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Mandiant Blog25d06/15

Public and Private Medical Community Targeted by China-Nexus Threat Actor Pursuing Artificial Intelligence, Cyber, Medical, and National Defense Research

Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) has identified a sophisticated campaign attributed to UNC6508, a People's Republic of China (PRC)-nexus threat actor, targeting institutions in the North American academic, medical, and military research community. While remaining undetected for over a year, the threat actor compromised externally facing web applications, deployed bespoke malware, pivoted to sensitive internal systems, and abused enterprise administrative tools for covert data exfiltration

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blog29d06/11

ShinyHunters Targets Education Sector with Oracle PeopleSoft Exploit

Introduction Mandiant and Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) have identified an active compromise and extortion campaign attributed to UNC6240 (ShinyHunters) targeting Oracle PeopleSoft application infrastructure. The activity was observed between May 27, 2026, and June 9, 2026 and is consistent with the exploitation of CVE-2026-35273, a critical remote code execution vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) in the Environment Management component. The exploitation of this vulnerability directly aligns wit

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blog35d06/05

Seeking Counsel: Ongoing Targeted Campaign Against US Law Firms

Written by: Chad Reams, Tufail Ahmed, Keith Knapp, Ashley Frazer, Tyler McLellan Introduction From January through May 2026, Mandiant identified a financially motivated data theft extortion campaign executed by the threat cluster UNC3753 (also tracked as "Luna Moth," “Chatty Spider,” and "Silent Ransom Group") targeting dozens of organizations across professional, legal, and financial services in the United States. UNC3753 leverages voice phishing (vishing) and social engineering deception techn

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blog46d05/25

2 PhaaS 2 Furious: The Evolution of Chinese-Language Phishing Services

While Russian-speaking threat actors have historically dominated the phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) landscape, a rival ecosystem is rapidly growing within the Chinese-language underground. Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) analyzed a dozen current PhaaS offerings in the Chinese underground, all of them mature services and many likely tied intricately to the broader criminal ecosystem in that region. These services not only lower the barrier to entry for Chinese cyber criminals, but reveal b

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blog46d05/25

Exploitation of KnowledgeDeliver via ViewState Deserialization Vulnerability

Written by: Takahiro Sugiyama, Peter Revelant, Mathew Potaczek Introduction In late 2025, Mandiant responded to a security incident involving a compromised web server running KnowledgeDeliver. KnowledgeDeliver is a Learning Management System (LMS) developed by Digital Knowledge commonly used in Japan. Mandiant identified a critical vulnerability that allowed unauthenticated Remote Code Execution (RCE). An unknown threat actor leveraged this access to inject malicious code into the LMS platform,

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blog56d05/15

Welcome to BlackFile: Inside a Vishing Extortion Operation

Written by: Austin Larsen, Tyler McLellan, Genevieve Stark, Dan Ebreo Introduction Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) has continued to track an expansive extortion campaign by UNC6671, a threat actor operating under the "BlackFile" brand, that targets organizations via sophisticated voice phishing (vishing) and single sign-on (SSO) compromise. By leveraging adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) techniques to bypass traditional perimeter defenses and multi-factor authentication (MFA), UNC6671 gains

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blog60d05/11

GTIG AI Threat Tracker: Adversaries Leverage AI for Vulnerability Exploitation, Augmented Operations, and Initial Access

Executive Summary Since our February 2026 report on AI-related threat activity, Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) has continued to track a maturing transition from nascent AI-enabled operations to the industrial-scale application of generative models within adversarial workflows. This report, based on insights derived from Mandiant incident response engagements, Gemini, and GTIG’s proactive research, highlights the dual nature of the current threat environment where AI serves as both a sop

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blog78d04/23

Snow Flurries: How UNC6692 Employed Social Engineering to Deploy a Custom Malware Suite

