Threat Actors Database

First observed in January 2018, GandCrab ransomware quickly began to proliferate and receive regular updates from its developer, PINCHY SPIDER, which over the course of the year established a RaaS operation with a dedicated set of affiliates. CrowdStrike Intelligence has recently observed PINCHY SPIDER affiliates deploying GandCrab ransomware in enterprise environments, using lateral movement techniques and tooling commonly associated with nation-state adversary groups and penetration testing teams. This change in tactics makes PINCHY SPIDER and its affiliates the latest eCrime adversaries to join the growing trend of targeted, low-volume/high-return ransomware deployments known as “big game hunting.” PINCHY SPIDER is the criminal group behind the development of the ransomware most commonly known as GandCrab, which has been active since January 2018. PINCHY SPIDER sells access to use GandCrab ransomware under a partnership program with a limited number of accounts. The program is operated with a 60-40 split in profits (60 percent to the customer), as is common among eCrime actors, but PINCHY SPIDER is also willing to negotiate up to a 70-30 split for “sophisticated” customers.

Digital threat management company RiskIQ tracks the activity of MageCart group and reported their use of web-based card skimmers since 2016.

An unnamed source leaked almost 10,000 documents describing a large number of 0-day vulnerabilities, methodologies and tools that had been collected by the CIA. This leaking was done through WikiLeaks, since March 2017. In weekly publications, the dumps were said to come from Vault 7 and later Vault 8, until his arrest in 2018. Most of the published vulnerabilities have since been fixed by the respective vendors, by many have been used by other threat actors. This actor turned out to be a former CIA software engineer. (WikiLeaks) Today, Tuesday 7 March 2017, WikiLeaks begins its new series of leaks on the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Code-named "Vault 7" by WikiLeaks, it is the largest ever publication of confidential documents on the agency. The first full part of the series, "Year Zero", comprises 8,761 documents and files from an isolated, high-security network situated inside the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence in Langley, Virgina. It follows an introductory disclosure last month of CIA targeting French political parties and candidates in the lead up to the 2012 presidential election. Recently, the CIA lost control of the majority of its hacking arsenal including malware, viruses, trojans, weaponized "zero day" exploits, malware remote control systems and associated documentation. This extraordinary collection, which amounts to more than several hundred million lines of code, gives its possessor the entire hacking capacity of the CIA. The archive appears to have been circulated among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive. "Year Zero" introduces the scope and direction of the CIA's global covert hacking program, its malware arsenal and dozens of "zero day" weaponized exploits against a wide range of U.S. and European company products, include Apple's iPhone, Google's Android and Microsoft's Windows and even Samsung TVs, which are turned into covert microphones.

The SideCopy APT is a Pakistani threat actor that has been operating since at least 2019, mainly targeting South Asian countries and more specifically India and Afghanistan. Its name comes from its infection chain that tries to mimic that of the SideWinder APT. It has been reported that this actor has similarities with Transparent Tribe (APT36) and possibly is a subdivision of this actor. Cisco Talos and Seqrite have provided comprehensive reports on this actor’s activities.

Cotton Sandstorm is an Iranian threat actor involved in hack-and-leak operations. They have targeted various organizations, including the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, where they obtained and leaked personal information of over 200,000 customers. The group has been linked to the Iranian government and has been sanctioned by the US Treasury

According to TrendMicro, Earth Berberoka is a threat group originating from China that mainly focuses on targeting gambling websites. This group's campaign uses multiple malware families that target the Windows, Linux, and macOS platforms that have been attributed to Chinese-speaking actors. Aside from using tried-and-tested malware families that have been upgraded, such as PlugX and Gh0st RAT, Earth Berberoka has also developed a brand-new complex, multistage malware family, which has been dubbed PuppetLoader.

Blackwood is a China-aligned APT group that has been active since at least 2018. They primarily engage in cyberespionage operations targeting individuals and companies in China, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Blackwood utilizes sophisticated techniques such as adversary-in-the-middle attacks to deliver their custom implant, NSPX30, through updates of legitimate software. They also have the capability to hide the location of their command and control servers by intercepting traffic generated by the implant.

Denim Tsunami is a threat actor group that has been involved in targeted attacks against European and Central American customers. They have been observed using multiple Windows and Adobe 0-day exploits, including one for CVE-2022-22047, which is a privilege escalation vulnerability. Denim Tsunami developed a custom malware called Subzero, which has capabilities such as keylogging, capturing screenshots, data exfiltration, and running remote shells. They have also been associated with the Austrian spyware distributor DSIRF.

Velvet Tempest is a threat actor associated with the BlackCat ransomware group. They have been observed deploying multiple ransomware payloads, including BlackCat, and have targeted various industries such as energy, fashion, tobacco, IT, and manufacturing. Velvet Tempest relies on access brokers to gain network access and utilizes tools like Cobalt Strike Beacons and PsExec for lateral movement and payload staging. They exfiltrate stolen data using a tool called StealBit and frequently disable unprotected antivirus products.

