Threat Actor Profile
Description
HAFNIUM is a likely state-sponsored cyber espionage group operating out of China that has been active since at least January 2021. HAFNIUM primarily targets entities in the US across a number of industry sectors, including infectious disease researchers, law firms, higher education institutions, defense contractors, policy think tanks, and NGOs. HAFNIUM has targeted remote management tools and cloud software for intial access and has demonstrated an ability to quickly operationalize exploits for identified vulnerabilities in edge devices.(Citation: Microsoft HAFNIUM March 2020)(Citation: Volexity Exchange Marauder March 2021)(Citation: Microsoft Silk Typhoon MAR 2025)
Confidence Score
Known Aliases
Tags
First Seen
Unknown
Last Updated
Unknown
Active Status
ActiveCreated
April 29, 2026
MITRE ATT&CK Techniques (44)
Indicators of Compromise
Loading IOCs…
IOC KQL for Sentinel
STIX Data
{'aliases': ['HAFNIUM', 'Operation Exchange Marauder', 'Silk Typhoon'],
'created': '2021-03-03T19:40:47.280Z',
'created_by_ref': 'identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5',
'description': '[HAFNIUM](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0125) is a likely '
'state-sponsored cyber espionage group operating out of China '
'that has been active since at least January 2021. '
'[HAFNIUM](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0125) primarily '
'targets entities in the US across a number of industry '
'sectors, including infectious disease researchers, law firms, '
'higher education institutions, defense contractors, policy '
'think tanks, and NGOs. '
'[HAFNIUM](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0125) has targeted '
'remote management tools and cloud software for intial access '
'and has demonstrated an ability to quickly operationalize '
'exploits for identified vulnerabilities in edge '
'devices.(Citation: Microsoft HAFNIUM March 2020)(Citation: '
'Volexity Exchange Marauder March 2021)(Citation: Microsoft '
'Silk Typhoon MAR 2025)',
'external_references': [{'external_id': 'G0125',
'source_name': 'mitre-attack',
'url': 'https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0125'},
{'description': '(Citation: Microsoft Threat Actor '
'Naming July 2023)(Citation: '
'Microsoft Silk Typhoon MAR 2025)',
'source_name': 'Silk Typhoon'},
{'description': '(Citation: Volexity Exchange '
'Marauder March 2021)',
'source_name': 'Operation Exchange Marauder'},
{'description': 'Gruzweig, J. et al. (2021, March 2). '
'Operation Exchange Marauder: Active '
'Exploitation of Multiple Zero-Day '
'Microsoft Exchange Vulnerabilities. '
'Retrieved March 3, 2021.',
'source_name': 'Volexity Exchange Marauder March '
'2021',
'url': 'https://www.volexity.com/blog/2021/03/02/active-exploitation-of-microsoft-exchange-zero-day-vulnerabilities/'},
{'description': 'Microsoft . (2023, July 12). How '
'Microsoft names threat actors. '
'Retrieved November 17, 2023.',
'source_name': 'Microsoft Threat Actor Naming July '
'2023',
'url': 'https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/security/intelligence/microsoft-threat-actor-naming?view=o365-worldwide'},
{'description': 'Microsoft Threat Intelligence . '
'(2025, March 5). Silk Typhoon '
'targeting IT supply chain. Retrieved '
'March 20, 2025.',
'source_name': 'Microsoft Silk Typhoon MAR 2025',
'url': 'https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2025/03/05/silk-typhoon-targeting-it-supply-chain/'},
{'description': 'MSTIC. (2021, March 2). HAFNIUM '
'targeting Exchange Servers with '
'0-day exploits. Retrieved March 3, '
'2021.',
'source_name': 'Microsoft HAFNIUM March 2020',
'url': 'https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2021/03/02/hafnium-targeting-exchange-servers/'}],
'id': 'intrusion-set--2688b13e-8e71-405a-9c40-0dee94bddf87',
'modified': '2025-03-25T18:04:13.368Z',
'name': 'HAFNIUM',
'object_marking_refs': ['marking-definition--fa42a846-8d90-4e51-bc29-71d5b4802168'],
'revoked': False,
'spec_version': '2.1',
'type': 'intrusion-set',
'x_mitre_attack_spec_version': '3.2.0',
'x_mitre_contributors': ['Daniyal Naeem, BT Security',
'Matt Brenton, Zurich Insurance Group',
'Mayuresh Dani, Qualys',
'Harshal Tupsamudre, Qualys',
'Vinayak Wadhwa, SAFE Security'],
'x_mitre_deprecated': False,
'x_mitre_domains': ['enterprise-attack'],
'x_mitre_modified_by_ref': 'identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5',
'x_mitre_version': '3.0'}