Threat actor
APT41
Last fetched
APT41 is a threat actor tracked in WhisperGraph's MITRE ATT&CK corpus, observed using 82 techniques and also known as 22 other names.
Also known as
Wicked Panda, Brass Typhoon, BARIUM, G0096, TA415, Blackfly, Grayfly, LEAD, WICKED SPIDER, WICKED PANDA, BRONZE ATLAS, BRONZE EXPORT, Red Kelpie, G0044, Earth Baku, Amoeba, HOODOO, Winnti, Double Dragon, TG-2633, Leopard Typhoon, SPIRE CASTLE
Description
[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)
Techniques by tactic
Discovery
- T1012 · Query Registry
- T1016 · System Network Configuration Discovery
- T1018 · Remote System Discovery
- T1033 · System Owner/User Discovery
- T1046 · Network Service Discovery
- T1049 · System Network Connections Discovery
- T1069 · Permission Groups Discovery
- T1082 · System Information Discovery
- T1083 · File and Directory Discovery
- T1087.001 · Local Account
- T1087.002 · Domain Account
- T1135 · Network Share Discovery
Persistence
- T1037 · Boot or Logon Initialization Scripts
- T1053.005 · Scheduled Task
- T1078 · Valid Accounts
- T1098.007 · Additional Local or Domain Groups
- T1112 · Modify Registry
- T1133 · External Remote Services
- T1136.001 · Local Account
- T1197 · BITS Jobs
- T1542.003 · Bootkit
- T1543.003 · Windows Service
- T1546.008 · Accessibility Features
- T1547.001 · Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder
Privilege Escalation
- T1037 · Boot or Logon Initialization Scripts
- T1053.005 · Scheduled Task
- T1055 · Process Injection
- T1078 · Valid Accounts
- T1098.007 · Additional Local or Domain Groups
- T1484.001 · Group Policy Modification
- T1543.003 · Windows Service
- T1546.008 · Accessibility Features
- T1547.001 · Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder
Stealth
- T1014 · Rootkit
- T1027 · Obfuscated Files or Information
- T1027.002 · Software Packing
- T1036.004 · Masquerade Task or Service
- T1036.005 · Match Legitimate Resource Name or Location
- T1055 · Process Injection
- T1070.003 · Clear Command History
- T1070.004 · File Deletion
- T1078 · Valid Accounts
- T1197 · BITS Jobs
- T1218.001 · Compiled HTML File
- T1218.011 · Rundll32
- T1480.001 · Environmental Keying
- T1542.003 · Bootkit
- T1574.001 · DLL
- T1574.006 · Dynamic Linker Hijacking
- T1684.001 · Impersonation
Attributed infrastructure
None published. WhisperGraph carries no ATTRIBUTED_TO edge to APT41 today — this states the absence of a published link, not that APT41 has no infrastructure.
References
- https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0096
- https://go.crowdstrike.com/rs/281-OBQ-266/images/Report2020CrowdStrikeGlobalThreatReport.pdf
- https://www.mandiant.com/sites/default/files/2022-02/rt-apt41-dual-operation.pdf
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/security/intelligence/microsoft-threat-actor-naming?view=o365-worldwide
- https://www.group-ib.com/blog/colunmtk-apt41/
- https://securelist.com/winnti-faq-more-than-just-a-game/57585/
- https://securelist.com/winnti-more-than-just-a-game/37029/
- http://williamshowalter.com/a-universal-windows-bootkit/
- https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2017/01/25/detecting-threat-actors-in-recent-german-industrial-attacks-with-windows-defender-atp/
- https://securelist.com/games-are-over/70991/
- https://medium.com/chronicle-blog/winnti-more-than-just-windows-and-gates-e4f03436031a
- https://www.dw.com/en/thyssenkrupp-victim-of-cyber-attack/a-36695341
- https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/teamviewer-confirms-undisclosed-breach-from-2016/
- https://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/winnti-abuses-github/
- https://www.dw.com/en/bayer-points-finger-at-wicked-panda-in-cyberattack/a-48196004
- https://www.welivesecurity.com/2019/03/11/gaming-industry-scope-attackers-asia/
- https://401trg.com/burning-umbrella/
- https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0044/
- https://www.crowdstrike.com/blog/meet-crowdstrikes-adversary-of-the-month-for-july-wicked-spider/
- https://www.secureworks.com/research/threat-profiles/bronze-atlas
- https://www.secureworks.com/research/threat-profiles/bronze-export
- https://www.pwc.co.uk/cyber-security/assets/cyber-threats-2019-retrospect.pdf
- https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/seven-international-cyber-defendants-including-apt41-actors-charged-connection-computer
- https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/7210602/FLASH-AC-000133-TT-Published.pdf
- https://www.cfr.org/cyber-operations/winnti-umbrella
- https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat-research/2019/08/apt41-dual-espionage-and-cyber-crime-operation.html
- https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/apt41-using-new-speculoos-backdoor-to-target-organizations-globally/
- https://www.mandiant.com/resources/report-apt41-double-dragon-a-dual-espionage-and-cyber-crime-operation
- https://www.cfr.org/cyber-operations/apt-41
- https://www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-02/Adam_Kozy_Testimony.pdf
- https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/cybersecurity/cyber-threat-intelligence/cyber-year-in-retrospect/yir-cyber-threats-report-download.pdf
- https://www.pwc.co.uk/cyber-security/pdf/pwc-cyber-threats-2020-a-year-in-retrospect.pdf
- https://www.fireeye.com/content/dam/fireeye-www/summit/cds-2019/presentations/cds19-executive-s08-achievement-unlocked.pdf
- https://www.welivesecurity.com/2021/03/10/exchange-servers-under-siege-10-apt-groups/
- https://services.google.com/fh/files/blogs/gcat_threathorizons_full_apr2023.pdf
- https://www.trendmicro.com/en_us/research/24/d/earth-freybug.html
- https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/updated-cyber-threat-actor-naming-system/
© The MITRE Corporation. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of The MITRE Corporation.
Related pages
Pivot from APT41 into its techniques, tactics and any attributed infrastructure.
Queries
Resolves the slug to this actor, merging every duplicate node sharing the same name.
MATCH (a:ACTOR)
WHERE a.name =~ $pattern OR any(x IN a.aliases WHERE x =~ $pattern)
RETURN a.id AS id, a.name AS name, a.aliases AS aliases, a.description AS description,
a.references AS references, a.campaigns AS campaigns
LIMIT 25Run yourself →Techniques this actor uses, grouped by the tactic each one serves.
MATCH (a:ACTOR {name: $name})-[:USES_TECHNIQUE]->(t:ATTACK_PATTERN)
OPTIONAL MATCH (t)-[:USES_TACTIC]->(tac:ATTACK_PATTERN)
RETURN t.id AS techniqueId, t.name AS techniqueName, tac.id AS tacticId, tac.name AS tacticName
LIMIT 1000Run yourself →Infrastructure publicly attributed to this actor.
MATCH (n)-[:ATTRIBUTED_TO]->(a:ACTOR {name: $name})
RETURN labels(n)[0] AS kind, n.name AS name
LIMIT 25Run yourself →Or query Whisper from your own LLM workflow via the Whisper MCP server.