Threat Actor Profile
High APT
Description

Naikon is assessed to be a state-sponsored cyber espionage group attributed to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Chengdu Military Region Second Technical Reconnaissance Bureau (Military Unit Cover Designator 78020).(Citation: CameraShy) Active since at least 2010, Naikon has primarily conducted operations against government, military, and civil organizations in Southeast Asia, as well as against international bodies such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).(Citation: CameraShy)(Citation: Baumgartner Naikon 2015) While Naikon shares some characteristics with APT30, the two groups do not appear to be exact matches.(Citation: Baumgartner Golovkin Naikon 2015)

Confidence Score
90%
Known Aliases
Naikon
Tags
mitre-attack stix-2.1 intrusion-set
First Seen

Unknown

Last Updated

Unknown

Active Status
Active
Created

April 29, 2026

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques (14)
T1036.004 - Masquerade Task or Service
Defense Evasion
T1036.005 - Match Legitimate Resource Name or Locat…
Defense Evasion
T1078.002 - Domain Accounts
Defense Evasion
T1016 - System Network Configuration Discovery
Discovery
T1018 - Remote System Discovery
Discovery
T1046 - Network Service Discovery
Discovery
T1518.001 - Security Software Discovery
Discovery
T1047 - Windows Management Instrumentation
Execution
T1053.005 - Scheduled Task
Execution
T1204.002 - Malicious File
Execution
T1566.001 - Spearphishing Attachment
Initial Access
T1137.006 - Add-ins
Persistence
T1547.001 - Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder
Persistence
T1574.001 - DLL
Persistence
Indicators of Compromise

Loading IOCs…

IOC KQL for Sentinel
STIX Data
{'aliases': ['Naikon'],
 'created': '2017-05-31T21:31:54.232Z',
 'created_by_ref': 'identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5',
 'description': '[Naikon](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0019) is assessed '
                'to be a state-sponsored cyber espionage group attributed to '
                'the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Chengdu Military '
                'Region Second Technical Reconnaissance Bureau (Military Unit '
                'Cover Designator 78020).(Citation: CameraShy) Active since at '
                'least 2010, [Naikon](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0019) '
                'has primarily conducted operations against government, '
                'military, and civil organizations in Southeast Asia, as well '
                'as against international bodies such as the United Nations '
                'Development Programme (UNDP) and the Association of Southeast '
                'Asian Nations (ASEAN).(Citation: CameraShy)(Citation: '
                'Baumgartner Naikon 2015) \n'
                '\n'
                'While [Naikon](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0019) shares '
                'some characteristics with '
                '[APT30](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0013), the two '
                'groups do not appear to be exact matches.(Citation: '
                'Baumgartner Golovkin Naikon 2015)',
 'external_references': [{'external_id': 'G0019',
                          'source_name': 'mitre-attack',
                          'url': 'https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0019'},
                         {'description': '(Citation: Baumgartner Naikon '
                                         '2015)(Citation: CameraShy)(Citation: '
                                         'Baumgartner Golovkin Naikon 2015)',
                          'source_name': 'Naikon'},
                         {'description': 'ThreatConnect Inc. and Defense Group '
                                         'Inc. (DGI). (2015, September 23). '
                                         'Project CameraShy: Closing the '
                                         "Aperture on China's Unit 78020. "
                                         'Retrieved December 17, 2015.',
                          'source_name': 'CameraShy',
                          'url': 'http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/454298/Project_CAMERASHY_ThreatConnect_Copyright_2015.pdf'},
                         {'description': 'Baumgartner, K., Golovkin, M.. '
                                         '(2015, May). The MsnMM Campaigns: '
                                         'The Earliest Naikon APT Campaigns. '
                                         'Retrieved April 10, 2019.',
                          'source_name': 'Baumgartner Naikon 2015',
                          'url': 'https://media.kasperskycontenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2018/03/07205555/TheNaikonAPT-MsnMM1.pdf'},
                         {'description': 'Baumgartner, K., Golovkin, M.. '
                                         '(2015, May 14). The Naikon APT. '
                                         'Retrieved January 14, 2015.',
                          'source_name': 'Baumgartner Golovkin Naikon 2015',
                          'url': 'https://securelist.com/the-naikon-apt/69953/'}],
 'id': 'intrusion-set--2a158b0a-7ef8-43cb-9985-bf34d1e12050',
 'modified': '2025-04-25T14:49:21.044Z',
 'name': 'Naikon',
 'object_marking_refs': ['marking-definition--fa42a846-8d90-4e51-bc29-71d5b4802168'],
 'spec_version': '2.1',
 'type': 'intrusion-set',
 'x_mitre_attack_spec_version': '3.2.0',
 'x_mitre_contributors': ['Kyaw Pyiyt Htet, @KyawPyiytHtet'],
 'x_mitre_deprecated': False,
 'x_mitre_domains': ['enterprise-attack'],
 'x_mitre_modified_by_ref': 'identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5',
 'x_mitre_version': '2.0'}
Quick Actions
Related TTPs (14)
Masquerade Task or Service
Defense Evasion

Match Legitimate Resource Nam…
Defense Evasion

Domain Accounts
Defense Evasion

System Network Configuration …
Discovery

Remote System Discovery
Discovery