Menu

  • Alerts
  • Incidents
  • News
  • APTs
  • Cyber Decoded
  • Cyber Hygiene
  • Cyber Review
  • Cyber Tips
  • Definitions
  • Malware
  • Threat Actors
  • Tutorials

Useful Tools

  • Password generator
  • Report an incident
  • Report to authorities
No Result
View All Result
CTF Hack Havoc
CyberMaterial
  • Education
    • Cyber Decoded
    • Definitions
  • Information
    • Alerts
    • Incidents
    • News
  • Insights
    • Cyber Hygiene
    • Cyber Review
    • Tips
    • Tutorials
  • Support
    • Contact Us
    • Report an incident
  • About
    • About Us
    • Advertise with us
Get Help
Hall of Hacks
  • Education
    • Cyber Decoded
    • Definitions
  • Information
    • Alerts
    • Incidents
    • News
  • Insights
    • Cyber Hygiene
    • Cyber Review
    • Tips
    • Tutorials
  • Support
    • Contact Us
    • Report an incident
  • About
    • About Us
    • Advertise with us
Get Help
No Result
View All Result
Hall of Hacks
CyberMaterial
No Result
View All Result
Home Alerts

Iranian group deploys new malware

April 27, 2023
Reading Time: 2 mins read
in Alerts

 

 

Charming Kitten, an Iranian nation-state hacking group, has been found to be actively targeting multiple victims across the US, Europe, the Middle East, and India with its latest custom malware called BellaCiao.

According to a report by cybersecurity firm Bitdefender Labs, BellaCiao is a “personalized dropper” that can download other malware payloads onto a victim’s device based on commands from an actor-controlled server. The malware is capable of resolving a subdomain to an IP address and subsequently extracting the commands to be executed on the compromised system.

The attack chain leads to the deployment of a web shell or a Plink tool, both of which allow Charming Kitten to establish a reverse proxy connection to a remote server and implement similar backdoor features.

Charming Kitten, also known as APT35, Cobalt Illusion, Educated Manticore, ITG18, Mint Sandstorm, TA453, and Yellow Garuda, is an Iranian state-sponsored APT group associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The group has been deploying backdoors in systems across various industry verticals.

It was recently attributed by Microsoft to retaliatory attacks aimed at critical infrastructure entities in the US using bespoke malware such as harmPower, Drokbk, and Soldier.

Check Point also recently disclosed Mint Sandstorm’s use of an updated version of the PowerLess implant to strike organizations located in Israel using Iraq-themed phishing lures.

Bitdefender researcher Martin Zugec noted that custom-developed malware, also known as “tailored” malware, is generally harder to detect because it is specifically crafted to evade detection and contains unique code. The exact modus operandi used to achieve initial intrusion is currently undetermined, but it is suspected to entail the exploitation of known vulnerabilities in internet-exposed applications like Microsoft Exchange Server or Zoho ManageEngine.

The attacks are assessed to be in the second stage after opportunistic attacks, wherein BellaCiao is customized and deployed against carefully selected victims of interest following indiscriminate exploitation of vulnerable systems.

Bitdefender has advised implementing a defense-in-depth architecture as the best protection against modern attacks.

The first step in this process is to reduce the attack surface, which involves limiting the number of entry points that attackers can use to gain access to systems and promptly patching newly discovered vulnerabilities.

 

Reference:
  • Unpacking BellaCiao: A Closer Look at Iran’s Latest Malware

Tags: April 2023APT35BellaCiaoCharming KittenCyber AlertCyber Alerts 2023EuropeHackingIndiaIranMalwareUSA
ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

Hackers Target Libraesva Email Flaw

Hackers Target Libraesva Email Flaw

September 30, 2025
Hackers Target Libraesva Email Flaw

ShadowV2 Botnet Targets Misconfigured AWS

September 30, 2025
Hackers Target Libraesva Email Flaw

Cisco Warns Of IOS Zero Day Bug

September 30, 2025
Fake Microsoft Teams Installers Spread

Fake Microsoft Teams Installers Spread

September 30, 2025
Fake Microsoft Teams Installers Spread

Cybercriminals Use Facebook Google Ads

September 30, 2025
Fake Microsoft Teams Installers Spread

CISA Warns Of Critical Sudo Flaw

September 30, 2025

Latest Alerts

Hackers Target Libraesva Email Flaw

ShadowV2 Botnet Targets Misconfigured AWS

Cisco Warns Of IOS Zero Day Bug

CISA Warns Of Critical Sudo Flaw

Cybercriminals Use Facebook Google Ads

Fake Microsoft Teams Installers Spread

Subscribe to our newsletter

    Latest Incidents

    Ukrainian Hackers Breach Crimean Servers

    Ransomware Gang Claims Maryland Breach

    Arizona School District Data Breach

    Attackers Take Down Asahi Brewer

    Harrods Alerts Customers To Breach

    Hackers Steal Photos From Kido Nursery

    CyberMaterial Logo
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Jobs
    • Legal and Privacy Policy
    • Site Map

    © 2025 | CyberMaterial | All rights reserved

    Welcome Back!

    Login to your account below

    Forgotten Password?

    Retrieve your password

    Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

    Log In

    Add New Playlist

    No Result
    View All Result
    • Alerts
    • Incidents
    • News
    • Cyber Decoded
    • Cyber Hygiene
    • Cyber Review
    • Definitions
    • Malware
    • Cyber Tips
    • Tutorials
    • Advanced Persistent Threats
    • Threat Actors
    • Report an incident
    • Password Generator
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with us

    Copyright © 2025 CyberMaterial