# Gelsemium: threat group profile

> Gelsemium is a threat group. Public reporting about it is still limited. This free profile brings together what is known about it, so you can judge the risk to you. It lists the other names the group goes by and links to every public report behind it.

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

## At a glance

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Attack techniques | 0 |
| Countries and victims named | 18 |
| Thought to operate from | Not known |
| Other names | 1 |
| Public reports | 4 |

## Who is Gelsemium?

Gelsemium is a threat group. Public reporting about it is still limited.

### Also known as

狼毒草

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

### What public reporting says

> The Gelsemium group has been active since at least 2014 and was described in the past by a few security companies. Gelsemium’s name comes from one possible translation ESET found while reading a report from VenusTech who dubbed the group 狼毒草 for the first time. It’s the name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Gelsemiaceae, Gelsemium elegans is the species that contains toxic compounds like Gelsemine, Gelsenicine and Gelsevirine, which ESET choses as names for the three components of this malware family.

## Who does Gelsemium go after?

**Sectors:** Government, Electronics Manufacturers, Universities, Religious organization

**Countries and victims named:** North Korea, South Korea, Japan, China, Mongolia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Israel, Jordan, Gaza, Syria, Turkey, Lebanon

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

## Public reports about Gelsemium

- https://www.welivesecurity.com/2021/06/09/gelsemium-when-threat-actors-go-gardening/
- https://www.venustech.com.cn/uploads/2018/08/231401512426.pdf
- https://hitcon.org/2016/pacific/0composition/pdf/1202/1202%20R0%200930%20an%20intelligance-driven%20approach%20to%20cyber%20defense.pdf
- https://public.gdatasoftware.com/Presse/Publikationen/Whitepaper/EN/GDATA_TooHash_CaseStudy_102014_EN_v1.pdf

## Frequently asked questions

### Who is Gelsemium?

Gelsemium is a threat group. Public reporting about it is still limited.

### Who does Gelsemium target?

In public reporting, sectors named include government, electronics manufacturers, universities and religious organization, and 18 countries and victims are named, including North Korea, South Korea, Japan and China.

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

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