Description

High value organizations across South, Southeast, and East Asia have been targeted in a long-running cyber campaign attributed to a Chinese-linked threat cluster known as CL UNK 1068, according to researchers at Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42. The campaign has affected sectors such as aviation, energy, government, law enforcement, pharmaceuticals, technology, and telecommunications. Although the group’s exact motivation is officially classified as unknown, researchers assess with moderate to high confidence that the primary objective is cyber espionage. The attackers rely on a diverse toolkit that combines custom malware, modified open-source utilities, and living off the land binaries (LOLBINs), allowing them to maintain persistent access while blending into legitimate system activity. The attackers deploy tools capable of operating in both Windows and Linux environments. Among them are well-known web shells like Godzilla and ANTSWORD, along with Xnote, a Linux backdoor that has been observed in cyber operations since 2015. The group also uses Fast Reverse Proxy (FRP) to establish covert remote connections. Typical attack chains begin with the exploitation of vulnerable web servers, enabling the attackers to deploy web shells and move laterally across the network. They frequently target files with extensions such as .config, .aspx, .asmx, .asax, and .dll from the c:\inetpub\wwwroot directory of Windows web servers, potentially to uncover credentials or identify application vulnerabilities. Beyond web server data, the attackers also collect browser histories, bookmarks, spreadsheet files (XLSX and CSV), and database backup files from Microsoft SQL servers. To exfiltrate this information, they employ an unusual technique: compressing files with WinRAR, encoding the archives using the certutil encode command, and then printing the Base64 encoded data directly through a web shell. This method allows them to extract sensitive information without transferring files through traditional channels, helping them avoid detection. CL UNK 1068 also uses legitimate tools to carry out stealthy attacks, including Python executables to launch DLL side loading attacks and run malicious components such as FRP, PrintSpoofer, and a custom scanner called ScanPortPlus. The group further leverages tools like Mimikatz, Volatility, and LsaRecorder to steal credentials and password hashes. According to Unit 42, the attackers’ reliance on open-source tools and shared malware enables them to operate discreetly while infiltrating critical organizations across multiple operating systems.