DoNot Team, an APT group with suspected Indian origins, has been associated with a newly discovered .NET-based backdoor named Firebird. This malware has been actively targeting victims in Pakistan and Afghanistan, as revealed in Kaspersky’s Q3 2023 APT trends report.
Furthermore, the attack chains used by DoNot Team also involve a downloader named CSVtyrei, designed to resemble Vtyrei, and Kaspersky identified some non-functional code within the malware, suggesting ongoing development efforts. This development follows the revelation of other malicious activities by the Pakistan-based Transparent Tribe, which has been targeting Indian government sectors using a previously undocumented Windows trojan called ElizaRAT.
DoNot Team’s activities have drawn attention as they utilize spear-phishing emails and rogue Android apps to propagate malware. Kaspersky’s analysis builds on their earlier findings related to DoNot Team’s attack sequences, which included the deployment of the Agent K11 and RTY frameworks in April 2023. The disclosure also coincides with Zscaler ThreatLabz’s discovery of the Transparent Tribe’s actions, a group known as APT36, which is actively targeting Indian government sectors.
Additionally, they have employed ElizaRAT, delivered as a .NET binary, which establishes a C2 communication channel through Telegram, enabling the threat actors to have complete control over the targeted systems. Additionally, this report highlights another hacking group called Mysterious Elephant, known as APT-K-47, focused on Pakistan and linked to a spear-phishing campaign that deploys a novel backdoor, ORPCBackdoor, designed to execute files and commands on victims’ computers.
These developments in the South Asian cybersecurity landscape underscore the persistent threat posed by nation-state actors and the ever-evolving tactics and techniques they employ to infiltrate government and organizational systems, emphasizing the need for enhanced security measures and vigilance.
