GINC-APT-0104 · State

VOID MANTICORE

Also BANISHED KITTEN, HomeLand Justice, Red Sandstorm, COBALT MYSTIQUE, DUNE, Handala Hack and 3 other names.

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.

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