Threat Actor

APT41

Also known as: APT41, Wicked Panda, Brass Typhoon, BARIUM

[APT41](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0096) is a threat group that researchers have assessed as Chinese state-sponsored espionage group that also conducts financially-motivated operations. Active since at least 2012, [APT41](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0096) has been observed targeting various industries, including but not limited to healthcare, telecom, technology, finance, education, retail and video game industries in 14 countries.(Citation: apt41_mandiant) Notable behaviors include using a wide range of malware and tools to complete mission objectives. [APT41](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0096) overlaps at least partially with public reporting on groups including BARIUM and [Winnti Group](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0044).(Citation: FireEye APT41 Aug 2019)(Citation: Group IB APT 41 June 2021)

50
Techniques
34
Software
2
Campaigns

Properties

stix_id
intrusion-set--18854f55-ac7c-4634-bd9a-352dd07613b7
signal_observed_at
2026-09-11T17:54:59+00:00
type
intrusion-set

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques (50)

Accessibility Features

Adversaries may establish persistence and/or elevate privileges by executing malicious content triggered by accessibility features. Windows contains a

Additional Local or Domain Groups

An adversary may add additional local or domain groups to an adversary-controlled account to maintain persistent access to a system or domain. On Win

Archive via Utility

Adversaries may use utilities to compress and/or encrypt collected data prior to exfiltration. Many utilities include functionalities to compress, enc

BITS Jobs

Adversaries may abuse BITS jobs to persistently execute code and perform various background tasks. Windows Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BI

Boot or Logon Initialization Scripts

Adversaries may use scripts automatically executed at boot or logon initialization to establish persistence.(Citation: Mandiant APT29 Eye Spy Email No

Bootkit

Adversaries may use bootkits to persist on systems. A bootkit is a malware variant that modifies the boot sectors of a hard drive, allowing malicious

Brute Force

Adversaries may use brute force techniques to gain access to accounts when passwords are unknown or when password hashes are obtained.(Citation: Trend

Clear Command History

In addition to clearing system logs, an adversary may clear the command history of a compromised account to conceal the actions undertaken during an i

Clear Windows Event Logs

Adversaries may clear Windows Event Logs to hide the activity of an intrusion. Windows Event Logs are a record of a computer's alerts and notification

Clear Windows Event Logs

Adversaries may clear Windows Event Logs to hide the activity of an intrusion. Windows Event Logs are a record of a computer's alerts and notification

Code Repositories

Adversaries may leverage code repositories to collect valuable information. Code repositories are tools/services that store source code and automate s

Code Signing

Adversaries may create, acquire, or steal code signing materials to sign their malware or tools. Code signing provides a level of authenticity on a bi

Compiled HTML File

Adversaries may abuse Compiled HTML files (.chm) to conceal malicious code. CHM files are commonly distributed as part of the Microsoft HTML Help syst

Compromise Software Supply Chain

Adversaries may manipulate application software prior to receipt by a final consumer for the purpose of data or system compromise. Supply chain compro

Compute Hijacking

Adversaries may leverage the compute resources of co-opted systems to complete resource-intensive tasks, which may impact system and/or hosted service

Credentials from Password Stores

Adversaries may search for common password storage locations to obtain user credentials.(Citation: F-Secure The Dukes) Passwords are stored in several

Credentials from Web Browsers

Adversaries may acquire credentials from web browsers by reading files specific to the target browser.(Citation: Talos Olympic Destroyer 2018) Web bro

DLL

Adversaries may abuse dynamic-link library files (DLLs) in order to achieve persistence, escalate privileges, and evade defenses. DLLs are libraries t

DNS

Adversaries may communicate using the Domain Name System (DNS) application layer protocol to avoid detection/network filtering by blending in with exi

Data Encrypted for Impact

Adversaries may encrypt data on target systems or on large numbers of systems in a network to interrupt availability to system and network resources.

Data Transfer Size Limits

An adversary may exfiltrate data in fixed size chunks instead of whole files or limit packet sizes below certain thresholds. This approach may be used

Data from Local System

Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to

Dead Drop Resolver

Adversaries may use an existing, legitimate external Web service to host information that points to additional command and control (C2) infrastructure

Disable or Modify Tools

Adversaries may disable, degrade, or tamper with security tools or applications (e.g., endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools, intrusion detectio

Domain Account

Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of domain accounts. This information can help adversaries determine which domain accounts exist to aid in fol

Domain Generation Algorithms

Adversaries may make use of Domain Generation Algorithms (DGAs) to dynamically identify a destination domain for command and control traffic rather th

Dynamic Linker Hijacking

Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking environment variables the dynamic linker uses to load shared libraries. During the e

Environmental Keying

Adversaries may environmentally key payloads or other features of malware to evade defenses and constraint execution to a specific target environment.

