Patchwork / Dropping Elephant (also known as Dropping Elephant, Chinastrats, Quilted Tiger, Monsoon) is a state-sponsored advanced persistent threat group attributed to India (suspected), active since 2015. The group primarily targets Pakistan, China government, diplomatic entities sectors. It is tracked by MITRE ATT&CK as G0040.
Overview & Attribution
Indian-linked APT targeting Pakistan and China with copy-paste code from multiple sources, known for occasionally infecting their own systems with their own malware.
Patchwork has been active since 2015, attributed to India (suspected). The group is known for targeting Pakistan, China government, diplomatic entities using a combination of custom malware, living-off-the-land techniques, and sophisticated social engineering.
- Attribution: India (suspected)
- Active since: 2015
- Primary targets: Pakistan, China government, diplomatic entities
- Also known as: Dropping Elephant, Chinastrats, Quilted Tiger, Monsoon
Arsenal & Tools
Patchwork employs a diverse arsenal of custom and shared tooling:
- BADNEWS: Custom/shared tooling used in operations
- Ragnatela: Custom/shared tooling used in operations
- Brute Ratel C4: Custom/shared tooling used in operations
- EyeShell: Custom/shared tooling used in operations
Targeting & Operations
The group focuses on Pakistan, China government, diplomatic entities sectors, with operations spanning multiple geographic regions. Their campaigns typically involve carefully crafted spearphishing, strategic watering holes, and exploitation of public-facing applications.
Patchwork is characterized by persistent, long-term access operations. Once inside a target network, the group establishes multiple redundant persistence mechanisms and moves laterally to high-value systems before beginning data exfiltration.
MITRE ATT&CK Mapping
| Tactic | Technique | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Initial Access | T1566.001 Phishing Attachment | Spearphishing with RTF exploits |
| Execution | T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution | Office vulnerability exploitation |
| Persistence | T1547.001 Registry Run Keys | Registry persistence |
| Collection | T1056.001 Keylogging | Keystroke capture |
| Collection | T1113 Screen Capture | Screenshot collection |
| C2 | T1071.001 Web Protocols | HTTP C2 |
Notable Campaigns
Patchwork has been linked to multiple significant campaigns targeting Pakistan, China government, diplomatic entities organizations. The group continuously evolves its tooling and infrastructure to evade detection while maintaining persistent access to compromised networks.
- Long-term espionage: Multi-year intrusions into government and defense networks
- Supply chain targeting: Compromise of technology providers and managed service providers
- Zero-day exploitation: Use of previously unknown vulnerabilities for initial access
Detection & Defense
- Threat intelligence integration: Monitor for known Patchwork IOCs and TTPs in SIEM/EDR platforms
- Network monitoring: Detect C2 patterns associated with BADNEWS and related tooling
- Email security: Implement advanced phishing detection for spearphishing campaigns
- Endpoint detection: Deploy behavioral detection rules for known Patchwork TTPs
- Patch management: Prioritize patching of vulnerabilities known to be exploited by this group
- Lateral movement detection: Monitor for suspicious authentication patterns and admin tool usage
Defend Against Patchwork
Mjolnir Security provides specialized capabilities to detect and respond to Patchwork operations.
- APT Threat Hunting Proactive hunting for Patchwork TTPs, tooling artifacts, and infrastructure indicators within your environment.
- Threat Intelligence Continuous monitoring of Patchwork campaigns and infrastructure changes with actionable intelligence for your defense team.
- 24/7 Incident Response Rapid containment and forensic investigation. Call +1 833 403 5875.
Stay ahead of emerging threats. Get notified when we publish new intelligence reports and advisories.
Subscribe to Alerts