Chinese ‘Stayin’ Alive’ Attacks Dance Onto Targets With Dumb Malware

Chinese hacker group ToddyCat has been launching simple but effective attacks against telecommunications firms in Central and Southeast Asia, using basic malware. The group’s “Stayin’ Alive” campaign targets firms in Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam, exploiting a DLL sideloading vulnerability in the Dante AV system. Cybersecurity firm Check Point has linked ToddyCat to Chinese espionage operations. The hackers’ use of basic, quickly changed tools makes them harder to detect and trace.