Iranian “Charming Kitten” hackers used old Cold War methods to steal tech secrets and plant malware


Iran-linked cyber operations are drawing renewed attention for relying less on advanced code and more on human manipulation to gain access to sensitive systems.

At the centre of this activity is Charming Kitten, a group associated with Iran’s security apparatus which has spent years targeting officials, researchers, and corporate employees. Instead of exploiting technical vulnerabilities, operatives frequently impersonate trusted contacts, using carefully crafted messages to trick victims into revealing credentials or installing malicious software.

Read more…
Source: TechRadar News


Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • Espionage Campaign Targets Telecoms Organizations across Middle East and Asia

    December 14, 2021

    Attackers most likely linked to Iran have attacked a string of telecoms operators in the Middle East and Asia over the past six months, in addition to a number of IT services organizations and a utility company. Organizations in Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Thailand, and Laos were targeted in the ...

  • Widespread ‘Smishing’ Campaign Defrauds Iranian Android Users

    December 1, 2021

    Attackers are impersonating the Iranian government in a widespread SMS phishing campaign that is defrauding thousands of Android users by installing malware on their devices that can steal their credit card data and siphon money from financial accounts. Researchers from Check Point Research estimate that the campaign, which sends so called “smishing” messages that entice victims ...

  • Britain and Israel to sign trade and defence deal

    November 28, 2021

    Britain and Israel will sign a 10-year trade and defence pact in London on Monday, promising cooperation on issues such as cybersecurity and a joint commitment to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. The agreement was announced by Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, and her Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid, despite evidence that spyware made by Israeli ...

  • 2 US defense officials say Israel hacked Iran’s gas system in late October

    November 27, 2021

    Israel carried out a cyber attack against Iran’s nationwide fuel system last month, two United States defense officials told the New York Times in a report published Saturday. Days later, Iran-affiliated hackers breached an Israeli LGBTQ dating site and released details of its users in a cyber attack that roiled Israel. The exchange points to a new ...

  • Iranian targeting of IT sector on the rise

    November 18, 2021

    Iranian threat actors are increasing attacks against IT services companies as a way to access their customers’ networks. This activity is notable because targeting third parties has the potential to exploit more sensitive organizations by taking advantage of trust and access in a supply chain. Microsoft has observed multiple Iranian threat actors targeting the IT ...

  • Iranian Government-Sponsored APT Cyber Actors Exploiting MS Exchange and Fortinet Vulnerabilities in Furtherance of Malicious Activities

    November 17, 2021

    This joint cybersecurity advisory is the result of an analytic effort among the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), and the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to highlight ongoing malicious cyber activity by an advanced persistent threat (APT) group that FBI, ...