Understanding threat actor capabilities is only half the battle—the other half is knowing whether your organization is in their crosshairs. See how Bitsight threat intelligence helps you move from observation to action.
Threat Actor Profile
TeamPCP
Aliases
- ShellForce
- PCPcat
- DeadCatx3
- Altered Spider
- PersyPCP
Motivation
Financial gain, Extortion, Credential theft, Software supply chain compromise
Cause
Cybercriminal
Recent Activity
TeamPCP-related activity increased by 471% in the last month compared to similar groups, according to Bitsight Threat Intelligence. Recent reporting connects TeamPCP to Vect, an emerging ransomware-as-a-service operation, and links the group to compromised developer and security tools including Trivy, KICS, LiteLLM, and the Telnyx Python SDK.
Primary Targets
- Software vendors
- SaaS companies
- Cloud-native organizations
- Open-source maintainers
- DevOps teams
- Platform engineering teams
- Organizations using GitHub
- Organizations using npm
- Organizations using PyPI
- Organizations using Docker
- Organizations using GitHub Actions
- Organizations using VS Code
- Organizations using Kubernetes
- Organizations using CI/CD workflows
- Third-party software providers
- Developer tooling vendors
Target Locations
- Global
Target Sectors
- Technology
- Software
- SaaS
- Cloud Services
- Open Source
- Developer Tools
- Third-Party Software
- Supply Chain
Vulnerabilities
Compromised open-source packages
Compromised developer tools
Malicious VS Code extensions
Compromised GitHub repositories
Compromised CI/CD workflows
Stolen package publishing credentials
Stolen cloud credentials
Stolen SSH keys
Exposed Kubernetes credentials
Exposed .env secrets
Compromised npm packages
Compromised PyPI packages
Compromised Docker workflows
Compromised GitHub Actions workflows
CVE-2026-33634
CVE-2026-48027
CVE-2026-45321
Techniques
Supply Chain Compromise
Subvert Trust Controls
Unsecured Credentials
OS Credential Dumping
Exfiltration Over Web Service
Data Destruction
Create or Modify System Process
Escape to Host
Credential theft
Open-source package compromise
Developer tool compromise
CI/CD pipeline targeting
Package publishing workflow abuse
npm ecosystem abuse
PyPI ecosystem abuse
Malicious VS Code extension usage
Kubernetes lateral movement
Cloud credential harvesting
Repository exfiltration
Sensitive development data exfiltration
Use of stolen credentials to spread across packages or environments
AES-256 encryption during exfiltration
RSA-4096 encryption during exfiltration
Audio steganography
Self-replicating supply chain activity
Social engineering
Ransomware-as-a-service collaboration
Malware Tools
- CipherForce
- Vect
- CanisterWorm
- SANDCLOCK
- Mini Shai-Hulud
- Miasma
- Trivy
- KICS
- LiteLLM
- Telnyx Python SDK
- xinference PyPI package
- GitHub
- npm
- PyPI
- Docker
- GitHub Actions
- VS Code
- Kubernetes
Bitsight Contextualized Intelligence
TeamPCP targets developer workflows, packages, repositories, CI/CD systems, and cloud credentials to enable supply chain compromise, extortion, and ransomware activity.
Defensive Takeaways
Treat developer tooling as part of the attack surface
Restrict unapproved IDE extensions
Review installed VS Code extensions
Enforce least privilege for GitHub, npm, PyPI, Docker, and CI/CD credentials
Rotate credentials after suspected compromise
Scan repositories for hardcoded secrets
Monitor package updates for suspicious behavior
Use approved dependency lists or internal package mirrors
Harden Kubernetes access
Audit Kubernetes cluster secrets
Monitor dark web, paste, ransomware, and code repository sources for leaked assets
Treat developer workstations, package publishing accounts, and build systems as sensitive infrastructure
Maintain clean, disconnected backups to reduce risk from flawed ransomware encryption or unrecoverable data corruption