ARCMAZE
ARCMAZE is an obfuscation framework used by China-linked threat actors in campaigns targeting the defense industrial base. The provided reporting specifically associates its use with Chinese operations against North American military and defense contractors, research institutions, and supply-chain partners. Google Threat Intelligence Group reporting states that UNC3236 (Volt Typhoon) used the ARCMAZE obfuscation framework during reconnaissance against publicly hosted login portals of North American military and defense contractors, and that Chinese actors used ARCMAZE to conceal origin and complicate detection and attribution. In the same broader campaign set, Chinese actors were described as exploiting edge devices and supply-chain partners and using operational relay box (ORB) networks for persistence and evasion. High-confidence details in the content do not describe ARCMAZE as a standalone payload with its own infection vector or post-compromise functionality beyond obfuscation, and no specific indicators of compromise are provided.
Hunt this family in your stack
Mallory pivots from this family to the IOCs, detections, and named campaigns that touch your stack, and pages you when something new lands.
Groups observed using it
2 distinct threat actors attributed by public researchers. Open in Mallory to see the full evidence chain and overlapping campaigns.
"...using the ARCMAZE obfuscation framework to conceal its origin."
Chinese actors are notable for their use of INFINITERED (custom malware), ARCMAZE obfuscation...
Techniques & procedures
1 distinct technique documented for this family, organized by ATT&CK tactic.
Recent activity
2 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
Obfuscation framework/technique used by Chinese actors to hinder analysis/detection (as described).
Obfuscation framework used to conceal tooling/origin in activity attributed to UNC3236/Volt Typhoon.
The version that knows your environment.
Match every observed IP, domain, and hash against your live telemetry.
Named campaigns wielding this family, with evidence pinned to each claim.
CVEs this family uses for access and lateral movement.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Every documented technique, ranked by evidence weight.
Reddit, Mastodon, and CTI community discussion around this family.