Leviathan
Also tracked as MUDCARP, Kryptonite Panda, Gadolinium, BRONZE MOHAWK, TEMP.Jumper, APT40, TEMP.Periscope, Gingham Typhoon
Leviathan is a Chinese state-sponsored cyber espionage group that has been attributed to the Ministry of State Security's (MSS) Hainan State Security Department and an affiliated front company. Active since at least 2009, Leviathan has targeted the following sectors: academia, aerospace/aviation, biomedical, defense industrial base, government, healthcare, manufacturing, maritime, and transportation across the US, Canada, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
- Known attack methods
- 50
- Origin
- China
- Motive
- Espionage
- First seen
- 2009
- Last seen
- 2022-09
- Source
- MITRE ATT&CK
How they break in
Techniques MITRE has documented this group using, mapped onto the ATT&CK matrix. Each one is a behaviour you can look for in your own logs, and a control you can test.
Reconnaissance
12 techniques · 2 used
Resource Development
9 techniques · 5 used
Initial Access
11 techniques · 3 used
Execution
20 techniques · 5 used
Persistence
22 techniques · 3 used
Privilege Escalation
13 techniques · 1 used
Stealth
30 techniques · 6 used
Defense Impairment
18 techniques · 1 used
Credential Access
17 techniques · 1 used
Discovery
34 techniques
Lateral Movement
9 techniques · 2 used
Collection
17 techniques · 2 used
Command and Control
18 techniques · 4 used
Exfiltration
9 techniques · 2 used
Impact
15 techniques
Reconnaissance2
Resource development8
Initial access4
Execution7
Persistence4
Privilege escalation1
Stealth9
Defense impairment1
Credential access2
Command and control4
Malware
Families MITRE records this group deploying. Detection names for these are a reasonable place to start.
Tools
Legitimate or dual-use software the group is documented using. Most of it is software your own administrators use too, which is the point.