Threat Management, Threat Intelligence, Incident Response, TDR

‘Suckfly’ in the ointment: Chinese APT group steals code-signing certificates

An advanced persistent threat (APT) group based in China, code-named Suckfly, has been concealing its nefarious activity over the past two years by stealing code-signing certificates and applying them to malware and hack tools to make them look like legitimate software when downloaded.

According to a security blog post by Symantec, Suckfly stole the certificates from legitimate businesses in Seoul, Korea and used them to hide attacks against worldwide government and commercial entities beginning in early 2014. Symantec became aware of this plot in 2015 after discovering a hacking tool used against one of its clients was signed with a certificate.

Suckfly's cyber arsenal includes keyloggers, credential dumpers, port scanners and back doors, including one custom back door named Nidiran specifically developed for cyberespionage campaigns. Symantec traced the APT's activity to three IP addresses in Chengdu, China.

Bradley Barth

As director of community content at CyberRisk Alliance, Bradley Barth develops content for SC Media online conferences and events, as well as video/multimedia projects. For nearly six years, he wrote and reported for SC Media as deputy editor and, before that, senior reporter. He was previously a program executive with the tech-focused PR firm Voxus. Past journalistic experience includes stints as business editor at Executive Technology, a staff writer at New York Sportscene and a freelance journalist covering travel and entertainment. In his spare time, Bradley also writes screenplays.

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