CISA Discloses PRC Hackers Using BRICKSTORM Backdoor for Stealthy U.S. System Access
In June 2025, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) reported that state-sponsored hackers affiliated with the People's Republic of China (PRC) utilized a newly identified backdoor dubbed BRICKSTORM to infiltrate and maintain long-term access within VMware vSphere and Windows environments of U.S. critical infrastructure entities. The campaign started months prior, leveraging advanced persistent threat (APT) tactics such as lateral movement, encrypted C2 channels, and sophisticated evasion techniques to bypass network defenses and persist undetected. This led to extensive exfiltration of sensitive data and raised major concerns about the resilience of core U.S. operational systems. The BRICKSTORM attack signals a rising tide of highly targeted intrusions on virtualization platforms, as nation-state actors adopt increasingly stealthy and persistent approaches. Organizations must now contend with the growing complexity and scale of APT operations, which often elude legacy tools and monitoring strategies.
Kill Chain
