Qiulong

MITRE ATT&CK does not currently catalogue Qiulong, so this is our assessment of the techniques it uses, drawn from public reporting. The techniques themselves, and every "what that means" definition below, come from MITRE ATT&CK v19.2. Confidence: medium. Treat it as orientation, not attribution.

1. T1059.001 PowerShell Execution

   What they do: qiulong executes PowerShell scripts to spread payloads and disable security tools across compromised healthcare systems.

   What that means: Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.

2. T1547.001 Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder PersistencePrivilege Escalation

   What they do: qiulong leverages registry run keys to maintain persistence after initial infection in networked environments.

   What that means: Adversaries may achieve persistence by adding a program to a startup folder or referencing it with a Registry run key.

3. T1685 Disable or Modify Tools Defense Impairment

   What they do: qiulong disables antivirus and monitoring tools using registry modifications to ensure encryption proceeds undetected.

   What that means: Adversaries may disable, degrade, or tamper with security tools or applications (e.g., endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools, intrusion detection systems (IDS), antivirus, logging agents, sensors, etc.) to impair or reduce visibility of defensive capabilities.

4. T1688 Safe Mode Boot Defense Impairment

   What they do: qiulong manipulates boot sequences to safely bypass recovery mechanisms during system initialization.

   What that means: Adversaries may abuse Windows safe mode to disable endpoint defenses.

5. T1027.013 Encrypted/Encoded File Stealth

   What they do: qiulong encodes victim files with symmetric encryption keys before demanding ransom payments.

   What that means: Adversaries may encrypt or encode files to obfuscate strings, bytes, and other specific patterns to impede detection.

6. T1070.004 File Deletion Stealth

   What they do: qiulong deletes Volume Shadow Copies and backup files via command-line tools to prevent recovery.

   What that means: Adversaries may delete files left behind by the actions of their intrusion activity.

7. T1018 Remote System Discovery Discovery

   What they do: qiulong performs remote system discovery to map internal networks and identify additional targets for lateral movement.

   What that means: Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of other systems by IP address, hostname, or other logical identifier on a network that may be used for Lateral Movement from the current system.

8. T1135 Network Share Discovery Discovery

   What they do: qiulong scans network shares to discover victim directories and identify files suitable for encryption.

   What that means: Adversaries may look for folders and drives shared on remote systems as a means of identifying sources of information to gather as a precursor for Collection and to identify potential systems of interest for Lateral Movement.

9. T1486 Data Encrypted for Impact Impact

   What they do: qiulong encrypts patient records and pharmaceutical databases using custom ransomware binaries for impact.

   What that means: Adversaries may encrypt data on target systems or on large numbers of systems in a network to interrupt availability to system and network resources.

10. T1490 Inhibit System Recovery Impact

    What they do: qiulong invokes system recovery inhibitors to block endpoint protection services from restoring compromised assets.

    What that means: Adversaries may delete or remove built-in data and turn off services designed to aid in the recovery of a corrupted system to prevent recovery.