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MITRE ATT&CK® Malware

S0436: TSCookie

TSCookie is a remote access tool (RAT) that has been used by BlackTech in campaigns against Japanese targets.[1][2]. TSCookie has been referred to as PLEAD though more recent reporting indicates a separation between the two.[3][2]

EnterpriseS0436MalwareObject v1.0Modified
Glexia's Take · Automated analysis

Security context for executives and security teams

Automation confidenceMedium

S0436: TSCookie describes [TSCookie](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0436) is a remote access tool (RAT) that has been used by [BlackTech](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0098) in campaigns against Japanese targets.(Citation: JPCert TSCookie March 2018)(Citation: JPCert BlackTech Malware September 2019). [TSCookie](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0436) has been referred to as [PLEAD](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0435) though more recent reporting indicates a separation between the two.(Citation: JPCert PLEAD Downloader June 201...

Executive priority

S0436: TSCookie is an official MITRE ATT&CK software. Glexia treats it as defensive behavior context for prioritizing monitoring, control validation, and response planning without using the object by itself as an attribution claim.

Technical view

Security teams should validate S0436: TSCookie by reviewing the official ATT&CK relationships, mapped tactics (the mapped ATT&CK tactic context), supported platforms (Windows), and available local telemetry before making detection or mitigation decisions.

Likely telemetry

  • Official ATT&CK relationships and object metadata
  • Network, endpoint, and security-tool telemetry

Detection direction

  • Validate whether S0436: TSCookie appears in your detection coverage and tabletop scenarios.
  • Use the object to align executive risk language with SOC, incident response, and detection engineering work.
  • Do not treat ATT&CK relationship context as attribution without corroborating evidence.

Mitigation priorities

  • Map the object to existing controls and identify missing telemetry or response ownership.
  • Prioritize mitigations that reduce exposure on the listed platforms and tactics.
  • Review adjacent ATT&CK relationships before changing policy, detections, or reporting language.
Additional notes and limits

Baseline Glexia take generated from the official MITRE ATT&CK STIX object, source hash, tactics, platforms, and detection fields. It is safe to replace with a richer model-generated take for the same source hash later.

This baseline take is source-grounded and schema-validated, but it does not include environment-specific telemetry, incident evidence, or threat-intelligence corroboration.

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Official MITRE ATT&CK definition

TSCookie

TSCookie is a remote access tool (RAT) that has been used by BlackTech in campaigns against Japanese targets.[1][2]. TSCookie has been referred to as PLEAD though more recent reporting indicates a separation between the two.[3][2]

View the same entry on attack.mitre.org (MITRE-hosted reference; in-page links above use the Glexia ATT&CK library.)

Glexia analysis

How security teams should use this page

Treat this object as behavior context, not an attribution claim. Validate the related groups, software, data sources, and mitigations against official ATT&CK relationships and your own telemetry before making control-coverage decisions.

ATT&CK relationship table

Techniques used

This mirrors the MITRE pattern of making group, software, campaign, and technique relationships scannable. Relationship notes come from mirrored ATT&CK relationship text when available.

13 rows
DomainIDNameRelationship / procedure
EnterpriseT1059.003Windows Command ShellSub-technique

TSCookie has the ability to execute shell commands on the infected host.[1]

EnterpriseT1057Process Discovery

TSCookie has the ability to list processes on the infected host.[1]

EnterpriseT1105Ingress Tool Transfer

TSCookie has the ability to upload and download files to and from the infected host.[1]

EnterpriseT1095Non-Application Layer Protocol

TSCookie can use ICMP to receive information on the destination server.[2]

EnterpriseT1071.001Web ProtocolsSub-technique

TSCookie can multiple protocols including HTTP and HTTPS in communication with command and control (C2) servers.[2][1]

EnterpriseT1055Process Injection

TSCookie has the ability to inject code into the svchost.exe, iexplorer.exe, explorer.exe, and default browser processes.[2]

EnterpriseT1140Deobfuscate/Decode Files or Information

TSCookie has the ability to decrypt, load, and execute a DLL and its resources.[1]

EnterpriseT1555.003Credentials from Web BrowsersSub-technique

TSCookie has the ability to steal saved passwords from the Internet Explorer, Edge, Firefox, and Chrome browsers.[1]

EnterpriseT1083File and Directory Discovery

TSCookie has the ability to discover drive information on the infected host.[1]

EnterpriseT1090Proxy

TSCookie has the ability to proxy communications with command and control (C2) servers.[2]

EnterpriseT1573.001Symmetric CryptographySub-technique

TSCookie has encrypted network communications with RC4.[1]

EnterpriseT1016System Network Configuration Discovery

TSCookie has the ability to identify the IP of the infected host.[1]

EnterpriseT1204.001Malicious LinkSub-technique

TSCookie has been executed via malicious links embedded in e-mails spoofing the Ministries of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan.[1]

Associated objects

Groups, software, and campaigns

GroupEnterprise

G0098: BlackTech

BlackTech is a suspected Chinese cyber espionage group that has primarily targeted organizations in East Asia--particularly Taiwan, Japan, and Hong Kong--and the US since at least 2013. BlackTech has used a combination of custom malware, dual-use tools, and living off the land tactics to compromise media, construction, engineering, electronics, and financial company networks.[1][2][3]

Relationship explorer

All related ATT&CK context

Change history

Object version and sync metadata

The fields below describe the current mirrored snapshot. When Glexia retains multiple ATT&CK source imports, you can open the table to compare the same object across releases (hashes and MITRE timestamps). For MITRE’s own release notes and roadmap, see ATT&CK resources — Updates.

ATT&CK release
20.0
Object version
1.0
Created
Modified
Raw hash
d9137fbf4b044431...
Imported snapshots across ATT&CK releases(3)
ReleaseBundle importedObject versionModifiedStatusRaw hash
20.01.0Current bundled9137fbf4b04…
19.21.0Older bundled9137fbf4b04…
19.11.0Older bundled9137fbf4b04…
Raw source

Mirrored ATT&CK source object

The raw object is retained through the mirrored ATT&CK source bundle and object hash. The raw endpoint returns the exact object from the mirrored bundle when available.

Source references

External references and citations

MITRE external references are preserved separately from Glexia analysis so citations remain traceable to their original source records.

  1. [1]
    JPCert TSCookie March 2018

    Tomonaga, S. (2018, March 6). Malware “TSCookie”. Retrieved May 6, 2020.

    Open source URL
  2. [2]
    JPCert BlackTech Malware September 2019

    Tomonaga, S.. (2019, September 18). Malware Used by BlackTech after Network Intrusion. Retrieved May 6, 2020.

    Open source URL
  3. [3]
    JPCert PLEAD Downloader June 2018

    Tomonaga, S. (2018, June 8). PLEAD Downloader Used by BlackTech. Retrieved May 6, 2020.

    Open source URL
  4. [4]
    mitre-attackS0436
    Open source URL
Source and licensing

Source: MITRE ATT&CK®. © 2026 The MITRE Corporation. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of The MITRE Corporation. MITRE ATT&CK and ATT&CK are registered trademarks of The MITRE Corporation. Glexia is not affiliated with or endorsed by MITRE.