Understanding Attacks Links to Gothic Panda, Pirpi, UPS Team, Buckeye APT3

By Ashwin Venugopal -

 





To know more about it, you can go through my detailed document by clicking here




APT3

APT3 also known as Gothic Panda, Pirpi, UPS Team, Buckeye, etc. is a Chinese threat group discovered in 2010 which is responsible for various espionage campaigns, like Operation Clandestine Wolf (2015), Clandestine Fox (2014), Double Tap (2014), etc. mainly targeting the countries like South Korea, Hong Kong, and the USA.  

Cyber Attacks Associated with APT3

This infamous threat group have targeted various sectors like Aerospace, Defense, Transportation, Construction Engineering, High Tech, etc. The targeted US-based organizations are Moddy's Analytics, Siemens AG, Timble Inc., etc. as well as others in Hong Kong and Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang inSouth Korea. 

Malware Tools used by APT3

There are a wide variety of malicious tools and techniques used by APT3 ranging from spearphishing attacks, zero-day exploits to custom-built malware as well as the other sophisticated hacking tools linked with other popular groups along with the Equation Group. 

Vulnerabilities exploited by APT3

  • Unicorn Bug- it's a critical vulnerability that can remotely execute code in Internet Explorer.

  • Windows SMB Information Disclosure Vulnerability- It's an information disclosure vulnerability which handles certain requests.

  • Windows Kernel-Mode Vulnerability- It's a local privilege-escalation vulnerability present in Microsoft Window-based platform., etc....

Prevention

If you want protection from APT3 threat group, then you have to deploy endpoint protection solutions along with real-time intelligence as well as threat intelligence exchange. The organizations must - follow rigorous patch management and vulnerability assessment practices, monitor the networks regularly, provide proper training to their IT professionals as well as employees regarding phishing so0lutions, policies, etc...etc... 





    To know more about it, you can go through my detailed document by clicking here

    Comments

    Post a Comment

    Popular posts from this blog

    Deployment (Part 3)

    By Ashwin Venugopal -
    Image
      To read part 1, please click  here To read part 2, please click  here Microsoft Monitoring Agent (MMA) MMA is used across multiple Microsoft solutions and has undergone a few name changes as its features and functionality have evolved. If it is being considered to be used, then following areas should be covered during a Microsoft Sentinel deployment project: Consider the timelines and the strategy for a migration to AMA (Azure Monitor Agent) before the MMA end-of-life.  Consider the central deployment and management methodology for MMA. Determine which endpoints are in scope for deployment as these affect the log ingestion volume significantly.  Azure Monitor Agent (AMA) Organizations with MMA as the main Microsoft Sentinel agent should start planning the migration to AMA as soon as possible to avoid a rushed migration. One of the main advantages of AMA is the ability to control the log collection policy centrally and apply different policies against different...
    Read more

    Deployment (Part 1)

    By Ashwin Venugopal -
    Image
      To read part 2, please click  here To read part 3, please click  here Azure Resources Microsoft Sentinel needs following resources to be created: Subscription (if a dedicated subscription(s) will be used) Resource group(s) Log Analytics workspace(s) Automation rules/playbook Alert rules Workbooks Microsoft Sentinel offers hundreds of alert rules, workbooks, and automation playbook templates along with hunting scripts. The templates can be used to activate/deploy schedule alerts, create customized dashboards, create automation playbooks and perform threat-hunting activities. Generally, once deployed, the resources created have to be adjusted to match the existing environment, configure local credentials, etc. Methods of deployment: Manual- Administrator can manually configures the Microsoft Sentinel resources with the help of Azure portal. Any manual process has the inherent risks of human operator error, lack of compliance with potential change control procedures, and u...
    Read more

    Project Resourcing (Part 2)

    By Ashwin Venugopal -
    Image
      To read part 1, please click  here Engineering - SIEM The SIEM engineers configures Microsoft Sentinel, including Log Analytics, Logic Apps, workbooks, and playbooks. They are also responsible for the following high-level tasks: Initial configuration of Azure tenant, including provisioning required resources, assigning access roles, and configuring workspace parameters like log retention, resource tagging, and blueprints.  Deployment and configuration of syslog/CEF log collection agents in appropriate locations to collect logs from on-premises devices. Generally, it will be joint effort of both system engineer and SIEM engineer, involving configuration and potential troubleshooting.  Working with system owners to enable log forwarding and configuring any required parsing of log data in Log Analytics.  Working with security operations to create and deploy KQL analytic rules to offer detections for SOC/Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSRIT) use. Tuning...
    Read more