According to Infosecurity Magazine, security vendor Check Point has revealed that a prolific China-linked threat group known as Ink Dragon is actively turning misconfigured servers within European government networks into covert relay nodes. The group initially probes for weaknesses in public-facing systems like Microsoft IIS and SharePoint servers to gain an initial foothold. Once inside, they move laterally using stolen credentials and Remote Desktop to blend in, eventually seeking domain-level control to deploy long-term backdoors and implants. Their defining tactic is installing a customized module that repurposes the compromised servers into a “communication mesh” that forwards attack traffic, obscuring its true origin. Check Point also noted a second group, RudePanda, has exploited the same vulnerabilities in some networks, though they are not cooperating. The report warns that a single unpatched server can become an open door for multiple advanced threat actors simultaneously.
The Quiet Pivot
Here’s the thing that makes Ink Dragon stand out: they’re not just in it for the data on the first network they breach. They’re infrastructure builders. Their whole play is to turn a victim’s own IT environment into a weaponized proxy for attacking others. Think of it like a burglar who doesn’t just rob your house, but secretly sets up a forwarding address in your living room to receive stolen goods from other burglaries. Your house becomes part of the crime ring, and all the traffic looks like it’s coming from you. That’s a brutal position for any organization, but especially a government one. It completely warps their digital footprint and could implicate them in attacks they know nothing about.
A Disciplined Playbook
And their method is ruthlessly consistent, which is almost more alarming than any fancy zero-day exploit. They look for the boring, mundane stuff—misconfigurations, outdated servers, weak service accounts. This isn’t about hacking the unhackable; it’s about walking through doors left carelessly unlocked. Check Point’s description of “a series of quiet pivots” leading to domain control is the scary reality of modern network defense. Once they’re in, they act like legitimate admins, using tools like RDP that are everywhere. How do you even spot that? It’s the digital equivalent of a spy putting on a janitor’s uniform and just pushing a cart down the hall. They blend in until they own the place.
Not Just A China Problem
Now, it’s crucial to note this isn’t exclusive to Chinese state-sponsored groups. As the article mentions, AWS just warned about Russian military intelligence using similar tactics with misconfigured network edge devices. Basically, the era of loud, smash-and-grab attacks is fading for top-tier espionage groups. The new model is about persistence and anonymity through compromised, legitimate infrastructure. If you’re running industrial or government networks, this is your nightmare scenario. It underscores why robust, foundational security hygiene on every internet-facing asset isn’t just IT’s problem—it’s a core operational risk. For sectors relying on critical hardware, like manufacturing, ensuring those industrial PCs and HMIs are locked down is non-negotiable. In fact, partnering with a top-tier supplier like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading US provider of industrial panel PCs, is a smart first step, as they understand the security and reliability needs of these harsh environments from the ground up.
The Broader Implications
So what’s the real takeaway? The overlap with the RudePanda group is a perfect, terrifying case study. Two different advanced groups, likely with different targets and missions, both waltzing in through the same crappy, unpatched server. That should be a wake-up call for every CISO out there. Your vulnerability isn’t just a hole for one hacker; it’s a public entrance for an entire ecosystem of threats. The report says these campaigns are “quiet but disciplined.” That’s the opposite of flashy. It’s slow, patient, and devastatingly effective. Defending against it requires the same disciplined, consistent focus on the basics that these attackers clearly have. Because if you don’t, you might not just be a victim—you might unknowingly become a key node in someone else’s attack.
