- Category
- State · Attributed to a state or working for one.
- Origin
- Iran(high confidence)
- Sponsor
- State-sponsored
- Agency named
- MOIS, Ministry of Intelligence
- Motivation
- Information theft and espionage
- Seen
- 2011–2026
- Status
- Active
- ATT&CK
- G0087 · 53 techniques
- Sources
- 11 sources carry it
- Identifier
- GINC-APT-0042 · apt39
IranWhat it is
APT39 is one of several names for cyber espionage activity conducted by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) through the front company Rana Intelligence Computing since at least 2014. APT39 has primarily targeted the travel, hospitality, academic, and telecommunications industries in Iran and across Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America to track individuals and entities considered to be a threat by the MOIS.
Names
The names each vendor, agency and source gives it. Naming differs by who tracks the actor, so one group carries many.
- CrowdStrike
- Remix Kitten
- IBM X-Force
- ITG07
- Mandiant
- APT 39
- Microsoft
- Burgundy Sandstorm
- MITRE ATT&CK
- G0087
- Proofpoint
- TA454
- Other names
- Cadelle, Chafer, Chafer, APT 39, CINDER ION, Cobalt Hickman, Radio Serpens
Attribution
Each attribution is a claim: who makes it, and to whom. Western and Eastern sources are kept apart, as they often disagree.
Western sources
- ETDA / ThaiCERTIran
- MISP Galaxy (CFR tagging)Iran
- MicrosoftIran
- ThreatActor.info (Malpedia et al.)Iran · high
Targets
- Countries
- Germany, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Netherlands, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sudan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Türkiye, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States
- Sectors
- Aviation, Engineering, Government, High-Tech, IT, Shipping and Logistics, Telecommunications, Transportation
Tools
The tools and malware families the sources tie to it.
- ASPXSpy
- Antak
- Back Orifice
- Back Orifice 2000
- Backdoor.Oldrea
- Cadelspy
- CrackMapExec
- EternalBlue
- HTTPTunnel
- Living off the Land
- MechaFlounder
- Metasploit
- Mimikatz
- NBTscan
- Non-sucking Service Manager
- OilRig
- POWBAT
- Plink
- PsExec
- Rana
- Remcom
- Remexi
- SEAWEED
- SMB hacking tools
- SafetyKatz
- UltraVNC
- Windows Credential Editor
- Windows Credentials Editor
- ftp
- nbtscan
- pwdump
Sources
- MITRE ATT&CK attack.mitre.org
- ETDA Threat Group Card apt.etda.or.th
- Malpedia malpedia.caad.fkie.fraunhofer.de