Written by: JP Glab, Tufail Ahmed, Josh Kelley, Muhammad Umair Introduction Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) identified a multistage intrusion campaign by a newly tracked threat group, UNC6692, that leveraged persistent social engineering, a custom modular malware suite, and deft pivoting inside the victim’s environment to achieve deep network penetration. As with many other intrusions in recent years, UNC6692 relied heavily on impersonating IT helpdesk employees, convincing their victim

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blog85d04/16

Defending Your Enterprise When AI Models Can Find Vulnerabilities Faster Than Ever

Introduction Advances in AI model-powered exploitation have demonstrated that general-purpose AI models can excel at vulnerability discovery, even without being purpose-built for the task. Eventually, capabilities such as these will be integrated directly into the development cycle, and code will be more difficult to exploit than ever; however, this transition creates a critical window of risk. As we harden existing software with AI, threat actors will use it to discover and exploit novel vulner

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blog86d04/15

The German Cyber Criminal Überfall: Shifts in Europe's Data Leak Landscape

Written by: Jamie Collier, Robin Grunewald Germany has reclaimed its position as a primary focus for cyber extortion in Europe. While data leak site (DLS) posts rose almost 50% globally in 2025, Google Threat Intelligence (GTI) data shows that the surge is hitting German infrastructure harder and faster than its regional neighbors, marking a significant return to the high-pressure levels previously observed in the country during 2022 and 2023. Cyber Criminals Pivoting Back to Germany Germany mov

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blog99d04/02

vSphere and BRICKSTORM Malware: A Defender's Guide

Written by: Stuart Carrera Introduction Building on recent BRICKSTORM research from Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG), this post explores the evolving threats facing virtualized environments. These operations directly target the VMware vSphere ecosystem, specifically the vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) and ESXi hypervisors. To help organizations stay ahead of these risks, we will focus on the essential hardening strategies and mitigating controls necessary to secure these critical assets.

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blog101d03/31

North Korea-Nexus Threat Actor Compromises Widely Used Axios NPM Package in Supply Chain Attack

Written by: Austin Larsen, Dima Lenz, Adrian Hernandez, Tyler McLellan, Christopher Gardner, Ashley Zaya, Michael Rudden, Mon Liclican, Muhammad Umair Introduction Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) is tracking an active software supply chain attack targeting the popular Node Package Manager (NPM) package "axios." Between March 31, 2026, 00:21 and 03:20 UTC, an attacker introduced a malicious dependency named "plain-crypto-js" into axios NPM releases versions 1.14.1 and 0.30.4. Axios is the

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blog109d03/23

M-Trends 2026: Data, Insights, and Strategies From the Frontlines

Every year, the cyber threat landscape forces defenders to adapt to evolving adversary tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs). In 2025, Mandiant observed a clear divergence in adversary pacing that closely aligns with the trends we have been documenting for defenders over the past year. On one end of the spectrum, cyber criminal groups optimized for immediate impact and deliberate recovery denial. On the other end, sophisticated cyber espionage groups and insider threats optimized for extrem

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blog114d03/18

The Proliferation of DarkSword: iOS Exploit Chain Adopted by Multiple Threat Actors

Introduction Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) has identified a new iOS full-chain exploit that leveraged multiple zero-day vulnerabilities to fully compromise devices. Based on toolmarks in recovered payloads, we believe the exploit chain to be called DarkSword. Since at least November 2025, GTIG has observed multiple commercial surveillance vendors and suspected state-sponsored actors utilizing DarkSword in distinct campaigns. These threat actors have deployed the exploit chain against t

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blog116d03/16

Ransomware Under Pressure: Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures in a Shifting Threat Landscape

Written by: Bavi Sadayappan, Zach Riddle, Ioana Teaca, Kimberly Goody, Genevieve Stark Introduction Since 2018, when many financially motivated threat actors began shifting their monetization strategy to post-compromise ransomware deployments, ransomware has become one of the most pervasive threats to organizations across almost every industry vertical and region. In recent years ransomware operations have evolved, creating a robust ecosystem that has lowered the barrier to entry via the commodi

