplomat
Ke3chang
2
Ke3chang, also known as APT15, Mirage, Vixen Panda GREF, and Playful Dragon, is a prominent threat actor that has been active since at least 2010. According to the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), this group has consistently targeted energy, government, and military sectors. Ke3chang
Playful Dragon
2
Playful Dragon, also known as APT15, Ke3chang, Mirage, Vixen Panda, GREF, Flea, Nickel, and Royal APT, is a notable threat actor in the cybersecurity sphere. This group has been identified by cybersecurity professionals as being behind numerous malicious activities with a history of targeting govern
GREF
2
GREF, a China-aligned Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) group, has been identified as the orchestrator of two active Android malware campaigns. The campaigns have been distributing a malicious software called BadBazaar via two applications, Signal Plus Messenger and FlyGram, through the Google Play s
MirageFox
1
MirageFox is a sophisticated malware, believed to be an updated version of the Remote Access Trojan (RAT) known as Mirage, which originated in 2012. The malware has been attributed with high confidence to Advanced Persistent Threat group 15 (APT15), due to code and other similarities found in the Mi
Flea
1
Flea, also known as APT15 or Nickel, is a China-linked threat actor primarily targeting foreign affairs ministries in Central and South American countries. The group's latest campaign utilizes a novel backdoor named "Graphican," which is an evolution of their custom backdoor Ketrican. This new backd
Miscellaneous Associations
Other elements of context that could aid in the identification of relevance
Backdoor
Malware
China
Signal
Espionage
Apt
Microsoft
Ios
Reconnaissance
Phishing
Vpn
Android
Macos
Eset
Linux
Symantec
Enisa
State Sponso...
Vulnerability
Implant
Tool
Spyware
Windows
Chinese
Spearphishing
Associated Malware
To see the evidence that has resulted in this association, create a free account
IDTypeVotesProfile Description
BadbazaarUnspecified
2
BadBazaar is a malicious software (malware) developed by EvilBamboo, a hacker group that primarily targets the Uyghur community in China and abroad, including Turkey and Afghanistan. This malware, along with two others named BADSIGNAL and BADSOLAR, is designed to exploit Android devices through dece
Signal Plus MessengerUnspecified
2
Signal Plus Messenger and FlyGram are malware variants of a sophisticated espionage tool named BadBazaar, believed to be orchestrated by a China-linked threat actor known as Gref. These malicious applications were distributed through the Google Play store, Samsung Galaxy Store, and specific websites
KetricanUnspecified
2
Ketrican is a type of malware, or malicious software, that was developed to exploit and damage computer systems. It's associated with the Ke3chang group and is known for its ability to infiltrate systems through suspicious downloads, emails, or websites. Once inside a system, Ketrican can steal pers
graphicanUnspecified
2
Graphican is a novel malware developed by the Chinese threat actor group known as Flea, APT15, or Nickel. The malware, an evolution of the group's custom backdoor Ketrican, has been used in a series of cyber-attacks against foreign affairs ministries across Central and South America between late 202
PingPullUnspecified
1
PingPull is a malicious software (malware) developed by the Chinese nation-state group known as Alloy Taurus, also referred to as Gallium. The malware is designed to exploit and damage computer systems, with capabilities such as stealing personal information, disrupting operations, or holding data h
BS2005Unspecified
1
BS2005 is a malicious software (malware) traditionally used by a cybercriminal group for harmful activities. The malware infiltrates systems via suspicious downloads, emails, or websites and can steal personal information, disrupt operations, or hold data hostage for ransom. BS2005, known as a backd
Flygramhas used
1
FlyGram is a malicious software (malware) that first appeared on Google Play in July 2020 and was removed in January 2021. It was designed to exploit and damage users' devices by stealing sensitive data, including basic device information, contact lists, call logs, and Google Account data. The malwa
TaurusUnspecified
1
