GINC-APT-0277 · Targeted, sponsor unknown

Carmine Tsunami

Also DEV-0196, QuaDream.

Category
Targeted, sponsor unknown · Targeted intrusions with no sponsor attributed.
Origin
Israel(high confidence)
Sources
6 sources carry it
Identifier
GINC-APT-0277 · carmine-tsunami

What it is

Carmine Tsunami is a threat actor linked to an Israel-based private sector offensive actor called QuaDream. QuaDream sells a platform called REIGN to governments for law enforcement purposes, which includes exploits, malware, and infrastructure for data exfiltration from mobile devices. Carmine Tsunami is associated with the iOS malware called KingsPawn and has targeted civil society victims, including journalists, political opposition figures, and NGO workers, in various regions. They utilize domain registrars and inexpensive cloud hosting providers, often using single domains per IP address and deploying free Let's Encrypt SSL certificates.

Names

The names each vendor, agency and source gives it. Naming differs by who tracks the actor, so one group carries many.

Microsoft
DEV-0196
Other names
QuaDream

Attribution

Each attribution is a claim: who makes it, and to whom. Western and Eastern sources are kept apart, as they often disagree.

Tools

The tools and malware families the sources tie to it.

  • CloudDuke
  • MobileOrder
  • Offence
  • Xploit

Sources

  • Malpedia malpedia.caad.fkie.fraunhofer.de