From MuddyC3 to PhonyC2: Iran's MuddyWater Evolves with a New Cyber Weapon

The Iranian state-sponsored group dubbed MuddyWater has been attributed to a previously unseen command-and-control C2 framework called PhonyC2 that's been put to use by the actor since 2021. Evidence shows that the custom made, actively developed framework has been leveraged in the February 2023...

From MuddyC3 to PhonyC2: Iran's MuddyWater Evolves with a New Cyber Weapon

The Iranian state-sponsored group dubbed MuddyWater has been attributed to a previously unseen command-and-control C2 framework called PhonyC2 that's been put to use by the actor since 2021. Evidence shows that the custom made, actively developed framework has been leveraged in the February 2023...

APT trends report Q1 2023

For more than five years, the Global Research and Analysis Team GReAT at Kaspersky has been publishing quarterly summaries of advanced persistent threat APT activity. These summaries are based on our threat intelligence research; and they provide a representative snapshot of what we have publishe...

Iranian Hackers Using SimpleHelp Remote Support Software for Persistent Access

The Iranian threat actor known as MuddyWater is continuing its time-tested tradition of relying on legitimate remote administration tools to commandeer targeted systems. While the nation-state group has previously employed ScreenConnect, RemoteUtilities, and Syncro, a new analysis from Group-IB h...

Iranian Hackers Using SimpleHelp Remote Support Software for Persistent Access

The Iranian threat actor known as MuddyWater is continuing its time-tested tradition of relying on legitimate remote administration tools to commandeer targeted systems. While the nation-state group has previously employed ScreenConnect, RemoteUtilities, and Syncro, a new analysis from Group-IB h...

Iran-Based Hackers Caught Carrying Out Destructive Attacks Under Ransomware Guise

The Iranian nation-state group known as MuddyWater has been observed carrying out destructive attacks on hybrid environments under the guise of a ransomware operation. That's according to new findings from the Microsoft Threat Intelligence team, which discovered the threat actor targeting both...

Iran-Based Hackers Caught Carrying Out Destructive Attacks Under Ransomware Guise

The Iranian nation-state group known as MuddyWater has been observed carrying out destructive attacks on hybrid environments under the guise of a ransomware operation. That's according to new findings from the Microsoft Threat Intelligence team, which discovered the threat actor targeting both...

MuddyWater is back with new techniques

Threat Level Actor Report For a detailed threat advisory, download the pdf file here Summary MuddyWater used Dropbox links and document attachments with URLs redirected to ZIP archives as lures in its campaign, which also utilized compromised corporate email accounts. In addition to using Remote...

Iranian hacking group uses compromised email accounts to distribute MSP remote access tool

Researchers have uncovered a new campaign by hacking group MuddyWater, aka Static Kitten, in which a legitimate remote access tool is sent to targets from a compromised email account. The targets in this campaign are reportedly in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Qatar,...

MuddyWater Hackers Target Asian and Middle East Countries with Updated Tactics

The Iran-linked MuddyWater threat actor has been observed targeting several countries in the Middle East as well as Central and West Asia as part of a new spear-phishing activity. "The campaign has been observed targeting Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Tajikistan,...

U.S. Imposes New Sanctions on Iran Over Cyberattack on Albania

The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday announced sanctions against Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security MOIS and its Minister of Intelligence, Esmaeil Khatib, for engaging in cyber-enabled activities against the nation and its allies. "Since at least 2007, the MOIS and its cyber actor...

MuddyWater targets Israeli organizations by exploiting unpatched log4j vulnerabilities

Threat Level Attack Report For a detailed threat advisory, download the pdf file here Summary MuddyWater, an Iranian threat actor, exploits Log4j two vulnerabilities in SysAid applications to target Israeli organizations. As soon as the attacker gains access to the targeted organization, it...

Iranian Hackers Exploiting Unpatched Log4j 2 Bugs to Target Israeli Organizations

Iranian state-sponsored actors are leaving no stone unturned to exploit unpatched systems running Log4j to target Israeli entities, indicating the vulnerability's long tail for remediation. Microsoft attributed the latest set of activities to the umbrella threat group tracked as MuddyWater aka...

Microsoft Blocks Iran-linked Lebanese Hackers Targeting Israeli Companies

Microsoft on Thursday said it took steps to disable malicious activity stemming from abuse of OneDrive by a previously undocumented threat actor it tracks under the chemical element-themed moniker Polonium. In addition to removing the offending accounts created by the Lebanon-based activity group...

Cardiologist moonlighted as successful ransomware developer

The US has charged a 55-year-old French-Venezuelan cardiologist from Venezuela with "attempted computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit computer intrusions". This was revealed in an unsealed complaint in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York. Moises Luis Zagala Gonzales worked as a ransomware...

Russian Ransomware Gang Retool Custom Hacking Tools of Other APT Groups

A Russian-speaking ransomware outfit likely targeted an unnamed entity in the gambling and gaming sector in Europe and Central America by repurposing custom tools developed by other APT groups like Iran's MuddyWater, new research has found. The unusual attack chain involved the abuse of stolen...

Iranian Hackers Targeting Turkey and Arabian Peninsula in New Malware Campaign

The Iranian state-sponsored threat actor known as MuddyWater has been attributed to a new swarm of attacks targeting Turkey and the Arabian Peninsula with the goal of deploying remote access trojans RATs on compromised systems. "The MuddyWater supergroup is highly motivated and can use unauthoriz...

Iranian linked conglomerate MuddyWater comprised of regionally focused subgroups

By Asheer Malhotra, Vitor Ventura and Arnaud Zobec. Cisco Talos has observed new cyber attacks targeting Turkey and other Asian countries we believe with high confidence are from groups operating under the MuddyWater umbrella of APT groups. U.S. Cyber Command recently connected MuddyWater to...

Iranian Hackers Using New Spying Malware That Abuses Telegram Messenger API

An Iranian geopolitical nexus threat actor has been uncovered deploying two new targeted malware that come with "simple" backdoor functionalities as part of an intrusion against an unnamed Middle East government entity in November 2021. Cybersecurity company Mandiant attributed the attack to an...

CISA warns of cyberespionage by Iranian APT “MuddyWater”

Cybersecurity agencies in the US and UK have issued a joint cybersecurity advisory CSA on MuddyWater, a government-sponsored Iranian advanced persistent threat APT actor. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI, the US Cyber Command Cyber...