{
	"id": "3cb23712-e93b-43bc-a5a0-0754abfeb702",
	"created_at": "2026-04-06T00:16:23.282844Z",
	"updated_at": "2026-04-10T03:37:22.731946Z",
	"deleted_at": null,
	"sha1_hash": "f9dae9fb231a7756ff86f9f57ed587000239f07b",
	"title": "Norway says Chinese group APT31 is behind catastrophic 2018 government hack",
	"llm_title": "",
	"authors": "",
	"file_creation_date": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
	"file_modification_date": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
	"file_size": 92029,
	"plain_text": "Norway says Chinese group APT31 is behind catastrophic 2018\r\ngovernment hack\r\nBy Catalin Cimpanu\r\nPublished: 2022-12-16 · Archived: 2026-04-05 17:54:43 UTC\r\nNorway's police secret service said this week that APT31, a cyber-espionage group operating on behalf of\r\nChina, was responsible for a 2018 breach of the government's IT network.\r\nAccording to the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST), the 2018 hack was as bad as it could get.\r\n\"The investigation revealed that the actor succeeded in acquiring administrator rights that gave it access to\r\ncentralized computer systems used by all state administration offices in the country,\" the Norwegian agency said.\r\n\"The actor also succeeded in transferring some data from the offices' systems. No reliable technical findings have\r\nbeen made of what information was transferred, but the investigation shows that there were probably usernames\r\nand passwords associated with employees in various state administration offices,\" it added.\r\nThe PST said that while the group gained access into the government's network, investigators did not find any\r\nevidence that the Chinese hackers exfiltrated state secrets or the personal information of Norwegian citizens.\r\nWhile in an official press release, the PST did not link the attack to APT31, Hanne Blomberg, the head of\r\ncounterintelligence at the PST, gave an interview to state television network NRK formally pointing the finger at\r\nthe Chinese hacking group.\r\nThe PST said the same group also hacked Norwegian cloud service provider Visma AG in the summer of 2018.\r\nIn a February 2019 report, cyber-security firms Rapid7 and Recorded Future attributed the Visma hack to Chinese\r\nhacking group APT10.\r\nOn Friday, analysts from Recorded Future's Insikt Group have told The Record that subsequent evidence found\r\noverlaps between APT10 and RedBravo, Recorded Future's internal name for APT31.\r\nAPT31 is also the same group that Finnish officials accused of hacking the internal IT systems of its Parliament in\r\nthe fall of 2020.\r\nThis is the second time in a year that Oslo officials have accused a foreign government of hacking its government\r\nnetwork. In December 2020, the PST said that Russia's APT28 hacking group (linked to Russia's military\r\nintelligence service) had hacked its Parliament's internal IT network months earlier in September 2020.\r\nIn March 2021, the Norwegian Parliament said its network was hacked again after intruders used an unpatched\r\nvulnerability to gain access to government systems via a Microsoft Exchange email server. The hack was not\r\nattributed to any particular group.\r\nhttps://therecord.media/norway-says-chinese-group-apt31-is-behind-catastrophic-2018-government-hack/\r\nPage 1 of 2\n\nNo previous article\r\nNo new articles\r\nCatalin Cimpanu\r\nis a cybersecurity reporter who previously worked at ZDNet and Bleeping Computer, where he became a well-known name in the industry for his constant scoops on new vulnerabilities, cyberattacks, and law enforcement\r\nactions against hackers.\r\nSource: https://therecord.media/norway-says-chinese-group-apt31-is-behind-catastrophic-2018-government-hack/\r\nhttps://therecord.media/norway-says-chinese-group-apt31-is-behind-catastrophic-2018-government-hack/\r\nPage 2 of 2",
