ctrlINT What the industry said about every indicator, with the quote

MuddyWaterThreat actor

  • atk51
  • boggy serpens
  • cobalt ulster
  • earth vetala
  • g0069
  • mango sandstorm
  • muddy ion
  • muddycoast
  • muddykrill
  • Seedworm
  • static kitten
  • ta450
  • temp.zagros

The MuddyWater attacks are primarily against Middle Eastern nations. However, we have also observed attacks against surrounding nations and beyond, including targets in India and the USA. MuddyWater attacks are characterized by the use of a slowly evolving PowerShell-based first stage backdoor we call “POWERSTATS”.From MISP Galaxy

Last reported 26 days ago, by Risky Business News22 reports

Suspected originIranMISP Galaxy
Targets sectorsGovernmentMISP Galaxy
Targets countriesSaudi Arabia, Georgia, Türkiye, Iraq, Israel, India, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, United StatesMISP Galaxy

ATT&CK techniques

6 of 60 · each with the sentence it comes from
  1. T1684Social Engineering

    “It does not replace manual testing for proprietary source code review, social engineering, or physical security assessments.”

    Horizon3.aiVendor
  2. T1053.005Scheduled Task

    “T1053.005”

    GuidePoint SecurityVendor
  3. T1105Ingress Tool Transfer

    “T1105”

    GuidePoint SecurityVendor
  4. T1195Supply Chain Compromise

    “When it comes to attacks that give bad actors a lot of bang for their buck, supply chain compromise typically reigns supreme.”

    ESET WeLiveSecurityVendor
  5. T1005Data from Local System

    “T1005”

    GuidePoint SecurityVendor
  6. T1027Obfuscated Files or Information

    “T1027”

    GuidePoint SecurityVendor

Reports per month

last 12 months

October so far (hatched). Counted by report, not by story.

What the reports say

22 reports · the newest 20, newest first · the exact sentence from each
  1. “MuddyWater's rented arsenal: Iran-backed APT group MuddyWater has been renting tools from TAG-150, a Malware-as-a-Service platform run by Russian-speaking cybercriminals.”

    Risky Business NewsNews
    Risky Bulletin: Intel ends paid bug bounties
  2. “The flaw that enables full domain compromise and aligns directly with how Iranian groups like MuddyWater and Magic Hound operate.”

    Horizon3.aiVendor
    Federal & Mission-Critical Security Validation
  3. “By March 2026, Iran-linked MuddyWater was using it, too.”

    GuidePoint SecurityVendor
    EtherHiding Exposed: Inside a Blockchain-powered Malware Campaign Hiding in Plain Sight
  4. “Symantec first documented this technique in Seedworm: Iran-Linked Hackers Breached Korean Electronics Maker.”

    Elastic Security LabsVendor
    The extension you never installed: KREMLIN forges Chrome's own integrity checks to steal banking sessions
  5. “Read more on Iranian-linked cyber activity: Iran-Linked MuddyWater Poses as Ransomware Gang to Mask Cyber Espionage”

    Infosecurity MagazineNews
    Tortoiseshell Expands Malware Toolset With New Backdoor, SSH Tunnel
  6. “Read more on Iranian threats: Iran-Linked MuddyWater Poses as Ransomware Gang to Mask Cyber Espionage”

    Infosecurity MagazineNews
    Wake-Up Call for CNI After Iranian Attack Shuts Down UK Power Plant
  7. “For example, activity attributed to the MOIS-linked Seedworm/MuddyWater cluster began in early February, before the opening strikes.”

    SentinelLabsVendor
    Iran War Cyber Threat Landscape | A Midyear Assessment on What Matters
  8. “PDQ Connect is a newer, cloud-based RMM that has seen abuse from APT groups like MuddyWater.”

    Red CanaryVendor
    The dual-use dilemma: Rethinking detection for remote access tool abuse
  9. “SOC dashboard showing a potential MuddyWater cyber intrusion detected by Sekoia.io platform with alerts, attack storyline, and incident context”

    Sekoia.ioVendor
    The evolution of the AI SOC: From Hype to Hyper
  10. “MuddyWater replaces Atera by custom MuddyRot implant”

    Sekoia.ioVendor
    MuddyWater replaces Atera by custom MuddyRot implant
  11. “En particular, MuddyWater ha colaborado de cerca con Lyceum, un subgrupo de OilRig, y probablemente también ha actuado como initial access broker (IAB) para otros grupos iraníes.”

    ESET WeLiveSecurity (ES)Vendor
    El impacto en la ciberseguridad de la guerra en Irán: riesgos clave que debe monitorear
  12. “Notably, MuddyWater has worked closely with Lyceum, a subgroup of OilRig, as well as probably acted as an initial access broker (IAB) for other Iran-aligned groups.”

    ESET WeLiveSecurityVendor
    Cyber fallout from the Iran war: What to have on your radar
  13. “Unmasking an Attack Chain of MuddyWater”

    HuntressVendor
    Unmasking an Attack Chain of MuddyWater
  14. “Operation Olalampo: Inside MuddyWater’s Latest Campaign”

    Group-IBVendor
    Operation Olalampo: Inside MuddyWater’s Latest Campaign
  15. “Unmasking MuddyWater’s New Malware Toolkit Driving International Espionage”

    Group-IBVendor
    Unmasking MuddyWater’s New Malware Toolkit Driving International Espionage
  16. “Tracking MuddyWater in Action: Infrastructure, Malware and Operations during 2025”

    Group-IBVendor
    Tracking MuddyWater in Action: Infrastructure, Malware and Operations during 2025
  17. “GROUP-IB has attributed a campaign to MuddyWater with moderate confidence.”

    Group-IBVendor
    ClickFix: The Social Engineering Technique Hackers Use to Manipulate Victims
  18. “SimpleHarm: Tracking MuddyWater’s infrastructure”

    Group-IBVendor
    SimpleHarm: Tracking MuddyWater’s infrastructure
  19. “and identified a potential member of the attacking group known as MuddyWater.”

    Group-IBVendor
    “We find many things that others do not even see”
  20. “They disclosed information about APT groups affiliated with the Iranian government (OilRig and MuddyWater), including their tools, victims, and links.”

    Group-IBVendor
    Catching fish in muddy waters

Indicators in its reports

named in the reports above
Copy these 4 indicators · defanged

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