Putter Panda

Most commonly used name for APT2 is Putter Panda and it is connected to the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Third General Staff Department (GSD) 12th Bureau Military Unit Cover Designator (MUCD) 61486. PLA Unit 61486 supports China’s space surveillance network. The group may be responsible for space based signal intelligence (SIGINT) collection. 

The group has been actively conducting attacks since at least 2007 and is based out of the Zhabai district of Shanghai, China. PLA Unit 61486 shares some infrastructure with PLA Unit 61398. Putter Panda targets the United States Government, Defense sector, Research sector, and Technologies sectors. According to CrowdStrike, the United States Defense industry, communication industries, and European satellite and aerospace industries are particularly targeted.

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