Threat Intelligence Directory

[IndigoZebra](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0136) is a suspected Chinese cyber espionage group that has been targeting Central Asian governments since at least 2014.(Citation: HackerNews IndigoZebra July 2021)(Citation: Checkpoint IndigoZebra July 2021)(Citation: Securelist APT Trends Q2 2017)

This threat actor uses spear-phishing techniques to target private-sector energy, defense, aerospace, research, and media organizations and embassies in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, for the purpose of espionage.

Threat actor tracked by Malpedia.

IcePeony is a China-nexus APT group that has been active since at least 2023, targeting government agencies, academic institutions, and political organizations in countries such as India, Mauritius, and Vietnam. They primarily employ SQL injection techniques to exploit vulnerabilities in publicly accessible web servers, subsequently installing web shells or executing malware like IceCache to facilitate credential theft. IcePeony operates under harsh work conditions, potentially adhering to the 996 working hour system, and shows a particular interest in the governments of Indian Ocean countries. Their activities suggest alignment with China's national interests, possibly related to maritime strategy.

We have investigated their intrusions since 2013 and have been battling them nonstop over the last year at several large telecommunications and technology companies. The determination of this China-based adversary is truly impressive: they are like a dog with a bone. HURRICANE PANDA's preferred initial vector of compromise and persistence is a China Chopper webshell – a tiny and easily obfuscated 70 byte text file that consists of an ‘eval()’ command, which is then used to provide full command execution and file upload/download capabilities to the attackers. This script is typically uploaded to a web server via a SQL injection or WebDAV vulnerability, which is often trivial to uncover in a company with a large external web presence. Once inside, the adversary immediately moves on to execution of a credential theft tool such as Mimikatz (repacked to avoid AV detection). If they are lucky to have caught an administrator who might be logged into that web server at the time, they will have gained domain administrator credentials and can now roam your network at will via ‘net use’ and ‘wmic’ commands executed through the webshell terminal.

Hunt3r Kill3rs is a newly emerged threat group claiming expertise in cyber operations, including ICS breaches and web application vulnerabilities exploitation. They have discussed using Java fuzzing in their exploits and have made unverified claims of joint attacks with other threat actors.

This group created a malware that takes over Android devices and generates $300,000 per month in fraudulent ad revenue. The group effectively controls an arsenal of over 85 million mobile devices around the world. With the potential to sell access to these devices to the highest bidder

According to Crowdstrike, HOUND SPIDER affiliates arrested in Romania on December,2017

Houken is a Chinese state-sponsored threat actor that exploits zero-day vulnerabilities in Ivanti Cloud Services Appliance devices to gain initial access to critical infrastructure networks, particularly in France. The group employs a sophisticated rootkit alongside open-source tools, primarily developed by Chinese-speaking authors, to maintain persistence and control over compromised systems. Houken is suspected to operate as an initial access broker, selling footholds in targeted networks to other threat actors for further exploitation.

HookAds is a malvertising campaign that purchases cheap ad space on low quality ad networks commonly used by adult web sites, online games, or blackhat seo sites. These ads will include JavaScript that redirects a visitor through a serious of decoy sites that look like pages filled with native advertisements, online games, or other low quality pages. Under the right circumstances, a visitor will silently load the Fallout exploit kit, which will try and install its malware payload.

[Honeybee](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0072) is a campaign led by an unknown actor that targets humanitarian aid organizations and has been active in Vietnam, Singapore, Argentina, Japan, Indonesia, and Canada. It has been an active operation since August of 2017 and as recently as February 2018. (Citation: McAfee Honeybee)

HomeLand Justice is an Iranian state-sponsored cyber threat group that has been active since at least May 2021. They have targeted various organizations, including a well-known telecommunication company and the Albanian Parliament. The group engaged in information operations and messaging campaigns to amplify the impact of their attacks.

SEQRITE Labs APT-Team has been tracking and has uncovered a campaign targeting the Baltic State Technical University, a well-known institution for various defense, aerospace, and advanced engineering programs that contribute to Russia’s military-industrial complex. Tracked as Operation HollowQuill, the campaign leverages weaponized decoy documents masquerading as official research invitations to infiltrate academic, governmental, and defense-related networks. The threat entity delivers a malicious RAR file which contains a .NET malware dropper, which further drops other Golang based shellcode loader along with legitimate OneDrive application and a decoy-based PDF with a final Cobalt Strike payload.

Being one of the most active malware distributors, Hive0137 demonstrates a willingness to explore new payloads and technologies such as GenAI. They have quickly moved onto the same level as other high-profile distributors such as TA577, and will likely be responsible for future phishing campaigns, facilitating initial access for ransomware affiliates. Hive0137’s combination of intent, capabilities and relationships with other groups presents a direct threat to organizations all over the world. As threat actors pick up the pace and increasingly adopt AI technologies for malicious purposes, it is important that organizations are aware of the most recent threats and their capabilities to maintain a strong security posture.

