# APT1: threat group profile

> APT1 is an espionage group thought to operate from China, with suspected state backing. Public reporting links it to 20 attack techniques, and to attacks on private sector and government organisations, with 15 countries and victims named. This free profile shows how it works and who it targets, so you can judge the risk to you.

Canonical page: https://www.precursorintelligence.com/threat-actors/apt1
Breadcrumb: [Home](https://www.precursorintelligence.com/) > [Threat groups](https://www.precursorintelligence.com/threat-actors) > APT1

## At a glance

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Attack techniques | 20 (plus 16 sub-techniques) |
| Countries and victims named | 15 |
| Thought to operate from | China |
| Suspected backing | China |
| Motive | Espionage |
| Other names | 11 |
| Public reports | 13 |

## Who is APT1?

APT1 is an espionage group thought to operate from China, with suspected state backing. Public reporting links it to 20 attack techniques, and to attacks on private sector and government organisations, with 15 countries and victims named.

### Also known as

COMMENT PANDA, PLA Unit 61398, Comment Crew, Byzantine Candor, Group 3, TG-8223, Comment Group, Brown Fox, GIF89a, ShadyRAT, G0006

Security companies each give the same group their own name, so one group can have many.

### What public reporting says

> PLA Unit 61398 (Chinese: 61398部队, Pinyin: 61398 bùduì) is the Military Unit Cover Designator (MUCD)[1] of a People's Liberation Army advanced persistent threat unit that has been alleged to be a source of Chinese computer hacking attacks

## How does APT1 attack? Stage by stage

Each technique is a known way attackers research, get in, stay hidden or do damage. Here are the 20 linked to APT1. Some techniques belong to more than one stage. Public reporting also lists 16 more specific variations of them, called sub-techniques.

### 1. Research (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

### 2. Preparation (4)

- T1583: Acquire Infrastructure
- T1584: Compromise Infrastructure
- T1585: Establish Accounts
- T1588: Obtain Capabilities

### 3. Getting in (1)

- T1566: Phishing

### 4. Running code (1)

- T1059: Command and Scripting Interpreter

### 5. Staying in (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

### 6. Taking control (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

### 7. Hiding (1)

- T1036: Masquerading

### 8. Disabling defences (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

### 9. Stealing passwords (1)

- T1003: OS Credential Dumping

### 10. Looking around (6)

- T1007: System Service Discovery
- T1016: System Network Configuration Discovery
- T1049: System Network Connections Discovery
- T1057: Process Discovery
- T1087: Account Discovery
- T1135: Network Share Discovery

### 11. Spreading (2)

- T1021: Remote Services
- T1550: Use Alternate Authentication Material

### 12. Gathering data (4)

- T1005: Data from Local System
- T1114: Email Collection
- T1119: Automated Collection
- T1560: Archive Collected Data

### 13. Keeping contact (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

### 14. Taking data out (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

### 15. Causing damage (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

## Who does APT1 go after?

**Sectors:** Private sector, Government

**Countries and victims named:** United States, Taiwan, Israel, Norway, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Singapore, India, Belgium, South Africa, Switzerland, Canada, France, Luxembourg, Japan

See threats by industry: https://www.precursorintelligence.com/industries

## Public reports about APT1

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PLA_Unit_61398
- http://intelreport.mandiant.com/Mandiant_APT1_Report.pdf
- https://www.cfr.org/interactive/cyber-operations/pla-unit-61398
- https://www.fireeye.com/content/dam/fireeye-www/services/pdfs/mandiant-apt1-report.pdf
- https://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/the-siesta-campaign-a-new-targeted-attack-awakens/
- https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat-research/2014/03/a-detailed-examination-of-the-siesta-campaign.html
- https://securingtomorrow.mcafee.com/other-blogs/mcafee-labs/operation-oceansalt-delivers-wave-after-wave/
- https://www.mcafee.com/enterprise/en-us/assets/reports/rp-operation-oceansalt.pdf
- https://community.broadcom.com/symantecenterprise/communities/community-home/librarydocuments/viewdocument?DocumentKey=f1265df5-6e5e-4fcc-9828-d4ddbbafd3d7&CommunityKey=1ecf5f55-9545-44d6-b0f4-4e4a7f5f5e68&tab=librarydocuments
- https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0006/
- https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/20/us/us-to-charge-chinese-workers-with-cyberspying.html
- https://www.mandiant.com/resources/insights/apt-groups
- https://www.fireeye.com/content/dam/fireeye-www/summit/cds-2019/presentations/cds19-executive-s08-achievement-unlocked.pdf

## Frequently asked questions

### Who is APT1?

APT1 is an espionage group thought to operate from China, with suspected state backing. Public reporting links it to 20 attack techniques, and to attacks on private sector and government organisations, with 15 countries and victims named.

### Where is APT1 thought to be based?

Public reporting places APT1 as operating from China, with suspected state backing. Attribution is never certain: it rests on the tools, infrastructure and targets researchers have seen.

### Who does APT1 target?

In public reporting, sectors named include private sector and government, and 15 countries and victims are named, including United States, Taiwan, Israel and Norway.

### How does APT1 attack?

Public reporting links APT1 to 20 attack techniques. Most of them are about looking around, preparation and gathering data.

### How do I know if APT1 is a risk to my business?

Create an account and tell us the software you run. We match it against known flaws, including those linked to threat groups, rank each one from 0 to 100 and tell you as soon as we spot something that affects you.

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