- Category
- State · Attributed to a state or working for one.
- Origin
- Iran(high confidence)
- Sponsor
- State-sponsored, Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS)
- Agency named
- MOIS, Ministry of Intelligence
- Motivation
- Espionage; Information Operations; Sabotage; Sabotage and destruction
- Seen
- 2022–2026
- Status
- Active
- ATT&CK
- G1055 · 63 techniques
- Sources
- 9 sources carry it
- Identifier
- GINC-APT-0104 · void-manticore
What it is
VOID MANTICORE is a threat group assessed to operate on behalf of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS). Active since at least mid-2022, VOID MANTICORE has targeted government entities, critical infrastructure, and private sector organizations across Albania, Israel, and the United States. VOID MANTICORE conducts destructive cyber operations, combining wiper attacks with hack-and-leak campaigns. The group has operated under multiple public-facing personas, including HomeLand Justice in operations against Albania, Karma and Karma Below in campaigns targeting Israeli organizations, and Handala Hack, its current primary persona, which has claimed activity against Israeli and U.S. entities, including a March 2026 attack against Stryker Corporation. VOID MANTICORE has been observed collaborating with Scarred Manticore, which has been linked to initial access operations preceding VOID MANTICORE’s activity.
Names
The names each vendor, agency and source gives it. Naming differs by who tracks the actor, so one group carries many.
- CrowdStrike
- BANISHED KITTEN
- Microsoft
- Red Sandstorm, Storm-0842
- Secureworks
- COBALT MYSTIQUE
- Other names
- HomeLand Justice, DUNE, Handala Hack, Karma, Karmabelow80
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
Targets
- Countries
- Albania, Europe, Israel, Middle East, United States
- Sectors
- Civil Society, Education, Government, Healthcare, High-Tech, Media, NGOs, Pharmaceuticals, Telecomms
Tools
The tools and malware families the sources tie to it.
- Cyber Eye RAT
- CyberGate
- Wiper
Sources
- MITRE ATT&CK attack.mitre.org
- ETDA Threat Group Card apt.etda.or.th
- Malpedia malpedia.caad.fkie.fraunhofer.de