Taurus is a malicious software (malware) that has been associated with multiple cyber threat actors, notably Stately Taurus, Iron Taurus, and Starchy Taurus, all of which have connections to Chinese Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs). The malware is designed to infiltrate systems and steal personal
Associated Threat Actors
To see the evidence that has resulted in this association, create a free account
IDTypeVotesProfile Description
KechangUnspecified
1
None
NoisemakerUnspecified
1
None
LuckyMouseUnspecified
1
LuckyMouse, also known as Budworm, Emissary Panda, and APT27, is a threat actor that has been involved in several high-profile cyber-espionage activities. The group has demonstrated its ability to develop and deploy advanced cyber tools, targeting various operating systems including MacOS, Linux, an
GALLIUMUnspecified
1
Gallium, also known as Alloy Taurus, is a China-aligned threat actor known for executing actions with malicious intent in the cyber domain. In recent years, Gallium has been associated with various significant cyber-espionage campaigns. The group targeted telecommunication entities in the Middle Eas
Apt25Unspecified
1
APT25, also known as Uncool, Vixen Panda, Ke3chang, Sushi Roll, and Tor, is a threat actor suspected to be attributed to China. This group has targeted sectors such as defense industrial base, media, financial services, and transportation in the U.S. and Europe. They are associated with several type
RoyalAPTUnspecified
1
None
Associated Vulnerabilities
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IDTypeVotesProfile Description
CVE-2020-1472Unspecified
2
CVE-2020-1472, also known as the ZeroLogon vulnerability, is a critical-severity privilege escalation flaw in Microsoft's Netlogon Remote Protocol. It was patched by Microsoft on August 11, 2020. This vulnerability allows attackers to gain administrative access to a Windows domain controller without
Vixen Panda GrefUnspecified
1
None
Source Document References
Information about the APT15 Threat Actor was read from the documents corpus below. This display is limited to 20 results, create a free account to see more
SourceCreatedAtTitle
DARKReading
3 months ago
Microsoft Graph API Emerges as a Top Attacker Tool to Plot Data Theft
CERT-EU
10 months ago
Multiple Chinese APTs are attacking European targets, EU cyber agency warns | #ukscams | #datingscams | #european | #datingscams | #love | #relationships | #scams | #pof | #match.com | #dating | National Cyber Security Consulting
CERT-EU
10 months ago
My Tea's not cold : an overview of China's cyber threat – Global Security Mag Online
CERT-EU
a year ago
BadBazaar: Chinese Spyware Shams Signal, Telegram Apps
DARKReading
a year ago
Chinese Group Spreads Android Spyware Via Trojan Signal, Telegram Apps
CERT-EU
a year ago
‘Earth Estries’ Cyberespionage Group Targets Government, Tech Sectors
CERT-EU
a year ago
BadBazaar espionage tool targets Android users via trojanized Signal and Telegram apps
CERT-EU
a year ago
Industrial Organizations in Eastern Europe Targeted by Chinese Cyberspies
CERT-EU
a year ago
Novel Graphican backdoor leveraged in Chinese APT attacks against foreign ministries
CERT-EU
a year ago
Cyber security week in review: June 23, 2023
CERT-EU
a year ago
China-Linked APT15 Targets Foreign Ministries With ‘Graphican’ Backdoor
CERT-EU
a year ago
China-sponsored APT group targets government ministries in the Americas
CERT-EU
a year ago
Graphican: Flea uses new backdoor in attacks targeting Foreign Ministries – Cyber Security Review
DARKReading
a year ago
20-Year-Old Chinese APT15 Finds New Life in Foreign Ministry Attacks
CERT-EU
a year ago
Chinese Hackers APT15 Use New Backdoor Malware to Target American Ministries
CERT-EU
a year ago
China-Linked 'Flea' Hacking Group Tied to Cyberattacks on Foreign Ministries | #hacking | #cybersecurity | #infosec | #comptia | #pentest | #hacker | National Cyber Security Consulting
MITRE
a year ago
NICKEL targeting government organizations across Latin America and Europe - Microsoft Security Blog
MITRE
a year ago
MirageFox: APT15 Resurfaces With New Tools Based On Old Ones - Intezer
MITRE
a year ago
APT15 is Alive and Strong: An Analysis of RoyalCli and RoyalDNS
MITRE
a year ago
Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) | Threat Actors & Groups