Threat Actor

Earth Lusca

Also known as: Earth Lusca, TAG-22, Charcoal Typhoon, CHROMIUM, ControlX

[Earth Lusca](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1006) is a suspected China-based cyber espionage group that has been active since at least April 2019. [Earth Lusca](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1006) has targeted organizations in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, Germany, France, and the United States. Targets included government institutions, news media outlets, gambling companies, educational institutions, COVID-19 research organizations, telecommunications companies, religious movements banned in China, and cryptocurrency trading platforms; security researchers assess some [Earth Lusca](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1006) operations may be financially motivated.(Citation: TrendMicro EarthLusca 2022) [Earth Lusca](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1006) has used malware commonly used by other Chinese threat groups, including [APT41](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0096) and the [Winnti Group](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0044) cluster, however security researchers assess [Earth Lusca](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1006)'s techniques and infrastructure are separate.(Citation: TrendMicro EarthLusca 2022)

44
Techniques
10
Software

Properties

stix_id
intrusion-set--cc613a49-9bfa-4e22-98d1-15ffbb03f034
signal_observed_at
2026-09-11T17:55:00+00:00
type
intrusion-set

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques (44)

Archive via Utility

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

Bypass User Account Control

Adversaries may bypass UAC mechanisms to elevate process privileges on system. Windows User Account Control (UAC) allows a program to elevate its priv

DCSync

Adversaries may attempt to access credentials and other sensitive information by abusing a Windows Domain Controller's application programming interfa

DLL

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

Deobfuscate/Decode Files or Information

Adversaries may use [Obfuscated Files or Information](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1027) to hide artifacts of an intrusion from analysis. They

Domain Trust Discovery

Adversaries may attempt to gather information on domain trust relationships that may be used to identify lateral movement opportunities in Windows mul

Domains

Adversaries may acquire domains that can be used during targeting. Domain names are the human readable names used to represent one or more IP addresse

Drive-by Compromise

Adversaries may gain access to a system through a user visiting a website over the normal course of browsing. Multiple ways of delivering exploit code

Exfiltration to Cloud Storage

Adversaries may exfiltrate data to a cloud storage service rather than over their primary command and control channel. Cloud storage services allow fo

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 of Remote Services

Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network. Exploitation of a software vulnerabi

JavaScript

Adversaries may abuse various implementations of JavaScript for execution. JavaScript (JS) is a platform-independent scripting language (compiled just

LSASS Memory

Adversaries may attempt to access credential material stored in the process memory of the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS). After a

Malicious File

An adversary may rely upon a user opening a malicious file in order to gain execution. Users may be subjected to social engineering to get them to ope

Malicious Link

An adversary may rely upon a user clicking a malicious link in order to gain execution. Users may be subjected to social engineering to get them to cl

Malware

Adversaries may buy, steal, or download malware that can be used during targeting. Malicious software can include payloads, droppers, post-compromise

Match Legitimate Resource Name or Location

Adversaries may match or approximate the name or location of legitimate files, Registry keys, or other resources when naming/placing them. This is don

Modify Registry

Adversaries may interact with the Windows Registry as part of a variety of other techniques to aid in defense evasion, persistence, and execution. Ac

Mshta

Adversaries may abuse mshta.exe to proxy execution of malicious .hta files and Javascript or VBScript through a trusted Windows utility. There are sev

Obfuscated Files or Information

Adversaries may attempt to make an executable or file difficult to discover or analyze by encrypting, encoding, or otherwise obfuscating its contents

PowerShell

Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution. PowerShell is a powerful interactive command-line interface and scripting environ

Print Processors

Adversaries may abuse print processors to run malicious DLLs during system boot for persistence and/or privilege escalation. Print processors are DLLs

Process Discovery

Adversaries may attempt to get information about running processes on a system. Information obtained could be used to gain an understanding of common

Proxy

Adversaries may use a connection proxy to direct network traffic between systems or act as an intermediary for network communications to a command and

Python

Adversaries may abuse Python commands and scripts for execution. Python is a very popular scripting/programming language, with capabilities to perform

Remote System Discovery

Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of other systems by IP address, hostname, or other logical identifier on a network that may be used for Later

SSH Authorized Keys

Adversaries may modify the SSH <code>authorized_keys</code> file to maintain persistence on a victim host. Linux distributions, macOS, and ESXi hyperv

Scheduled Task

Adversaries may abuse the Windows Task Scheduler to perform task scheduling for initial or recurring execution of malicious code. There are multiple w

Server

Adversaries may compromise third-party servers that can be used during targeting. Use of servers allows an adversary to stage, launch, and execute an

Server

Adversaries may buy, lease, rent, or obtain physical servers that can be used during targeting. Use of servers allows an adversary to stage, launch, a

Software & Tools (10)

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

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

NBTscan [tool]

[NBTscan](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0590) is an open source tool that has been used by state groups to conduct internal reconnaissance within

Nltest [tool]

[Nltest](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0359) is a Windows command-line utility used to list domain controllers and enumerate domain trusts.(Citat

PowerSploit [tool]

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

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

Tasklist [tool]

The [Tasklist](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0057) utility displays a list of applications and services with their Process IDs (PID) for all task

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.

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

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