Exploit Public-Facing Application

Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network. The weakness in the system can be a

Exploitation for Client Execution

Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code. Vulnerabilities can exist in software due to unsecure coding

Software & Tools (34)

ASPXSpy [malware]

[ASPXSpy](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0073) is a Web shell. It has been modified by [Threat Group-3390](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0027)

BITSAdmin [tool]

[BITSAdmin](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0190) is a command line tool used to create and manage [BITS Jobs](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/

BLACKCOFFEE [malware]

[BLACKCOFFEE](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0069) is malware that has been used by several Chinese groups since at least 2013. (Citation: FireEye

China Chopper [malware]

[China Chopper](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0020) is a [Web Shell](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1505/003) hosted on Web servers to prov

Cobalt Strike [tool]

[Cobalt Strike](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0154) is a commercial, full-featured, remote access tool that bills itself as “adversary simulation

DUSTPAN [malware]

[DUSTPAN](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S1158) is an in-memory dropper written in C/C++ used by [APT41](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0096) sin

DUSTTRAP [malware]

[DUSTTRAP](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S1159) is a multi-stage plugin framework associated with [APT41](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0096) o

Derusbi [malware]

[Derusbi](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0021) is malware used by multiple Chinese APT groups.(Citation: Novetta-Axiom)(Citation: ThreatConnect An

Empire [tool]

[Empire](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0363) is an open-source, cross-platform remote administration and post-exploitation framework that is publ

Impacket [tool]

[Impacket](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0357) is an open source collection of modules written in Python for programmatically constructing and ma

KEYPLUG [malware]

[KEYPLUG](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S1051) is a modular backdoor written in C++, with Windows and Linux variants, that has been used by [APT41

LightSpy [malware]

First observed in 2018, LightSpy is a modular malware family that initially targeted iOS devices in Southern Asia before expanding to Android and macO

MESSAGETAP [malware]

[MESSAGETAP](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0443) is a data mining malware family deployed by [APT41](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0096) into

MOPSLED [malware]

[MOPSLED](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S1221) is a shellcode-based modular backdoor that has been used by China-nexus cyber espionage actors incl

MimiKatz [malware]

[Mimikatz](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0002) is a credential dumper capable of obtaining plaintext Windows account logins and passwords, along

Mimikatz [tool]

[Mimikatz](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0002) is a credential dumper capable of obtaining plaintext Windows account logins and passwords, along

Net [tool]

The [Net](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0039) utility is a component of the Windows operating system. It is used in command-line operations for c

NjRAT [malware]

[njRAT](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0385) is a remote access tool (RAT) that was first observed in 2012. It has been used by threat actors in t

Ping [tool]

[Ping](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0097) is an operating system utility commonly used to troubleshoot and verify network connections. (Citation

PlugX [malware]

[PlugX](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0013) is a remote access tool (RAT) with modular plugins that has been used by multiple threat groups.(Cita

PowerSploit [tool]

[PowerSploit](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0194) is an open source, offensive security framework comprised of [PowerShell](https://attack.mitre.

ROCKBOOT [malware]

[ROCKBOOT](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0112) is a [Bootkit](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1542/003) that has been used by an unidentifie

ShadowPad [malware]

[ShadowPad](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0596) is a modular backdoor that was first identified in a supply chain compromise of the NetSarang sof

Winnti for Linux [malware]

[Winnti for Linux](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0430) is a trojan, seen since at least 2015, designed specifically for targeting Linux systems.

ZxShell [malware]

[ZxShell](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0412) is a remote administration tool and backdoor that can be downloaded from the Internet, particularly

certutil [tool]

[certutil](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0160) is a command-line utility that can be used to obtain certificate authority information and configu

dsquery [tool]

[dsquery](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0105) is a command-line utility that can be used to query Active Directory for information from a system

ftp [tool]

[ftp](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0095) is a utility commonly available with operating systems to transfer information over the File Transfer P

gh0st RAT [malware]

[gh0st RAT](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0032) is a remote access tool (RAT). The source code is public and it has been used by multiple groups.

ipconfig [tool]

[ipconfig](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0100) is a Windows utility that can be used to find information about a system's TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, and

Campaigns (2)

APT41 DUST

[APT41 DUST](https://attack.mitre.org/campaigns/C0040) was conducted by [APT41](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0096) from 2023 to July 2024 against

C0017

[C0017](https://attack.mitre.org/campaigns/C0017) was an [APT41](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0096) campaign conducted between May 2021 and Februa

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