	"extraction_quality": 1,
	"language": "EN",
	"sources": [
		"ETDA"
	],
	"references": [
		"https://therecord.media/norway-says-chinese-group-apt31-is-behind-catastrophic-2018-government-hack/"
	],
	"report_names": [
		"norway-says-chinese-group-apt31-is-behind-catastrophic-2018-government-hack"
	],
	"threat_actors": [
		{
			"id": "ec14074c-8517-40e1-b4d7-3897f1254487",
			"created_at": "2023-01-06T13:46:38.300905Z",
			"updated_at": "2026-04-10T02:00:02.918468Z",
			"deleted_at": null,
			"main_name": "APT10",
			"aliases": [
				"Red Apollo",
				"HOGFISH",
				"BRONZE RIVERSIDE",
				"G0045",
				"TA429",
				"Purple Typhoon",
				"STONE PANDA",
				"Menupass Team",
				"happyyongzi",
				"CVNX",
				"Cloud Hopper",
				"ATK41",
				"Granite Taurus",
				"POTASSIUM"
			],
			"source_name": "MISPGALAXY:APT10",
			"tools": [],
			"source_id": "MISPGALAXY",
			"reports": null
		},
		{
			"id": "aacd5cbc-604b-4b6e-9e58-ef96c5d1a784",
			"created_at": "2023-01-06T13:46:38.953463Z",
			"updated_at": "2026-04-10T02:00:03.159523Z",
			"deleted_at": null,
			"main_name": "APT31",
			"aliases": [
				"JUDGMENT PANDA",
				"BRONZE VINEWOOD",
				"Red keres",
				"Violet Typhoon",
				"TA412"
			],
			"source_name": "MISPGALAXY:APT31",
			"tools": [],
			"source_id": "MISPGALAXY",
			"reports": null
		},
		{
			"id": "ba9fa308-a29a-4928-9c06-73aafec7624c",
			"created_at": "2024-05-01T02:03:07.981061Z",
			"updated_at": "2026-04-10T02:00:03.750803Z",
			"deleted_at": null,
			"main_name": "BRONZE RIVERSIDE",
			"aliases": [
				"APT10 ",
				"CTG-5938 ",
				"CVNX ",
				"Hogfish ",
				"MenuPass ",
				"MirrorFace ",
				"POTASSIUM ",
				"Purple Typhoon ",
				"Red Apollo ",
				"Stone Panda "
			],
			"source_name": "Secureworks:BRONZE RIVERSIDE",
			"tools": [
				"ANEL",
				"AsyncRAT",
				"ChChes",
				"Cobalt Strike",
				"HiddenFace",
				"LODEINFO",
				"PlugX",
				"PoisonIvy",
				"QuasarRAT",
				"QuasarRAT Loader",
				"RedLeaves"
			],
			"source_id": "Secureworks",
			"reports": null
		},
		{
			"id": "9e6186dd-9334-4aac-9957-98f022cd3871",
			"created_at": "2022-10-25T15:50:23.357398Z",
			"updated_at": "2026-04-10T02:00:05.368552Z",
			"deleted_at": null,
			"main_name": "ZIRCONIUM",
			"aliases": [
				"APT31",
				"Violet Typhoon"
			],
			"source_name": "MITRE:ZIRCONIUM",
			"tools": null,
			"source_id": "MITRE",
			"reports": null
		},
		{
			"id": "ba3fff0c-3ba0-4855-9eeb-1af9ee18136a",
			"created_at": "2022-10-25T15:50:23.298889Z",
			"updated_at": "2026-04-10T02:00:05.316886Z",
			"deleted_at": null,
			"main_name": "menuPass",
			"aliases": [
				"menuPass",
				"POTASSIUM",
				"Stone Panda",
				"APT10",
				"Red Apollo",
				"CVNX",
				"HOGFISH",
				"BRONZE RIVERSIDE"
			],
			"source_name": "MITRE:menuPass",
			"tools": [
				"certutil",
				"FYAnti",
				"UPPERCUT",
				"SNUGRIDE",
				"P8RAT",
				"RedLeaves",
				"SodaMaster",
				"pwdump",
				"Mimikatz",
				"PlugX",
				"PowerSploit",
				"ChChes",
				"cmd",
				"QuasarRAT",
				"AdFind",
				"Cobalt Strike",
				"PoisonIvy",
				"EvilGrab",
				"esentutl",
				"Impacket",
				"Ecipekac",
				"PsExec",
				"HUI Loader"
			],
			"source_id": "MITRE",
			"reports": null
		},
		{
			"id": "730dfa6e-572d-473c-9267-ea1597d1a42b",
			"created_at": "2023-01-06T13:46:38.389985Z",
			"updated_at": "2026-04-10T02:00:02.954105Z",
			"deleted_at": null,
			"main_name": "APT28",
			"aliases": [
				"Pawn Storm",
				"ATK5",
				"Fighting Ursa",
				"Blue Athena",
				"TA422",
				"T-APT-12",
				"APT-C-20",
				"UAC-0001",
				"IRON TWILIGHT",
				"SIG40",
				"UAC-0028",
				"Sofacy",
				"BlueDelta",
				"Fancy Bear",
				"GruesomeLarch",
				"Group 74",
				"ITG05",
				"FROZENLAKE",
				"Forest Blizzard",
				"FANCY BEAR",
				"Sednit",
				"SNAKEMACKEREL",
				"Tsar Team",
				"TG-4127",
				"STRONTIUM",
				"Grizzly Steppe",
