BRONZE STARLIGHT
MISPUnknown
CN
Unknown
BRONZE STARLIGHT has been active since mid 2021 and targets organizations globally across a range of industry verticals. The group leverages HUI Loader to load Cobalt Strike and PlugX payloads for command and control. CTU researchers have observed BRONZE STARLIGHT deploying ransomware to compromised networks as part of name-and-shame ransomware schemes, and posted victim names to leak sites.
CTU researchers assess with moderate confidence that BRONZE STARLIGHT is located in China based on observed tradecraft, including the use of HUI Loader and PlugX which are associated with China-based threat group activity. It is plausible that BRONZE STARLIGHT deploys ransomware as a smokescreen rather than for financial gain, with the underlying motivation of stealing intellectual property theft or conducting espionage.
References (10)
- i.blackhat.com - AS 22 Li To Loot Or Not To Loot That Is Not A Question.pdf
- microsoft.com - Ransomware As A Service Understanding The Cybercrime Gig Economy And How To Protect Yourself
- microsoft.com - Guidance For Preventing Detecting And Hunting For Cve 2021 44228 Log4j 2 Exploitation
- sentinelone.com - Lockbit Ransomware Side Loads Cobalt Strike Beacon With Legitimate Vmware Utility
- twitter.com - 1480734487000453121
- blog.sygnia.co - Revealing Emperor Dragonfly A Chinese Ransomware Group
- sentinelone.com - Chinese Entanglement Dll Hijacking In The Asian Gambling Sector
- microsoft.com - Ransomware As A Service Understanding The Cybercrime Gig Economy And How To Protect Yourself
- secureworks.com - Bronze Starlight Ransomware Operations Use Hui Loader
- attack.mitre.org - G1021
Aliases (420)
Metadata
| ID: | 378 |
| Created: | 13/01/2026 17:48 |
| Updated: | 07/03/2026 04:00 |