FBI Alert TLP White: Chinese Government-Mandated Tax Software Contains Malware, Enabling Backdoor Access.

The FBI seeks to inform US companies in the healthcare, chemical, and finance sectors of potential targeting activity by the Chinese government against their business and operational components based in China. As early as March 2019, at least two Western companies operating in China detected malware that was delivered through Chinese vendors that were responsible for releasing tax software upgrades following changes in 2018 to China’s value-added tax (VAT). The malware launched a backdoor into victim systems, which the FBI assesses likely allows cyber actors to preposition to conduct remote code execution and exfiltration activities on the victim’s network.