Threat Actor

Fox Kitten

Also known as: Fox Kitten, UNC757, Parisite, Pioneer Kitten, RUBIDIUM, Lemon Sandstorm

[Fox Kitten](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0117) is threat actor with a suspected nexus to the Iranian government that has been active since at least 2017 against entities in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, Australia, and North America. [Fox Kitten](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0117) has targeted multiple industrial verticals including oil and gas, technology, government, defense, healthcare, manufacturing, and engineering.(Citation: ClearkSky Fox Kitten February 2020)(Citation: CrowdStrike PIONEER KITTEN August 2020)(Citation: Dragos PARISITE )(Citation: ClearSky Pay2Kitten December 2020)

41
Techniques
6
Software

Properties

stix_id
intrusion-set--c21dd6f1-1364-4a70-a1f7-783080ec34ee
signal_observed_at
2026-09-11T17:55:00+00:00
type
intrusion-set

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques (41)

Accessibility Features

Adversaries may establish persistence and/or elevate privileges by executing malicious content triggered by accessibility features. Windows contains a

Archive via Utility

Adversaries may use utilities to compress and/or encrypt collected data prior to exfiltration. Many utilities include functionalities to compress, enc

Browser Information Discovery

Adversaries may enumerate information about browsers to learn more about compromised environments. Data saved by browsers (such as bookmarks, accounts

Brute Force

Adversaries may use brute force techniques to gain access to accounts when passwords are unknown or when password hashes are obtained.(Citation: Trend

Command Obfuscation

Adversaries may obfuscate content during command execution to impede detection. Command-line obfuscation is a method of making strings and patterns wi

Command and Scripting Interpreter

Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries. These interfaces and languages provide ways of intera

Credentials In Files

Adversaries may search local file systems and remote file shares for files containing insecurely stored credentials. These can be files created by use

Data from Cloud Storage

Adversaries may access data from cloud storage. Many IaaS providers offer solutions for online data object storage such as Amazon S3, Azure Storage,

Data from Local System

Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to

Data from Network Shared Drive

Adversaries may search network shares on computers they have compromised to find files of interest. Sensitive data can be collected from remote system

Domain Account

Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of domain accounts. This information can help adversaries determine which domain accounts exist to aid in fol

Encrypted/Encoded File

Adversaries may encrypt or encode files to obfuscate strings, bytes, and other specific patterns to impede detection. Encrypting and/or encoding file

Establish Accounts

Adversaries may create and cultivate accounts with services that can be used during targeting. Adversaries can create accounts that can be used to bui

Exploit Public-Facing Application

Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network. The weakness in the system can be a

Exploitation of Remote Services

Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network. Exploitation of a software vulnerabi

File and Directory Discovery

Adversaries may enumerate files and directories or may search in specific locations of a host or network share for certain information within a file s

Ingress Tool Transfer

Adversaries may transfer tools or other files from an external system into a compromised environment. Tools or files may be copied from an external ad

LSASS Memory

Adversaries may attempt to access credential material stored in the process memory of the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS). After a

Local Account

Adversaries may create a local account to maintain access to victim systems. Local accounts are those configured by an organization for use by users,

Local Account

Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of local system accounts. This information can help adversaries determine which local accounts exist on a sys

Masquerade Task or Service

Adversaries may attempt to manipulate the name of a task or service to make it appear legitimate or benign. Tasks/services executed by the Task Schedu

Match Legitimate Resource Name or Location

Adversaries may match or approximate the name or location of legitimate files, Registry keys, or other resources when naming/placing them. This is don

Messaging Applications

Adversaries may leverage chat and messaging applications, such as Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, and Slack, to mine valuable information. The follow

NTDS

Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain

Network Service Discovery

Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of services running on remote hosts and local network infrastructure devices, including those that may be vul

Password Managers

Adversaries may acquire user credentials from third-party password managers.(Citation: ise Password Manager February 2019) Password managers are appli

PowerShell

Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution. PowerShell is a powerful interactive command-line interface and scripting environ

Protocol Tunneling

Adversaries may tunnel network communications to and from a victim system within a separate protocol to avoid detection/network filtering and/or enabl

Proxy

Adversaries may use a connection proxy to direct network traffic between systems or act as an intermediary for network communications to a command and

Query Registry

Adversaries may interact with the Windows Registry to gather information about the system, configuration, and installed software. The Registry contai

Software & Tools (6)

China Chopper [malware]

[China Chopper](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0020) is a [Web Shell](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1505/003) hosted on Web servers to prov

Ngrok [malware]
Pay2Key [malware]

[Pay2Key](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0556) is a ransomware written in C++ that has been used by [Fox Kitten](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G

PsExec [tool]

[PsExec](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0029) is a free Microsoft tool that can be used to execute a program on another computer. It is used by IT

SystemBC [malware]

[SystemBC](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S9001) is a malware family offered as a malware-as-a-service (MaaS) that is used to establish command and

ngrok [tool]

[ngrok](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0508) is a legitimate reverse proxy tool that can create a secure tunnel to servers located behind firewall

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