Threat Actors

The Dark Overlord is a financially motivated ransomware group that has been active since 2016. The group is known for targeting large organizations, including Netflix, ABC, and Miramax.

The hacker said that he put up the data for sale mainly because these companies had failed to protect passwords with strong encryption algorithms like bcrypt. Most of the hashed passwords the hacker put up for sale today can cracked with various levels of difficulty --but they can be cracked. "I got upset because I feel no one is learning," the hacker told ZDNet in an online chat earlier today. "I just felt upset at this particular moment, because seeing this lack of security in 2019 is making me angry." In a conversation with ZDNet last month, the hacker told us he wanted to hack and put up for sale more than one billion records and then retire and disappear with the money. But in a conversation today, the hacker says this is not his target anymore, as he learned that other hackers have already achieved the same goal before him. Gnosticplayers also revealed that not all the data he obtained from hacked companies had been put up for sale. Some companies gave into extortion demands and paid fees so breaches would remain private. "I came to an agreement with some companies, but the concerned startups won't see their data for sale," he said. "I did it that's why I can't publish the rest of my databases or even name them."

aka CamoFei

In Q2 2021, the PT Expert Security Center incident response team conducted an investigation in an energy company. The investigation revealed that the company's network had been compromised by an unknown group for the purpose of data theft. They gave the group the name ChamelGang (from the word "chameleon"), because the group disguised its malware and network infrastructure under legitimate services of Microsoft, TrendMicro, McAfee, IBM, and Google.

UNC6201 is a sophisticated Chinese state-sponsored hacking group that exploited CVE-2026–22769, a critical vulnerability in Dell RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines appliances, to establish a persistent presence. They deployed a permanent backdoor using techniques like Single Packet Authorization and "Port Knocking." Unlike typical hackers who conceal their activities within the Operating System, UNC6201 operated at the Virtualization Layer to avoid detection.

The SideCopy APT is a Pakistani threat actor that has been operating since at least 2019, mainly targeting South Asian countries and more specifically India and Afghanistan. Its name comes from its infection chain that tries to mimic that of the SideWinder APT. It has been reported that this actor has similarities with Transparent Tribe (APT36) and possibly is a subdivision of this actor. Cisco Talos and Seqrite have provided comprehensive reports on this actor’s activities.

Void Manticore is an Iranian APT group affiliated with MOIS, known for conducting destructive wiping attacks and influence operations. They collaborate with Scarred Manticore, sharing targets and conducting disruptive operations using custom wipers. Void Manticore's TTPs involve manual file deletion, lateral movement via RDP, and the deployment of custom wipers like the BiBi wiper. The group utilizes online personas like 'Karma' and 'Homeland Justice' to leak information and amplify the impact of their attacks.

aka APT-Q-95

NightEagle is an advanced Threat Actor that targeted China's High-Tech Industry and Military Organisation, leveraging sophisticated techniques, 0 days, and specialized detection avoiding malware. The threat actor seems to have access to significant funding, with dedicated infrastructure, and focuses on low-noise, low-impact intelligence gathering operations. NightEagle is identified as a North-American, state-sponsored or affiliated group that has been active since at least 2023.

China-nexus espionage actor that has been observed exploiting vulnerabilities in Aspera Faspex, Microsoft Exchange, and Oracle Web Applications Desktop Integrator, among others, to gain initial access to target environments.

GoldFactory is a threat actor group attributed to developing sophisticated mobile banking malware targeting victims primarily in the Asia-Pacific region, specifically Vietnam and Thailand. They utilize social engineering to deliver malware to victims' devices and have close connections to the Gigabud malware family. GoldFactory's Trojans, such as GoldPickaxe and GoldDigger, employ tactics like smishing, phishing, and fake login screens to compromise victims' phones and steal sensitive information. Their evolving malware suite demonstrates a high level of operational maturity and ingenuity, requiring a proactive and multi-faceted cybersecurity approach to detect and mitigate their threats.

