| SYMBOL | COMMON_NAME | aka. SYNONYMS |
CL-STA-0043 is a Chinese state-nexus cyber-espionage actor tracked by Palo Alto Networks Unit 42, which promoted the activity cluster to the named threat actor Phantom Taurus in September 2025, having previously designated it TGR-STA-0043 and linked it to the Operation Diplomatic Specter campaign. The group targets government and telecommunications organizations, including ministries of foreign affairs, embassies and diplomatic missions, across Africa, the Middle East and Asia, with a focus on geopolitical and military intelligence collection. It typically gains access by exploiting internet-facing Internet Information Services (IIS) and Microsoft Exchange servers, then performs reconnaissance and privilege escalation using native Windows tooling. In more recent operations the actor deployed NET-STAR, a fileless .NET malware suite targeting IIS web servers that comprises the IIServerCore backdoor and the AssemblyExecuter V1 and V2 loaders.
There are currently no families associated with this actor.
| 2025-09-30
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Palo Alto Networks Unit 42
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Phantom Taurus: A New Chinese Nexus APT and the Discovery of the NET-STAR Malware Suite NET-STAR CL-STA-0043 |
| 2024-05-23
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Palo Alto Networks Unit 42
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Operation Diplomatic Specter: An Active Chinese Cyberespionage Campaign Leverages Rare Tool Set to Target Governmental Entities in the Middle East, Africa and Asia Agent Racoon CHINACHOPPER Ghost RAT JuicyPotato MimiKatz Ntospy PlugX SweetSpecter TunnelSpecter CL-STA-0043 |
| 2023-06-16
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Palo Alto Networks: Cortex Threat Research
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Through the Cortex XDR Lens: Uncovering a New Activity Group Targeting Governments in the Middle East and Africa CHINACHOPPER Ladon Yasso CL-STA-0043 |