Threat Group Cards: A Threat Actor Encyclopedia

APT group: Tortoiseshell, Imperial Kitten

Names	Tortoiseshell (Symantec) Imperial Kitten (CrowdStrike) TA456 (Proofpoint) Curium (Microsoft) Marcella Flores (self given) Houseblend (?) Crimson Sandstorm (Microsoft) Yellow Liderc (PWC) UNC1549 (Mandiant)
Country	Iran
Sponsor	State-sponsored, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
Motivation	Information theft and espionage
First seen	2018
Description	(Symantec) A previously undocumented attack group is using both custom and off-the-shelf malware to target IT providers in Saudi Arabia in what appear to be supply chain attacks with the end goal of compromising the IT providers’ customers. The group, which we are calling Tortoiseshell, has been active since at least July 2018. Symantec has identified a total of 11 organizations hit by the group, the majority of which are based in Saudi Arabia. In at least two organizations, evidence suggests that the attackers gained domain admin-level access.
Observed	Sectors: Aerospace, Defense, IT, Shipping and Logistics, Maritime and Shipbuilding. Countries: Saudi Arabia, UAE, USA and Middle East.
Tools used	get-logon-history.ps1, IMAPLoader, Infostealer, LEMPO, liderc, SysKit.
Operations performed	Sep 2019	Cisco Talos recently discovered a threat actor attempting to take advantage of Americans who may be seeking a job, especially military veterans. <https://blog.talosintelligence.com/2019/09/tortoiseshell-fake-veterans.html>
	Nov 2020	I Knew You Were Trouble: TA456 Targets Defense Contractor with Alluring Social Media Persona <https://www.proofpoint.com/us/blog/threat-insight/i-knew-you-were-trouble-ta456-targets-defense-contractor-alluring-social-media>
	2022	Yellow Liderc ships its scripts and delivers IMAPLoader malware <https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/cybersecurity/cyber-threat-intelligence/yellow-liderc-ships-its-scripts-delivers-imaploader-malware.html>
	Jun 2022	When Cats Fly: Suspected Iranian Threat Actor UNC1549 Targets Israeli and Middle East Aerospace and Defense Sectors <https://www.mandiant.com/resources/blog/suspected-iranian-unc1549-targets-israel-middle-east>
	May 2023	Operation “Fata Morgana” Fata Morgana: Watering hole attack on shipping and logistics websites <https://www.clearskysec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Fata-Morgana-Israeli-Websites-Infected-by-Iranian-Group-1.8.pdf>
	Oct 2023	IMPERIAL KITTEN Deploys Novel Malware Families in Middle East-Focused Operations <https://www.crowdstrike.com/blog/imperial-kitten-deploys-novel-malware-families/>
Counter operations	Jul 2021	Taking Action Against Hackers in Iran <https://about.fb.com/news/2021/07/taking-action-against-hackers-in-iran/>
Information	<https://www.symantec.com/blogs/threat-intelligence/tortoiseshell-apt-supply-chain> <https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2024/02/14/staying-ahead-of-threat-actors-in-the-age-of-ai/>

Last change to this card: 07 March 2024

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