# APT19: threat group profile

> APT19 is an espionage group thought to operate from China, with suspected state backing. Public reporting links it to 18 attack techniques, and to attacks on private sector and military organisations, with 1 country or victim 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/apt19
Breadcrumb: [Home](https://www.precursorintelligence.com/) > [Threat groups](https://www.precursorintelligence.com/threat-actors) > APT19

## At a glance

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Attack techniques | 18 (plus 14 sub-techniques) |
| Countries and victims named | 1 |
| Thought to operate from | China |
| Suspected backing | China |
| Motive | Espionage |
| Other names | 14 |
| Public reports | 29 |

## Who is APT19?

APT19 is an espionage group thought to operate from China, with suspected state backing. Public reporting links it to 18 attack techniques, and to attacks on private sector and military organisations, with 1 country or victim named.

### Also known as

DEEP PANDA, Codoso, WebMasters, KungFu Kittens, Black Vine, TEMP.Avengers, Group 13, PinkPanther, Shell Crew, BRONZE FIRESTONE, G0009, G0073, Pupa, Sunshop Group

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

### What public reporting says

> Adversary group targeting financial, technology, non-profit organisations.

## How does APT19 attack? Stage by stage

Each technique is a known way attackers research, get in, stay hidden or do damage. Here are the 18 linked to APT19. Some techniques belong to more than one stage. Public reporting also lists 14 more specific variations of them, called sub-techniques.

### 1. Research (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

### 2. Preparation (1)

- T1588: Obtain Capabilities

### 3. Getting in (2)

- T1189: Drive-by Compromise
- T1566: Phishing

### 4. Running code (3)

- T1059: Command and Scripting Interpreter
- T1204: User Execution
- T1574: Hijack Execution Flow

### 5. Staying in (3)

- T1112: Modify Registry
- T1543: Create or Modify System Process
- T1547: Boot or Logon Autostart Execution

### 6. Taking control (2)

- T1543: Create or Modify System Process
- T1547: Boot or Logon Autostart Execution

### 7. Hiding (5)

- T1027: Obfuscated Files or Information
- T1140: Deobfuscate/Decode Files or Information
- T1218: System Binary Proxy Execution
- T1564: Hide Artifacts
- T1574: Hijack Execution Flow

### 8. Disabling defences (1)

- T1112: Modify Registry

### 9. Stealing passwords (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

### 10. Looking around (3)

- T1016: System Network Configuration Discovery
- T1033: System Owner/User Discovery
- T1082: System Information Discovery

### 11. Spreading (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

### 12. Gathering data (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

### 13. Keeping contact (2)

- T1071: Application Layer Protocol
- T1132: Data Encoding

### 14. Taking data out (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

### 15. Causing damage (0)

- None linked in public reporting.

## Who does APT19 go after?

**Sectors:** Private sector, Military

**Countries and victims named:** United States

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

## Public reports about APT19

- http://cybercampaigns.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Deep-Panda.pdf
- https://docs.huihoo.com/rsaconference/usa-2014/anf-t07b-the-art-of-attribution-identifying-and-pursuing-your-cyber-adversaries-final.pdf
- https://www.cfr.org/interactive/cyber-operations/deep-panda
- https://eromang.zataz.com/2012/12/29/attack-and-ie-0day-informations-used-against-council-on-foreign-relations/
- https://eromang.zataz.com/2013/01/02/capstone-turbine-corporation-also-targeted-in-the-cfr-watering-hole-attack-and-more/
- https://www.crowdstrike.com/blog/department-labor-strategic-web-compromise/
- https://www.crowdstrike.com/blog/deep-thought-chinese-targeting-national-security-think-tanks/
- https://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/06/catching-up-on-the-opm-breach/
- https://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/02/anthem-breach-may-have-started-in-april-2014/
- https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2015/05/third-party-software-was-entry-point-background-check-system-hack/112354/
- https://www.crowdstrike.com/blog/ironman-deep-panda-uses-sakula-malware-target-organizations-multiple-sectors/
- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-13/g20-china-affliliated-hackers-breaches-australian-media/5889442
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/keypoint-suffers-network-breach-thousands-of-fed-workers-could-be-affected/2014/12/18/e6c7146c-86e1-11e4-a702-fa31ff4ae98e_story.html
- https://www.seattletimes.com/business/local-business/feds-warned-premera-about-security-flaws-before-breach/
- https://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/05/carefirst-blue-cross-breach-hits-1-1m/
- https://threatvector.cylance.com/en_us/home/shell-crew-variants-continue-to-fly-under-big-avs-radar.html
- https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/us-arrests-chinese-man-involved-with-sakula-malware-used-in-opm-and-anthem-hacks/
- https://gizmodo.com/u-s-indicts-chinese-hacker-spies-in-conspiracy-to-stea-1830111695
- https://www.cyberscoop.com/anthem-breach-indictment-chinese-national/
- https://docs.broadcom.com/doc/the-black-vine-cyberespionage-group
- https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0009/
- https://www.secureworks.com/research/threat-profiles/bronze-firestone
- https://www.proofpoint.com/us/exploring-bergard-old-malware-new-tricks
- http://researchcenter.paloaltonetworks.com/2016/01/new-attacks-linked-to-c0d0s0-group/
- https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/technology/the-chinese-hackers-in-the-back-office.html
- https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/content/files/protected_files/article_files/Joint%20report%20on%20publicly%20available%20hacking%20tools%20%28NCSC%29.pdf
- https://www.mandiant.com/resources/insights/apt-groups
- https://www.mandiant.com/resources/blog/phished-at-the-request-of-counsel
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC9ARZIZglI

## Frequently asked questions

### Who is APT19?

APT19 is an espionage group thought to operate from China, with suspected state backing. Public reporting links it to 18 attack techniques, and to attacks on private sector and military organisations, with 1 country or victim named.

### Where is APT19 thought to be based?

Public reporting places APT19 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 APT19 target?

In public reporting, sectors named include private sector and military, and 1 countries and victims are named, including United States.

### How does APT19 attack?

Public reporting links APT19 to 18 attack techniques. Most of them are about hiding, running code and staying in.

### How do I know if APT19 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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