aka APT 37, Group 123, Group123 +13

APT37 has likely been active since at least 2012 and focuses on targeting the public and private sectors primarily in South Korea. In 2017, APT37 expanded its targeting beyond the Korean peninsula to include Japan, Vietnam and the Middle East, and to a wider range of industry verticals, including chemicals, electronics, manufacturing, aerospace, automotive and healthcare entities

aka Operation Mermaid, Prince of Persia, Foudre

Infy is a group of suspected Iranian origin. Since early 2013, we have observed activity from a unique threat actor group, which we began to investigate based on increased activities against human right activists in the beginning of 2015. In line5with other research on the campaign, released prior to publication of this document, we have adopted the name “Infy”, which is based on labels used in the infrastructure and its two families of malware agents. Thanks to information we have been able to collect during the course of our research, such as characteristics of the group’s malware and development cycle, our research strongly supports the claim that the Infy group is of Iranian origin and potentially connected to the Iranian state. Amongst a backdrop of other incidents, Infy became one of the most frequently observed agents for attempted malware attacks against Iranian civil society beginning in late 2014, growing in use up to the February 2016 parliamentary election in Iran. After the conclusion of the parliamentary election, the rate of attempted intrusions and new compromises through the Infy agent slowed, but did not end. The trends witnessed in reports from recipients are reinforced through telemetry provided by design failures in more recent versions of the Infy malware.

aka GamblingPuppet

According to TrendMicro, Earth Berberoka is a threat group originating from China that mainly focuses on targeting gambling websites. This group's campaign uses multiple malware families that target the Windows, Linux, and macOS platforms that have been attributed to Chinese-speaking actors. Aside from using tried-and-tested malware families that have been upgraded, such as PlugX and Gh0st RAT, Earth Berberoka has also developed a brand-new complex, multistage malware family, which has been dubbed PuppetLoader.

GhostRedirector is a China-aligned threat actor that has compromised at least 65 Windows servers across various sectors, primarily in Brazil, Thailand, and Vietnam. It employs a passive C++ backdoor named Rungan and a malicious IIS module called Gamshen to maintain persistent access and manipulate search engine results for SEO fraud. The actor utilizes public exploits like EfsPotato and BadPotato for privilege escalation and abuses code-signing certificates to evade detection. GhostRedirector's operations involve installing remote access tools, creating rogue administrator accounts, and leveraging SQL injection vulnerabilities to execute PowerShell for downloading malicious payloads.

Beginning in January 2018 and persisting through the first half of the year, CrowdStrike Intelligence observed SALTY SPIDER, developer and operator of the long-running Sality botnet, distribute malware designed to target cryptocurrency users.

Funksec is a newly identified extortion group that has claimed 11 victims across various sectors, including media, IT, and education, operating a Tor-based DLS to centralize its ransomware activities. The group advertises a free DDoS tool and may develop its own ransomware binary, indicating significant technical capability. The DLS was likely created in late November to early December 2024, with the first advertisement titled “Funksec Ransomware” posted on 3 December 2024. Currently, there is limited publicly available information on Funksec's TTPs, and it is not known to be associated with any other threat groups.

aka DEV-0832, Vice Society

Vice Society is a ransomware group that has been active since at least June 2021. They primarily target the education and healthcare sectors, but have also been observed targeting the manufacturing industry. The group has used multiple ransomware families and has been known to utilize PowerShell scripts for their attacks. There are similarities between Vice Society and the Rhysida ransomware group, suggesting a potential connection or rebranding.

aka UNC788, CALANQUE

Iranian state-sponsored cyber espionage group tasked with conducting information collection and surveillance operations against individuals and organizations of strategic interest to the Iranian government.

aka CL-STA-0049, Jewelbug

REF7707 is a cyber campaign targeting government entities, particularly a foreign ministry in South America, utilizing malware families such as FinalDraft, GuidLoader, and PathLoader for persistence and lateral movement. The threat actor employs the Microsoft Graph API for C2 communication, blending malicious traffic with legitimate activity to evade detection. Despite their technical sophistication, REF7707 operators exhibited poor operational security, leading to the exposure of their infrastructure and malware. Their tactics enable the extraction of sensitive data, including passwords and Active Directory information, facilitating ongoing espionage activities.

