Modern adversaries are relentless. Today’s threat actors target organizations around the world with sophisticated cyberattacks. Who are they? What are they afte...
LIMINAL PANDA and the Implications of Global Telco Targeting
On Nov. 19, 2024, Adam testified in front of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law on Chinese cyber threats to critical infrastructure. This was the first time he publicly spoke about LIMINAL PANDA, a China-nexus state-sponsored threat actor that has been targeting telecommunications organizations since at least 2020.
LIMINAL PANDA is a newly named adversary, but CrowdStrike has been tracking its activity for over three years. It uses custom tools and demonstrates extensive knowledge of telco networks, including the connections between providers. And it's not alone: There are multiple adversaries targeting telcos, with good reason — the access they grant, and the data they possess, is a gold mine for threat actors.
But LIMINAL PANDA’s activity does more than showcase why critical infrastructure is a valuable target. It also represents how Chinese cyber activity has evolved since the mid-2000s, when it mostly involved “smash and grab” operations. Now, China has refined its espionage operations to conduct subtle and advanced attacks targeting critical infrastructure entities around the world.
In this episode, Adam and Cristian dig deep into the discovery of LIMINAL PANDA, the maturation of Chinese cyber operations and the scary consequences of telco-focused cyberattacks. Adam shares more about his congressional testimony and the value of keeping government officials informed on adversary activity. Come for Adam and Cristian’s Thanksgiving recipes, and stay for a deep-dive on this evolving nation-state threat, in this episode of the Adversary Universe podcast.
Read Adam's testimony here: https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/committee-activity/hearings/big-hacks-and-big-tech-chinas-cybersecurity-threat
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39:59
Exploring Offensive Security with CrowdStrike Red Teamers
If a business wants to know what an adversary might be capable of, they can seek the help of a red team. These cybersecurity professionals are tasked with emulating adversary activity to achieve specific objectives in their clients’ environments. Their goal is to find an organization’s weaknesses — before a real adversary does — so it can strengthen its security posture. But what does a red team actually do, and who are the people on these teams?
In this episode, Cristian is joined by CrowdStrike Director of Professional Services Vincent Uguccioni and Professional Services Principal Consultant Brent Harrell to dive into all things red teaming. Both seasoned experts with fascinating backgrounds, Vincent and Brent define what red teaming is (and what it isn’t), explain how it has evolved, debunk common misconceptions about what red teamers do and explain the value of the many different skills the members of a red team have.
The goal of the red team is to help, not hurt. Red teamers may need to think like an adversary when they’re navigating a client environment, but their broader strategy involves collaborating with the client and blue team to guide remediation and improve the client's security. Vincent and Brent also walk us through the process of a red team engagement, from initial client discussions to final reporting, and share how they adjust their approaches as adversary techniques evolve. And if you’re interested in becoming a red teamer, they share some guidance for that as well.
On a related note, we recently introduced CrowdStrike AI Red Team Services. Read our blog for more details: https://www.crowdstrike.com/en-us/blog/crowdstrike-launches-ai-red-team-services/
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47:39
The Latest in China-Taiwan Cyber Tensions
China and Taiwan have a long history of geopolitical tension that has evolved from land and sea to cyberspace. Relations between the two recently took an interesting turn when the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) claimed hacktivist entity Anonymous 64 targeted China and its territories with attempted disinformation and public communication disruption. The Chinese government further alleged the activity was directed by the Taiwanese government, whose officials are investigating the activity and expressed the claims are false.
These allegations mark an interesting shift in the relations between China and Taiwan. In this episode, Adam and Cristian start with a 50,000-foot view of their nuanced, tense history. They define and discuss the organizations involved in these events and the details of their claims, and they share what we know about Anonymous 64. Why is this news significant? What are the geopolitical implications? And where have we seen similar activity in other regions?
It is important to note that CrowdStrike has not independently verified the Chinese government’s accusations. Tune in to hear more about a story that blends politics, military strategy and digital warfare.
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33:30
How CrowdStrike Tracked INDRIK SPIDER from Origin to Takedown
On Oct. 1, 2024, an international law enforcement coalition announced the disruption of a senior member of INDRIK SPIDER, who was also an affiliate of the BITWISE SPIDER ransomware as a service operation. CrowdStrike often works with law enforcement to identify, track and stop cyber threats, and we played a key role in this operation.
In this episode, Adam and Cristian are joined by a member of CrowdStrike’s intelligence collection team to dive into the takedown, the years of cybercrime evolution that led to it and how CrowdStrike collects the intel that informs organizations and aids law enforcement activity. Their conversation takes us back to the early days of INDRIK SPIDER and traces the emergence and transformation of enterprise malware as it relates to this prolific threat actor. The story underscores how adversaries operate like businesses — and why they’re so hard to bring down.
Tune in to learn the background and significance of INDRIK SPIDER and its takedown, its connections to Russian intelligence, the techniques used to investigate and attribute adversaries, what this means for the future of law enforcement against cybercrime and where cheese-covered sushi fits into the picture.
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53:35
Small But Mighty: The Kernel’s Essential Role in Cybersecurity Defense
The kernel is the brain of the operating system. It controls everything that happens on a computer and has full access to the hardware and all system resources. Though it has a small code base, the kernel plays a critical role in how systems and applications operate, interact and stay secure.
Due to the current architecture and design of Windows systems, cybersecurity products running in the platform — particularly those involved in endpoint protection — require kernel access to provide the highest levels of visibility, enforcement and tamper-resistance while meeting the strict performance requirements that large enterprise clients demand. Kernel access translates to stronger protection, better performance and adaptability to emerging threats.
In this episode, Adam and Cristian are joined by cybersecurity expert Alex Ionescu to unpack what the kernel is and its critical role in cybersecurity defense. They explain threats to kernel security, why kernel access is critical for cybersecurity products and the testing that security products must undergo to gain kernel access. Looking ahead, they also discuss what we can expect for the future of collaboration among Microsoft, security researchers and larger security organizations.
Modern adversaries are relentless. Today’s threat actors target organizations around the world with sophisticated cyberattacks. Who are they? What are they after? And most importantly, how can you defend against them? Welcome to the Adversary Universe podcast, where CrowdStrike answers all of these questions — and more. Join our hosts, a pioneer in adversary intelligence and a specialist in cybersecurity technology, as they unmask the threat actors targeting your organization.
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