Ruby Sleet is a threat actor linked to North Korea's Ministry of State Security. Cerium has been involved in spear-phishing campaigns, compromising devices, and conducting cyberattacks alongside other North Korean threat actors. They have also targeted companies involved in COVID-19 research and vaccine development.

Microsoft has tracked Raspberry Typhoon (RADIUM) as the primary threat group targeting nations that ring the South China Sea. Raspberry Typhoon consistently targets government ministries, military entities, and corporate entities connected to critical infrastructure, particularly telecoms. Since January 2023, Raspberry Typhoon has been particularly persistent. When targeting government ministries or infrastructure, Raspberry Typhoon typically conducts intelligence collection and malware execution. In many countries, targets vary from defense and intelligence-related ministries to economic and trade-related ministries

Storm-1084 is a threat actor that has been observed collaborating with the MuddyWater group. They have used the DarkBit persona to mask their involvement in targeted attacks. Storm-1084 has been linked to destructive actions, including the encryption of on-premise devices and deletion of cloud resources. They have been observed using tools such as Rport, Ligolo, and a customized PowerShell backdoor. The extent of their autonomy or collaboration with other Iranian threat actors is currently unclear.

Storm-1099 is a sophisticated Russia-affiliated influence actor that has been conducting pro-Russia influence operations targeting international supporters of Ukraine since Spring 2022. They are known for their website forgery operation called "Doppelganger" and have been actively spreading false information. They have been involved in pushing the claim that Hamas acquired Ukrainian weapons for an attack on Israel. Storm-1099 has also been implicated in amplifying images of graffiti in Paris, suggesting possible Russian involvement and aligning with Russia's Active Measures playbook.

DEV-1101 is a threat actor tracked by Microsoft who is responsible for developing and advertising phishing kits, specifically AiTM phishing kits. These kits are capable of bypassing multifactor authentication and are available for purchase or rent by other cybercriminals. DEV-1101 offers an open-source kit with various enhancements, such as mobile device management and CAPTCHA evasion. Their tool has been used in high-volume phishing campaigns by multiple actors, including DEV-0928, and is sold for $300 with VIP licenses available for $1,000.

Storm-0381 is a threat actor identified by Microsoft as a Russian cybercrime group. They are known for their use of malvertising to deploy Magniber, a type of ransomware.

Storm-0539 is a financially motivated threat actor that has been active since at least 2021. They primarily target retail organizations for gift card fraud and theft. Their tactics include phishing via emails or SMS to distribute malicious links that redirect users to phishing pages designed to steal credentials and session tokens. Once access is gained, Storm-0539 registers a device for secondary authentication prompts, bypassing multi-factor authentication and gaining persistence in the environment. They also collect emails, contact lists, and network configurations for further attacks against the same organizations.

Cybercriminals have launched a phishing campaign targeting senior executives in U.S. firms, using the EvilProxy phishing toolkit for credential harvesting and account takeover attacks. This campaign, initiated in July 2023, primarily targets sectors such as banking, financial services, insurance, property management, real estate, and manufacturing. The attackers exploit an open redirection vulnerability on the job search platform "indeed.com," redirecting victims to malicious phishing pages impersonating Microsoft. EvilProxy functions as a reverse proxy, intercepting credentials, two-factor authentication codes, and session cookies to hijack accounts. The threat actors, known as Storm-0835 by Microsoft, have hundreds of customers who pay monthly fees for their services, making attribution difficult. The attacks involve sending phishing emails with deceptive links to Indeed, redirecting victims to EvilProxy pages for credential harvesting.

Fishing Elephant is a threat actor that primarily targets victims in Bangladesh and Pakistan. They rely on consistent TTPs, including payload and communication patterns, while occasionally incorporating new techniques such as geo-fencing and hiding executables within certificate files. Their tool of choice is AresRAT, which they deliver through platforms like Heroku and Dropbox. Recently, they have shifted their focus to government and diplomatic entities in Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ukraine, and China.

Operation Ghoul is a profit-driven threat actor that targeted over 130 organizations in 30 countries, primarily in the industrial and engineering sectors. They employed high-quality social engineering techniques, such as spear-phishing emails disguised as payment advice from a UAE bank, to distribute malware. The group's main motivation is financial gain through the sale of stolen intellectual property and business intelligence, as well as attacks on banking accounts. Their attacks were effective, particularly against companies that were unprepared to detect them.

CardinalLizard, a cyber threat actor linked to China, has targeted entities in Asia since 2018. Their methods include spear-phishing, custom malware with anti-detection features, and potentially shared infrastructure with other actors.