Chinese Hackers Compromised Organizations in 70 Nations, US Federal Agencies Warn

A ransomware group called “Ghost” is exploiting the network vulnerabilities of various organizations to gain access to their systems, according to a joint advisory issued by multiple U.S. federal agencies.

The attacks have targeted schools and universities, government networks, critical infrastructure, technology and manufacturing companies, health care, and several small and mid-sized businesses.

“This indiscriminate targeting of networks containing vulnerabilities has led to the compromise of organizations across more than 70 countries, including organizations in China,” CISA, the FBI, and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center said in the advisory.

Ghost actors are also associated with other names such as Cring, Crypt3r, HsHarada, Hello, Wickrme, Phantom, Rapture, and Strike.

The criminals use publicly available code to exploit “common vulnerabilities and exposures” of their targets to secure access to servers. They leverage vulnerabilities in servers running Adobe ColdFusion, Microsoft Exchange, and Microsoft SharePoint.

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Threat actors use tools to “collect passwords and/or password hashes to aid them with unauthorized logins and privilege escalation or to pivot to other victim devices,” the warning reads.

Attackers typically spend only a few days on their target’s networks.

The advisory recommended that organizations patch known network vulnerabilities by applying “timely security updates” to firmware, software, and operating systems.

Organizations must train users to recognize phishing attempts, it said. Entities should identify, investigate, and issue alerts regarding any “abnormal network activity.”

“Maintain regular system backups that are known-good and stored offline or are segmented from source systems,” the advisory states.

“Ghost ransomware victims whose backups were unaffected by the ransomware attack were often able to restore operations without needing to contact Ghost actors or pay a ransom.”

Pre-Positioning by China

The advisory was issued as part of an ongoing effort to counter ransomware threats.

Volt Typhoon, a Beijing-sponsored cyber actor, has compromised the IT environments of several critical infrastructure organizations in sectors such as energy, transportation, communications, and water systems.

Hackers stole customer call records and private communications from “a limited number of individuals who are primarily involved in government or political activity.”

Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said, “The Chinese Communist Party’s exploitation of vulnerabilities in major internet service providers is just the newest alarm to sound as Beijing, Tehran, and Moscow work to gain strategic advantages through cyber espionage, manipulation, and destruction.”