				"G0007"
			],
			"source_name": "MISPGALAXY:APT28",
			"tools": [],
			"source_id": "MISPGALAXY",
			"reports": null
		},
		{
			"id": "74d9dada-0106-414a-8bb9-b0d527db7756",
			"created_at": "2025-08-07T02:03:24.69718Z",
			"updated_at": "2026-04-10T02:00:03.733346Z",
			"deleted_at": null,
			"main_name": "BRONZE VINEWOOD",
			"aliases": [
				"APT31 ",
				"BRONZE EXPRESS ",
				"Judgment Panda ",
				"Red Keres",
				"TA412",
				"VINEWOOD ",
				"Violet Typhoon ",
				"ZIRCONIUM "
			],
			"source_name": "Secureworks:BRONZE VINEWOOD",
			"tools": [
				"DropboxAES RAT",
				"HanaLoader",
				"Metasploit",
				"Mimikatz",
				"Reverse ICMP shell",
				"Trochilus"
			],
			"source_id": "Secureworks",
			"reports": null
		},
		{
			"id": "e3767160-695d-4360-8b2e-d5274db3f7cd",
			"created_at": "2022-10-25T16:47:55.914348Z",
			"updated_at": "2026-04-10T02:00:03.610018Z",
			"deleted_at": null,
			"main_name": "IRON TWILIGHT",
			"aliases": [
				"APT28 ",
				"ATK5 ",
				"Blue Athena ",
				"BlueDelta ",
				"FROZENLAKE ",
				"Fancy Bear ",
				"Fighting Ursa ",
				"Forest Blizzard ",
				"GRAPHITE ",
				"Group 74 ",
				"PawnStorm ",
				"STRONTIUM ",
				"Sednit ",
				"Snakemackerel ",
				"Sofacy ",
				"TA422 ",
				"TG-4127 ",
				"Tsar Team ",
				"UAC-0001 "
			],
			"source_name": "Secureworks:IRON TWILIGHT",
			"tools": [
				"Downdelph",
				"EVILTOSS",
				"SEDUPLOADER",
				"SHARPFRONT"
			],
			"source_id": "Secureworks",
			"reports": null
		},
		{
			"id": "ae320ed7-9a63-42ed-944b-44ada7313495",
			"created_at": "2022-10-25T15:50:23.671663Z",
			"updated_at": "2026-04-10T02:00:05.283292Z",
			"deleted_at": null,
			"main_name": "APT28",
			"aliases": [
				"APT28",
				"IRON TWILIGHT",
				"SNAKEMACKEREL",
				"Group 74",
				"Sednit",
				"Sofacy",
				"Pawn Storm",
				"Fancy Bear",
				"STRONTIUM",
				"Tsar Team",
				"Threat Group-4127",
				"TG-4127",
				"Forest Blizzard",
				"FROZENLAKE",
				"GruesomeLarch"
			],
			"source_name": "MITRE:APT28",
			"tools": [
				"Wevtutil",
				"certutil",
				"Forfiles",
				"DealersChoice",
				"Mimikatz",
				"ADVSTORESHELL",
				"Komplex",
				"HIDEDRV",
				"JHUHUGIT",
				"Koadic",
				"Winexe",
				"cipher.exe",
				"XTunnel",
				"Drovorub",
				"CORESHELL",
				"OLDBAIT",
				"Downdelph",
				"XAgentOSX",
				"USBStealer",
				"Zebrocy",
				"reGeorg",
				"Fysbis",
				"LoJax"
			],
			"source_id": "MITRE",
			"reports": null
		},
		{
			"id": "dc7ee503-9494-4fb6-a678-440c68fd31d8",
			"created_at": "2022-10-25T16:07:23.349177Z",
			"updated_at": "2026-04-10T02:00:04.552639Z",
			"deleted_at": null,
			"main_name": "APT 31",
			"aliases": [
				"APT 31",
				"Bronze Vinewood",
				"G0128",
				"Judgment Panda",
				"Red Keres",
				"RedBravo",
				"TA412",
				"Violet Typhoon",
				"Zirconium"
			],
			"source_name": "ETDA:APT 31",
			"tools": [
				"9002 RAT",
				"Agent.dhwf",
				"AngryRebel",
				"CHINACHOPPER",
				"China Chopper",
				"Destroy RAT",
				"DestroyRAT",
				"Farfli",
				"Gh0st RAT",
				"Ghost RAT",
				"GrewApacha",
				"HOMEUNIX",
				"HiKit",
				"HidraQ",
				"Homux",
				"Hydraq",
				"Kaba",
				"Korplug",
				"McRAT",
				"MdmBot",
				"Moudour",
				"Mydoor",
				"PCRat",
				"PlugX",
				"RedDelta",
				"Roarur",
				"Sakula",
				"Sakula RAT",
				"Sakurel",
				"SinoChopper",
				"Sogu",
				"TIGERPLUG",
				"TVT",
				"Thoper",
				"Trochilus RAT",
				"Xamtrav"
			],
			"source_id": "ETDA",
			"reports": null
		}
	],
	"ts_created_at": 1775434583,
	"ts_updated_at": 1775792242,
	"ts_creation_date": 0,
	"ts_modification_date": 0,
	"files": {
		"pdf": "https://archive.orkl.eu/f9dae9fb231a7756ff86f9f57ed587000239f07b.pdf",
		"text": "https://archive.orkl.eu/f9dae9fb231a7756ff86f9f57ed587000239f07b.txt",
		"img": "https://archive.orkl.eu/f9dae9fb231a7756ff86f9f57ed587000239f07b.jpg"
	}
}