Threat Actor

Magic Hound

Also known as: Magic Hound, TA453, COBALT ILLUSION, Charming Kitten, ITG18, Phosphorus, Newscaster, APT35, Mint Sandstorm

[Magic Hound](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0059) is an Iranian-sponsored threat group that conducts long term, resource-intensive cyber espionage operations, likely on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. They have targeted European, U.S., and Middle Eastern government and military personnel, academics, journalists, and organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), via complex social engineering campaigns since at least 2014.(Citation: FireEye APT35 2018)(Citation: ClearSky Kittens Back 3 August 2020)(Citation: Certfa Charming Kitten January 2021)(Citation: Secureworks COBALT ILLUSION Threat Profile)(Citation: Proofpoint TA453 July2021)

50
Techniques
14
Software

Properties

stix_id
intrusion-set--f9d6633a-55e6-4adc-9263-6ae080421a13
signal_observed_at
2026-09-11T17:55:00+00:00
type
intrusion-set

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques (50)

Additional Email Delegate Permissions

Adversaries may grant additional permission levels to maintain persistent access to an adversary-controlled email account. For example, the <code>Ad

Additional Local or Domain Groups

An adversary may add additional local or domain groups to an adversary-controlled account to maintain persistent access to a system or domain. On Win

Application Layer Protocol

Adversaries may communicate using OSI application layer protocols to avoid detection/network filtering by blending in with existing traffic. Commands

Archive via Utility

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

Bidirectional Communication

Adversaries may use an existing, legitimate external Web service as a means for sending commands to and receiving output from a compromised system ove

Clear Command History

In addition to clearing system logs, an adversary may clear the command history of a compromised account to conceal the actions undertaken during an i

Command Obfuscation

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

Credentials

Adversaries may gather credentials that can be used during targeting. Account credentials gathered by adversaries may be those directly associated wit

Data Encrypted for Impact

Adversaries may encrypt data on target systems or on large numbers of systems in a network to interrupt availability to system and network resources.

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

Default Accounts

Adversaries may obtain and abuse credentials of a default account as a means of gaining Initial Access, Persistence, Privilege Escalation, or Defense

Determine Physical Locations

Adversaries may gather the victim's physical location(s) that can be used during targeting. Information about physical locations of a target organizat

Disable Windows Event Logging

Adversaries may disable Windows event logging to limit data that can be leveraged for detections and audits. Windows event logs record user and system

Disable or Modify System Firewall

Adversaries may disable or modify system firewalls in order to bypass controls limiting network usage. Changes could be disabling the entire mechanism

Disable or Modify Tools

Adversaries may disable, degrade, or tamper with security tools or applications (e.g., endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools, intrusion detectio

Disable or Modify Tools

Adversaries may modify and/or disable security tools to avoid possible detection of their malware/tools and activities. This may take many forms, such

Disable or Modify Windows Event Log

Adversaries may disable or modify the Windows Event Log to limit data that can be leveraged for detections and audits. Windows Event Log records user

Domain Accounts

Adversaries may obtain and abuse credentials of a domain account as a means of gaining Initial Access, Persistence, Privilege Escalation, or Defense E

Domain Trust Discovery

Adversaries may attempt to gather information on domain trust relationships that may be used to identify lateral movement opportunities in Windows mul

Domains

Adversaries may hijack domains and/or subdomains that can be used during targeting. Domain registration hijacking is the act of changing the registrat

Domains

Adversaries may acquire domains that can be used during targeting. Domain names are the human readable names used to represent one or more IP addresse

Drive-by Compromise

Adversaries may gain access to a system through a user visiting a website over the normal course of browsing. Multiple ways of delivering exploit code

Email Account

Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of email addresses and accounts. Adversaries may try to dump Exchange address lists such as global address li

Email Accounts

Adversaries may create email accounts that can be used during targeting. Adversaries can use accounts created with email providers to further their op

Email Accounts

Adversaries may compromise email accounts that can be used during targeting. Adversaries can use compromised email accounts to further their operation

Email Addresses

Adversaries may gather email addresses that can be used during targeting. Even if internal instances exist, organizations may have public-facing email

Email Collection

Adversaries may target user email to collect sensitive information. Emails may contain sensitive data, including trade secrets or personal information

Encrypted Channel

Adversaries may employ an encryption algorithm to conceal command and control traffic rather than relying on any inherent protections provided by a co

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

Exfiltration Over Web Service

Adversaries may use an existing, legitimate external Web service to exfiltrate data rather than their primary command and control channel. Popular Web

Software & Tools (14)

CharmPower [malware]

[CharmPower](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0674) is a PowerShell-based, modular backdoor that has been used by [Magic Hound](https://attack.mitre

DownPaper [malware]

[DownPaper](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0186) is a backdoor Trojan; its main functionality is to download and run second stage malware. (Citati

FRP [tool]

[FRP](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S1144), which stands for Fast Reverse Proxy, is an openly available tool that is capable of exposing a server

Impacket [tool]

[Impacket](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0357) is an open source collection of modules written in Python for programmatically constructing and ma

MimiKatz [malware]

[Mimikatz](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0002) is a credential dumper capable of obtaining plaintext Windows account logins and passwords, along

Mimikatz [tool]

[Mimikatz](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0002) is a credential dumper capable of obtaining plaintext Windows account logins and passwords, along

Net [tool]

The [Net](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0039) utility is a component of the Windows operating system. It is used in command-line operations for c

Ping [tool]

[Ping](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0097) is an operating system utility commonly used to troubleshoot and verify network connections. (Citation

PowerLess [malware]

[PowerLess](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S1012) is a PowerShell-based modular backdoor that has been used by [Magic Hound](https://attack.mitre.o

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

Pupy [tool]

[Pupy](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0192) is an open source, cross-platform (Windows, Linux, OSX, Android) remote administration and post-exploi

Systeminfo [tool]

[Systeminfo](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0096) is a Windows utility that can be used to gather detailed information about a computer. (Citation

ipconfig [tool]

[ipconfig](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0100) is a Windows utility that can be used to find information about a system's TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, and

netsh [tool]

[netsh](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0108) is a scripting utility used to interact with networking components on local or remote systems. (Citat

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