Earth Alux is a China-linked APT group known for conducting cyberespionage attacks across various sectors, including government, technology, and telecommunications. They primarily exploit vulnerable services in exposed servers to gain initial access, implanting web shells like GODZILLA and deploying backdoors such as VARGEIT and COBEACON. The group employs tools like RSBINJECT and MASQLOADER for lateral movement and network discovery, while also utilizing RAILSETTER for persistence through mspaint injection. Their operations have predominantly targeted the APAC region and have extended to Latin America, with a focus on exfiltrating sensitive information to attacker-controlled cloud storage.

aka OperationTroy, Guardian of Peace, GOP +5

Andariel is a threat actor that primarily targets South Korean corporations and institutions. They are believed to collaborate with or operate as a subsidiary organization of the Lazarus threat group. WHOIS utilizes spear phishing attacks, watering hole attacks, and supply chain attacks for initial access. They have been known to exploit vulnerabilities and use malware such as Infostealer and TigerRAT.

aka DEV-0530, H0lyGh0st

H0lyGh0st is a North Korean threat actor that has been active since June 2021. They are responsible for developing and deploying the H0lyGh0st ransomware, which targets small-to-medium businesses in various sectors. The group employs "double extortion" tactics, encrypting data and threatening to publish it if the ransom is not paid. There are connections between H0lyGh0st and the PLUTONIUM APT group, indicating a possible affiliation.

Storm-1175 is a cybercriminal group known for deploying Medusa ransomware and exploiting public-facing applications for initial access. They have been observed exploiting a critical deserialization vulnerability in GoAnywhere MFT, tracked as CVE-2025-10035, which could lead to command injection and potential RCE. Microsoft Defender researchers identified exploitation activity aligned with TTPs attributed to Storm-1175, including the use of post-compromise techniques that involve creating a group named “ESX Admins” in the domain.

aka Velvet Chollima, Black Banshee, Thallium +7

This threat actor targets South Korean think tanks, industry, nuclear power operators, and the Ministry of Unification for espionage purposes.

WhiteCobra is a threat actor that has infiltrated the Visual Studio Code marketplace and Open VSX registry, deploying 24 malicious extensions targeting cryptocurrency development tools, particularly Solidity. The group employs social engineering tactics, manipulates download counts and reviews, and uses fake branding to establish credibility for their extensions, which deliver LummaStealer on Windows and unknown malware on macOS. WhiteCobra has been linked to a $500,000 cryptocurrency theft in July 2025 and maintains detailed playbooks with revenue targets, showcasing their organized and persistent operations. Despite ongoing efforts by security researchers to remove their malicious extensions, WhiteCobra continues to upload new threats weekly, highlighting the sophistication of their TTPs.

Head Mare is a hacktivism focussed threat actor group known for targeting Russia and Belarus sectors using a remote access malware called PhantomRAT. They have been observed executing malicious code through specially crafted RAR archives, different from previous attacks exploiting vulnerabilities. The attribution of their campaign to Ukraine is uncertain due to limited visibility inside Russian networks. PhantomCore's use of RAR archives in their attack chain has been previously observed in other threat actor groups like Forest Blizzard.

UNC6671 is involved in credential harvesting operations, utilizing vishing tactics to impersonate IT staff and directing victims to enter credentials on a victim-branded site. They have gained access to Okta customer accounts and employed PowerShell to download sensitive data from SharePoint and OneDrive. Their extortion tactics include aggressive harassment of victim personnel, and they have used unbranded extortion emails with different Tox IDs for communication. The threat actors have shown a preference for registering domains with Tucows, indicating potential operational differences from related threat groups.

FulcrumSec is a financially motivated data-theft-extortion group known for sophisticated ransomware attacks and double extortion tactics. They have exploited vulnerabilities such as hardcoded credentials and misconfigured cloud permissions to gain access to targets, including Novo Nordisk and Arup Group. Their operations involve extensive dwell time, with claims of spending months analyzing stolen data before contacting victims. FulcrumSec has demonstrated a targeted approach, often demanding ransoms that are strategically calculated based on the victim's financial profile.

UNC5537 is a financially motivated threat actor targeting Snowflake customer databases. They use stolen credentials obtained from infostealer malware to access and exfiltrate large volumes of data. The compromised accounts lack multi-factor authentication, allowing UNC5537 to conduct data theft and extortion.

suspected Russian espionage group.

aka Akira, PUNK SPIDER, GOLD SAHARA

Storm-1567 is the threat actor behind the Ransomware-as-a-Service Akira. They attacked Swedish organizations in March 2023. This ransomware utilizes the ChaCha encryption algorithm, PowerShell, and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI). Microsoft's Defender for Endpoint successfully blocked a large-scale hacking campaign carried out by Storm-1567, highlighting the effectiveness of their security solution.