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blog126d03/06

Proactive Preparation and Hardening Against Destructive Attacks: 2026 Edition

Written by: Matthew McWhirt, Bhavesh Dhake, Emilio Oropeza, Gautam Krishnan, Stuart Carrera, Greg Blaum, Michael Rudden UPDATE (March 13): Added guidance around abuse or misuse of endpoint / MDM platforms. Background Threat actors leverage destructive malware to destroy data, eliminate evidence of malicious activity, or manipulate systems in a way that renders them inoperable. Destructive cyberattacks can be a powerful means to achieve strategic or tactical objectives; however, the risk of repri

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blog127d03/05

Look What You Made Us Patch: 2025 Zero-Days in Review

Written by: Casey Charrier, James Sadowski, Zander Work, Clement Lecigne, Benoît Sevens, Fred Plan Executive Summary Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) tracked 90 zero-day vulnerabilities exploited in-the-wild in 2025. Although that volume of zero-days is lower than the record high observed in 2023 (100), it is higher than 2024’s count (78) and remained within the 60–100 range established over the previous four years, indicating a trend toward stabilization at these levels. In 2025, we cont

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blog129d03/03

Coruna: The Mysterious Journey of a Powerful iOS Exploit Kit

Introduction Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) has identified a new and powerful exploit kit targeting Apple iPhone models running iOS version 13.0 (released in September 2019) up to version 17.2.1 (released in December 2023). The exploit kit, named “Coruna” by its developers, contained five full iOS exploit chains and a total of 23 exploits. The core technical value of this exploit kit lies in its comprehensive collection of iOS exploits, with the most advanced ones using non-public explo

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blog135d02/25

Exposing the Undercurrent: Disrupting the GRIDTIDE Global Cyber Espionage Campaign

Introduction Last week, Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG), Mandiant, and partners took action to disrupt a global espionage campaign targeting telecommunications and government organizations in dozens of nations across four continents. The threat actor, UNC2814, is a suspected People's Republic of China (PRC)-nexus cyber espionage group that GTIG has tracked since 2017. This prolific, elusive actor has a long history of targeting international governments and global telecommunications orga

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blog143d02/17

From BRICKSTORM to GRIMBOLT: UNC6201 Exploiting a Dell RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Zero-Day

Written by: Peter Ukhanov, Daniel Sislo, Nick Harbour, John Scarbrough, Fernando Tomlinson, Jr., Rich Reece Introduction Mandiant and Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) have identified the zero-day exploitation of a high-risk vulnerability in Dell RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines, tracked as CVE-2026-22769, with a CVSSv3.1 score of 10.0. Analysis of incident response engagements revealed that UNC6201, a suspected PRC-nexus threat cluster, has exploited this flaw since at least mid-2024 to

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blog148d02/12

GTIG AI Threat Tracker: Distillation, Experimentation, and (Continued) Integration of AI for Adversarial Use

Introduction In the final quarter of 2025, Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) observed threat actors increasingly integrating artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate the attack lifecycle, achieving productivity gains in reconnaissance, social engineering, and malware development. This report serves as an update to our November 2025 findings regarding the advances in threat actor usage of AI tools. By identifying these early indicators and offensive proofs of concept, GTIG aims to arm def

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blog150d02/10

Beyond the Battlefield: Threats to the Defense Industrial Base

Introduction In modern warfare, the front lines are no longer confined to the battlefield; they extend directly into the servers and supply chains of the industry that safeguards the nation. Today, the defense sector faces a relentless barrage of cyber operations conducted by state-sponsored actors and criminal groups alike. In recent years, Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) has observed several distinct areas of focus in adversarial targeting of the defense industrial base (DIB). While no

borderlinecybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blog151d02/09

UNC1069 Targets Cryptocurrency Sector with New Tooling and AI-Enabled Social Engineering

