China-Linked APT GopherWhisper Abuses Legitimate Services in Government Attacks

China-Linked APT GopherWhisper Abuses Legitimate Services in Government Attacks
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Keypoints

  • GopherWhisper is a China-linked APT active since at least November 2023 that targeted a Mongolian government organization.
  • The group leverages legitimate services for C&C and exfiltration, including Slack, Discord, Microsoft Graph (Outlook drafts), and file.io.
  • LaxGopher is a Go-based backdoor using Slack for C&C that can execute commands, exfiltrate data, and fetch additional payloads.
  • RatGopher is another Go backdoor that uses Discord for C&C and can upload/download files via file.io.
  • Additional tools include JabGopher (injector into svchost), SSLORDoor (OpenSSL BIO raw TCP backdoor), and BoxOfFriends (Microsoft Graph-based backdoor) deployed by the group.

Read More: https://www.securityweek.com/china-linked-apt-gopherwhisper-abuses-legitimate-services-in-government-attacks/