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Blackgear threat group

Blackgear is a threat group thought to operate from China. Public reporting about it is still limited. This free profile brings together what is known about it, so you can judge the risk to you. It lists the other names the group goes by and links to every public report behind it.

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Attack techniques
0
Public reports
2
Thought to operate from
China
Other names
2
Built from public reporting, with every source listed below.
Overview

Who is Blackgear?

Blackgear has 2 other names in security research. Below is what published reporting says about it, with a link to every report so you can check the detail yourself.

Also known as

TopgearComnie

Security companies each give the same group their own name, so one group can have many.

What public reporting says

BLACKGEAR is an espionage campaign which has targeted users in Taiwan for many years. Multiple papers and talks have been released covering this campaign, which used the ELIRKS backdoor when it was first discovered in 2012. It is known for using blogs and microblogging services to hide the location of its actual command-and-control (C&C) servers. This allows an attacker to change the C&C server used quickly by changing the information in these posts. Like most campaigns, BLACKGEAR has evolved over time. Our research indicates that it has started targeting Japanese users. Two things led us to this conclusion: first, the fake documents that are used as part of its infection routines are now in Japanese. Secondly, it is now using blogging sites and microblogging services based in Japan for its C&C activity.

Public reports about Blackgear (2)

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FAQ

Questions about Blackgear

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Blackgear is a threat group thought to operate from China. Public reporting about it is still limited.

Public reporting places Blackgear as operating from China. Attribution is never certain: it rests on the tools, infrastructure and targets researchers have seen.

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