July 8, 2024 at 10:37PM
Law enforcement agencies, led by Australia, have issued an advisory detailing the tradecraft of APT40, a state-sponsored cyber group aligned with China. Known for rapidly exploiting new vulnerabilities, APT40 targets unpatched networks and uses compromised devices to launch attacks. The advisory provides mitigation tactics and highlights APT40’s use of web shells and malware for persistent access and data exfiltration.
From the provided meeting notes, the following clear takeaways can be generated:
1. Law enforcement agencies from eight nations, including Australia, have issued an advisory detailing the activities of the China-aligned threat actor APT40, also known by various aliases.
2. APT40, identified as a “state-sponsored cyber group” by the agencies, is believed to conduct malicious cyber operations for the People’s Republic of China Ministry of State Security (MSS).
3. Australia led the development of the advisory after detecting APT40’s attack on a local organization, deploying host-based sensors to map APT40 activities.
4. The advisory warns that APT40 utilizes exploits for newly found vulnerabilities and targets networks possessing the infrastructure of the associated vulnerability, with a focus on unpatched targets and end-of-life devices.
5. APT40’s tactics may include the use of compromised small-office/home-office (SOHO) devices as operational infrastructure and last-hop redirectors for its operations in Australia.
6. Mitigation tactics against APT40 include logging, patch management, network segmentation, multifactor authentication, disabling unused network services, web application firewalls, least privilege access, and replacing end-of-life equipment.
7. The advisory includes samples of malware deployed by APT40 and two case studies, noting that the victims’ IT estates have been remediated since the documents were issued.