Hive0117 is a financially motivated cybercriminal group that conducts phishing campaigns to deliver the fileless malware DarkWatchman, which is capable of keylogging and collecting system information. The group targets individuals in the energy, finance, transport, and software security sectors across Russia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, and Estonia, often imitating official Russian government communications to induce urgency. Their operations leverage emergent policies related to conscription and utilize a UID string for identification, with malware capable of querying for smartcard readers, indicating a focus on higher security targets. The malware's fileless nature and ability to erase traces of its presence suggest moderate sophistication in their TTPs.

Hive0145 is a financially motivated initial access broker that has been active since late 2022, primarily utilizing Strela Stealer malware to target email credentials. The group has evolved its tactics from generic phishing emails to using stolen legitimate emails with real invoice attachments, focusing on victims in Spain, Germany, and Ukraine. Strela Stealer is configured to extract data from Microsoft Outlook and Mozilla Thunderbird, and the group's operations have shown increased complexity and automation. Threat intelligence indicates that Hive0145's campaigns are characterized by credential theft and espionage-driven activities.

Hikki-Chan has claimed responsibility for multiple significant data breaches, including the theft of data from 390.4 million users of VKontakte, which included sensitive personal information. The actor has also targeted Strong Current Enterprises and disclosed a breach involving the Israeli Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs, leaking over 457,000 records. Additionally, Hikki-Chan is attributed with a breach of the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, exposing tens of thousands of records across various industries.

[Higaisa](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0126) is a threat group suspected to have South Korean origins. [Higaisa](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0126) has targeted government, public, and trade organizations in North Korea; however, they have also carried out attacks in China, Japan, Russia, Poland, and other nations. [Higaisa](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0126) was first disclosed in early 2019 but is assessed to have operated as early as 2009.(Citation: Malwarebytes Higaisa 2020)(Citation: Zscaler Higaisa 2020)(Citation: PTSecurity Higaisa 2020)

It was observed that a mobile network threat actor designated as ‘HiddenArt’ actively sustains a capacity to remotely access the personal devices of targeted individuals around the world on an ongoing basis. Since detecting this threat actor, periodic reconnaissance activities were observed in at least 7 target mobile networks around the world and given the wide geographic distribution of these targeted mobile operators, it is probable that the threat actor is active on a global scale.

Hezb is a group deploying cryptominers when new exploit are available for public facing vulnerabilities. The name is after the miner process they deploy.

This threat actor uses spear-phishing techniques to compromise diplomatic targets in Southeast Asia, India, and the United States. It also seems to have targeted the APT 30. Possibly uses the same infrastructure as Mirage

Hellhounds is an APT group targeting organizations in Russia, using a modified version of Pupy RAT called Decoy Dog. They gain initial access through vulnerable web services and trusted relationships, with a focus on the public sector and IT companies. The group has been active since at least 2019, maintaining covert presence inside compromised organizations by modifying open-source projects to evade detection. Hellhounds have successfully targeted at least 48 victims, including a telecom operator where they disrupted services.

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.

The Bitter threat group initially started using RAT tools in their campaigns, as the first Bitter versions, for Android released in 2014 were based on the AndroRAT framework. Over time, they switched to a custom version that has been known as BitterRAT ever since.

Hagga is believed to have been using Agent Tesla, 2021’s sixth most prevalent malware, to steal sensitive information from his victims since the latter part of 2021.

[HAFNIUM](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0125) is a likely state-sponsored cyber espionage group operating out of China that has been active since at least January 2021. [HAFNIUM](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0125) primarily targets entities in the US across a number of industry sectors, including infectious disease researchers, law firms, higher education institutions, defense contractors, policy think tanks, and NGOs. [HAFNIUM](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0125) has targeted remote management tools and cloud software for intial access and has demonstrated an ability to quickly operationalize exploits for identified vulnerabilities in edge devices.(Citation: Microsoft HAFNIUM March 2020)(Citation: Volexity Exchange Marauder March 2021)(Citation: Microsoft Silk Typhoon MAR 2025)

The many 0-days that had been collected by Hacking Team and which became publicly available during the breach of their organization in 2015, have been used by several APT groups since. Since being founded in 2003, the Italian spyware vendor Hacking Team gained notoriety for selling surveillance tools to governments and their agencies across the world. The capabilities of its flagship product, the Remote Control System (RCS), include extracting files from a targeted device, intercepting emails and instant messaging, as well as remotely activating a device’s webcam and microphone. The company has been criticized for selling these capabilities to authoritarian governments – an allegation it has consistently denied. When the tables turned in July 2015, with Hacking Team itself suffering a damaging hack, the reported use of RCS by oppressive regimes was confirmed. With 400GB of internal data – including the once-secret list of customers, internal communications, and spyware source code – leaked online, Hacking Team was forced to request its customers to suspend all use of RCS, and was left facing an uncertain future. Following the hack, the security community has been keeping a close eye on the company’s efforts to get back on its feet. The first reports suggesting Hacking Team’s resumed operations came six months later – a new sample of Hacking Team’s Mac spyware was apparently in the wild. A year after the breach, an investment by a company named Tablem Limited brought changes to Hacking Team’s shareholder structure, with Tablem Limited taking 20% of Hacking Team’s shareholding. Tablem Limited is officially based in Cyprus; however, recent news suggests it has ties to Saudi Arabia.

