Threat Actor

Sea Turtle

Also known as: Sea Turtle, Teal Kurma, Marbled Dust, Cosmic Wolf, SILICON

[Sea Turtle](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1041) is a Türkiye-linked threat actor active since at least 2017 performing espionage and service provider compromise operations against victims in Asia, Europe, and North America. [Sea Turtle](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1041) is notable for targeting registrars managing ccTLDs and complex DNS-based intrusions where the threat actor compromised DNS providers to hijack DNS resolution for ultimate victims, enabling [Sea Turtle](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1041) to spoof log in portals and other applications for credential collection.(Citation: Talos Sea Turtle 2019)(Citation: Talos Sea Turtle 2019_2)(Citation: PWC Sea Turtle 2023)(Citation: Hunt Sea Turtle 2024)

29
Techniques
1
Software

Properties

stix_id
intrusion-set--56a05d27-4d47-418a-b330-781c5614f202
signal_observed_at
2026-09-11T17:54:59+00:00
type
intrusion-set

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques (29)

Acquire Infrastructure

Adversaries may buy, lease, rent, or obtain infrastructure that can be used during targeting. A wide variety of infrastructure exists for hosting and

Adversary-in-the-Middle

Adversaries may attempt to position themselves between two or more networked devices using an adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) technique to support foll

Archive via Utility

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

Clear Linux or Mac System Logs

Adversaries may clear system logs to hide evidence of an intrusion. macOS and Linux both keep track of system or user-initiated actions via system log

Clear Linux or Mac System Logs

Adversaries may clear system logs to hide evidence of an intrusion. macOS and Linux both keep track of system or user-initiated actions via system log

Compile After Delivery

Adversaries may attempt to make payloads difficult to discover and analyze by delivering files to victims as uncompiled code. Text-based source code f

DNS Server

Adversaries may set up their own Domain Name System (DNS) servers that can be used during targeting. During post-compromise activity, adversaries may

DNS Server

Adversaries may compromise third-party DNS servers that can be used during targeting. During post-compromise activity, adversaries may utilize DNS tra

Databases

Adversaries may leverage databases to mine valuable information. These databases may be hosted on-premises or in the cloud (both in platform-as-a-serv

Digital Certificates

Adversaries may buy and/or steal SSL/TLS certificates that can be used during targeting. SSL/TLS certificates are designed to instill trust. They incl

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

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 for Client Execution

Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code. Vulnerabilities can exist in software due to unsecure coding

External Remote Services

Adversaries may leverage external-facing remote services to initially access and/or persist within a network. Remote services such as VPNs, Citrix, an

Ignore Process Interrupts

Adversaries may evade defensive mechanisms by executing commands that hide from process interrupt signals. Many operating systems use signals to deliv

Impair Command History Logging

Adversaries may impair command history logging to hide commands they run on a compromised system. Various command interpreters keep track of the comma

Install Digital Certificate

Adversaries may install SSL/TLS certificates that can be used during targeting. SSL/TLS certificates are files that can be installed on servers to ena

Local Accounts

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

Local Email Collection

Adversaries may target user email on local systems to collect sensitive information. Files containing email data can be acquired from a user’s local s

Phishing

Adversaries may send phishing messages to gain access to victim systems. All forms of phishing are electronically delivered social engineering. Phishi

Prevent Command History Logging

Adversaries may impair command history logging to hide commands they run on a compromised system. Various command interpreters keep track of the comma

Remote Data Staging

Adversaries may stage data collected from multiple systems in a central location or directory on one system prior to Exfiltration. Data may be kept in

Tool

Adversaries may buy, steal, or download software tools that can be used during targeting. Tools can be open or closed source, free or commercial. A to

Trusted Relationship

Adversaries may breach or otherwise leverage organizations who have access to intended victims. Access through trusted third party relationship abuses

Unix Shell

Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution. Unix shells are the primary command prompt on Linux, macOS, and ESXi systems, tho

Valid Accounts

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

Virtual Private Server

Adversaries may rent Virtual Private Servers (VPSs) that can be used during targeting. There exist a variety of cloud service providers that will sell

Web Protocols

Adversaries may communicate using application layer protocols associated with web traffic to avoid detection/network filtering by blending in with exi

Web Shell

Adversaries may backdoor web servers with web shells to establish persistent access to systems. A Web shell is a Web script that is placed on an openl

Software & Tools (1)

SnappyTCP [malware]

[SnappyTCP](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S1163) is a web shell used by [Sea Turtle](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1041) between 2021 and 2023

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