Written by: Ross Inman, Adrian Hernandez Introduction North Korean threat actors continue to evolve their tradecraft to target the cryptocurrency and decentralized finance (DeFi) verticals. Mandiant recently investigated an intrusion targeting a FinTech entity within this sector, attributed to UNC1069, a financially motivated threat actor active since at least 2018. This investigation revealed a tailored intrusion resulting in the deployment of seven unique malware families, including a new set

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blogolder05/22

IOC Extinction? China-Nexus Cyber Espionage Actors Use ORB Networks to Raise Cost on Defenders

Written by: Michael Raggi Mandiant Intelligence is tracking a growing trend among China-nexus cyber espionage operations where advanced persistent threat (APT) actors utilize proxy networks known as “ORB networks” (operational relay box networks) to gain an advantage when conducting espionage operations. ORB networks are akin to botnets and are made up of virtual private servers (VPS), as well as compromised Internet of Things (IoT) devices, smart devices, and routers that are often end of life

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blogolder05/21

Holes in Your Bitbucket: Why Your CI/CD Pipeline Is Leaking Secrets

Written by: Mark Swindle While investigating recent exposures of Amazon Web Services (AWS) secrets, Mandiant identified a scenario in which client-specific secrets have been leaked from Atlassian's code repository tool, Bitbucket, and leveraged by threat actors to gain unauthorized access to AWS. This blog post illustrates how Bitbucket Secured Variables can be leaked in your pipeline and expose you to security breaches. Background Bitbucket is a code hosting platform provided by Atlassian and i

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blogolder05/01

Uncharmed: Untangling Iran's APT42 Operations

Written by: Ofir Rozmann, Asli Koksal, Adrian Hernandez, Sarah Bock, Jonathan Leathery APT42, an Iranian state-sponsored cyber espionage actor, is using enhanced social engineering schemes to gain access to victim networks, including cloud environments. The actor is targeting Western and Middle Eastern NGOs, media organizations, academia, legal services and activists. Mandiant assesses APT42 operates on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence Organization (IRGC-IO). APT42 wa

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blogolder04/30

Ransomware Protection and Containment Strategies: Practical Guidance for Hardening and Protecting Infrastructure, Identities and Endpoints

Written by: Matthew McWhirt, Omar ElAhdan, Glenn Staniforth, Brian Meyer Multi-faceted extortion via ransomware and/or data theft is a popular end goal for attackers, representing a global threat targeting organizations in all industries. The impact of a successful ransomware event can be material to an organization, including the loss of access to data, systems, and prolonged operational outages. The potential downtime, coupled with unforeseen expenses for restoration, recovery, and implementat

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blogolder04/29

From Assistant to Analyst: The Power of Gemini 1.5 Pro for Malware Analysis

Executive Summary A growing amount of malware has naturally increased workloads for defenders and particularly malware analysts, creating a need for improved automation and approaches to dealing with this classic threat. With the recent rise in generative AI tools, we decided to put our own Gemini 1.5 Pro to the test to see how it performed at analyzing malware. By providing code and using a simple prompt, we asked Gemini 1.5 Pro to determine if the file was malicious, and also to provide a list

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blogolder04/25

Poll Vaulting: Cyber Threats to Global Elections

Written by: Kelli Vanderlee, Jamie Collier Executive Summary The election cybersecurity landscape globally is characterized by a diversity of targets, tactics, and threats. Elections attract threat activity from a variety of threat actors including: state-sponsored actors, cyber criminals, hacktivists, insiders, and information operations as-a-service entities. Mandiant assesses with high confidence that state-sponsored actors pose the most serious cybersecurity risk to elections. Operations tar

cybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15
Mandiant Blogolder04/23

M-Trends 2024: Our View from the Frontlines

Attackers are taking greater strides to evade detection. This is one of the running themes in our latest release: M-Trends 2024. This edition of our annual report continues our tradition of providing relevant attacker and defender metrics, and insights into the latest attacker tactics, techniques and procedures, along with guidance and best practices on how organizations and defenders should be responding to threats. This year’s M-Trends report covers Mandiant Consulting investigations of target

borderlinecybersecurity · government-security · unknown-it-category-15