Hydraq

Malware
23 incidents First seen 2026-03-23 Last seen 2026-10-29
Also known as
RoarurMdmBotHomeUnixHomuxHidraQHydraQMcRatAurora9002 RAT
Overview

Hydraq is a data-theft trojan first used by Elderwood in the 2009 Google intrusion known as Operation Aurora, though variations of this trojan have been used in more recent campaigns by other Chinese actors, possibly including APT17.

Threat ecosystem
Actors Malware Campaigns CVEs
Tap a node for a quick look · double-tap to open its profile
At a glance
peak priority 130 22 techniques 2 groups use it Windows in ATT&CK since 2018-04-18 updated 2024-11-17 · v2.0
Activity by month (incidents)
2026-032026-10
Sectors targeted
technology · 2aerospace · 1automotive · 1cryptocurrency · 1finance · 1government · 1health · 1hospitality · 1retail · 1
Countries targeted
RU · 5CA · 4DE · 4AR · 3AT · 3CH · 3CN · 3ES · 3IL · 3IN · 3IT · 3NL · 3
Origin
CN · 3AT · 2CH · 2DE · 2RU · 2BE · 1
Kinds of incident
Ransomware & Extortion · 14Malware & Botnets · 6Attack on AI Systems · 3AI-Enabled Attack · 2Cyberattack (general) · 2Phishing & Social Engineering · 1
Techniques seen in incidents
Ransomware · 8Exfiltration · 7Data Leak · 5T1059.007 - JavaScript · 4Phishing · 3Lateral Movement · 2Reconnaissance · 2Social Engineering · 2T1059.006 - Python · 2T1566 - Phishing · 2T1588.001 - Malware · 2Espionage · 1Extortion · 1Impersonate · 1
Related actors
Aurora · 2Aquatic Panda · 1
Related CVEs
CVE-2026-32996 · 1
ATT&CK techniques by tactic (22)
execution T1129 Shared Modules T1569.002 Service Execution
persistence T1112 Modify Registry T1543.003 Windows Service
privilege escalation T1134 Access Token Manipulation T1543.003 Windows Service
discovery T1007 System Service Discovery T1012 Query Registry T1016 System Network Configuration Discovery T1057 Process Discovery T1082 System Information Discovery T1083 File and Directory Discovery
collection T1005 Data from Local System T1113 Screen Capture
command and control T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer T1573.001 Symmetric Cryptography
exfiltration T1048 Exfiltration Over Alternative Protocol
defense impairment T1112 Modify Registry T1685.005 Clear Windows Event Logs
stealth T1027 Obfuscated Files or Information T1070.004 File Deletion T1134 Access Token Manipulation
Groups that use it
AxiomElderwood
Incident timeline
2026-10-29
Aurora ransomware targets ESXi abuses Cursor Agent for exploitation
AlienVault OTX
2026-10-25
Aurora ransomware targets ESXi, abuses Cursor Agent for exploitation.
AlienVault OTX
2026-10-23
🏴‍☠️ Aurora has just published a new victim : ARX Group SA
2026-10-20
🏴‍☠️ Aurora has just published a new victim : Duarte Nursery, Inc.
2026-10-20
Aurora ransomware targets ESXi, abuses Cursor Agent for exploitation.
AlienVault OTX
2026-10-19
🏴‍☠️ Aurora has just published a new victim : POWERsonic Industries Inc.
2026-10-14
🏴‍☠️ Aurora has just published a new victim : Estrategias BigMat S.L.U.
2026-10-13
IOC - Pretty Themes, Hidden Loaders: GlassWorm-Linked Extensions Span VS Code Marketplace and Open VSX
AlienVault OTX
2026-10-10
IOC - Pretty Themes, Hidden Loaders: GlassWorm-Linked Extensions Span VS Code Marketplace and Open VSX
AlienVault OTX
2026-10-08
ThreatsDay: Ransomware Affiliate Betrayal, WhatsApp RAT, Exposed Hacker Tools and 12 More Stories
2026-10-05
🏴‍☠️ Aurora has just published a new victim : Infomedia A/S
2026-10-03
Pretty Themes, Hidden Loaders: GlassWorm-Linked Extensions Span VS Code Marketplace and Open VSX
AlienVault OTX
2026-10-01
🏴‍☠️ Aurora has just published a new victim : Laboratorios Roemmers SAICF
2026-09-22
Public PoC Exposes Critical Veeam Agent Privilege Escalation
2026-08-28
Threat Actors Abuse Cursor Agent AI to Assist Ransomware Operations
2026-07-24
BlueNoroff Zoom Phishing Kit Profiles Crypto Wallets Before Malware Delivery
2026-05-22
China's Webworm Uses Discord, Microsoft Graphs to Hack EU Governments
2026-05-20
Webworm Deploys EchoCreep and GraphWorm Backdoors Using Discord and MS Graph API
2026-05-14
Dell confirms its SupportAssist software causes Windows BSOD crashes
2026-03-23
We Found Eight Attack Vectors Inside AWS Bedrock. Here's What Attackers Can Do with Them