China-Based Cyber Espionage Campaign Targets Satellite, Telecom, Defense Firms

Threat group Thrip is using three computers based in China to steal data from targeted companies in Southeast Asia and the US, Symantec says.

An advanced persistent threat group that is believed to be operating out of China is conducting a wide-ranging cyber espionage campaign targeting satellite, telecommunications, and defense organizations mostly in Southeast Asia and the United States.

Book a demo today to see GlobalDots is action.

Optimize cloud costs, control spend, and automate for deeper insights and efficiency.

Book a demo today to see GlobalDots is action.

Security vendor Symantec, which uncovered the campaign, says what’s most worrying about the activity of the so-called Thrip group is its apparent interest in the operational networks of some of its victims. That suggests the attack group’s motives may extend beyond spying to actual service disruption as well, the security vendor says.

Symantec has been tracking Thrip since 2013 and believes the latest campaign began sometime in 2017. The security vendor stumbled upon the activity when it observed someone using Microsoft’s PsExec tool to move laterally on the network of a large telecom operator in Southeast Asia. Symantec’s investigation of the activity led to the discovery of a malicious tool previously associated with Thrip called Rikamanu being used in the attack. Symantec subsequently discovered three computers based in China being used in the Thrip attacks.

A hooded figure holding a red card in front of a backdrop of binary code
Image Source

Read more: Dark Reading

Latest Articles

The Security Blind Spot: Business Logic Failures and How to Catch Them

Security leaders know the drill: vulnerability scanners run their course, reports stack up, and yet attackers still slip through. What’s going wrong? We sat down with Yosef Yekutiel, CISO & Data Privacy Officer at MaccabiDent, at GlobalDots’ recent “Red Team Reality Check” event to unpack this gap, and how modern offensive security can fill it. […]

Ganesh The Awesome
27th August, 2025
How NetRefer Cut Observability Costs by €96,000 Per Year in Just 3 Months with GlobalDots

Overview NetRefer, a leading iGaming affiliate marketing platform, utilized Azure cloud-native monitoring tools. Shortcomings needed to be resolved, and the business required next-generation observability.  Problems that needed to be solved: Through GlobalDots’ expertise in selecting and implementing the right observability solution, NetRefer achieved €96,000 in annual savings and gained real-time observability across their entire platform […]

Ganesh The Awesome
24th July, 2025
Vulnerability Assessments vs. Penetration Testing: Key Differences, Use Cases & Best Practices

They’re not interchangeable. A vulnerability assessment identifies known flaws at scale. A penetration test mimics an actual attacker probing for impact. Yet many teams treat them the same. They substitute one for the other, check a compliance box, and move on as if they’re covered. They’re not. And that gap shows up later in real-world […]

Ganesh The Awesome
7th July, 2025
Web Application Firewalls (WAFs): The Evolving First Line of Defense in Cloud Security

Modern applications are built for speed, not simplicity. Containers, microservices, and cloud-native deployments have blown up the security perimeter. Traditional tools can’t keep up with this complexity. That’s why Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) matter. But the WAF of 2025 isn’t just an appliance sitting in front of a static website. It’s a flexible, cloud-aware security […]

Ganesh The Awesome
7th July, 2025

Unlock Your Cloud Potential

Schedule a call with our experts. Discover new technology and get recommendations to improve your performance.

    GlobalDots' industry expertise proactively addressed structural inefficiencies that would have otherwise hindered our success. Their laser focus is why I would recommend them as a partner to other companies

    Marco Kaiser
    Marco Kaiser

    CTO

    Legal Services

    GlobalDots has helped us to scale up our innovative capabilities, and in significantly improving our service provided to our clients

    Antonio Ostuni
    Antonio Ostuni

    CIO

    IT Services

    It's common for 3rd parties to work with a limited number of vendors - GlobalDots and its multi-vendor approach is different. Thanks to GlobalDots vendors umbrella, the hybrid-cloud migration was exceedingly smooth

    Motti Shpirer
    Motti Shpirer

    VP of Infrastructure & Technology

    Advertising Services