Early in 2018, CrowdStrike Intelligence observed GURU SPIDER supporting the distribution of multiple crimeware families through its flagship malware loader, Quant Loader.

Guacamaya has conducted multiple hack and leak campaigns against military and police agencies and mining companies across Latin America, which they believe have played a role in the region’s environmental degradation and repression of native populations.

GTG-1002 is a Chinese state-sponsored APT that conducted a large-scale autonomous cyber espionage campaign targeting approximately 30 global organizations across various sectors, focusing on military and energy-related data. The operation utilized AI, specifically Anthropic’s Claude model, for reconnaissance, exploitation, and data exfiltration, significantly reducing human involvement. Attackers employed techniques such as automated task execution and evasion of safety protocols by masquerading as legal security testing. The campaign lasted 18 months and highlighted vulnerabilities in traditional incident response workflows.

GTFire is a threat actor that leverages Google Firebase for hosting phishing pages and Google Translate to disguise malicious URLs, effectively bypassing security filters. The campaign employs a multi-step redirect chain to obscure the final phishing destination and utilizes All-in-1 PHP phishing scripts for rapid deployment and credential harvesting. Credentials are exfiltrated via URL parameters in a standard HTTP GET request, with minimal operational overhead.

[Group5](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0043) is a threat group with a suspected Iranian nexus, though this attribution is not definite. The group has targeted individuals connected to the Syrian opposition via spearphishing and watering holes, normally using Syrian and Iranian themes. [Group5](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0043) has used two commonly available remote access tools (RATs), [njRAT](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0385) and [NanoCore](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0336), as well as an Android RAT, DroidJack. (Citation: Citizen Lab Group5)

Groundbait is a group targeting anti-government separatists in the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.

GRIM SPIDER is a sophisticated eCrime group that has been operating the Ryuk ransomware since August 2018, targeting large organizations for a high-ransom return. This methodology, known as “big game hunting,” signals a shift in operations for WIZARD SPIDER, a criminal enterprise of which GRIM SPIDER appears to be a cell. The WIZARD SPIDER threat group, known as the Russia-based operator of the TrickBot banking malware, had focused primarily on wire fraud in the past. Similar to Samas and BitPaymer, Ryuk is specifically used to target enterprise environments. Code comparison between versions of Ryuk and Hermes ransomware indicates that Ryuk was derived from the Hermes source code and has been under steady development since its release. Hermes is commodity ransomware that has been observed for sale on forums and used by multiple threat actors. However, Ryuk is only used by GRIM SPIDER and, unlike Hermes, Ryuk has only been used to target enterprise environments. Since Ryuk’s appearance in August, the threat actors operating it have netted over 705.80 BTC across 52 transactions for a total current value of $3,701,893.98 USD. Grim Spider is reportedly associated with Lunar Spider and Wizard Spider.

GREF is a China-aligned APT group that has been active since at least March 2017. They are known for using custom backdoors, loaders, and ancillary tools in their targeted attacks. Recently, they have been attributed to two active Android campaigns that distribute the BadBazaar malware through malicious apps on official and alternative app stores. GREF has targeted Android users, particularly Uyghurs and other Turkic ethnic minorities outside of China, using trojanized versions of popular messaging apps like Signal and Telegram.

GreenSpot is an APT group believed to operate from Taiwan, active since at least 2007, primarily targeting government, academic, and military entities in China through phishing campaigns. The group frequently targets 163.com, aiming to steal login credentials using deceptive domains, manipulated TLS certificates, and counterfeit interfaces. Their tactics highlight the sophistication of modern credential theft operations, necessitating detection efforts focused on irregular domain registrations and certificate anomalies.

Greenbug was discovered targeting a range of organizations in the Middle East including companies in the aviation, energy, government, investment, and education sectors.

GreedyBear is a sophisticated threat actor responsible for over $1 million in cryptocurrency theft through a campaign involving 150 malicious Firefox extensions, nearly 500 malicious executables, and numerous fraudulent websites. They employ techniques such as 'Extension Hollowing' to replace legitimate extensions with malicious versions that capture wallet credentials. The campaign is centralized, with most malicious domains resolving to a single IP address, and it has expanded to target other browsers while utilizing AI-generated code to enhance scalability and evade detection.

Gray Sandstorm is an Iran-linked threat actor that has been active since at least 2012. They have targeted defense technology companies, maritime transportation companies, and Persian Gulf ports of entry. Their primary method of attack is password spraying, and they have been observed using tools like o365spray. They have a specific focus on US and Israeli targets and are likely operating in support of Iranian interests.

Grayling activity was first observed in early 2023, when a number of victims were identified with distinctive malicious DLL side-loading activity. Grayling appears to target organisations in Asia, however one unknown organisation in the United States was also targeted. Industries targeted include Biomedical, Government and Information Technology. Grayling use a variety of tools during their attacks, including well known tools such as Cobalt Strike and Havoc and also some others.